Philly News Briefs: 8/21/15

Discount grocer Aldi recently opened several stores in the greater Philadelphia area. One of them is the new store at 31st Street and Girard Avenue. The store’s opening was greeted with a wave of positive emotion, and is considered a great addition to the neighborhood. There isn’t another grocery store close by in that area, which makes the opening of Aldi exciting indeed. This will especially make life easier for those residents who don’t drive, as they now have a grocery store within walking or biking distance. If you do drive, however, Aldi has a decent-sized parking lot.

Philadelphia says goodbye to Chase Utley this week.

Residents of Center City will soon have a whole new world of window treatments from which to choose when decorating their homes. The Shade Store, a company based out of New York, is leasing a building at 1725 Chestnut Street for its new showroom. The Shade Store will occupy the first floor of the 4,000-square-foot building that previously housed several restaurants, including a Famous Dave’s barbecue. The Shade Store says that the “quality and quantity” of new homes going up in the area made Philadelphia a great fit. The company now has 30 showrooms nationwide, and is working on expanding to 40.

Philadelphia is saying goodbye to Chase Utley, the former Phillies second-baseman who was traded to the Dodgers in the middle of the week. Utley was beloved for his all-out style and enthusiasm for the game, which always resonated with Philadelphia sports fans. Fans will greatly miss Utley, who was something of a local institution, although the press is focusing on how this could be a positive move for the Phillies as they rebuild their organization.