February 25, 2022
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Fitz and Starts, a restaurant formerly known as Hungry Pigeon which rebranded in the wake of its former co-owner's social media comments which many deemed racist, is closing for good.
Fitz and Starts, a bakery and cafe in Queen Village, will be closing its doors for good next month. Owner Pat O'Malley posted the announcement to the restaurant's Instagram account on Wednesday. The last day of service will be on Sunday, March 20.
Formerly known as Hungry Pigeon, O'Malley rebranded when former co-owner Scott Schroeder left after being accused of racism for social media posts he wrote during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
"This was not an easy decision to make, but it was the clear one for me and my family as we move into the next part of our lives," O'Malley said.
He thanked his staff and patrons for "supporting the movement of a vibrant, equitable, and sustainable restaurant industry that can be better than the one behind us."
The restaurant has been honoring Black History Month by donating half the profits it makes from selling biscuits and gravy to the Honeysuckle Project, an effort to build a community center focused on African American food in West Philly.
In the wake of the controversy, O'Malley also changed the restaurant's business model. He included a 20% service fee on every order to ensure each employee made more than $15 per hour, which he noted is double Pennsylvania's minimum wage.
But these changes were apparently not enough to save the restaurant.
The business suffered greatly due to the accusations of racism it faced after Schroeder's posts on Instagram in May 2020.
"Thank you Black America. You had me at hip-hop and fried chicken," he wrote on his since-deleted account which had thousands of followers. "Looting, rioting, setting things on fire is dumb. Seeing people of all colors and ethnicities standing up against the police state is absolutely f***ing beautiful though."
At the time, a group of current and former employees at the restaurant responded to Schroeder in an article on Medium, which accused him of using "anti-Black rhetoric" and publicly lashing out at those who criticized his business and social media practices.
"The post is made even more insidious given that Scott turns a profit selling fried chicken to his wealthy patrons in Queen Village, all while reducing the black community to a mere stereotype," staffers said.
O'Malley publicly rebuked his co-owners comments and in the days that followed, Schroeder decided to step down.
"I am sincerely sorry to anyone I have made feel this way. But actions speak louder than words so Pat and I are currently working out the legalities of me leaving the restaurant permanently," Schroeder wrote in an email obtained by Eater Philly. "I’m not going to pursue a chef job either. I’m going to think about all of this and what you have said and make a change."
He also committed to making monthly donations to Philly Bail Fund and Black Lives Matter Philadelphia, which he was asked to do in the employees' letter.
But it was only a few months later that Schroeder resurfaced in Bucks County, where he was working as a chef at Cafe Ferraro in Fairless Hills. That restaurant closed in June 2021.
In recent months, Fitz and Starts has eschewed dinner service in favor of focusing on the breakfast and lunch menu, as well as its in-house bakery.
The restaurant will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays until it closes.
