Once hope for Frankford’s future,
eatery is part of the past

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Joan Oliveto put on a brave face at last week’s Frankford Business and Professional Association meeting, held at mozaic, the restaurant she opened in September 2006 and nurtured as a hub for good food and entertainment in the community.
The occasion was a sad one for Oliveto. mozaic, whose doors had a special greeting to welcome diners and patrons of the arts — "Peace to all who enter" — was closed by the businesswoman on Dec. 7.
Oliveto will honor commitments for holiday parties booked at the establishment, as well as a birthday bash for Frankford resident and legendary jazz drummer Butch Ballard, but it’s no longer business as usual.
In a sense, last week’s association meeting was a bit of a wake, an opportunity for friends, other business owners and acquaintances to offer words of support and enjoy a last lunch from Oliveto’s kitchen at 4524 Frankford Ave.
"I’m inconsolable. I’ve grieved this more than the death of my parents," Oliveto said.
By all accounts, mozaic’s live jazz on Saturday nights packed in the crowds, a popular music event that gave the impression the restaurant was doing much better than it actually was.
"Unfortunately, Saturday nights couldn’t sustain us," Oliveto explained. "By rights I should have closed in August but I wanted to wait and see what happened when everyone came back from (summer) vacations."
When Oliveto labored to debut her restaurant as a trendy newcomer to Frankford Avenue, other business owners and Frankford activists had high hopes for mozaic as a flagship for the neighborhood’s revitalization.
"From where I’m sitting, mozaic is the last wind in the sail," said Gil Pons, owner of Gilbert’s Antiques, in a 2005 Times story about efforts to revive Frankford’s business district.
In October, during a meeting of the community organization Future of Frankford, the city’s planning director, Janice Woodcock, described Frankford as being at a "tipping point." The hope among some members of the local business community is that mozaic’s closing won’t tip the scales in the wrong direction.
Oliveto, whose decision to close put four employees out of work, hopes that whoever takes over the turnkey business doesn’t do away with the artwork in the restaurant’s entry and restroom, or her fuchsia wall of fame where musicians who brought Oliveto’s vision to life signed their names behind a black velvet curtain.
Word of mozaic’s demise quickly became fodder for discussion on the Web site Phillyblog.com. Visitors to the message board generally lamented the restaurant’s brief lifespan, with some suggesting that mozaic deserved a better fate than trying to make it in Frankford.
Oliveto is dismayed by Frankford-bashing. In fact, she logged on to the site, opening to a thread called Happenings at mozaic, and delivered her own appeal.
"Please, please, please don’t turn this thread into a Frankford bash," Oliveto wrote. "This thread is full of wonderful memories. mozaic has always been the neutral ground of the community. . . . Yes, I’m able to face the cold hard facts, but please, not here. . . .
"The community of Frankford has welcomed mozaic and me with open arms," she continued. "I’ve had the rare opportunity to fulfill a dream, and even rarer, the opportunity to expand my circle of loved ones. The word grateful seems trite. The small beacon of light mozaic brought to Frankford is far from dimmed."
Oliveto added a post-script: "Unity is more than just the name of a street in Frankford."
Though she’ll be distributing her resume during a job search in the coming weeks, Oliveto will remain anchored in Frankford while helping to rejuvenate FrankfordStyle, a community arts organization, in early 2008. The program, to be based out of St. Mark’s Church, will offer traditional arts, music and drama programs, as well as personal enrichment classes like tai chi and stress management.
"I’m Frankford’s self-appointed cultural activist," Oliveto said. ••
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com