<![CDATA[The Fitler Focus]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rUYr!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9e65802-d7fb-47ee-9fa4-4e599e7148ad_800x800.pngThe Fitler Focushttps://www.fitlerfocus.comSubstackSat, 12 Sep 2026 00:57:01 GMT<![CDATA[David says goodbye and I say hello]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/david-says-goodbye-and-i-say-hellohttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/david-says-goodbye-and-i-say-helloMon, 07 Sep 2026 11:31:00 GMTWe chatted with David over Labor Day weekend to discuss how he started Fitler Focus and the transition over to me, Yianni.

You may have asked… ‘who is this guy?’. Well, it’s fair and I talk a little about myself in the video above and will share some more below.

It was great speaking with David about the neighborhood and his experience running the #1 Philadelphia Substack (no bias here). I couldn’t be more excited to take over The Fitler Focus.

As David says, it is a lot work. That work wouldn’t be worth it if the audience wasn’t seriously engaged, but our subscribers are clearly showing our stories love. I can see it (thank you Substack metrics).

For me, the upcoming year is a great opportunity to continue what David has started while exploring ways to give back to Fitler Square and Philadelphia. To reward our paid subscribers for their support, while keeping the newsletter you love…free.

I am excited for a seamless transition. I am here to curate stories and creativity that bring insights, joy and news to the community. If you would like to help, please reach out, say hi and let’s find a story to tell.

Yianni

PS: Show some love to David in the comments <3

The Fitler Focus is a reader-supported publication.
To receive new posts and support our work,
consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

]]><![CDATA[Monday Called. Your Recycling Missed It.]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/monday-called-your-recycling-missedhttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/monday-called-your-recycling-missedMon, 24 Aug 2026 11:31:06 GMTBy Yianni

If you’ve been wondering why Monday recycling in parts of Fitler Square keeps hanging around until Tuesday, the city has an answer: crews are behind.

Philadelphia’s Recycling Office told Fitler Focus that collection delays have been happening across the city after a summer of major events, wildfire-related air quality issues, repeated heat waves and staffing shortages.

“It seems we have been playing catchup for a while now,” a representative from the Recycling Office said.

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Paid subscriptions are coming back to Fitler Focus]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/paid-subscriptions-are-coming-backhttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/paid-subscriptions-are-coming-backTue, 11 Aug 2026 11:30:21 GMTBy Yianni

Paid subscriptions are coming back to Fitler Focus.

The newsletter itself is planned to always remain free. We want anyone to be able to read the stories we publish, whether they pay or not. That part is important to us.

What we do want is the chance to make Fitler Focus more ambitious.

More stories. More posts. More video, illustration, creative …

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Grace Tavern Has a Burger Worth Knowing]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/grace-tavern-has-a-burger-worth-knowinghttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/grace-tavern-has-a-burger-worth-knowingMon, 10 Aug 2026 11:31:51 GMTBy Yianni

Before a burger leaves the kitchen at Grace Tavern, its English muffin is fork-split.

It would be faster and cleaner to use a knife. But the uneven surface created by the fork leaves behind the muffin’s familiar nooks and craggy edges, small pockets where the burger’s juices and house-made aioli can collect.

The detail is intentional. So is the E…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Wanamaker Lewis Brings Blues and Roots to Fitler Square]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/wanamaker-lewis-brings-blues-andhttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/wanamaker-lewis-brings-blues-andMon, 27 Jul 2026 11:31:08 GMTBy Yianni

When Wanamaker Lewis takes the stage in Fitler Square on Friday, Aug. 7, he will be returning to a part of Philadelphia he once called home. Lewis spent a stretch at 22nd and Pine, only a few blocks from the park. He will arrive with decades of Philadelphia music behind him and the self-taught curiosity that has carried him from bluegrass banjo…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[The World Cup Comes to Fitler Square]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/the-world-cup-comes-to-fitler-squarehttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/the-world-cup-comes-to-fitler-squareMon, 13 Jul 2026 15:00:20 GMTBy Yianni

It was a Sunday morning in Fitler Square. We skipped over to the Schuylkill River Park and Odunde festival to see if there was any World Cup excitement. In this small pocket of Philadelphia we noticed the different backgrounds, personalities and people we came across in a short period of time.

Thanks for reading The Fitler Focus! Subscribe to re…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[A Note on the Future of the Fitler Focus]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/a-note-on-the-future-of-the-fitlerhttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/a-note-on-the-future-of-the-fitlerTue, 23 Jun 2026 21:33:06 GMTNearly three years ago, I launched the Fitler Focus with a simple vision: Fitler Square deserved real journalism.

Turns out, you agreed. We published nearly 100 articles, grew to over 1,700 subscribers, and focused on stories that took time to get right.

Today, I’m putting it on hiatus. Competing priorities have made it increasingly difficult to sustain …

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Humans of Fitler Square, Part IV]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/humans-of-fitler-square-part-ivhttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/humans-of-fitler-square-part-ivMon, 15 Jun 2026 15:09:07 GMTBy Rolando Rosa

Humans of Fitler Square is our take on the long-running Humans of New York project: brief, verbatim portraits of local residents, offering a glimpse into the people and stories behind the rowhouse doors.

Read more

]]><![CDATA[How Tariffs Nearly Derailed a Fitler Square E-Bike Startup]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/how-tariffs-nearly-derailed-a-fitlerhttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/how-tariffs-nearly-derailed-a-fitlerMon, 25 May 2026 13:03:38 GMT
Alex Cunnane set out to bring the ease of Shore riding to city streets. When tariffs threatened to add more than $400 to each bike last spring, he scrapped his launch video and posted this one instead: a frank lesson in what it actually takes to get a product to market.

In today’s issue:

  1. How Tariffs Nearly Derailed a Fitler Square E-Bike Startup

  2. A Night Un…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Humans of Fitler Square, Part III]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/humans-of-fitler-square-part-iiihttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/humans-of-fitler-square-part-iiiMon, 11 May 2026 13:01:21 GMTBy Rolando Rosa

Humans of Fitler Square is our take on the long-running Humans of New York project: brief, verbatim portraits of local residents, offering a glimpse into the people and stories behind the rowhouse doors.

Read more

]]><![CDATA[The Online Bra Brand Betting Its First Store on Walnut Street]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/the-online-bra-brand-betting-itshttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/the-online-bra-brand-betting-itsMon, 20 Apr 2026 13:03:02 GMTBy Julia Naftulin

Bras line the walls of Underoutfit's new Rittenhouse Row boutique at 1611 Walnut Street, which opened in November 2025. The store is the brand's first physical location after years of online-only sales. (Julia Naftulin / Fitler Focus)

The retail space at 1611 Walnut Street has become something of a proving ground for direct-to-consumer b…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Three Years After Neighbors Blocked Her Café, Jezabel Careaga Has Found Her Opening]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/three-years-after-neighbors-blockedhttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/three-years-after-neighbors-blockedMon, 06 Apr 2026 13:02:40 GMT
Jezabel Careaga in front of her new café on 24th St. Photo credit Ed Newton.

Nearly three years after neighborhood opposition derailed her planned café on Lombard Street, Jezabel Careaga is coming back to Fitler Square.

This time, she says, the business is different. The process was different. And the expectations, on all sides, may be different too.

“I’m …

Read more

]]><![CDATA[How Mad Cat Brewtique Turned Fitler Square Into a Vibe]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/how-mad-cat-brewtique-turned-fitlerhttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/how-mad-cat-brewtique-turned-fitlerMon, 23 Mar 2026 16:31:44 GMTBy Jessica Quiroli

Last October, Mad Cat Brewtique buzzed with Swiftie energy. The new Fitler Square shop, which opened in May 2025, joined other local businesses in celebrating the release of Taylor Swift’s 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl. What set Mad Cat apart was intention. Co-founders Traci Fairey and her daughter Cassidy were not chasing a gimmi…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[At a Crossroads, CCRA Charts a Leaner Future Under Nathaniel Margolies]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/at-a-crossroads-ccra-charts-a-leanerhttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/at-a-crossroads-ccra-charts-a-leanerMon, 09 Mar 2026 13:03:03 GMT
Nathaniel Margolies, the new president of the Center City Residents’ Association.

When Nathaniel Margolies arrived in Philadelphia in the summer of 2020, the city was shuttered by COVID-19 and shaken by unrest. “Every storefront was boarded up,” he recalled. “I thought, oh my God, I made a huge mistake.”

Six years later, he leads one of Center City’s most…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[What Runs Beside the Trail? City and CSX Withhold Hazardous Rail Cargo Details]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/what-runs-beside-the-trail-city-andhttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/what-runs-beside-the-trail-city-andMon, 23 Feb 2026 14:02:52 GMT
A freight train travels along the Schuylkill River Trail beside Fitler Square’s high-rises. The City of Philadelphia and CSX will not disclose what hazardous rail cargo moves through this corridor, citing security concerns, even after a sinkhole renewed questions about risk and oversight.

After a massive sinkhole shuttered a stretch of the Schuylkill Riv…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Inside Fitler Square’s Girl Scout Cookie Season]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/inside-fitler-squares-girl-scouthttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/inside-fitler-squares-girl-scoutMon, 09 Feb 2026 14:02:49 GMT
Margaret and Louisa Wurges staff a Girl Scout cookie booth outside South Square Market, where their troop has sold cookies for nine consecutive winters.

On winter weekends, the Girl Scouts outside South Square Market have become a Fitler Square constant: the same folding table, the same bright stacks, and, increasingly, the same faces. Troop 93942 has so…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Why Center City West Sidewalks Are Getting Dirtier]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/why-center-city-west-sidewalks-arehttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/why-center-city-west-sidewalks-areMon, 26 Jan 2026 14:03:29 GMT Read more

]]><![CDATA[Paris-Level Pastry, and a Reason to Linger in Fitler Square]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/paris-level-pastry-and-a-reason-tohttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/paris-level-pastry-and-a-reason-toMon, 12 Jan 2026 14:03:46 GMT
At La Maison Jaune, even the syrup list is part of the design, reflecting owner Zahra Saeed’s maximalist approach to a tiny cafe.

La Maison Jaune may be new, but its purpose is clear: to make visitors feel as if they’ve left Philadelphia the moment they walk in.

“With the music and the aesthetics, I know it is over the top,” owner Zahra Saeed said in an i…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[The Fitler Focus Wrapped: 2025]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/the-fitler-focus-wrapped-2025https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/the-fitler-focus-wrapped-2025Mon, 29 Dec 2025 14:02:39 GMT

Most of the stories that took off this year started the same way: someone noticed something odd, frustrating, or out of place and asked, do you know what’s going on here?

That question is the backbone of The Fitler Focus. We follow the paper trail, talk to city officials and business owners, and give neighbors clear answers about the places they pass eve…

Read more

]]><![CDATA[Opinion: Illegal Window Tint Puts Pedestrians at Risk]]>https://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/opinion-illegal-window-tint-putshttps://www.fitlerfocus.com/p/opinion-illegal-window-tint-putsMon, 22 Dec 2025 14:02:13 GMTWalk through Fitler Square on any given day and you’ll see it immediately: cars with windows so dark you can’t tell who is behind the wheel, or whether they see you at all.

What feels like a minor violation has become a real safety hazard, one that Pennsylvania lawmakers now have a chance to address.

House Bill 1142 would require window tint compliance t…

Read more

]]>