White Dog Cafe

About the Business

Specialties

White Dog Cafe is open daily serving lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Known for creative menus, using the highest quality farm-fresh ingredients and humanely raised meats and poultry, our menus capture the best local, seasonal and sustainably grown foods available. Our inspiring menus are complemented with an American wine list, local craft beers, and seasonal specialty cocktails and refreshing mocktails served with warm hospitality.

History

Established in 1983.

The cafe began in January, 1983 as a take-out coffee and muffin shop on the first floor of Judy Wicks' house at 3420 Sansom St. where the front half of the bar is today. The menu soon expanded to soup and sandwiches which were made in Judy's upstairs kitchen, and seating expanded to the back of the house where the first dining room is and into the second house, 3422 Sansom. Soon there was a charcoal grill out back where hot food was turned out and seats were added in the backyard where the porch was later built. Dishes were washed by hand in a sink in the corner of the large dining room. As winter approached, the outdoor grill was enclosed in plastic with a chimney and the chef wore a parka and boots. Waiters went through the basement to pick up the food. The next January, cold weather forced the closing of the outdoor kitchen... [read more at www.whitedog.com]

Meet the Business Owner

Business owner information

Marty G.

Business Owner

Martin (Marty) Grims is a highly respected restaurateur in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He launched his career at the top. As a member of the opening team of the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia in 1983, he applies that standard of quality in every restaurant he owns and operates. A visionary who believes each restaurant and hotel should have its own character and personality, he takes pride in the White Dog Cafe, which he purchased in 2009 from Judy Wicks.  A natural in the restaurant business, Marty's grandfather owned restaurants in Manhattan and Philadelphia. He has fond memories of lending a hand in the family business when he was a boy. Grims attended Cornell University's School of Hotel and Restaurant Management and, after graduating in the early 1980's, he became a fixture in the restaurant community in the Philadelphia area.

White Dog Cafe also recommends

Moshulu

Marty G. says, “Same owners, part of Fearless Restaurants.”

Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel

Marty G. says, “If there is no street parking available, the Sheraton Hotel's garage is conveniently located just north of the White Dog Cafe.”