This year marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of Green Line Café at 43rd & Baltimore. Since then, the locally owned and operated café has expanded into two additional West Philly spaces, plus a kiosk at the Penn School of Veterinary Medicine. And last fall, they opened their fifth location, their first in Center City, at 15th and Moravian.

First Green Line location

When Green Line first opened, Best House Pizza across the street was still known as Wurst House Pizza. Desi Chaat House was years away, as were Aksum and Milk and Honey. Gold Standard had just closed on Penn’s campus, and was a long way from opening on the corner of 48th & Baltimore. The diverse collection of dining options that line Baltimore Avenue today was still a work in progress, according to Douglas Witmer, co-owner of the Green Line Café(s). Over the past decade, the area has seen the openings of the restaurants listed above, along with Vietnam Café, Dock Street Brewery, and others. It’s also seen the further development of a grassroots community benefitted by strong civic groups like the Friends of Clark Park and Cedar Park Neighbors.

Witmer’s lived in West Philly since 1995. He and friends used to joke about how they needed to open a coffee shop because there wasn’t one around. To get coffee they had to go to 34th Street on campus in University City. “It didn’t make sense,” said Witmer. “Our neighborhood was such an independent-minded neighborhood. Why didn’t we have a coffee house?”

When 4239 Baltimore Ave. was listed for sale in 2001, he and his business partner, Daniel Thut, realized their joke had the perfect opportunity to become a reality. They purchased the property through bank financing and family loans. Before opening, they renovated the entire building, which was in poor condition. It had last served as the studio for a private flower shop. They did much of their own work on the storefront and the apartments above, and opened up shop in 2003.

Another location at 45th & Locust

“I never really thought what ten years would feel like,” said Witmer. In those ten years the duo opened shops at 45th and Locust (in 2005), at 3649 Lancaster Ave.in Powelton Village (in 2006),  plus the other two already mentioned locations. All three West Philly locations involved major renovation projects.

Their goal was to create a welcoming atmosphere without the air of exclusivity they’d experienced at other cafes. That feeling when one walks in and is looked up and down as if being judged by queens of culture is not what they wanted. “We wanted everybody to feel like the moment they stepped in the door they felt like that place was for them,” Witmer said.

To mark the 10th anniversary, Witmer is asking people to send him photos of themselves at the cafes over the years for an album he’s compiling. There is also an Instagram contest. Witmer will pick his favorite photo of someone at the Green Line that’s tweeted with the hashtag #GreenLineCafe. And this year, they’ll be serving house-made, Weckerly’s Ice Cream, in addition to the various sandwiches and other items they’ve developed to sell at their shops.

Congrats to the Green Line for 10 successful years- here’s to ten more, at least.

–Lou Mancinelli