The birthplace of the hoagie and cheesesteak, South Philadelphia is dotted with sandwich shops, pizzerias and bodegas.
What about the corner store that sells mostly organic, vegan food served in 100% compostable containers?
Not so much.
When customers at LUHV Food’s deli stand in Reading Terminal Market requested a second location in Center City, owners Daniel and Sylvia Lucci and their children moved beyond 19103 and 19107 to bring the Point Breeze neighborhood to life. I turned to
» Read more: The Luccio family is investing in vegan food
They opened the LUHV bistro last weekend in a former dental office on 19th and Ellsworth streets.
“We wanted to bring healthy food to urban areas,” said LUHV Patriarch Silvia Lucci.
The menu draws from the LUHV Bistro in Hatboro and the LUHV counter inside Weaver’s Way Corp in Ambler. Enjoy made-to-order sandwiches, soups, wraps, and salads in-store or to-go. All plant-based, mostly nut and gluten free.
What makes the new Point Breeze store different is its market-like approach. In addition to the counter, there is a refrigerator stocked with packaged foods such as 1-pound containers of LUHV’s chicken salad and kale and lentil potato salad, as well as vegan deli-style “meats” such as ham, capicola, corned beef, and bacon. It’s kind of a corner deli approach. “I thought it might be a good idea to buy some bacon and make a sandwich with my own bread,” says Lucci.
This LUHV store also has dining rooms on the first and second floors, serving complete meals from the freezer case. The $12 microwaveable menu includes saffron risotto with crab cakes, Mediterranean pasta, and cheese ravioli with puttanesca sauce.
You’ll also find LUHV frozen products out there, such as the 8-ounce “meat” packs sold at big-box grocery stores like Mom’s Organic Market and Whole Foods.
She calls this approach “Panera and Wawa combined.”
Takeout packaging is fully recyclable. LUHV is a partner of rePurpose Global, an organization that promotes ethical waste management. Unlike most similar eateries, LUHV serves food for in-house dining on washable plates.
Argentinian immigrants, the Lucci family started their restaurant business in Bucks County a quarter-century ago. First was Cafe Con Leche in Newtown, then Patagonia in Richboro.
After Silvia Lucci suffered a stroke in 2012, her husband, a chef, started cooking vegan meals to help her recover. Among David Lucci’s dishes was an “energy soup” that combines kale, quinoa, beans, seaweed and flaxseed.
Silvia Lucci said she is currently in very good health.
The family turned away from those restaurants and opened LUHV in their Hatboro storefront in 2016. LUHV has begun producing frozen foods, especially energy soups, and vegan his burgers made with black beans, plantains and roasted poblanos in-store. Recently, LUHV expanded its wholesale business and in Bucks County he opened a 6,000-square-foot kitchen.
To add charm to the upstairs dining room, Silvia Lucci commissioned artist Gilly Juniper to create three painted doors that hang on the walls.
“This is the story I tell. When you enter veganism, you go through one of three doors: the environmental door, the health door, the ethical door,” she said. Behind each door is a message explaining the impact of a vegan diet.
“The idea is to make these kinds of foods accessible to everyone without having to go to a high-end market,” she says.