On a stretch of Market Street where boarded-up storefront windows have become a familiar sight, a recent celebration of Caribbean culture offered a glimpse into what the corridor could become.
The Caribbean American Heritage Celebration took place on Saturday at Clubfriends Radio & Records, helping kick off June as Caribbean American Heritage Month in Philadelphia.
Neighbors swapped stories over Caribbean food and celebrated the cultures that helped shape Philadelphia for generations. In neighboring shops, passersby bought coffee or water ice and perused vintage clothing and design exhibits in what was a largely empty corridor not long ago.
Celebrations of Philadelphia’s music and culture at Clubfriends Radio & Records offers an insight into the next chapter of Market East — one the city hopes will breathe new life into the historic corridor.
The city of Philadelphia has been pursuing many initiatives to beautify and revitalize parts of the city ahead of a busy summer that includes America 250 celebrations, the FIFA World Cup and the MLB All-Star game. While some of these projects will be temporary attractions, others seek to kickstart long-term improvements and reinvestment.
On May 6, the city launched 'Meantime on Market,' which gave several Philadelphia-based businesses a temporary home in previously vacant storefronts on the 900 block of Market Street.
The city hopes that hosting pop-up businesses within some of the now-abandoned storefronts will set the area on a path to renewed investment and commerce. Despite its central location, East Market has been underutilized for many years.
Sandwiched between City Hall, Chinatown, and Old City, the area, known by some as The Gallery, was once a far more lively thoroughfare of the city and a premier commercial sector.
Adam Gery, 47, is the owner of Two Persons Coffee, one of the businesses that has taken a residency on the block. Two Persons Coffee maintains a regular location at the BOK building in South Philly.
Gery remembers the East Market area when he first moved to the city 25 years ago as an area full of small businesses.
“You could go to Sound of Market Record Store, and this place was an old cash-to-gold spot,” he recalled. “There were so many things happening here. I would love to see it go back to that.”
The area has struggled to regain its footing after many of the longtime businesses closed and were never replaced. According to Gery, after a month, customers at the new location have been variable, with the coffee shop full one minute and empty the next.
“There was enough of a push, media-wise in the beginning, that people know about it,” said Gery. “But it feels like we’re in the middle of the desert sometimes. Because it’s boarded up for so long, people don’t know it’s here.”
As Gery closed the coffee shop for the day, a few doors down, Alexa Colas, 30, was opening up for the Caribbean American Heritage Celebration, hosted at her store Clubfriends Radio & Records.
Colas started Clubfriends in her living room as an art project to explore her identity and the identity of Philadelphia through her music collection and the collections of others. With mid-century modern furniture and walls covered in pictures, books, and music, Clubfriends immediately speaks to its grassroots beginnings with people sharing their love for music.
Colas says that the temporary location on Market Street gives her an added boost in visibility, which she hopes to take advantage of to showcase Philadelphia's rich music and culture, a heritage Colas says is often overlooked outside of the city.
“One of my priorities with having this visibility is highlighting how Philadelphia is a culturally rich place,” said Colas. “I think oftentimes we’ve been the lesser acknowledged of some of the cities. But I want to showcase and highlight my experience in Philly, which is one that is culturally rich, culturally nuanced, and really representative of all the great creative energy we have in the city.”
Colas says people drawn to the store often share their own personal connections to music. As they reminisce — swapping stories of long-closed clubs and past parties — Colas says she gets a sense for how much people have always loved Philadelphia and its music.
However, just like East Market itself, Colas says these moments are opportunities to bridge the past and present by highlighting the artists and businesses shaping the neighborhood today.
“People talk about what Philly’s nightlife was like 20 years ago,” said Colas. “But I got to say: ‘Hey, there’s a really incredible DIY community of artists making incredible music experiences,’ and this is meant to be a starting place for people to explore that.”
Clubfriends has been hosting listening sessions with artists, record collectors, and music enthusiasts to further facilitate discussions of where Philadelphia's music has been, where it’s going next, and how living in a culturally diverse city inspires both the past and future.
On Saturday, June 6, Clubfriends hosted the Caribbean Heritage Day, a collaboration between the Caribbean Community in Philadelphia (CCP) and the Office of Immigrant Affairs. Last September, the city recognized June as Caribbean American Heritage Month.
During a brief ceremony before digging into a spread of Caribbean food provided by Blanc Catering, City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier presented a citation to members of the CCP to acknowledge the history of Caribbean culture and heritage in Philadelphia.
“Philadelphia would not be Philly today without the contributions of Caribbean Americans,” said Miranda Alexander, the founder and president of the CCP.
Community members brought along their favorite records that celebrate their cultural background, enjoyed food, and played dominoes while talking excitedly about the upcoming FIFA World Cup, particularly the involvement of Haiti and the debut of Curaçao.
Alain Joinville, 47, is Deputy Director at the Office of Immigrant Affairs. A longtime Philly resident, he too remembers what East Market used to be, but sees the pop-up shops today as an improvement towards the future.
“The pop-up here is bringing some new life and some different ideas,” said Joinville. “As a music lover, I love record shops and just walking in — it feels homey. I think this is a great way to look at what Market East can be.”
As with celebrating Philadelphia’s Caribbean American heritage through music and food, the new businesses on East Market are a glimpse of what might be yet to come, as well as a reflection of a vibrant past.
“What we’re doing right now is really important for testing and shaping what the future of Philadelphia looks like,” said Colas.
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