“Where do all the hippies meet? South Street, South Street.”
Well, I can’t speak for the hippies, but South Street was my hangout years ago when I used to live at Fourth and Pine streets (I’ve been all over this town). At that time, Headhouse Square was the place to go. The Rusty Scupper restaurant offered cool drinks overlooking the waterfront and at night the street was filled with street performers, jugglers, magicians and musicians. There was a great jazz club and even an outdoor nightclub in the center of the square blasting music. Then both South Street and Headhouse fell into a bit of a slump, and a lot of younger folks with mischief on their minds dominated the scene, culminating in the Mardi Gras melee of 2001 that ended with 81 arrests. But I am happy to report that the South Street-Headhouse area is on the comeback and has become a destination site again for tourists and locals alike.
In addition to new restaurants and shops catering to a more sophisticated crowd, mixed in with the hipster places and shops for the young, there are plenty of events coming up this season to delight and entertain you. It starts with the Easter Promenade on April 20, hosted by Master of all Ceremonies Henri David, followed by Dining Out for Life on April 24 (a citywide event with a number of South Street restaurants participating), plus the grand Spring Festival on May 3.
This week we spoke to Daniel Christensen, one of the owners of the iconic Copabanana and the (relatively) new wine bar and restaurant Redwood. He also serves as the chairperson for the South Street Headhouse District.
PGN: Tell me a little about yourself. DC: I was born in Tallahassee, grew up in Miami. I just turned 50 in February. Both of my parents were teachers: My father was a college professor — he taught marine biology — and my mother was a high-school history teacher.
PGN: With a marine-biologist father and living in Florida, did you spend a lot of time at the sea? DC: Oh yeah, and we did a lot of traveling. Because both of my parents had the summers off, we did a lot of exploring. We drove from Miami to Newfoundland twice and to Alaska twice. [Laughs.] I had two brothers so it was probably hard on them traveling long distances with three boys fighting in the back.
PGN: An exciting memory from one of the trips? DC: Growing up in Miami, we never saw snow. The first year we drove to Newfoundland, it was their coldest summer in like 60 years and there was an iceberg in the harbor. There was still snow on some of the higher mountains so of course we went up there so we could slide down. I almost killed myself because it had basically turned to ice at that point. It was fun but a little terrifying.
PGN: Kind of like being on a roller coaster without the coaster? DC: Definitely! My father was the quintessential good Samaritan so when we came upon someone with two flat tires, he stopped to help. As a thank you, the guy took us to his home and they served us homemade fish and chips and moose that he’d just shot. It was my first time putting vinegar on French fries so I had a lot of new experiences that trip.
PGN: Where are you in the sibling hierarchy? DC: I’m the oldest. My brother David is two years younger and Tom was born one year after him. We get along very well now but there were some tumultuous years. It probably didn’t help that when I was 17, I was his manager at Burger King and fired him. Since there were three of us, we would switch alliances and gang up on the third person; usually that was me since I was the oldest.
PGN: What kind of things were you into other than working? DC: I was into music; I played the oboe and the viola. I love math, which is probably why I’m in the management business, but I was the president of the Golden Scroll, which was the journalism society at school. And I was an Eagle Scout, all three of us were.
PGN: What was your first job? DC: I worked at Burger King for 10 years starting when I was 17 and then later for four years. I went to college for a little while but never graduated. My body doesn’t understand anything but full-time work. I worked for Sysco food services, which I generally hated; I was a partner in a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, then I worked in Charleston, S.C., and I’ve worked here in Philadelphia twice. My uncle, Bill Curry, was the one who founded Copa.
PGN: Sounds like you work your way up the food-service chain. DC: Pretty much.
PGN: When did you first come to Philadelphia? DC: 1991. I came up here to work at Copabanana and also at Cafe Nola, which was their other restaurant at the time. I didn’t get along with his business partner, so I left and went back to Florida. After they parted ways, I came up for a visit and he asked me to come back. They opened up a restaurant in the Northeast, which I was managing but that didn’t last long. It was difficult for me because I just didn’t understand that area as much as I do downtown. People drive everywhere in the Northeast so you have to be a lot more cautious when serving drinks. It was a different vibe.
PGN: I understand that Bill is gay too? That’s cool, having a gay uncle to work with. DC: Yes, he’s been with his partner for 50 years.
PGN: Are you with anyone now? DC: No, my last relationship was about six-and-a-half years but it’s difficult. I probably work more than I should. I need to learn to delegate. We met in Fort Lauderdale. I was a partner at a restaurant on the beach for a short time. When my business partner sold the building to a hotel, I moved to Charleston, S.C., and he moved home to Wisconsin. We still talk and I offered to help him move to Philadelphia. He’s working on finishing his master’s.
PGN: I understand you brought a souvenir back from Charleston? DC: Yes! My straight souvenir, Rand Maltese. We met in Charleston and became good friends. He was a server for me first, then a bartender, then he had a horrific accident while riding my bicycle — can you say guilt-tripped — and had to have part of his skull removed. He moved to Philadelphia to attend the University of the Arts and then gravitated back to the restaurant business. He’s now our chef at Redwood.
PGN: Tell me about Redwood. DC: Well, it’s a great little place. We feature a California style and Rand comes up with some innovative things for the menu. There’s a very good wine list, and a pretty decent selection of beers and whiskeys. Our back patio is now open and we get a nice brunch crowd.
PGN: Cool. Back to you … Do you remember your first crush? DC: Oh, it was an employee who worked for me at Copa in the early ’90s. We are still friends. I came out when I was 31.
PGN: What was the first gay club you ever went into? DC: Oh boy. When I first came out we were all using the AOL chat rooms. There was no such thing as sending pictures back and forth [laughs], the dial-up lines were too slow for that! It was interesting to see the difference between how some people described themselves and what they actually looked like. If you went into a club and saw that the person had been way off base in describing himself, you’d just make yourself scarce. But there are some people I met online who I’m still friends with to this day.
PGN: Was it difficult coming out at work? DC: I’ve never had a job where they knew I was gay at the start, but I wouldn’t have stayed anywhere where it was a problem once they did. I’m fortunate in that I’ve never had a bad experience coming out. Both my parents were cool with it, as were my brothers. [Laughs.] My father did get me a subscription to Playboy for about two years just in case!
PGN: Had you gone the straight route beforehand? DC: Sort of, I was married for about a year and a half. She was four years older than me. She had a kid and got married when she was 17 and I was her second husband. A good part of our divorcing — almost more than me being gay — was that she wanted to have a chance to be a kid once her own kid flew the coop. Wanted some freedom.
PGN: So back to South Street, it’s nice to see that so many businesses have made it through. DC: Yes, there are a lot of family connections. There’s my uncle and me; John Foy from Bridget Foy has his daughter; Abbie Silver used to have Jim’s Steaks, now his son runs it. We’ve developed great communication between the businesses in the district. And we are getting some great new upscale businesses and drawing more sophisticated crowds. And doing things like the street festival really helps bring people in to see what South Street is about now.
PGN: Random question: What’s a food you would never eat? DC: I would try just about anything except tripe. It just looks so foul I can’t even get with that.
PGN: What’s great about having a restaurant on South Street? DC: It’s easy to market because everyone knows where South Street is. When we did an ad, the announcer said they usually spent six to seven seconds telling people where they are. With us, all he had to do was say the corner of Fourth and South. Personally, I love the camaraderie between the businesses. I know all my business neighbors and I’ve made a lot of friends. There is a great sense of community. In Miami, the next business neighbor might be a block away.
PGN: What’s your guiltiest pleasure? DC: [Laughs.] I drink too much!
PGN: Well, Copa is known for its margaritas. DC: I know, I love margaritas. I love Old Fashions and martinis. I generally don’t drink the same thing more than twice. I’ll never drink the same beer twice. And I love wine, which is probably why we have such a large wine list. It’s nice because anyone trying to sell you a bottle of wine is going to give you one to try first!
PGN: When do you lose your temper? DC: I never lose my temper. I think people would be shocked if I did. I just don’t get upset easily.
PGN: What would you want as your last meal? DC: Give me a ribeye steak and a lobster tail and I’d be as happy as pie.
PGN: What happens in your recurring nightmare? DC: Back during the lean years, having the electricity shut off because we were so cash-poor. I was afraid to let someone in the door in case they were there to shut us off. Thankfully, we’re far away from those days.
PGN: Celebrity encounters? DC: When Nola was still open, we had a number of celebrities come through: Billy Joel, Rick Springfield, Donald Trump and Marla Maples when they were together. At Redwood, we get a lot of sports figures, as well as musicians from TLA. Our chef is a big fan of the group Polyphonic Spring so when he heard they were coming to town, he emailed them and invited them all to the restaurant.
PGN: I’m embarrassed when … DC: I have to speak in public. I’m generally shy, but they conned me into being the board chair for South Street Headhouse District. When the city was trying to impose the new alcohol tax, I had to testify in front of everyone. I stumbled through it.
PGN: What’s in store for the district? DC: South Street has really become known as a place to come hear music, whether it’s at Dobbs or TLA or Twisted Tail — South Street has a real music presence. At the festival, we’re going to have three stages of music going and tons of food!
PGN: So to end, are you sick of the song yet? DC: No! You don’t hear it enough around here. It was a different story when Barry Manilow put out the song “Copacabana.” We were actually named Copabanana and opened before the song ever came out, but that doesn’t stop everyone from singing it. But it’s all fine — as long as people are having fun, that’s all we care about!
For more information about Redwood, visit www.redwoodphilly.com. For more information about South Street Headhouse District, visit www.southstreet.com .
To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email [email protected].