Graduate Hospital's New Treat Shops Opened in Storefronts a Full Kitchen Couldn't Use

Between May and August 2026, a loaded-potato counter, an ice cream parlor, a mousse-cake shop and a breakfast café opened along the 1400 through 1600 blocks of South Street. Graduate Hospital has never had a dining strip like Fishtown's or South Philly's. These four businesses have something in common. None of them needs the commercial exhaust hood a full-service restaurant kitchen requires, so each could open in a small space at a lower cost. That cost difference explains why this stretch of South Street filled in so quickly, and why the food arriving looks the way it does.

A Neighborhood That Walked North for Dessert

For years the snack-and-dessert errand meant leaving the neighborhood. In its August 21, 2026 story on the trend, The Philadelphia Inquirer described Graduate Hospital as "sorely lacking" in places to stop for a pastry or an ice cream cone. It pointed to Rittenhouse, a few blocks north, as the place that filled the gap. The 200 block of 20th Street alone, between Walnut and Spruce, has 1-900-Ice-Cream, which opened in 2022, along with All Aboard Candy and Biederman's.

The same Inquirer piece explains why Graduate Hospital didn't grow its own version. The redevelopment that changed the neighborhood's housing between the late 1990s and early 2010s brought comparatively few small businesses and restaurants. Unlike Fishtown and South Philly, Graduate Hospital "has no established restaurant corridor."

That history matters for what came next. Opening a full restaurant on a block with no dining traffic is a big bet. A counter that sells ice cream or baked potatoes is a much smaller one.

What Skipping the Exhaust Hood Saves

The Inquirer traced the 2026 openings to "nimble operators with no need for the ventilation systems required at most full-service restaurants," which let them open "after footing comparatively light construction costs."

Mod Spuds is the clearest example. Chef Ange Branca told the Inquirer that her loaded-potato shop on the 1400 block "needed a place that is a fine balance between good traffic, neighborhood-y, and affordable." The space's limited kitchen has no room for an exhaust hood, and that kept her rent down. She called the location perfect despite, or even because of, its reputation as a "less desirable block." She also found out after opening that the shop sits on Graduate Hospital residents' commute home from jobs in Center City, according to the same report.

So the storefronts a sit-down restaurant would pass over became the ones a treat shop could afford.

The 1400 to 1600 Blocks, Door by Door

The four businesses opened across three blocks between May and August 2026, with three of them on the 1600 block. Here is the stretch from east to west.

Mod Spuds, 1424 South St.

Mod Spuds opened on May 15, 2026. Chef Ange Branca and the Kampar team run it. Philly Grub listed toppings that include Malaysian beef rendang, chili con carne, chicken tikka masala, BBQ jackfruit, and a Philly cheesesteak version. The Mod Spuds website lists the shop as open Wednesday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and closed Tuesday. A baked potato needs an oven, not a fryer line, which is why this menu works in a space without a hood.

Winners Ice Cream, 1610 South St.

Owner Anh Nguyen opened Winners in June and makes the hard-scoop ice cream in house. The Inquirer's opening coverage named flavors including Major Mint Chip, MVPeanut Butter Crunch, Champ Chocolate and Sweet Success 'Smores. In the Inquirer's August trend story, Nguyen said most of his customers are neighborhood residents and families. He described his goal this way: "My aim is to win the block, then win the city. I love being the neighborhood ice cream parlor, somewhere for families to go celebrate and make memories."

Sweet Mousse, 1622 South St.

Sweet Mousse sells mousse cakes, fruit tarts, tiramisu, panna cotta, cupcakes, layered cakes and drinks, according to its website, which also takes online orders. The Inquirer's August 12 drinks-trend story singled out its banana-shaped mousse cake with a dark-chocolate center. Its listed Friday and Saturday hours run to 10 p.m., the latest of the four.

Sandpiper Café, 1640 South St.

Sandpiper soft-opened in August as a counter-service breakfast and lunch café. Hoodline reported a menu of customizable breakfast burritos, bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches, salads, smoothies and barista coffee. Its Toast ordering page lists 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and shows the breakfast burrito and cold brew among its popular items. It is the only one of the four that opens early enough for a weekday coffee run.

Each business covers a different part of the day. Sandpiper handles the morning, Mod Spuds the lunch hour and the commute home, and Winners and Sweet Mousse the evening.

Off South Street, the Kitchen Decides the Format

The two next openings nearby show the same math from opposite ends.

DePaul's Pronto, 917 S. 20th St. The team behind Ardmore's DePaul's Table steakhouse has taken the former Southside Pizza space for a takeout-focused Italian American spot, WhatNow reported on October 20. Owner Anthony DePaul told the Inquirer that customers will order at the counter or through self-service kiosks. There will be a few dine-in tables but no table service, along with pickup and delivery. The menu covers pizza, pasta, handhelds and salads, along with filet mignon, double-cut lamb chops and braised short ribs. Family bundles include "The Game Day," which comes with two large pizzas, 20 wings and garlic knots. WhatNow's report put the expected opening in late November. The DePaul's Pronto website lists hours and takes orders online.

Jezabel's, 617 S. 24th St. Jezabel Careaga's Argentine bakery and restaurant first opened in Fitler Square in 2010. In March, the Inquirer reported her plan for a new location at 617 S. 24th St., between South and Bainbridge Streets, on the ground floor of a new building. It is designed as a hybrid bakery and restaurant, with an open kitchen, a front counter for coffee, pastries and empanadas, a 24-seat dining room with table service, and a rear garden. The larger kitchen gives her room for plated dishes like steak and pasta, and the plan calls for seven-day bakery and lunch service first, with dinner to follow. In the Inquirer's August story, Careaga said the children who used to stop at her bakery after school are now grown, some with children of their own. "It makes me so happy to think that the traditions we started years ago can continue with another generation," she said.

The one plan with a 24-seat dining room and a kitchen built for plated dinners is going into a new building. The South Street shops run as counters, and DePaul's Pronto on 20th Street is set up as a counter too.

The Strip's First November

All four South Street shops opened between May and August 2026, so this is their first cold season. The two dessert counters have mostly been tested in warm weather, so it's worth checking hours before a walk over. Sweet Mousse and Mod Spuds post current hours on their own sites. Sandpiper's are on its Toast page, and Winners is best checked directly.

A cold-weather loop down South Street could look like this:

1. Morning: a breakfast burrito and cold brew at Sandpiper, 1640 South St., from 7 a.m.
2. Midday or after work: a rendang or chili potato at Mod Spuds, 1424 South St., any day but Tuesday.
3. Evening: a mousse cake to take home from Sweet Mousse, 1622 South St., open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

There is a reason to be out on a Saturday morning in mid-November, too. Carpenter Green Park is holding its fall Love Your Park volunteer event on November 14, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Sandpiper's 7 a.m. opening leaves time for coffee first.

Changes like a new counter on South Street or a takeout kitchen on 20th Street affect how a block feels to the people who live on it. If you own in Graduate Hospital and want to talk about how changes like these show up on your own block, Arielle Roemer is glad to share what she's seeing street by street. Schedule a Consultation whenever the timing suits you.