After 121 Years, Isgro Pastries Is Finally Expanding

Outside Isgro Pastries in the Italian Market / Photograph by Sandy Smith

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. There are just a few quick things for us to get through this week — including (but not limited to) a big move for a Philly classic, $10 cheesesteaks, food truck news, and some sure signs that summer is on its way. So let’s kick things off this week with…

Isgro Pastries Plans to Move Production Out of the Italian Market

It is absolutely remarkable to me how often I end up talking about a Philly food operation that has been around since before my grandfather was born.

Seriously, there are legit Philly restaurants that are still in their youth and killing it that I talk about less than I talk about Isgro these days. But in the past few months, this fourth-generation Philly Italian bakery that has been holding down its space on Christian Street since 1904 has come up in conversations about a bad cannoli dip I had somewhere else, those little Italian cookies with the fruit jam in the middle, the Eagles’ Super Bowl run, and recent Philly James Beard Award contenders. And okay, that last one was more than a year ago, but still. The place was 120 years old when it was named a semifinalist for Outstanding Bakery, and for a place so venerable (and so embedded in the cultural consciousness of this city) to catch the eye of the award judges in 2024 really says something about Isgro’s staying power.

And now, here we are again — leading off a column with huge news about a place that opened one year after airplanes were invented, in a city where so many restaurants get completely forgotten just months after they open.

Word came down last week that Isgro has made plans to relocate production from its historic space in the Italian Market to a brand-new (to them) 22,000-square-foot warehouse space in South Philly. The new digs are at 21 Wolf Street and will serve as Isgro’s new production bakery and retail storefront. The Biz Journal has some details about the move, but it actually looks like this move has been in the works for a long time. There’s an Instagram post from a local real estate company announcing Isgro’s acquisition of the space from back in 2022.

This move is mostly being referred to as an “expansion” of Isgro’s business. And there’s no hard date set for the opening of either the production facility or its attached retail operation. (Though some time next year seems most likely.) But this is a move meant to position Isgro to compete as a player in local and nationwide shipping of their small-batch pastries — a part of their business that has been growing substantially in recent years.

According to the Biz Journal, the Christian Street location will continue to operate as a retail shop after production is moved to 21 Wolf Street. But they plan to take a beat to assess their capabilities after they get settled in their new production facility, so the future is cautiously optimistic. Either way, you can be sure that I’ll be keeping an eye on things as the project moves forward.

In any case, this will definitely not be the last time that Isgro ends up in this column.

Now what else is happening this week …

$10 Cheesesteaks — If You Hurry

A cheesesteak wit wiz / Photograph courtesy of Joe’s Steaks + Soda Shop

Today — Tuesday, April 1st — is the 10-year anniversary of Joe’s Steaks + Soda Shop in Fishtown. And they’re celebrating by offering $10 cheesesteaks all day, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. They’re also doing a limited-edition “Birthday Cake Milkshake” for $9, so if you’re the kind of person who thinks vanilla ice cream mashed up with a whole-ass birthday cake (frosting and rainbow sprinkles included) sounds like a nice Tuesday afternoon treat, this should totally be your jam.

Joe’s has got a history that goes back nearly as long as Isgro’s, actually. Originally opened in 1949 by Samuel Sherman in Northeast Philly, a teenage Joe Groh started working there slicing meat and chopping onions. Fifty years later, Groh would buy the place and keep the same cheesesteak recipe that’d been in use since the beginning. The Fishtown location opened at Girard and Frankford in 2015, and the original location closed a few years ago after 73 years in operation.

Anyway, Joe’s has some pretty good cheesesteaks. And ten bucks is a good price. So if you happen to be in the neighborhood and are looking for a cheap dinner (or to drink a birthday cake), stop by. I’m guessing it’s probably pretty busy, so be prepared to wait. And keep an eye on the shop’s Instagram for updates.

Speaking of Birthdays …

An arepa from Puyero / Photograph by Mike Prince

Whether or not you can make it out today to score some discount cheesesteaks from Joe’s, there’s another birthday happening next Tuesday that allows a little more time to prepare.

On Tuesday, April 8th, Puyero — the Venezuelan street food specialist in Queen Village — is celebrating eight years in business. Owners Gilberto Arends and Manuela Villasmil will be giving away 100 free empanadas at both their Queen Village spot (524 South 4th Street) and the newer UCity location (3428 Sansom Street) — which makes sense because April 8th also happens to be National Empanada Day. And who doesn’t want to celebrate National Empanada Day? The giveaway will start at noon. Free empanadas go to the first 100 people in line at both locations. So plan accordingly.

Following the big empanada giveaway, the OG Queen Village location will also be offering a special, two-day anniversary menu on Saturday and Sunday, April 12th and 13th, featuring dishes that have never been seen on Puyero’s menu before. We’re talking tequeños de guayaba and empanada de pabellón for $8, tostones and arepas playeros with shrimp ceviche and avocado, pernil y cotija, and little churro bites with Nutella or dulce de leche, which, all on their own, should be reason enough to check this menu out. I mean, deep-fried dough rolled in cinnamon sugar and dipped in dulce de leche? Bring it on.

I’ll see y’all there.

Some Sure Signs of the Seasons Changing

The PHS Pop-Up Gardens in Manayunk / Photograph courtesy of The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

I know that it feels like spring has barely arrived, but it seems like a lot of Philly bars and restaurants are really looking forward to the arrival of hot days and long, warm nights.

For example, on Friday, April 25th, Stratus Rooftop Lounge in Old City is hosting their 14th annual “Spring Awakening” bash, calling this year’s installment “The Winners’ Circle” — an “immersive and over-the-top casino-themed bash” featuring live music, DJs, classic cocktails, showgirls, belly dancers, and table games. VIP access (with open bar) is 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; general admission is 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Details (and tickets) can be found here.

Meanwhile, the PHS Pop-Up Gardens in Manayunk and on South Street opened over the weekend to take advantage of the sun. Both locations have lots of plants, plus food and drink, so you have something to do while… looking at all the plants. In Manayunk, they’re going beachside with shrimp cocktails, tacos, fish and chips, and banana vodka-and-red-Hawaiian-Punch water ice cocktails. On South Street, there are shareable plates of empanadas, soft pretzel bites, mozzarella sticks and fries, lots of nice summer salads, and a Gritty Margarita made with Tang and black salt, which is just awesome as far as stunt cocktails go.

Now who has room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

Drink specials for Craftsman Row’s Blooming Garden pop-up / Photograph by Cody Aldrich

If you’re looking for even more springtime frivolity, Walnut Garden is re-opening for the season on April 3rd with daily service and variable hours depending on the weather. Craftsman Row Saloon also has their Blooming Garden pop-up running already, with a full indoor garden, orange creamsicle milkshakes, garden-themed cocktails, candied hibiscus shots, baskets of chicken fingers with a bacon rose, and the return of spring brunch hours — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m.

And if you want to be absolutely sure that summer is right around the corner, Bok Bar is re-opening for the season on Thursday, April 10th. The kitchen will operate as a rotating showcase for a half-dozen Philly restaurants, with Little Fish kicking things off, followed by Darnell’s, Puyero, Gabriella’s Vietnam, Sweet Amalia, and Korea Taqueria. It’s a great line-up, and Bok has lots of other events planned, so check out the full schedule and plans for the rest of the summer right here.

We’ve got yet another birthday coming up in the Philly restaurant scene. Cube Libre is turning 25 on April 7th, and they’re celebrating by rolling back prices to what they were in 2000, with different apps and entrees getting their prices reduced every month starting in April and continuing through December.

And that’s nice, but what caught my eye was the 25th anniversary chef’s tasting menu — which is a massive, four-course feast that’ll run you just $49. Cuban pork belly, shrimp cocktails, chicken croquettas, ropa vieja, maduros, lechon asado — it covers all the classics and looks like a helluva deal. Details and reservations for the tasting menu can be found here.

Finally this week, it looks like Drexel is attempting to chase the food trucks off campus. As first reported by The Triangle, Drexel student newspaper, the trucks that cluster outside the Bentley residence hall (including Pete’s Little Lunch Box, Lucky Star, and others) have been informed that the university is going to start enforcing city ordinances that require the trucks to leave their spots every night. Problem is, if the trucks are forced to leave overnight, the spots they vacate will immediately fill up with parked cars, and they’ll have nowhere to park again the next day.

A lot of these trucks have been serving the student community for years. According to The Triangle, Pete’s Little Lunch Box will simply be going out of business (after serving students for 17 years) because the idea of having to fight for parking each morning would be too much work (and uncertainty) for the business to bear.

The school says it’s a safety issue. The truck operators say it’s the school trying to chase them off. And the whole thing is just really ugly. You can check out The Triangle’s reporting right here. And the Inky has a few more details as well. As of this moment, the last day for Drexel’s food trucks looks like April 4th. But we’ll see what happens once the deadline to move passes.