ZBA Hearing - October 28, 2026

Thank you.

Clicking the button.

there you go okay good evening again everybody again indra solomon from claire harrison on behalf

There you go.

Okay.

Good evening again, everybody.

of the tenant um doing business as harlem shake with me today is mr shakoa hossein the owner of

the asa llc um and uh the franchise the proposed franchise operator harlem shake is a franchise

is based out of Brooklyn and Harlem and New York,

and they're expanding their footprint.

This initial photograph of their Brooklyn location,

and this is an approval,

application for a special exception approval

for the proposed restaurant,

takeout restaurant, Harlem Shake.

We submitted our exhibit package

consisting of 11 exhibits,

which I asked be incorporated into the record.

again with me today is mr hussein as well as stephanie ryan is with us virtually the project

architect and mr richard davis of rjm systems group who are available for any questions from

the board um as chairman bergman stated we received a letter of non-opposition from

councilman squilla and a letter of non-opposition from washington square civic

um this is the subject property it used to be a level up bar and lounge it's been sitting

vacant for quite a while and we're proposing to repurpose it for this uh burger and shake

location uh just some more images of the uh subject property i will get into the trash plan

later on but there is a gate here off of walnut street and off of the side street that leads to

a shared exterior area with shared where where trash storage is shared by the other tenants of

the block um more views of of the block and the existing conditions as well as the interior of

the property and I'm happy to get into more detail of what's existing. You can see it was

configured as a bar and this is the second floor so there will be additional seating and additional

storage for the restaurant here. The property is zoned CMX5 but is within the Walnut Chestnut

Street overlay and so it requires special exception approval for the eating and drinking

establishments. Here is our referral. So Harlem Shake, as I mentioned, is a franchise out of

Brooklyn and they're expanding their footprint. Their burgers are critically acclaimed and award

winning. We have the menu offerings, but as you can expect, shakes of all kinds of flavors and

um and burgers a kid's menu hot dogs

we have the first and second floor plan um which includes interior trash storage and

we discussed with the rco this is a proposed elevation this sign package is not part of this

application there will be a separate submission for the signs that will need to have our commission

approval but are not part of this application and again this is our our trash plan you can see

there's a bit of an alley to the rear for off of juniper and walnut some shared dumpsters but

to the extent possible trash will be stored in the interior and there will be a commercial trash

pick up six days a week the employees will haul out the trash to juniper street where it will be

picked up by a commercial trash hauler and uh to the extent possible stored in the in the

interior by the rear service store um i i wanted to keep it brief because i know it's late uh but

it's not that late for us that's an early day

um but i'll just ask that yeah yes sir please come up

hi get that mic nice and close here sir could you please state and spell your name for the

Okay, good. Hi, my name is Shakawat Hussain, is the S-H-A-K-A-W-A-T, and the last name is H-O-S-S-A-I-N.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

Yes, I do.

Counsel?

Mr. Shekawet, can you just state for the record your relationship to ASA LLC and the Harlem Shake franchise?

Mr. Shakawat, can you just state for the record your relationship to A-

Yes. Before I go, I'll just give you my background.

I've come to this country since 1996 and I've worked in a restaurant since 1998 to a diner.

Duncan, now Papa John, the last 10, 11 years as a supervisor.

Now I'm a regional director for Papa John.

and one of my friends

introduced me to Harlem Shake

two years ago

so I like their food and concept

so I think it's good for that

it'll be a city for that concept

yeah it's a beautiful story

you've really worked

at every level

yes I did

once I worked at diner

I worked at the busboy

then I was a waiter

then ship leader

then in the Dunkin' I was a GM

for two years two three years then i come uh papa john as the driver ship leader manager supervisor

now i'm like a regional director okay popular area questions from the board

sorry chair i'll just ask that um mr hossein adopt adopt my presentation that you saw the

entirety of the presentation is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and

would you adopt it as your own testimony yes thank you we'll take questions questions like we

talked about that go ahead and share okay what's the food burgers and shakes uh okay chicken yeah

i can pull up the menu again um we have uh different types of of burgers veggie burgers

uh fries salads different types of sandwiches okay and an assortment of shakes oh okay all

right thank you all the questions yeah i just this is a really hectic area like i'm coming off

juniper street but there are not a lot of other sit-down restaurants that have like extensive

table service on this block this would be kind of like one of the the bigger ones i guess my

question is what's your plan to sort of manage crowd understanding that like you're not the

previous business but like the previous business had a following and it had a very big crowd and

it would it would create lots of different flows at night hues and yes yeah yes i'm gonna have like

a one manager like each shift one manager one ship ship leader also i'm gonna have like around

15 to 16 employees each shift so i'm counting like 35 people in like a full ship and is this

sit down with waiters or is this more like fast no no what i just water taking and sit down i need

just gonna take okay and what what i was i was operation is uh we're planning to do like a sunday

to thursday like at 10 30 a.m to 2 a.m and friday saturday like at 10 30 a.m to like three o'clock

in the morning is everyone close someone have to make money so

questions from our attorney no questions at this time

just a comment from the virtual audience yes i see a hand raised mr archie you are allowed to speak

sure

all right could you please state and spell your name

could you please unmute yourself mr archie

mr archie you have a couple of devices on

you probably have a second device

could you please state and spell your name

my name is Archie Hendricks

A-R-C-H-I-E

last name

your last name please spell it hendrix h-e-n-d-r

okay so we're struggling here in front of the arch okay so mr hendrix i'm sorry to interrupt

this is ian heggerty you have two devices on one is playing the audio from the hearing and

you're also trying to talk into another device, and that's why we're getting feedback. I need you

to either go to a different room or turn off that second device if you want to testify on this case.

Thank you.

i'm sorry i'm sorry no i'm still getting it i'm still getting it i'm not sure you spell your last

name i'm gonna pull down my volume um last name is hendrix h-e-n-e-d-r-i-c-k-s right do you swear

or a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing

but the truth? I do.

What's your interest in the property?

So, I'm

his next-door neighbor

at 13341.

Your administrator?

No, I'm the owner.

Oh, the owner of the property. Okay.

And

we have

approximately 20 apartments

there and about 35 doctors

from Jefferson who live there.

And this particular property, the 1330 property, has been what I would call a nuisance property over the last probably 10 years.

Okay.

So my only recent posting, I noticed that it talked about the special assembly license.

And I never saw that before on a zoning posting.

and i was just sure why here's the thing are you are you are you against this property sir

am i a guest no are you against are you for it or against it

oh i'm always for businesses and for people to make money sir okay i just don't understand um

if how it has a special assembly license we are the appellant council is going to answer that for

go ahead we are preserving this but the assembly use uh the the franchise operator does the the

original franchise does often have community events so we wanted to preserve that flexibility

to have community events but there is no liquor license being sought right and it will serve

primarily as a takeout restaurant thank you very much okay just understand why it was specifically

okay all right i'm sorry that entire would you say i was just asking is there already an existing

liquor license at the location but they said i just never noticed it before on a zoning permit

all right thank you very much sir we appreciate it is there anyone else in the audience

not at this time tier planning commission

Good evening Liz Fuseli on behalf of the Philadelphia Planning Commission

the comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location

from the current CMX 5 center city core commercial mixed use this proposal directly

fronts Walnut Street surrounded by numerous existing commercial uses the Planning Commission

recommends the board grant the requested special exception for sit-down restaurant and takeout

restaurant. MI 2026-004-845-1330 Walnut Street. I vote yes with proviso per amended refusal

dated 9-11-26. Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with

proviso. Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso. Brian McAdams, my vote is yes with

proviso i win my vote is yes with proviso layla baby my vote is yes with proviso thank you counsel

thank you thank you very much have a good thank you all right we're going to go to our 3 30 list

good afternoon i will be chairing this my name is bill bergman um also with me is our vice chair

tennetta graham president mr chairman our board secretary sheryl l gaston president mr chairman

Board members, Michael Johns.

President, Mr. Chairman.

Taya Nguyen.

President, Mr. Chairman.

Ryan McAdams.

President, Mr. Chairman.

Layla Beebe.

President, Mr. Chairman.

Well, so here is our attorney, Lynn Reuter-Uber, our ZBA director, Ian Haggerty, and our board

administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.

This hearing is being recorded and will be posted on the ZBA website by participating.

You consent to being recorded.

This is an in-person meeting with remote participation, whether in-person or on Zoom.

If you are called to speak, please state and spell your name.

Wait to be sworn in.

And after that, each time you testify, start with stating your name.

To enter your appearance, get the property address and put it with your Zoom webinar.

Speak with a staff member.

call the zba office by the close of business tomorrow please call 215-686-2429 and

Please call 215-686-2429 and provide them with your name, email, and the case address.

Remote participation.

Raise your virtual hand when directed so that we can call you to speak.

Before you start your testimony, make sure you click the Join as a Panelist button.

Use the Q&A only for procedural questions, not anything to do with individual cases.

If you're adjoining by phone, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.

In person, if testifying, get close to the mic so that we can all, all persons present and also the court reporter can hear you.

No talking, eating, or drinking during the hearing.

Aggressive behavior will not be tolerated.

In an emergency, follow the staff instructions.

The main exit is the double doors at the rear.

the stairwell nearest stairwell is to the left if we have to evacuate please go to love park

and wait there so that we can account for you so let's look at our schedule

number one mi-2026-003-117-3517 frankfort avenue that case has been continued to 224-27

at 3.30. Number two, MI 2026-003-118-7488 Oxford Avenue. That case has been withdrawn.

And number three, MI 2026-003-625-3416 North Marshall Street. That case is continuing into

to 2-24-27 at 3.30 p.m.

Here's our only case that we have here.

MI 2026-003-073-6029 Tarsdale Avenue.

Justin Crick is the attorney.

Counsel, good afternoon.

Could you please state and spell your name for the stenographer?

Yes, Justin Crick, J-U-S-T-I-N.

K-R-I-K.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

I do.

Could you identify your client relationship to this property?