Besides a bowling alley, it was also, back in the 1890s, once a market, and that aspect is something Gavigan would like to directly revive every Sunday. “I like that it’s had so many uses,” he says.  “It’s always been [I guess, porno theater included] about bringing people together,” he says. And Gavigan et al are doing that by tapping into their extended networks.

With Kessler, whose brother is an organic farmer in Macungie, PA, assisting on planning, both he and Gavigan assert that with spring, produce vendors will join them in the space every Sunday. They’re starting out with a focus to keep it as local as possible: they hope to bring in La Finquita, an urban farm which is situated nearby on Master between 4^th and 5^th.

Of course, Tim and Anna Hitchens are also helping to bring in vendors. Anna, who worked with Kessler and his business partner Zach Urbanski while the three of them were working at Town Hall Coffee in Center City, brought in Jessa Stevens of Inspired Brews for this market day after her and Tim met Stevens at Bible study in South Philly.

Bacon, egg, and cheese from The Farm Truck.

Kessler and Urbanski updated me on Peddler Coffee’s launch after I tore through a delicious bacon, egg, and cheese from The Farm Truck that was parked outside in order to offer the stated brunch component of the market (French toast was the only other thing on hand at the truck when I got there; the market ran from 10a.m. to 3p.m. though times may change moving forward). As with vendors, the plan is to rotate in different trucks each month.