"The goal is to make sure properties have the correct zoning for their current and potential future use, and to ensure that Fairmount Avenue can maintain its unique character."
That sentence comes from the Philadelphia City Planning Commission's announcement, posted October 27, 2026. It opens a zoning update for every parcel facing Fairmount Avenue between Broad Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. It reads like planning boilerplate. On Fairmount Avenue this year, though, the gap between what a property is zoned for and how someone wants to use it held up one of the most anticipated small openings on the avenue for months.
A Former Insurance Office With an Oven and a Window
Little Susie's Coffee & Pie runs on a simple setup. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer's June profile of owner Daniel Martino, every Little Susie's runs from a takeout window and needs "little more than coffee stations and electric ovens." The company grew from one Port Richmond rowhouse in 2019 to several Philadelphia locations, with plans announced for Fairmount and Northern Liberties.
The Fairmount shop at 2206 Fairmount Ave. is in a former insurance office. The same Inquirer report said the shop was close to ready when the city determined the property needed zoning approval for food sales. Martino said it would take months just to get on the zoning board's calendar.
Here is how it went from there:
- June 30, 2026: The Inquirer reports the zoning requirement and the wait for a hearing date.
- September 11, 2026: PhillyVoice reports that the Fairmount proposal was first rejected at a local zoning hearing and then approved the week before, according to Martino.
- September 16, 2026: The Inquirer says the zoning issues are resolved and Martino expects the window open "by Halloween."
- November 4, 2026: The Inquirer's November openings roundup lists the "long-delayed" Fairmount shop as "due to open by Thanksgiving."
The business is about as light as a food business gets: a window, coffee equipment and electric ovens. Its biggest obstacle was whether the parcel allowed food sales at all. That is the kind of mismatch the city now says it wants to correct along the whole avenue.
What the Planning Commission Says It Is Fixing
The city's project page explains the update in plain terms, starting with a definition of zoning:
"Zoning is a set of regulations governing land development and permitted uses for property. These laws regulate what type of uses can occur (use), where buildings can be located on a property (area), and the size of the building (bulk)."
The same page says some existing properties don't match their zoning, either because they received a variance or because they existed before the current rules were written. An avenue where an insurance office can become a pie window, or where a board-game cafe replaces another board-game cafe, will have plenty of buildings whose current use and mapped zoning have drifted apart.
The Planning Commission ties the update to community goals in the Central District Plan of 2013. It describes this effort as part of a citywide process of updating zoning neighborhood by neighborhood. The city's project documents page says the process may change rules on the uses, sizes and shapes of development. It also lists what zoning cannot regulate, including whether housing is rented or owned, property management, trash, crime, behavior and customer base.
That list of limits matters. The update can shape what gets built on the avenue and what businesses can go there. It can't decide who runs them or who shops there.
What the Survey Asks About
The online survey, titled "Fairmount Avenue West of Broad Street Survey," is open to anyone who lives on, works on or visits the corridor. The city estimates it takes about 10 minutes. It starts with how you use the avenue: your ZIP code, your connection to Fairmount Avenue, how long you've been around it, how often you come, how you get there and what you've done there in the past year.
Then it asks respondents to pick up to five priorities. The options include:
- Fewer vacant storefronts
- Affordable rent for small and new businesses
- Businesses that sell essentials
- Food establishments
- Public spaces
- Access and parking
- Trees
- Historic preservation
The survey also asks for a vision of the avenue's future and for views on more housing density, including taller multifamily buildings. Respondents can sign up for email updates on zoning and community events.
The food establishments option is where Little Susie's fits in, since its delay came down to whether food sales were allowed on its parcel. The housing-density question is the one most likely to change what the avenue looks like over time, because zoning governs height and bulk as well as use.
The Avenue the New Map Will Cover
The update covers only parcels facing Fairmount Avenue. Several of this year's new arrivals are close by on cross streets and parallel streets, outside its boundaries. Here are the businesses in and around the corridor that have been reported this year:
| Business | Address | What it is | Previous use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Susie's Coffee & Pie | 2206 Fairmount Ave. | Walk-up coffee and hand-pie window, due to open by Thanksgiving | Insurance office |
| Queen & Rook Game Cafe | 1642 Fairmount Ave. | Board games, full bar, vegetarian menu | Thirsty Dice board-game cafe |
| Kendo Sushi | 1521 Spring Garden St. | Sushi | Not reported |
| Lost Time Brewing taproom | 1519 Ridge Ave. | Taproom, full bar, rotating food vendors | Our Time Brewery |
| Thalassa | 918 N. 28th St. | Greek-inspired cafe | Not reported |
Queen & Rook is the other new business inside the study area. The Inquirer reported in May that owners Edward Garcia and Jeannie Wong planned a "retrofuturist" second location at 1642 Fairmount Ave., in the former Thirsty Dice space. Garcia described it as "an opportunity for us to bring something that the neighborhood valued into the area." The Fairmount cafe keeps the formula from the South Street location: thousands of board games, a full bar and a vegetarian menu, possibly with more small plates. The Inquirer noted that the address straddles Spring Garden and Francisville. A game cafe moving into an old game-cafe space is the easy kind of reuse. Little Susie's needed a use change and went through months of zoning process.
Just off the corridor, Lost Time Brewing's second taproom took over the Our Time Brewery space at 1519 Ridge Ave. It was announced with 16 taps, liquor, cocktails, wine and cider, rotating food vendors in place of a full kitchen, and a courtyard. Lost Time lists its Ridge Avenue hours as closed Monday, 3 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 3 to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
At the western edge of the neighborhood is Thalassa, Matt Maltepes's cafe at 918 N. 28th St. For its menu, The Inquirer's fall forecast described baklava, croissants, house-made ice cream with weekly flavors, a feta grilled cheese with honey, and European-style coffee such as frappes and Freddo espresso.
After the November 12 Open House
The Planning Commission held its first community meeting on Thursday, November 12, at St. Andrew's Church Hall, 1911 Wallace St. It focused on zoning basics and project information. The Fairmount Civic Association and the Spring Garden Civic Association both promoted it to their members.
For anyone who missed it, the city says it will post materials after each meeting on its project documents page. It plans to hold several meetings and will eventually review proposed changes to the zoning map. The survey is linked from that page. To see how your own block is zoned today, use the zoning tab on atlas.phila.gov. Atlas lists Councilmember Jeffery Young of the 5th Council District for 2206 Fairmount Ave. His Council profile includes Fairmount and Spring Garden in his district.
This post is general information about a public planning process. It is not legal advice. If you own or lease property on the avenue, confirm how any proposed change applies to you with a zoning attorney or the Planning Commission directly.
If you own property facing Fairmount Avenue and want to see how buyers might view it while the zoning map is being redrawn, Michael Prince can walk the block with you, pull the comparable sales and help you plan a listing around what the avenue is becoming. List with Michael.
