Rival Bros and Bodhi Coffee Solidify Philadelphia's Coffee Scene

 Part One: Rival Bros.

Rival Bros Coffee Mobile Truck

Two coffee shops opened within the last few weeks that emphasize the rapid maturation of Philadelphia's coffee scene. At the corner of 24th and Lombard Jonathan Adams (a.k.a. Johnny Mac), and Damien Pileggi opened their brick and mortar Rival Bros. Coffee.  They started serving their in-house roasted coffee out of a truck in West Philadelphia in 2011.  The truck is still around but it's now used only for private events.  Ryan Katrina of Neuarmy Surplus Co designed the "Pistols" coffee sign.


It's an uber-cool space.  The interior decor was a family affair, with Jonathan and Damien coming up with the general feel and their wives working on the final design (both wives have backgrounds in interior design).

"Johnny Mac" behind the bar

There's a rock and roll rebellious vibe to the truck that the boys were able to bring to their cafe that, at the same time, is welcoming and quite chill.  The music is killer (think The Black Angels, La Femme, Jack White and Cosmonauts)  and the food is an interesting selection of sweet and savory treats from High Street (think cannoli danish and ramp scone).    I'm told that once the weather heats up, ice cream will be added to the menu.

When I walked in the first week they were open, Johnny and Damien were behind the bar pulling shots and making sure everything ran smoothly. There's only a few tables and if you can grab one, it's fun people watching or just chatting with your coffee-mate or nearest neighbor.   The house blended "Whistle & Cuss" and "Revolver" are both medium roast blends and Rival also offers single origin lighter roasts.

Damien Pileggi and Jonathan Adams, Owners, Rival Bros

Both boys are self taught and are quickly rising to the top of the Philly roasting scene.  Damien started at La Colombe and Jonathan's background is a self taught chef with experience at Davio's, David Fields' Salt, and finishing up at as the Chef de Cuisine at Pub & Kitchen and Avalon's Diving Horse.  The food world's loss is Philadelphia's coffee scene's gain.

 Part Two, Bodhi Coffee

14 blocks away in Washington Square West Bodhi Coffee just opened their second coffeehouse on South 10th Street.  The vibe here is quite a contrast to Rival.

The space is larger with three distinctive areas for sitting with a cup of Stumptown or Elixr.   There's a communal table in the front and off to the side is a separate room where two West facing windows allow for some nice soft natural light. There's also a patio out back that contains a tiny garden.  The decor is very clean with minimal decoration and no ambient music.  When  I visited on the first day and it was relatively quiet.  I enjoyed a cortado roasted by Elixr coffee one of the best micro-roasters out there (they also have their own cafe at 207 S Sydenham Street between 15th and 16th Streets). Bodhi's newest cafe is a great place to grab some of the best coffee in the city and work on your computer or chill with a friend for some quiet conversation.

Seating in the patio garden

Links

CoffeeGuru features over 7,000 independent coffeehouses in the US, Canada, UK and Ireland. Download the app here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coffeeguru-indie-coffeehouses/id547969523?mt=8

Two Beautiful Coffeehouses In Philadelphia

Rival Bros

Bodhi Coffee

Neuarmy Surplus