It is no secret that Rittenhouse Square is the most attractive destination in Philadelphia for young professionals. When not at work, the area offers them a vibrant nightlife, an incredible selection of restaurants, endless shopping, and a really pretty park. The number of young professionals (ages 24-35) living in Center City has doubled during the last 30 years and let me tell you, these kids are bright. So bright that many of them have opted out of corporate jobs to follow the path of the entrepreneur.
Generation Y, or the cohort of people born between 1977 and 1994, grew up with technology and the ability to access all the information in the world with a click of a mouse. They saw what happened to college drop-outs like Bill Gates and Michael Dell and they are seeing their parents, who have worked 9-5, at the same job, for the last thirty years, approach retirement. Starting your own business takes up most, if not all, of your time but these goal-driven, ambitious young business owners have what it takes to survive in Center City, a lot of energy. We have selected a few of Rittenhouse Square’s most incredible young entrepreneurs and here are their stories...
American Royalty - Chaka Fattah Jr.
If you need anything, absolutely anything, and money is no object, Chaka Fattah Jr. is your man. He is the managing partner and founder of American Royalty, the only luxury concierge based in Philadelphia. Modeled after successful firms in New York, Miami, and LA, American Royalty and Fattah have established connections all over the world and will cater to your every need. When asked if he has encountered any interesting requests, the first thing that came to Fattah’s mind was “a client who requested a private jet at 3 am, a few hours prior to takeoff. I think he was just trying to test me.” Of course American Royalty came through, they are available for their clients 24 hours a day. For more information about American Royalty and Chaka’s entrepreneurial empire, please visit www.americanroyalty.com
Omoi – Elizabeth Sieber
Elizabeth Sieber could be working at a desk in some fashion accessories company, waiting until a higher-up gives her the chance to “be a Creative,” the kind with a capital C. Instead, she started her own boutique, Omoi (pronounced O-Moe-E) on Pine Street between 16th and 17th. Now, at only 25, she gets to pick out exactly what clothes, jewelry, and anything else to stock. Her philosophy for picking stock is “I carry what I like, what I’d want to buy.” Almost all of her finds are from independent artists and designers – she was the first person in Philadelphia to carry the now-ubiquitous Alex & Chloe jewelry – and much in her boutique is either directly from Japan or are Japanese-inspired. This isn’t so surprising; Sieber spent several years abroad in Japan, where her Japanese friends would insist on taking her shopping instead of showing her the sights. Sieber prefers to go by Liz, and she’s always ready to chat with anyone browsing about anything from where she finds the treasures in the store, including the new leather bags that found her featured in fashion magazine Lucky, to the music she has on, which, by the way, is always great. Come visit Liz and Omoi at 1608 Pine Street.
Henry Davidsen - Alex Avendano and Brian Lipstein
After graduating from Penn, Alex Avendano and Brian Lipstein wanted more out of life than to join their suit-wearing, investment banker friends. They wanted to dress them. So in January of 2006, as part of the Wharton Venture Initiation Program, they started Henry Davidsen. Named after Avendano’s grandfather, Henry Davidsen raises the bar of hand-tailored excellence as their suits are of the same quality as those made in Milan, just at a much more reasonable price. “A hand-tailored suit is an investment” says Lipstein, a certified Image Consultant, “and you will feel much more confident wearing something that fits.” Henry Davidsen is located at 1701 Spruce Street but Avendano and Lipstein are also available for custom fittings in the privacy of your office. Check out their website at www.henrydavidsen.com
Brownstone PR - Megan Smith
Megan is the founder and owner of Brownstone PR, a full-service public relations firm in Center City. She has played an instrumental role in organizing events such as ‘Gorgeous,’ held at XIX in June in conjunction with N Squared Productions and some of her clients are American Royalty, Odara Designs, The Mikel Jones Law Firm and Universitybay.com. Megan is also handling the PR efforts for the ‘Put It Down!’ anti-violence inititive headed by community activists and the Mayor’s office. For more information about Brownstone PR, check our her website at www.brownstonepr.com
Naked Chocolate Café – Sara Block
Since it opened in August of 2006, Naked Chocolate Café has been packed day and night with people enjoying everything from coffees, teas, and smoothies, to the more decadent desserts, exotic chocolates, and unimaginably yummy cupcakes. Its success – evident in many regular customer and, more recently, in being named one of the top ten places to eat chocolate in the entire world by USA Today as well as countless local news stories, is owed to Philly native Sara Block. Her father started Thomas Sweet in Princeton, but Naked Chocolate is one of a kind, and it comes from Block’s need to fulfill her desire for creating. “Starting your own business takes a lot of learning and adjusting to new responsibilities. You really get out of it what you put into it,” she says. Right now, Block, only 25, is getting to put her creative impulses to work, and better yet, she gets to do that side by side with her father, all the while giving her customer’s the delights that make them happy and keep them coming back. Take a peek in and see for yourself, Naked Chocolate is at 1315 Walnut Street.
Hobo Arona - Jaimie Krems
Jaimie Krems loves books. She loves them so much that it pained her to see epic novels from the 19th and 20th centuries waste away in used book stores. She thought, “how crazy would it look if I started writing in a book called Pulmonary Embolism in the park or one titled How to Teach the Church Catechism on the train? I found a favorite one, The Happy Hypocrite, appropriately titled for my life story” and that’s when she taught herself the art of hand book-binding. Late last year, Krems started ‘Hobo Arona’ and has been transforming these left-behind books (most which date from 1890-1960) into one-of-a-kind journals. Each book is made out of 90% recycled acid-free paper and comes with a little note from Hobo Arona herself. The most memorable pages are preserved and every book comes with an enlightening history of the author or story. A Ludwig Bemelman book comes with the story of how this author of the Madeline series shot a waiter at his uncle’s resort. Visit Hobo Arona at www.hoboarona.com
Capozzi’s Cozzies - Jen Capozzi
One of the best things about being Italian, as any Italian will tell you, is the food. It is a source of pride too, as Jen Capozzi, founder and baker of Capozzi’s Cozzies, says. “If they ever write any recipes down, they always change it a bit or leave something out so their cookies are better than everyone else’s!” Capozzi learned most of her recipes from her grandmother but it took her three years to come up with her most popular cookie: The Grizzly Bear. For Jen, baking is both fun and a way to keep her family’s tradition alive, and she knows her grandmother would be proud. Ever since Capozzi was young, she loved to bake. At times, she is baking until 2AM, searching for that perfect combination of almond extract and chocolate. Capozzi spends her days baking and working a 9-5 job until she can one day open her own café, where she hopes people can gather to talk over food, just like the Capozzi’s do.
