One among Fishtown’s most beloved neighborhood staples is increasing west. Milkcrate Cafe – a mixture espresso store and vinyl file boutique that has operated at Girard and Montgomery avenues since 2009 – opened its second location on Baltimore Ave in West Philly on Sept. 28.
The West Philly model of Milkcrate will function very similar to the unique: As an expertly-curated vinyl file retailer that additionally serves espresso roasted by La Colombe and a menu of music-themed meals objects, reminiscent of breakfast sandwiches just like the Infamous E.G.G. and the Bagella Fitzgerald and lunch choices just like the Run B.L.T. and the Rick Rueben.
Each shops may also promote turntables and different Hello-Fi residence audio gear and likewise purchase choose used vinyl from prospects.
“That is the fitting house and that is the time,” stated Milkcrate proprietor Adam Porter of his choice to broaden his enterprise to West Philly. “There’s an power there that is unparalleled and that’s totally different from every other a part of the town. I do not suppose folks actually perceive the power that is in West Philly.”
Along with opening its new location, Milkcrate is increasing different elements of its enterprise that Porter and his staff have been tinkering with in latest months. Beginning in October, Milkcrate will begin internet hosting brunch occasions on Saturdays and Sundays and lengthen the ‘Vinyl Bar’ nighttime cocktail lounge idea it began experimenting with earlier this yr.
“We wished a spot the place we might have the ability to spin music by an exquisite Hello-Fi sound system and have this actually cool cocktail lounge,” Porter stated.
First launched in June 2023, Milkcrate’s Vinyl Bar is an extension of its conventional enterprise that successfully transforms the Milkcrate’s bustling daytime espresso store vibe into extra of a chill cocktail lounge with native DJs spinning vinyl information from 8 p.m. till midnight. After experimenting with the Vinyl Bar idea on Fridays and Saturdays on the Fishtown location over the previous couple of months, Porter stated it would broaden to Wednesday and Thursday nights and get began a number of hours earlier and run from 5 p.m. to midnight.
“The problem has been doing these items concurrently,” Porter stated. “It is not solely opening one enterprise, it is like opening two companies on the identical time.”
Beginning in 2022, Milkcrate was in a position so as to add beer, wine and cocktails to its menu – and begin toying with the Vinyl Bar concept – after buying its first-ever liquor license through the pandemic. After what Porter admitted was “a rocky begin” making an attempt to navigate an entire new facet of his enterprise, he stated he consulted a lot of his friends and different enterprise house owners to assist him fine-tune the boozier nighttime facet of Milkcrate’s future.
On the identical time, Porter’s years-long want to broaden Milkcrate into West Philly lastly turned potential due to the supply of a newly-vacant retail house on Baltimore Ave.
“There’s one thing concerning the ample quantity of timber and the shortage of recent condos there.” Porter stated. “There’s outdated structure, outdated houses and those that have lived there their total lives. There’s additionally this worldwide power coming in from the faculty college students. It is very totally different from every other a part of metropolis and I believe it is underserved.”
In the interim, the West Philly Milkcrate will hold shorter hours, opening at 9 a.m. and shutting at 1 p.m. on a regular basis, with the store anticipated to increase its hours someday within the fall. The Fishtown location will proceed to remain open til 3 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Milkcrate’s Vinyl Bar will probably be open in Fishtown from 5 p.m. to midnight from Wednesday to Saturday, with extra nighttime occasion programming to return.