At Philly’s first caviar kiosk, the sidewalk outside of the Four Seasons Hotel is bumping

When you open an ice cream shop, bakery, or most any other kind of food shop, you offer samples.

When Lauren Biederman launched Philadelphia’s first outdoor caviar kiosk last Saturday, she said, “one of the guys who works for me told me people are probably going to want to taste stuff.”

At $145 an ounce, though?

In mid-afternoon, a customer excitedly spotted Biederman posing for photos with a “bump” of caviar on the back of her hand. “He’s like, ‘Why don’t we sell those?’” Biederman said.

Biederman initially priced the bumps at $8, but later raised them to $10 or $20, depending on the variety. You get about an eighth of an ounce of caviar.

Picture the scene then at 19th and Arch Streets, outside of the Four Seasons Hotel and Comcast Technology Center: about a hundred people licking blobs of osetra off their hands and eating blinis topped with caviar, smoked salmon, and crème fraîche.

Philly’s Grey Poupon moment hit Instagram in a flash. “I was literally on my way downtown when I saw their post, so I made a detour to stop by the stall,” said Danielle Boykin, who blogs about fashion, food, and sustainability. “I’ve never had caviar before, so I was excited to try it. The whole thing became an experience, especially while watching the fancy cars and people go by.”

Biederman’s Caviar is an offshoot of Biederman’s, the appetizing store she opened in late 2021 near the Italian Market. It’s known for its sliced-to-order smoked fish.

Besides bumps, the glass case along the kiosk’s front displays tins of caviar and roe from Regalis Foods (an importer), assorted accoutrements like mother-of-pearl spoons and servers; crème fraîche, whitefish salad, and packaged smoked salmon; and desserts, such as macarons, for the box lunches that are on the way.

A printed guide to the caviar offers detailed tasting notes, such as “rich, nutty, buttery, and luscious“ for the $75-an-ounce Regalis Italian.

Champagne and sparkling wine may be offered later, Biederman said.

The real estate brokerage MSC represents the Comcast Center’s retail space, which includes two newsstand-like kiosks along the 1800 block of Arch Street that were part of architect Norman Foster’s design.

MSC’s Jacob Cooper and Stefanie Gabel approached Biederman about setting up a copy of her store in the kiosk closest to the hotel entrance. “I thought from the very beginning that the Four Seasons is the epitome of luxury and this would be an amazing brand partnership with somebody local,” Cooper said.

Biederman, 29, was not interested in setting up what she called “another sliced fish enterprise.”

They decided that caviar and tinned fish, plus other, mostly nonperishable items, would work.

The deal went down so quickly that Biederman did not have time to do a traffic study to determine shop hours. For now, the kiosk is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

Laurel Hastings, a vascular surgeon who stopped Saturday, called the kiosk “a delicious addition to our food scene that flies in the face of the quiet luxury trend. Quiet luxury is out. Caviar bumps are in.”