Your Saturday Morning Just Got a Serious Upgrade: Biederman’s Has Arrived at 20th & Spruce
The South Philly specialty market brings hand-sliced smoked fish, baked goods, curated European imports, and fully committed fish-themed whimsy to one of the neighborhood’s most storied corners at 20th and Spruce.
We all have our Saturday morning routine. Some of us like to get coffee from a usual spot, maybe a lap down the river path, flowers from the Rittenhouse Farmer’s Market, Well, the corner of 20th and Spruce just threw a wrench in our operation. A very welcome, smoked-fish-and-caviar-shaped wrench.
South Philly’s own Biederman’s has opened its Rittenhouse location at 276 S 20th St!
If you’re not already familiar with the brand, Biederman’s is an appetizing shop that owner Lauren Biederman launched near the Italian Market back in late 2020. She’d been working front-of-house at places like Zahav, Osteria, and Oloroso, found herself out of work when the pandemic hit, and channeled a lifelong thing for New York-style smoked fish shops into her own storefront on Christian Street. (The Inquirer‘s Craig LaBan covered the opening and dove deep into the fish selection.) It became a destination pretty much immediately. Then came Biederman’s caviar kiosk outside the Four Seasons near Logan Square. And now, finally (!), Rittenhouse!
We’ve been waiting for this one, and having experienced it, we can see why South Philly loves it.
This corner carries a lot of memories in the neighborhood. Audrey Taichman opened Audrey Claire here back in 1996, turning what had been a five-and-dime into a pioneering BYOB with a Mediterranean menu and one of the most iconic sidewalk dining scenes in the neighborhood. Per the Inquirer, Taichman sold the restaurant to Rob Wasserman (cough, Rouge, cough) in 2018. Wasserman renamed it Charley Dove in 2021, it shifted to a private-event space in 2023 before it closed.
So this corner has seen quite a bit but, walking in now, it feels like the right next one.
So…What’s an Appetizing Shop?
If you’re not familiar with the format then you’re in for a treat! An appetizing shop is the traditional Jewish-American retail concept that specializes in fish, dairy, and all the accompaniments that aren’t meat because that’s the deli’s department. Think smoked fish sliced to order, cream cheese whipped in-house, bagels, and a whole world of cured, brined, and tinned provisions.
Basically, it’s the quintessential weekend morning counter experience.
The Counter
This is the whole operation. Staff hand-slice smoked fish to order behind the counter, and the menu goes deep. Where else could one find Irish Organic Pastrami salmon and Belly Lox? Premium options including King salmon, Sable, and Sturgeon. They also carry prepared fish salads: smoked salmon with dill and mustard, trout with sour cream and pickles, and their signature 9th Street Tuna (SO not your basic tuna), for when you want the expertise but you’re in a grab-and-go kind of mood.
Caviar is also very much part of the situation here, of course. Marky’s is one of the biggest and most known caviar importers, and the selection in shop ranges from approachable to genuinely luxurious, which — given that Biederman has a caviar kiosk outside the Four Seasons — makes a lot of sense.
This is the kind of thing that makes a last-minute dinner party feel decidedly more pulled together, by the way (you can thank us later!)
Beyond the Fish
The shop extends past the counter into what we’d call a European market in miniature — and it fills a gap we didn’t fully realize was there until we saw it filled.
They have both caviar “carriers” like Torres potato chips from Spain, i.e, it’ll transport the caviar to your mouth for a sensory delight (in-person research is still pending), spices, candies, artisanal desserts like halva from Seed + Mill, and even a tinned fish wall that would delight the pickiest of tinned fish eaters. Not to mention a wide array of preserves, cookies, and specialty pantry items that are genuinely tough to find.
And THEN there are the gifts!
Fish-themed keychains? A pickle party candle? Maybe needlepoint pillows with strong opinions about dinner reservations? How about a beaded clutch bag that says “Sardines.” The whimsy here is fully committed and we are now HUGE fans. Plus, they basically pack quite a bit in the space because everywhere you turn, you find something new and exciting (food or otherwise!)
The Right Corner for It
Biederman’s is the kind of place where you walk in for one thing and leave with a bag full of stuff you didn’t know you needed. Whether its tinned fish, artisanal halva, freshly-baked bagels, a candle shaped like a pickle, or knowledge about smoked salmon you’ll now share unprompted at dinner parties. It’s a very much a much-needed specialty market, brunch-on-a-blanket in the park provisions HQ, and fun gifts shop, all in one gorgeous black-and-gold corner space.
They will be rolling out more delicious goodies so we’ll keep you posted on social, but, in the meantime, drop by to properly welcome to the neighborhood!
