Love & Honey Fried Chicken is coming to Passyunk Avenue
The popular Northern Liberties fried chicken joint is franchising, including taking over the spot formerly occupied by Black N Brew in South Philly.
Love & Honey Fried Chicken is coming to Passyunk Avenue, filling the storefront Black N Brew coffee occupied for more than 17 years.
Although the restaurant won’t open until the end of the year, a gut rehabilitation of the building at 1523 E. Passyunk is expected to begin any day now.
The original Love & Honey in Northern Liberties opened in 2017. After eight years of refining the menu, the owners are franchising the business and locations are popping up across Philadelphia and beyond.
“We’re trying to have a Love & Honey in each corner of the city,” said Laura Lyons, who cofounded and co-owns the business with her husband, Todd.
“We know that there’s a real want for our product down there, and it’s just a super exciting neighborhood to be a part of, obviously, with tons of restaurants and foot traffic and street traffic,” Lyons said.
The larger expansion already includes a newly open franchise at 2820 S. Eagle Rd. in Newtown Square. Other outposts are planned on Chestnut Street in University City, Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr, and one in Cranston, R.I.
So far 18 franchises have been awarded. Next year will see openings in Cherry Hill; King of Prussia; Washington, D.C.; Princeton; and Northern Virginia.
Love & Honey’s menu has narrowed slightly over the years. The pies that were originally a sweet counterpoint to the fried chicken have been scrapped, with banana pudding and Oreo chocolate chip cookies remaining as dessert options.
Tater tots are on offer as well, but no french fries. Lyons says there are divisive arguments over the best kind of fry, but there’s only one way to make tots.
“My husband likes to say that we dialed in our menu over the past eight years to be our greatest hits,” said Lyons.
Their fried chicken offerings include wings, tenders, and sandwiches. Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan specifically praised their hot chicken sandwich in 2018 but noted more broadly that Love & Honey offers “easily some of the best fried birds in town.”
The East Passyunk location will be a bit smaller than the 800-square-foot Northern Liberties shop and offers little indoor seating beyond a few counter spots. There will also be outdoor tables, but Lyons anticipates the location largely serving as a takeout and delivery business.
The building where Love & Honey is opening is owned by the Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corp. (PARC), which has eight properties along the corridor, operates the Singing Fountain Plaza, and provides cleaning services.
“This is a great addition to our tenant mix around the foundation, so now there will be options at all times of day,” said Alex Balloon, PARC’s executive director. “We have a great retail mix, but we lack a lot of fast casual options so this is very, very needed.”
PARC has roots in the political machine of Democratic State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, who represented much of South Philly from 1978 to 2008. He founded a nonprofit called Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods, which among its many activities acquired properties across his district during a time of high retail vacancy and property deterioration.
The Citizens Alliance purchased and fixed up retail buildings, chiefly in South Philadelphia, and attracted tenants like Black N’ Brew to revitalize areas like East Passyunk.
The nonprofit was at the center of the federal investigation of Fumo, but in the aftermath, PARC was created to hold on to the heart of the Alliance’s properties and continue the positive aspects of its mission.
Black N Brew had a series of rent disputes and financial issues that ended with the PARC’s declining to renew their lease. The coffee shop closed in early 2024, and the storefront has been vacant ever since.