Issue date: 1/18/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Pat Calathes (right) pulls down a rebound during St. Joe’s 84-74 win last season. He will have to be contained if Penn hopes to get a win tomorrow. Vietnam Cafe, a new restaurant on Baltimore Ave., is the latest venue to open in that area. [Click to enlarge]

When deciding where to eat a dinner out, most students head east into Center City. Now there are a few reasons to head west instead.

Several new establishments have opened between 47th and 50th Streets on Baltimore Avenue in the last few months, a movement that has brought new life and positive attention to the area.

The newest addition to the group will be the Vietnam Cafe, a BYO opening just off 47th Street on Jan. 21.

Owner Benny Lai also owns the Fu-Wah deli next door and the popular Chinatown restaurant Vietnam. To maintain consistency in service and quality, Lai said he is bringing four of his staffers with him from the Vietnam restaurant.

Unlike Vietnam, Lai's new Cafe won't serve cocktails like the "Flaming Volcano."

On Baltimore Avenue, Lai is aiming for a calmer experience that brings his cuisine closer to some of his patrons.

"Lots of customers of Vietnam live in West Philly, that's why I'm bringing Vietnam close to home," he said.

Lai and his family - his father opened the deli located next to the Cafe - have been a fixture in the West Philadelphia neighborhood for over twenty years.

Lai said he hopes to bring a low-key, highly tasty atmosphere to the new Vietnam Cafe. He says, "We don't need fast food [here], we need family gourmet."

Neighborhood residents agreed - in four weeks, Lai's neighbors filled pages and pages with signatures in an effort to convince the zoning commission to approve the zoning requisite for opening a restaurant.

He got the zoning.

Rosemarie Certo found a similar amount of support when she opened Dock Street Brewery, located at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue, last August.

"People got so involved," she said.

According to Certo, neighborhood residents called City Hall, started a blog and signed petitions, all in an effort to help her get the zoning she needed.

The energy from the Baltimore Avenue businesses - new and old - has resonated with students as well.

College senior Chloe Nielsen said Dock Street's beer and pizza is the current reason she travels west.

"It's not like Center City or Old City," she said, even if heading west doesn't always feel as safe.

Prior to opening the restaurant, Certo said she had reservations that 50th and Baltimore was perhaps "a little too far out."

But now, she said, she has "realized what a special place it was," and that crime is an issue in any big city, not just Philadelphia.

Since Dock Street opened, she says, she has only dealt with one problematic incident - in which neighbors were so watchful they scared off the would-be thief.

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