Center City Coffee Trail
Limited-time promotion
The Center City Coffee Trail launches in conjunction with International Coffee Day with a limited-time lineup of $4 specialty craft beverages at select locations, showcasing the unique menus and personality of each café. From Monday, September 28 through Friday, October 2, enjoy everything from seasonal lattes and cold brews to creative takes on familiar favorites. Stop by a participating café to take advantage of the offer and discover new spots featured in the year-round guide.
Featured specialty drinks
Bar Cicci
From James Beard Award-winning restaurateur Ellen Yin, this daytime café serving espresso and pastries transforms into an aperitivo bar with cicchetti, spritzes, and wine.
$4 Special: Shakerato
📍 1620 Sansom Street
Bower Cafe
A local, Black-owned cafe with outdoor seating and the “Bower Booth,” a podcast and DJ booth available to rent. Owner Thane Wright names several menu items in honor of his family’s culinary traditions.
$4 Special: Classic Cappuccino
📍 1213 Walnut Street
Capriccio Café and Bar
Tucked into Cret Park with an outdoor patio overlooking lush greenery, serving espresso drinks, pastries, breakfast, salads, and sandwiches.
$4 Special: Spiced Apple Pie Latte
📍 110 N. 16th Street
Gran Caffe L’Aquila
A full-service café, restaurant, gelateria, and bakery serving traditional Italian espresso drinks, cannoli, and house-made gelato throughout the day.
$4 Special: Shakerato
📍 1716 Chestnut Street
J’aime French Bakery
French-inspired bakery in Midtown Village (also known as the Gayborhood) with freshly-baked croissants, baguettes, macarons, and cakes alongside espresso and coffee.
$4 Special: Small Cappuccino
📍 212 South 12th Street
Mad Cat Brewtique
Part coffee bar, part boutique, this mother-daughter-owned shop serves ReAnimator espresso, specialty matcha, dirty sodas, and lemonades alongside gifts and finds from local makers.
$4 Special: 12 oz Hot Latte or Freddo or Clean Girl Latte
📍 2036 Sansom Street
Madis Coffee Roasters
Philadelphia-born roaster serving espresso, pour-over, cold brew, and seasonal drinks alongside pastries and light bites. The Curtis location offers a spacious café inside overlooking Washington Square Park; the Chestnut Street location is a bright, modern space for commuters and creatives.
$4 Special: 12 oz. Pumpkin Cold Foam Cold Brew
📍 601 Walnut Street (The Curtis) | 1441 Chestnut Street
MOTW Coffee and Pastries
Specialty coffee with globally inspired flavors and freshly baked pastries, open into the evening for late-night coffee or an after-dinner sweet.
$4 Special: Classic or Flavored Cappuccino
📍 2101 Market Street
Nook Bakery & Coffee Bar
Roasting sustainably sourced coffee on-site and baking fresh pastries daily for 20 years, with a small-batch approach from self-taught roasters and bakers.
$4 Special: Flat White
📍 15 S. 20th Street
Palm Vintage Café
Inside the Ritz-Carlton, this refined café takes its nostalgia-meets-modern inspiration from Philadelphia’s historic soul and Miami’s coastal energy.
$4 Special: Caramel Brûlée Latte
📍 1414 S. Penn Square
Passero’s Coffee Roasters
Sourcing organic beans since 1990 from small, family-owned farms free of synthetic fertilizers and chemicals. They donate 5% of profits to local and national charities.
$4 Special: Spice Brown Sugar Iced Coffee
📍 1300 Market Street | 834 Chestnut Street
Saxbys
Philadelphia-born, with a mission-driven business model built around student leadership. The menu features espresso drinks, cold brew, breakfast, and snacks.
$4 Special: Boston Cream Cold Brew
📍 1625 Chestnut Street
The Ground Rittenhouse
Women-owned, with an ever-changing menu of imaginative coffee drinks, bubble teas, and pastries, plus a curated selection of plants and gifts from local makers.
$4 Special: Taro Blueberry Cobbler Latte
📍 120 S. 18th Street
Time & Peace Café and Gallery
Bringing people together through art, music, and literature events alongside locally roasted organic coffee, baked goods, and sandwiches.
$4 Special: 8oz Walnut Cappuccino
📍 36 S. 7th Street
Vibrant Coffee Roasters
Philadelphia specialty roaster known for sourcing distinctive coffees and highlighting their individual flavors through careful roasting. The South Broad café serves espresso, pour-overs, seasonal drinks, and pastries.
$4 Special: Classic Cappuccino
📍 121 S. Broad Street
What is a third space?
A third space is anywhere people gather outside of their home (a first space) or work (a second space). For many, third spaces are ways to find community and routine. These places can be parks, libraries, cafés, coffee shops, bars, bookstores, community centers, gyms, or religious institutions. Center City’s density and mixed-use environment create a natural ecosystem of third spaces that provide plentiful opportunities for connection and social interaction.
