The Frankford spirit

By Jon Campisi
Times Staff Writer

For Herb Frayer, the decision to open a business in Frankford was a no-brainer.
After all, the middle-aged merchant with a perpetual smile and a good attitude was born and raised in this lower Northeast neighborhood.
And while he has since moved away, he probably spends more time in Frankford than ever before, operating a six-day-a-week dry cleaning business on Frankford Avenue.
"It just seemed like the logical thing to do. I felt most comfortable here," Frayer said of his decision to open S & A Cleaners on the commercial corridor eight years ago.
Frayer, who said his mother still resides in Frankford, knows a lot of people in the community, which is evidenced by the frequent interruptions during an impromptu interview last week with the Times; customers or friends would stop in to drop off clothes, pose a dry cleaning question or just engage in friendly chatter.
And so it is for many thriving business owners in Frankford, especially those with operations along "The Avenue," the community’s main commercial strip, a locale that attracts foot traffic from those who live and work nearby.
But there’s an interesting dichotomy to this region. While there are some success stories like Frayer’s, it’s also hard to ignore the empty storefronts that signify failed ventures.
Currently, around 143 businesses operate along Frankford’s main drag; an additional 50-plus still sit vacant, according to Tracy O’Drain, manager of economic development programs for the Frankford Community Development Corporation.
There are many more businesses in Frankford as a whole, outside of the downtown area; O’Drain puts this number at between 400 and 600 but said she was unsure of an exact figure.
The key to attracting both business owners and patrons to the region, in O’Drain’s view, is to market Frankford as a place where mom-and-pop-type shops can make a name for themselves.
The unique nature of the businesses in Frankford, she said, should be attraction enough.
"There are different factors that are unique to me," O’Drain said during a recent interview at the CDC’s headquarters, a house-turned-office at 4900 Griscom St.
O’Drain talked about the pizza shop that once tried to change its sauce recipe but had to switch back because regulars complained. Or the hardware store that carried an item she needed, which surprisingly couldn’t be found at a big-box home improvement store. Then there’s the upholstery shop that caters to clientele all around the greater Philadelphia region.
For O’Drain, the stories just go to show that it is possible for a business to succeed in Frankford.
"There are a lot of people here who are unique in what they do, and have been around a long time doing it," she said.
Take, for instance, Mario Bianchi.
The Italian immigrant opened Leandro’s Pizza House, at 4501 Frankford Ave., 45 years ago. He ran the business for four decades before selling to Sam Balech five years ago. But that doesn’t mean Bianchi disappeared.
On the contrary, the energetic former owner can be seen hustling around the shop on a daily basis, making sure things are being run properly.
This doesn’t seem to bother Balech, who, despite his Lebanese background, seems to fare perfectly well in running the Italian eatery.
"The quality is the best," Balech said of why customers keep coming back.
"Nobody can beat us with the quality."
Balech said Leandro’s was one of the first businesses to be located under the Market-Frankford El. The noise from the elevated train is something Bianchi and his staff have grown accustomed to over the years, and perhaps even something that lends a unique touch to the eat-in and takeout restaurant.
Balech admits that running a business is tough, but the highlight of today’s difficulties don’t seem to be location; escalating prices for ingredients such as flour are the culprit. Still, the rising overhead costs haven’t trickled down to the customers just yet, something Leandro’s prides itself on.
"If we raised anything, people complain," Balech said.
In a city like Philadelphia, where pizza shops seem to be located on every street corner, Leandro’s stands out among the competition, Balech said. The reason — taste and service.
"Some people drive forty-five minutes for the pizza," Balech said of Leandro’s pies, which have been made the same way since the shop’s inception.
It’s at this moment that Bianchi emerges from the back room, walking with a bounce in his step not found on most people his age, especially those who spent 40-plus years on their feet in front of a hot pizza oven.
"This place is history," Bianchi said. "(People) remember the smell of the pizza," and they recall coming here when they were kids.
Leandro’s appears to be the quintessential mom-and- pop shop, a place where generation after generation has passed through its doors.
The CDC’s O’Drain said a perception of Frankford as a crime-ridden neighborhood is one of the reasons would-be business owners are reluctant to open places on the Avenue, but perception isn’t always reality, Bianchi said.
"It’s not worse," he said of the changes he has seen in the community over the years. "Frankford isn’t bad."
Like Frayer, the dry cleaner, Bianchi doesn’t live in Frankford, but he probably spends more time here than anywhere else. His impression of Frankford — just another city neighborhood that has the ups and downs found in any urban area.
"That’s with any neighborhood, not just in Frankford," he said of the quality-of-life problems plaguing his community and others. "Some things change, some things stay the same."
Pete Perez has worked at Leandro’s since 1975. Having recently lost his wife of 13 years, Margaret, or "Peggy," to cancer, Perez considers the shop not only his place of employment, but a refuge that helps him keep his sanity. He attributes the calming atmosphere to a friendly customer base, something that, despite what some may say, he sees as inherently Frankford.
"We have a lot of nice customers," he said of the patrons, many of whom are regulars, who frequent the shop.
A little way down from Leandro’s, at 4529 Frankford Avenue, is Gilbert’s Upholstery. The business, which specializes in fabric restoration and antiques, is run by brothers Gilbert and Rick Pons. Gilbert’s originally opened in 1970 at 1627 Orthodox St. but relocated after the owners found an available storefront on the main corridor.
"There were new stores opening up on the Avenue and the CDC told us to take another look at the Avenue," Gilbert Pons said on the decision to relocate. "We saw this great building and we purchased it. The building was pretty well a good fit for us."
The upholstery business was started by their father, Gilbert Pons Sr., and the brothers took it over in 1995. Their decision to keep the business in Frankford stemmed from the fact that they are still proud of the neighborhood in which they were raised.
"We got excited when there was a lot of new activity coming onto the Avenue," Gilbert said. "We thought the Avenue was going to have an upswing."
But once again, conversation turned toward unfortunate circumstances that feed Frankford’s perception problem. Gilbert acknowledged that it can be difficult for a business to remain in the area.
First and foremost, he said, an entrepreneur has to have patience if he is to succeed.
"You have to have a lot of years to make the business grow," he said.
Oftentimes, people bail out too early. But not the Pons family. They’ve had nearly 40 years to build clientele and develop relationships.
"It’s really the quality of the work that keeps the client base coming back," Gilbert said.
On the location issue, Gilbert said having a good customer base to start with can make all the difference in the world.
"If you have a client base, it (Frankford) is a good place to be," he said. "If you’re going to start from scratch, you need to have the capital to back you."
As they watched their fathers work, Stephen, 8, Gilbert’s son, and his 10-year-old cousin, Ricky, Rick’s son, contemplated whether they would help perpetuate the family name.
"I might, it’s iffy," Ricky said on the possibility of one day taking over Gilbert’s Upholstery.
Stephen has other plans.
"I’m going to try and be a golfer," he said.
Despite their young ages, the two cousins have a pretty good idea of what it’s going to take for Frankford to once again get on the map, at least from a business perspective.
"I guess we need to bring in young people," Ricky said, before Stephen jokingly added, "Because all the old people are going to die or move out."
Sounding wise beyond his years, Ricky then spoke of the importance of ushering in fresh new faces that will be representatives of the business contingent in the neighborhood.
"Everyone’s getting old, and we need to bring in a whole new group of people to take on stuff," he said.
Frayer, the dry cleaner, couldn’t agree more.
"We definitely need more businesses in the community," he said. "I would encourage anyone (to pursue) self-employment. You can pretty much write your own ticket. It’s definitely tough, but just like life, you get what you make out of it."
Robert Cramer has his own take on things.
Cramer, who with his brother, Warren, runs Cramer’s Uniforms at 4533 Frankford Ave., said Frankford is a good place to have a business strictly from a geographical standpoint.
"It’s a great location for a lot of people in the city to get to," he said. "It’s very conveniently located."
Cramer did acknowledge Frankford has its share of crime and safety issues, but he said that shouldn’t discourage people from shopping here.
"During the day, it’s fine," he said. "It’s very vibrant."
But Cramer does have one wish — to see an expanded client base.
"There’s not a lot of people from Frankford who shop on the Avenue," he said. "It’s not like we get walk-in traffic or window traffic. Our clientele comes to see us."
His business isn’t too affected, however, since people are always in need of school and gym uniforms. (With all the schools in the area in particular, he said, Cramer’s does fairly well, even if clients are from outside the community, including parents who work nearby). Then there’s the fact that there are four other Cramer’s locations; the business was started by the brothers’ grandfather sometime before World War II.
Still, Cramer said it would be nice to see more patronage by those strolling the Avenue. After all, this Northeast native still holds Frankford in high regard.
"Frankford is as good as any of them," he said, referring to the other Cramer’s locations. "We’re in Frankford forever."
O’Drain, of the community development corporation, said the Cramer’s case is an example of all that is right with the Frankford business community.
"There’s so much here to capitalize on, that we should look at it and appreciate it," she said.
O’Drain said her first job title in Frankford was business district liaison. Her task — to build relationships with businesses, and help guide entrepreneurs through the concerns they had about operating a business in the area. Today, she finds herself doing essentially the same thing with her job at the CDC.
As for marketing Frankford as a destination itself, and not just a stop on the way to somewhere else, O’Drain had this to say:
"If you take away the monstrosity of the El Bridge, it’s not the cleanest looking thing ... but if you take that away ... and you start really looking at the businesses individually, it’s not that scary of a place," she said. "It’s not scary at all. These are good people working hard trying to make a living for their families, and if you really look hard in Frankford, you can find things that are so interesting." ••
Reporter Jon Campisi can be reached at 215-354-3038 or jcampisi@phillynews.com