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A PHONEBOOK

This document plays on a reference to The Yellow Pages, though only in form. This is neither a directory nor a resource guide. We interviewed businesses with whom we had already developed relationships, centering word-of-mouth connection and references from longtime residents. We talked with shops on the brink of closure in changing neighborhoods, as well as those long-since closed—living vibrantly, beloved still, through collective memory. We also spoke with entrepreneurs who have never had a storefront, who have navigated around the barriers to access a physical space, and found alternative modes of exchange. We dug into our networks and by no means got as far as we would have liked to.

There was no cost to those featured in this publication and in turn, we are committed to creating a document that is publicly accessible and freely distributed throughout the city. 

*A PHONEBOOK is available for digital download. The limited run printed publication was originally distrubuted for free with purchase at the following locations:*

American Hats, LLC @ 2251 Fraley Street (Northeast)
Baldwin Fine Custom Tailoring & Fashion Institute @ 755 S 4th Street (Queen Village)
Bodyrock Bootcamp @ 3858 Lancaster Avenue (West Philadelphia)
Garden Court Eatery @ 4721 Pine Street (West Philadelphia)
Molly’s Books & Records @ 1010 S 9th Street (Italian Market, Philadelphia)
Monarch Hardware Company @ 4502 Walnut Street (West Philadelphia)
Mood Cafe @ 4618 Baltimore Avenue (West Philadelphia)
The Neon Museum @ 1800 N American St, Unit E (Kensington)
Omoi Zakka Shop @ 41 S 3rd Street ( Old City)
Ray’s Cafe & Tea House @ 141 N 9th Street (Chinatown)
Satellite Cafe @ 4999 Willows Avenue (West Philadelphia)
Tattooed Mom @ 530 South Street (Queen Village)
Vox Populi @ 319 North 11th Street, 3rd Floor (Callowhill) 

We hope this document is of use. We hope you might find a business you would like to support or learn more about the ones you already do; we hope it can connect small businesses to new customers or even to other businesses with whom they might find commonality. We hope, if nothing else, this document will exist to record a selection of Philadelphia businesses and their stories, as they were told to us this year — the stories of those who provide services to our neighborhoods, work to meet our needs, those who have had to close, and those who, day after day, turn on the lights and open. We appreciate all those who have shared their time, their thoughts, their work with us, on and off the page.




Project support provided by The Velocity Fund administered by Temple Contemporary with generous funding from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional funding provided by Penn Medicine CAREs grant.

The second edition printing of A PHONEBOOK was made possible by Added Velocity, administered by Philadelphia Contemporary and funded by the William Penn Foundation.