It's been a big year for the 1400 block of Frankford Avenue. Turn back the clock twelve months, and 1420 Frankford Ave. was home to Bicycle Stable, 1426 Frankford Ave. had a large warehouse that was at one point a cellophane factory, and 1434-42 Frankford Ave. was a big empty lot. The only thing that hasn't changed is the Yachtsman, located at 1444 Frankford Ave. in a funky building with a curvy facade.
Let's move from south to north, shall we? Bicycle Stable closed their doors last fall, and we wondered who would take over their fantastic building which was originally built as a stable for police horses. According to Craig Laban, Cheu Noodle Bar will open a second location here, offering much more seating than their 10th Street location. Yes folks, another restaurant coming to Frankford Avenue! We imagine that the facade will remain intact with the new business taking over.
Next door, Kit and Ace took over a part of the old warehouse and opened their doors at the end of last year. The rest of the warehouse has been demolished and City Fitness is opening in the rebuilt two-story structure. City Fitness will be a great amenity for the neighborhood and Kit and Ace should be a destination retailer in Philadelphia. Perhaps Kit and Ace will encourage other stores with national footprints to consider locations outside of Center City.
Finally, we have another project right next door that we've somehow never mentioned. As we said, 1434-42 Frankford Ave. was previously a vacant lot, and now a new building is under construction here. It's a three-story building with ten apartments over a retail space, but we haven't heard about whether they've found a tenant as of yet. Certainly, the restaurant, the clothing store, and the gym will make this a very desirable location for another business.
So yeah, we'd say that Frankford Avenue is the place to be right now, whether you're a small business owner, a developer, or a restaurateur. And it's not too shabby if you're someone who lives nearby, either.