Southern Fried 52nd Street (Repost from Hidden City Gems)

This excerpt is from https://hiddencityphila.org/2015/09/at-52nd-and-spruce-an-epic-spot-is-still-empty/

" Southern Fried 52nd Street

George T. Wake bought the building and the old row house next door in 1987. Wake, known as “Big George,” spent the next year making plans for a soul food restaurant and renovating the fire-damaged building. The biggest change Wake would make was the addition of a “sun room,” a glass enclosure that would wrap around the corner. Because it encroached five and a half feet into the sidewalk, City Council had to pass an ordinance to allow it. Afterward, Wake went back and forth with zoning officials over the large sign that he would add to the façade.

The lights went out at Big George’s Stop-N-Dine in 2005. The restaurant was a cultural staple of the S. 52nd Street commercial corridor | Photo: Michael Bixler

Big George’s Stop-N-Dine opened in 1988 and immediately became one of the neighborhood’s most famous and celebrated establishments. Lines wrapped around the block on Sunday mornings. The breakfasts and desserts at Big Geroge’s Stop-N-Dine were considered by locals to be the best in town. Wake himself became a well-known philanthropist who contributed heavily to the community.

On February 13th, 1998, Big George’s Stop-N-Dine received national attention when then President Bill Clinton and Mayor Rendell stopped by with a cadre of Philadelphia politicians. They chowed down on $81 worth of Big George’s soul food. A crowd formed at the corner to greet the President Clinton who came out to shake their hands.

In 2005, Wake was ready to upgrade the operation. His plans included a massive renovation of the diner that would include an extension of the sun room into the building next door. Plans were initiated, contractors were engaged, and approvals went through. There was even a City Council ordinance signed by Mayor Nutter allowing the encroachment into the sidewalk by the new sunroom addition. Big George’s closed for the renovations, which did in fact begin, but the popular restaurant never reopened. Despite rumors in the press that it would reopen in time for President Obama’s visit in October 2008, Big George’s remained closed. In November of 2008, George Wake Incorporated owed the City of Philadelphia $223,897.57 in delinquent business taxes. Wake filed for bankruptcy with the United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania in August 2009.

The building has been listed for sale three separate times over the last decade and a half. It is currently on the market for $389,000."

We, Building Blocks Party Participants  cherish Big George's legacy here on 52nd Street and will affectionately refer to Fitty Duece as Big George's Way, as the curator of this year's Building Blocks Party, Poetica's father would bring her as a girl to big George's and she loved the baked wings. 

Poetica Bey created the street sign dedication mock ups for Father's Day.