Dumpling Chain With Cheesesteak and PB&J Flavors Plans Philadelphia Debut

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, a takeout-focused chain that serves dumplings stuffed with fillings such as Philly cheesesteak and peanut butter and jelly, is coming to Philadelphia. The first shop is set to open in late 2022 at 308 South St., with a second to follow in early 2023 at 3400 Lancaster Ave. in University City.

Hours will be a selling point. The South Street shop may stay open around the clock on weekends, as the flagship in Manhattan does. The location on Drexel University's campus is expected to close at 2 a.m.

Local franchisees Nick Sordoni, Stephen Hudacek, and Alex Flack say five to seven more shops are in the immediate plans for the Philadelphia region. Over the next eight years, they envision at least 30 locations across Southeastern Pennsylvania and Camden County, N.J.

The shops are built mainly for takeout and delivery, with little direct contact between customers and staff. Customers place orders using a scanner or a delivery app and receive a QR code. When the food is ready, they scan the code and a particular window opens to release the order. The windows line a wall and are heated or chilled depending on the dish. The system also keeps delivery drivers from picking up the wrong order. Prep cooks can be seen working behind a glass wall.

Stratis Morfogen, a founder of Brooklyn Chop House, created the franchise as a pandemic pivot because of its minimal face-to-face contact. Despite the name, none of the shops are in Brooklyn. The first opened in 2021 in Manhattan, followed by Hoboken, N.J., and Storrs, Conn.

The concept is a modern take on the Horn & Hardart Automat, an early form of fast food with Philadelphia roots. Joe Horn and Frank Hardart opened their first lunchroom in 1888 on 13th Street near Chestnut. Fourteen years later, the company's 818 Chestnut St. location was fitted with an Automat, a European-engineered setup that made it a "waiterless restaurant."

Customers at the Automat skipped the cafeteria line and went to a wall of glass windows holding items such as pie, sandwiches, and sides. Creamed spinach, Harvard beets, baked beans, and tapioca pudding were favorites. A nickel in the slot opened the door. Horn & Hardart reportedly had 157 locations in Philadelphia and New York, serving 500,000 patrons a day, before the last store, in Manhattan, closed in 1991. A 35-foot piece of the original is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

The Brooklyn Dumpling Shop menu includes pastrami, Reuben, Philly cheesesteak, lamb gyro with tzatziki, cheeseburger, chicken Parm, and Buffalo ranch chicken dumplings. The peanut butter and jelly version comes with a strikingly red jelly sauce. There are also egg-filled breakfast dumplings called Breakfast Cro'sumplings, along with seafood and plant-based options.

A taste test at the New York location found the dumplings arrived hot in paper takeout bowls and were tasty enough. The Philly cheesesteak version tasted like any cheesesteak spring roll, the chicken Parm was slightly better than a Hot Pocket, and the PBJ, picked up from a cold locker, was teeth-chatteringly sweet. The New York shop sells bags of frosé and other wines, which will not be offered in Philadelphia.