Love + Grit

Food and fashion mix well in this episode. Just ask Chef Montana Houston, Chef Ja’mir Wimberly-Cole and Zakia Blain. First up, two of the hottest new chefs, both under 30, recently opened Rittenhouse Square’s Restaurant Aleksander. They’re putting their own spin on an American menu with Eastern European influences that pay homage to the culture and cuisine of the owner's family. Next up, Chester’s...

Vikram and Vivek Nayar and Julieta Zavala are people we can rely on to talk about drinks and fashion! The Nayar twins, Two Robbers Seltzer Co. owners and founders, have lived all over the world, from New York City to New Delhi, but they decided to launch their brand of hard seltzers right here in Philly, because they believed it would be more interesting. Next up, fashion designer Zavala uses recy...

On this episode, we have filmmaker Bilal Motley and chef Amanda Shulman. Motley's short animated film Quarantine Kids was an official selection at this year’s BlackStar Film Festival. Co-directed by his then 9-year-old daughter Bria, the film tells the courageous story of Bria's struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic. The film garnered the duo our first-ever Love + Grit Award! Next up, Her Place S...

We're taking you on a culinary journey with Dr. Maya, Dr. Kala Johnstone and Chef Hoon Rhee. Philly twins Dr. Maya and Dr. Kala began their careers as Philadelphia public school teachers, but soon felt the pull of their vision boards and decided to launch FoodChasers' Kitchen. Since opening in December 2021, they’ve cooked for memorable guests, including Salt-N-Pepa and Khelani, and were featured...

Darrell Alston and Camille Bell are changing up the fashion and cosmetic industries respectively. Nationally recognized, Alston is the first Philadelphia brand designer to be carried in Footlocker with his company Bungee Oblečení. Bell is working to make everyone feel seen in the cosmetic world with her company Pound Cake. After seeing how a shade of lipstick on a model in a store looked different...

Philly is a city of champions, two of them being Travis Wolfe, Jr. and Kareem Rosser. Wolfe is a 16-year-old actor who’s been a show business veteran for a decade, starring in shows like Neighborhood and Grown-ish and most recently CBS’s Bob ❤️ Abishola. Next up, as an interscholastic polo champion, Rosser is everywhere including playing a major role in the inaugural Philadelphia Polo Classic. His...

Yaya Horne, Damion Ward and Eric “Bus Driver Doo” Lilley are showing off Philly in different ways, but spreading the love as they do. Horne and Ward, co-founders of Tiny Room for Elephants, discuss how their month-long festival fuses the work of artists and musicians committed to creating unexpected works. The inspiration for this year's festival is "'made with love and inspired by grit.” We like...

Brandi Nicole and Brannon Johnson are two Philadelphians that know health and wellness! Nicole is the founder of Hike + Heal, which is so much more than hiking. With wellness retreats, healing circles, Nicole shows folks a way to find peace of mind in the City of Brotherly Love. Up next, we have Philly native Johnson, an elite accomplished athlete and head coach and owner of BLJ Community Rowing....

Suzann Christine, Gregory Corbin and Aja Graydon test their Philly knowledge live at the Roots Picnic. How well do you know your Reading Terminal Market merchants? Remember when the first Roots Picnic took place? Corbin, community activist, poet and educator, joins Team Justin, and Graydon, the lady from Kindred the Family Soul, and Christine, R&B artist, join Team Rachel for a good time and a gre...

Pink Sweat$ and Dyana Williams represent the past, present and future of music. And that future is looking bright thanks to singer/ songwriter Pink Sweat$. Born and raised in West Philly, Sweat$ discusses how inspired he is by love—something that’s apparent on his newest album Pink Moon. Up next, Dyana Williams, the mother of Black Music Month, makes her return to Love + Grit. This time around, sh...

Siddiq Moore and Sofia Deleon are getting us in the mood for summertime with all their talk about water ice and street food. Siddiq of the eponymously named Siddiq’s Water Ice gives us the scoop about his shop being a community hub and his journey to owning two stores. And Deleon talks about how she brought her favorite childhood eats to Philly via El Merkury, serving up lauded Central American st...

Chef Kevin Cooper and DJ Diamond Kuts discuss the best of food and music. Chef Cooper is a three-time Food Network champion, winning ‘Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime,’ ‘Guy’s Grocery Games’ and ‘Cooks vs. Cons.’ He’s also launched one of Philly’s newest culinary offerings Succulent Imagination, a one-on-one cooking class, and will own and operate a Chicken Guy, a concept from Guy Fieri. DJ Diamond Kuts...

Two of Philly’s sons, Larry Miller and Mykey Cooper, take to the mic to share their stories of perseverance and hard work. Miller discusses his journey from juvenile offender to president of Nike’s Jordan Brand, and his controversial book, Jump: My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom. Next, Cooper breaks down how as a teenager, he balances major acting gigs and writing for the Tonight...

Which women are considered to be the most powerful voices in Philadelphia? Laurin Talese and Patty Jackson are certainly contenders for this title. First up in this episode is Talese, a classically trained jazz singer who moved to Philly to further her vocal education and is the first cultural ambassador for American Music Abroad. The vice president of the city’s Grammy chapter is also releasing h...

Two people changing the game in sports and food: Kate Scott and JL Jupiter. Scott is used to making history. She was the first woman to call a men’s basketball game at the Olympics and the first to call an NFL game on the radio. And now she comes to Philadelphia as the first female announcer for the Philadelphia 76ers. Next up is Jupiter, a first generation immigrant that celebrates mom and pop re...

Terrill Haigler and Jena Harris are two people who are all about love and grit. Born out of the 2020 pandemic, the West Philly Bunny Hop is a food pantry created by Harris that now feeds more than 350 families each week. Next up is Haigler, known as Ya Fav Trashman on social media. He talks about how starting a job as a sanitation worker inspired his activism and raising awareness for the sanitati...

Blew Kind and Dr. Sheena Howard are taking a creative approach to inspiring the next generation of activists in Philadelphia and beyond. Kind is the founder of Kensington-based Franny Lou’s Porch, named after Fannie Lou Hamer and Frances E.W. Harper, two influential Black women from the Civil Rights movement. The Afro-centric cafe is focused on activism, health, history, art and culture in the Bla...

Love + Grit Season 3 kicks off with an all star reunion featuring Jeannine A. Cook, Chef Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate who continue to amplify their visions and make Black history as they do. First, Cook discusses growing Harriett’s Bookshop nationwide, a visit from Will Smith, calls from Oprah and a vow of silence. Then, we catch up with TIME 100Next's Chef Omar Tate and his wife Cybille, f...

Dr. Janice Johnson Dias and Ellen Yin have both been sources of inspiration for women and girls, giving them spaces to grow and develop their skills to succeed in the face of adversity. Johnson Dias, the mother of 16-year-old activist and writer Marley Dias, talks about her new book “Parent Like It Matters: How to Raise Joyful, Change-Making Girls.” Wharton graduate, Ellen Yin, who owns High Stree...

PHILADANCO’s Dr. Joan Myers Brown is a true dance pioneer. After founding the Philadelphia Dance Company in 1970, she went on to create the International Association of Blacks in Dance and the International Conference of Black Dance Companies. As she steps down (but not away) from her role at PHILADANCO, she reflects on her achievements and the impact she has made on the dance community globally....

Khalil Munir is a performer, educator and author who has defied the odds and equips his students with the tools to do the same. His first book, The Crown is Yours, is inspired by the challenges he faced growing up with dyslexia, a disorder he turned into "his superpower." Also on this episode is Natalie Pompilio, talking about her new book, This USED to be Philadelphia. A former reporter for The P...

This episode features 15-year-old—yes 15-year-old —Trey Brown. The founder of SPERGO, a trendsetting streetwear and lifestyle brand, turned his passion for design and community into a six-figure company in only three years. One of the most sought-after youth speakers in the country, Brown has been featured on a billboard in Times Square, opened up two stores, received a key to the city and just re...

When it comes to visual arts in Philadelphia, Michelle Angela Ortiz is a local legend. Her work has been presented in all forms — on canvas, lightboxes, building walls and now TV screens with her first documentary, “Las Madres de Berks.” The New York Times recently shouted out the Moore College of Art grad with South Philly roots for her work in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s New Grit exhibition...

Jennifer Zavala kicked off Philadelphia’s birria taco craze with a graffiti truck and a pop-up shop at Underground Arts. Tune in to hear from the South Philly-based owner of Juana Tamale as she prepares for her brick-and-mortar opening later this year on Passyunk Ave. In Kensington, Nicholas Ducos and Francesca Galarus have opened the city's first independently owned urban winery with the goal of...

Contributing to Philadelphia’s business community is a conscious effort for the two women featured on this episode. Tess Hart brought her mission to life in the Spring Arts District when she co-founded Triple Bottom Brewing, dedicated to putting people, the planet and profit on equal footing. In Centro de Oro’s Business District, Maria Gonzalez manages a $100 million budget for commercial and hous...