Wear Your Cheesesteak Love On Your Sleeve With Geno’s New Apparel Store — And Other Intel

— Famed South Philly cheesesteakery Geno’s Steaks is beefing up its non-edible offerings, having launched a new online store offering quite the variety of Geno’s-branded gear. Geno’s did already sell some items out of its home base, but now anyone in the States can get it from Genosgear.com, meaning there’s no need to schlep down there in person if you feel a strong compulsion to show your loyalty to one particular eatery via the medium of clothing.

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— Seven years after opening, hit Rittenhouse Square coffee shop Elixr is expanding, writes the Philadelphia Business Journal. They have second location coming to the Goldtex building (on 12th and Wood) in Callowhill, and it’ll be both a cafe and roastery. Expect it sometime around June.

— Relatively new Philly-adjacent craft distillery Boardroom Spirits is releasing a liquor distilled entirely from raw carrots. Called “C” (for carrot, right?), details on the flavor profile and so forth are scarce, with Boardroom just calling it a “specialty spirit”. It’s not clear that this was something the market needed or wanted, but Boardroom did put out a beet liqueur last year, so perhaps a cleansing shot of carrotshine is quietly in high demand.

— Adding to the recent flurry of support for immigrant communities from restaurants in Philly and beyond, chef Jose Garces is putting on a big fundraiser for his charitable organization, the Garces Foundation. There’s a lengthy list of chefs taking part, from Kevin Sbraga to Peter Woolsey (and many more), but it’ll set you back at least $150 — for a good cause, though.

— Speaking of good causes, East Passyunk’s P’unk Burger has introduced a bunch of shakes made with Girl Scout Cookies. Obviously buying cookies to make the shakes helps Girl Scouts, but P’unk will also donate $1 per shake to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania. Owner Marlo Dilks on the rationale: ”anything that helps girls realize their potential is worth investing in.” Flavors available are Caramel Delight, Toasted S’mores, Thin Mint, Chocolate PBJ, and Cinnamon Shortbread.

— Back to Jose Garces, the chef/restaurant magnate is opening three new restaurants simultaneously over in Atlantic City, all at the Tropicana — Japanese izakaya Okatshe, Ecuadorian-leaning Olón, and a beach bar-themed companion, Bar Olón. All are set to open March 4.

— Will you be able to buy beer at Wawa stores in Pennsylvania in the future? Maybe: the convenience store-slash-gas-station is trialling it in one location outside Philadelphia, and is pondering expanding it beyond that. But Wawa stores need to be of a certain size and have “restaurant style seating” (because nothing conjures up restaurant imagery quite like a Wawa store) to meet state laws for selling alcohol, so it’s probably not arriving anytime soon.

• Geno’s Gear [Official]
• Center City coffee shop opening 2nd Philadelphia location [Philadelphia Business Journal]
• Philly Restaurants Declare Themselves “Sanctuaries” in Response to Trump [EPHL]
• Think Local, Give Local [Garces Foundation]
• Delco Wawa To Offer Beer Sales, Restaurant-Style Seating [ABC]