Finally, the one store that can provide Rittenhouse Square with enough cachet to bring Philadelphia’s toniest zip code in line with such renowned locales as Gramercy Park in New York, Belgravia in London or Victoria Peak in Hong Kong comes to 18th and Moravian Sts. The eye catching and glamorous orange and pink neon signs of Dunkin’ Donuts will, if there is a God in heaven, be shining brightly in Philly’s premier neighborhood in the very near future.
The critically acclaimed chain-restaurant has applied to the Zoning Board to occupy the now vacant space at 133 S. 18th St., below Nail Bar Salon. With both the already established Dandelion and Tria right up the street and the soon to open Serafina to the west and A. Kitchen to the south, Dunkin’ Donuts is poised to give Rittenhouse what it ultimately needs to come into its own: Coffee Coolatas and Munchkins.
This fortuitous blessing for Rittenhouse comes not a moment too soon, either. With summer already here, Philadelphia is far more likely to benefit from a chain restaurant than say, a locally owned donut and coffee shop. There is, after all, nothing better for creating a cool community driven milieu than outsourcing to major corporations. All you have to do is look at places such as Brooklyn, NY, to see how homegrown products are failing. You never see a Brooklyn Brewery Lager or a Brooklyn Stumptown or Blue Bottle coffee being served to an individual wearing Brooklyn Industry clothes while eating a Mast Brothers Chocolate, do you? It’s simply preposterous.
Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a lunch meeting coming up at McDonald’s.