How to Pitch Stories to Eater Philly

Eater Philly is a local news site based in Philadelphia that reports on restaurants and bars, chefs, dining and dining trends, food pop-ups and food trucks, and the business of restaurants throughout the city. It is part of the Eater network and under the Vox Media umbrella.

Eater Philly accepts pitches related to Philly’s food scene from freelance contributors on the following:

• Dining and drinking maps, guides, and food crawls related to neighborhoods, cities, and cuisines in the Philly area. Bonus if these maps and guides extend beyond Center City and feature places underrepresented in traditional food media.
• Reported features on local restaurants, bars, chefs, food trends, etc. Eater Philly gives particular preference to pitches that focus on changes in the world of eating and drinking related to the pandemic, climate change, and structural inequities perpetuated by the industry. We’re also open to agriculture, urban farming, and grocery pitches.
• Photography and illustrated stories featuring local restaurants or dining with a strong reported angle.
• Opinion pieces with a strong news hook and voice for our Eater Voices column.
• Timely news not already on Eater Philly’s radar.

The site rarely accepts pitches about recipes, home cooking, or food holidays (as in, National Hot Dog Day) or conduct restaurant reviews. While Eater Philly does occasionally accept opinion pieces and personal narratives, those pitches must come with a strong writing voice, clear conclusions, and a reason to exist on Eater Philly specifically.

All pitches should include a subject matter with a clear angle, then the body of the email should contain an overview of how the story will be structured and what the story hopes to conclude. The site typically follows AP style.

When submitting a pitch as a writer new to Eater Philly, please provide a short summary of who you are and why you want to write this story, as well as links to any previous relevant work, if you have them. Plus, feel free to ask questions!

Here are examples of what Eater Philly covers:

News

• Which Philly Businesses Received the Most Restaurant Relief Funds?
• Beloved Tamale and Birria Pop-Up Juana Tamale to Open a Brick-And-Mortar
• Lost Bread Co. Joins in Citywide Mission to Make Sure You Never Go Without Pizza
• Strivers’ Row, Philly’s First Latino-Owned Distillery, Is Making Small-Batch Whiskey in Kensington

Dining Guides and Maps

• The Great Big Guide to Philly’s Essential Asian Grocery Stores and Markets
• Where to Eat the Freshest Seafood in Philly
• Where Philly’s Cambodian Community Leaders Go to Eat
• A Day-Tripper’s Guide to Wineries Just Outside Philly
• 20 Bakeries for the Most Delicious Pastries, Cakes, and Baked Goods in Philly
• Philly’s Essential Bagel Shops

Reported Features

• Kombucha, Spiced Salmon, and the Occasional Airhead: How a Chef Feeds the Phillies
• Is Too Good to Go Actually Good for Philly?
• Inside the First Days at Down North, Where Ending Mass Incarceration Is More Important Than Pizza
• Our Beloved Middle Child Is All Grown Up
• The Chefs Who Left
• The Magical Early Morning Hours at Reading Terminal Market
• Meet Philip Korshak, the Bagel Poet of South Philly
• The Triumphantly Rowdy, Delightfully Off-Key Return of Karaoke to Philadelphia

Send pitches to Eater Philly editor Dayna Evans at dayna@eater.com or to philly@eater.com. Please put the word “Pitch” in the email subject line with a brief description of the story.

Tips are also welcomed, if you have an idea for a story but don’t want to write it. For sensitive information, there are several ways to reach out, detailed here.

Eater Philly tries to respond to every pitch. If it’s been three weeks and you haven’t heard, feel free to resubmit. If it’s a truly timely pitch, please let us know!