Bad slice of Piazza

Well as we predicted we feel the downfall has started.
Yes we predicted it but did we really want it to happen? No.

The Piazza is not only a great social and gathering place but has allowed many small independently owned Fishtown and Kensington businesses to thrive and get lots of attention. For example; Bambi Gallery, Fresh Melt Water, and Fabric Horse have received great exposure and large increases in business. On the negative side The Piazza still has yet to fill the empty commercial spots and still has some duplicate stores from Liberties Walk, like the Delicious Boutique.

We feel that the first step in the downward spiral was canceling the wildly popular Sundae on Sundays at the Piazza. The Lee Jones dj/music event has been free and packed with people since the Piazza was finished being constructed. Sundae could actually get credit for exposing The Piazza to a large amount of people that would not normally venture out to it's 2nd and Germantown Ave location. Sundae has brought hundreds of people to The Piazza every Sunday for weeks now, all for free. This has spurred more artists renting tables in the courtyard, huge sales of food and drinks at Vino (formerly the official Sundae after party spot) and has increased awareness for all of the shops there. So what’s the problem?

A few weeks ago the official partnership between Vino and Sundae ended.

The business that Sundae brought to Vino’s after party helped keep the venue free and fun. Unfortunately that has ended, either from complaints from the other bars/restaurants losing Sunday business to Vino or just cause Sundae had done it's job of bringing the people into the Piazza and management now felt it was time to dump them. Whether it was for those reasons or for some unknown ones we feel it's a greedy mentality that has forced Sundae to the new club/restaurant on Delaware Ave. known as Octo. The vast open bar with a tropical feel is a great place for Sundae to switch to, it's not as easily convenient to get to, and is considerably smaller than the Piazza courtyard, but it's fun non the less and always crowded on Sunday.
So we feel as we did before; The Piazza management is only concerned with making money. Canceling Sundae before the agreement they had along with it's questionable half occupied commercial spaces can only lead us to believe that the Piazza will be a barren desert when cold weather arrives. This is much like Liberties Walk is and has been for years now. Liberties Walk started off the same way, and due to extremely high rent and lack of foot traffic in cold weather and daytime hours, 6 independent businesses closed up shop within a year in and half. We feel many of the small shops will do the same once their free monthly rent deals expire (especially since the Piazza and Liberties walk are run by the same people).

Only time will tell, but the recent addition of Tony Danza living at the Piazza apartments just seems like another gimmick to draw attention and will soon end much like Sundae. We really hope all the negative points we brought up don't occur, but if managed correctly, the Piazza and Liberties Walk can boost the neighborhood appearance, and business, along with bringing the much needed cleanup of Girard between 2nd and Front. Rumor has it that high-rise condos, a dog park, and a Wholefoods Market will soon appear on that corner of 2nd but we can only cross our fingers...

Hide your Sundae

Like most Sundays we hit up Sundae. This Sunday at the Piazza Del, Lonely, and Sean Thomas will be spinning starting at 4:30pm. Don't forget to bring your adult carbonated beverages either! Just an FYI the Piazza Gestapo are cracking down on open bottles, so David Blaine your drinks in coffee cups or waterbottles. Get there early and you can watch the Phils vs. Mets at 1:10 on the big screen. If the weather holds up WhizWit will be making an appearance at the artists tables selling some hot T's. See you Sundae!

The Weekend

Other than the Wheat Beer Extravaganza we mentioned yesterday, a lot more is going on as we near the 4th of July (Which by the way the Roots are playing at for free at Penn's Landing!) This weekend is the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival (PIFF) in NoLibs and at 941 Theater, also the Bicycle Film Festival which is taking place at the Moore College of Art and Design along with a special Bicycle Exhibit. Also taking place on Saturday is the Big Art Show #11 at the 941 Theater, unfortunatly it was canceled due to the PIFF but they are having the Philadelphia Independent Craft Market on July 12th. Penns Landing is having a ton of events this weekend which include Taste of Philly all weekend, Angie Stone Concert tomorrow at 7:30 and fireworks later that night. Sunday as usual will feature the Sundae Concert at the Piazza, featuring Medina but since the recent death of MJ they will be spinning MJ tunes all night and day.

Should be Fun, and very hot!

Piece of duh Piazza

So were had some time to venture out this weekend and visit all the festivities going on in the NoLibs and Port Fishington spots. But we are going to concentrate on one thing.

The Piazza Revue:

We have seen these Piazza being worked on for months now finally we get to see it up-close and personal. The best way to describe it is: if you force-fed Liberties Walk those funny little pills that baseball players take and BAM its the Piazza! Anyway we couldn't believe all of the stores: 13 Galleries, 22 Retail shops and more, including and humungo courtyard with a big screen. Daily events are planned and bands play almost every night, and Phillies games on the big screen. The Piazza can hopefully bring a lot more fun to the area and hopefully it can maintain the traffic flow that Liberties walk was hurting for during the cold month or weekday work hours. A major goal to sustain traffic has to be creating awareness of the Piazza to people outside of our general area.

Weekends have been great at the Piazza, Sundae Philadelphia has been playing there religiously for the past few Sundays. Its a ton a fun and alot of people come out, they spin some awesome jams and guest DJ's stop by like Questlove and King Britt.

The Swift Half, a new venture from the people at the Good Dog has great food and a good selection of Tap and Bottled beer, with outdoor seating near the stage. Vino has some great specials on Sundays/Sundaes, which are 5 dollar flatbread pizzas (which are bangin) and great Sangria specials. Don't look for beer here though, none on tap and a very limited bottle selection.

We also wonder with so many galleries and boutiques why they would all group them together, at some point they will be competing and can all of these boutiques and galleries stay in business? We do think a lot of the places will do very well including the bars, Fabric Horse, and Bambi Gallery. We are also excited that this huge addition to the neighborhood can hopefully propel more businesses to venture further down East Girard into Fishtown. But will the business currently there go the way of the small business in Liberties Walk and close due to high rents and lack of traffic during the cold months? So far the Piazza has been a success but can it maintain its allure when the mercury drops and the DJ's go away and the people stay home? Deep down we want it to succeed and flourish, but in the back of our heads we always have the reality of the economy and how many T-Shirts or Handmade Prints do you have to sell to maintain the rent in the thousands when no one is around. Time will tell, for now Viva La Piazza!