By Pita Gaskin
Kensington High School

Inside Rowhome Coffee, customers are greeted by soft background music and smells of freshly brewed coffee. On a recent Sunday morning, customers were packed into the small space, chatting with each other and sipping from drinks.

The coffee shop, located at 2152 N. Front St. in East Kensington, has been giving customers a cozy feeling since March 2022. The East Kensington location is the second one for the company, which previously opened a shop at 2536 Pine St. in the Fitler Square neighborhood in December 2020. The business became known for the Rowhome breakfast sandwich, a Philly-style bacon, egg, and cheese on a soft pretzel.

In recent years, Kensington has not been known for its positive aspects. News outlets have revealed the more negative sides of the area, such as a rapidly growing homeless population, deaths and injuries due to gun violence, and a population struggling with addiction to a new and highly dangerous drug known as “tranq.” Businesses have struggled because of the neighborhood conditions, The Inquirer previously reported.  

Rowhome Coffee is co-owned by Eli Shaika and his childhood friend Hugh Morretta. Shaika, 42, from Delaware County, says he chose the location for several reasons. 

“The price was very reasonable, and we knew that this was a developing and very great neighborhood,” said Shaika in a recent interview at Rowhome. “Not only with some cool new spots, but also with just a strong residential neighborhood feel, and that’s what we wanted to be a part of.”  

The majority of the customers at the East Kensington Rowhome location live locally and experience life in the neighborhood on a daily basis, Shaika said.

Shaika describes his staff as “awesome.” 

Though the neighborhood has seen some dark times, residents continue to find joy in local businesses like this one.