Old City businesses hope to show off their sober side

Old City is an intersection of fashion, art and design, says Edward Dormer, co-owner of Sugarcube, a clothing boutique on North 3rd Street, near Cherry.

"And not just free booze," a giggling Elisa Buratto, the store's co-owner, said during a discussion with Mayor Nutter, City Council members and others Friday night.

Widely known for the "First Friday" monthly art walks - and the booze-fueled nightlife that floods the neighborhood on the weekends - Old City is an area local business owners and community groups say has more to offer than what is on the surface.

Nutter and other city representatives, including Councilman Frank DiCicco, visited Old City businesses to get feedback on what the city could do better in the near future to help develop a stronger business environment, and increase foot traffic in the neighborhood - aside from the monthly First Friday art and free wine stroll.

Dormer said partying in the area has started to scare away customers. Buratto agreed, saying business owners in the neighborhood are looking for more balance in foot traffic and oversight of bad, often times drunken, behavior the neighborhood has become associated with.

"I would like to notice, maybe an undercover officer - well, maybe not see them," Dormer said laughing, "It would be nice to know that someone's watching."

Ellen Yin, owner of Fork restaurant, said many Philadelphians are unaware of the commercial and residential facets of Old City that some might argue gets lost in the gaggle of galleries and bars.

"This has been a real Mecca for shopping, for dining, for culture, for the arts," said Graham Copeland, executive director of Old City District, a community business improvement organization.

The group works to raise and reinvest money in the neighborhood which Yin said helps make the neighborhood more livable and economically competitive with other areas of the city.

Yin is on the board of directors for Old City District and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and has lived in the area for 13 years.

For Dormer, new businesses and attention from city officials leaves him feeling that more Philadelphians will soon realize that the neighborhood has a more wholesome and inclusive side to it.

"It's a sense of hope that things are changing," Dormer said, adding that new businesses opening up shop in the area and more families moving in has brought a sense of vitality to this historic community.

"It's not a vitality that's based just in night clubs," he said.