A couple of years ago, we wondered about a vacant commercial space at the corner of 3rd & Catharine. Most recently home to a software company, this corner may soon be home to a new coffee and crepe shop, the third coffee shop in a roughly two block radius. Despite some opposition from neighbors, members of the Queen Village Neighbors Association (QVNA) agreed to support a variance for the shop with a proviso limiting operating hours from 6am to 8pm Sunday through Thursday, and until 9pm on Friday and Saturday. Trees will also be planted alongside either corner of the café as an additional proviso.

The building

“There’s a couple of neighbors who aren’t real happy,” said Mike Hauptman, of the QVNA zoning committee. “But I think it’s because they don’t want any more commercial on the corner.”

A new coffee shop will mean three of the four corners at this intersection will have ground-floor retail occupants. The others are New Wave Café and Dmitri’s Restaurant. According to Hauptman, this corner was home to a drugstore roughly twenty years ago, and some other retail endeavors have occupied the site over the years.

Dmitri's, northeast corner

New Wave Cafe, northwest corner

The owner of the new coffee shop is Kostantine Dalamagas, who also owns Pietro’s Coal Oven Pizzeria, located on the 100 block of South Street. “He sees it a little different than as just a coffee shop,” said Hauptman about Dalamagas’ vision. According to Hauptman, Dalamagas sees it as a place for local business meetings and similar affairs.

“I don’t think it’s my job to make marketing decisions,” said Hauptman, in response to addressing neighbors’ concerns about there already being enough coffee shops in the area. That includes Red Hook Coffee & Tea two blocks away at 4th & Christian, and Philadelphia Java Company at 2nd & Christian. That the space has been vacant for a couple of years may have led the zoning committee to approve the plan, with provisos they believed addressed neighbors’ concerns. Another proviso stated there could be no installation of cooking equipment that requires a hood. As for ground-floor corner retail, “I think that’s an important part of the neighborhood,” said Hauptman.

–Lou Mancinelli