The Spring Arts Podcast with Craig Grossman

Craig Grossman chats with Lisa Riley, head of Philadelphia’s School Of Rock - a music academy that offers lessons for drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals - working with both children and adults.  School of Rock combines 1-on-1 teaching and group ensembles, and perform in public for fundraisers, festivals, and seasonal concerts.  In this interview, Lisa discusses how she became the owner of the Spring Garden school location, the connection of the business with the 2003 film of the same name, her favorite bands, and much more.  More info at https://locations.schoolofrock.com/philadelphia

Craig Grossman chats with Sheri Cole - Executive Director of The Wardrobe, a nonprofit clothing retailer that helps Philadelphians in need find clothing suitable for job interviews, workplace attire, and casual wear.  The Wardrobe offers personalized fitting and consultation, and prides themselves on their diverse staff and their ability to help people of any gender find clothing.  Despite being one of the three basic human needs, Sheri explains how clothing is the one that is most often forgotten.  Sheri also explains how COVID-19 has affected her business, as well as her favorite bands and which pop singer her cat is named after.  More info at www.careerwardrobe.org

Craig talks with Kyle Cuffie-Scott of Darnel's Cakes about starting his business, his mission to advocate for AIDs prevention and education in honor of his cousin Darnel, and ideas for new collaborative projects with artists and other businesses in Spring Arts. Follow Darnel's Cakes on Instagram and Facebook and stop by his shop at 444 North Third St. or visit them at the Lansdale Farmers Market.

This week Craig talks with Antoinette Johnson of Cohere, "a design firm that's focused on transforming abandoned space or stories into something new again." They talk about their shared interest in bringing creative people together to try crazy things and hopefully make something beautiful and beneficial to the community in the process. Cohere recently launched The Viaduct as a collaborative meeting place. Follow the Viaduct @ViaductPHL on Instagram.

Craig talks with Melissa and Kevin Walter of Love City Brewing about maintaining balance between consistent quality and adaptability, the importance of creating an inclusive and welcoming space, and the nuance of partnering both in business and in life.

Craig talks with Chad Rosenthal of The Lucky Well about barbecue from Memphis to Brooklyn to Philadelphia, opening his new location in Spring Arts, and how his interest in cooking started at a very young age.

Craig talks with Mike Treon from Roy Pitz Barrel House about the origins of the company in Chambersburg, PA, opening the Barrel House in Spring Arts, and partnering with Love City and Triple Bottom Brewing in the wake of COVID-19 to create the new Spring Arts Beer Garden.

Michael Pasquarello and his wife Jeniphur moved to Spring Arts in the early 2000s and became a part of the neighborhood community when they opened Cafe Lift. In this episode, Craig sits down with Michael Pasquarello to discuss his impact on the Philadelphia restaurant scene over the last decade, starting with Cafe Lift and continuing through to his newest restaurant, La Chinesca.

Craig talks with Tess Hart from Triple Bottom Brewing about starting the business in the fall of 2019 and the changes they had to make when COVID-19 threatened to shut everything down including partnering with other local businesses to create Joy Box, a box of "essential non-essentials". 

In an age of quick and expendable, what if you were to start with history and repurpose what we already have. What if you were to use the forgotten spaces around you, and use them as a catalyst of creativity. This is The Spring Arts, with Craig Grossman and that’s our mission.