Today, Friday October 18th, Di Bruno Brothers opened the doors of their newest location, 9th and Chestnut, to the public. The Lighting Practice worked directly with the owner to create a welcoming ambiance that clearly displayed Di Bruno Bros.’s products and made their guests feel welcome.
What’s cooking? A fifth Di Bruno’s store
With the family business thriving nearly 75 years after its debut in South Philadelphia, the planned opening of a fifth Di Bruno Bros. store next Monday in the city’s Washington Square West neighborhood might strike some as a “So what?” moment.
It’s anything but, say city economic-development professionals and business owners in the downtown pocket where Di Bruno’s is bringing its high-end Italian foods market.
“They have amazing brand recognition,” said Ivy Olesh, vice president of marketing and business development at the quasi-public Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. (PIDC). “They really have the opportunity here to revitalize an area that needs a little bit more retail.”
Di Bruno’s co-owner Bill Mignucci Jr. said “bringing life into Ninth and Chestnut” is a primary goal of his company’s newest endeavor, located in 4,500 square feet on the ground floor of another family business – the historic Franklin apartments, purchased in 2011 by Korman Communities.
The former Benjamin Franklin Hotel, designed by acclaimed architect Horace Trumbauer and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, opened in 1925. Now with 415 apartment units; 90 furnished, short-term-stay suites; and 135,000 square feet of commercial space on four floors, the 18-story Franklin is undergoing an “eight-figure” renovation by Korman and investment partner Angelo, Gordon & Co., a New York-based hedge fund, said Mark Korman, president of Korman’s commercial division. Di Bruno’s has signed a 10-year lease with a 10-year renewal option.
With Di Bruno’s arrival, along with the recent addition of an old-school coffeehouse, Town Hall Coffee Co., just off the Franklin’s lobby, “folks are going to see this is a neighborhood to watch,” Korman said.
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