Goldie (restaurant)

Goldie is a Philadelphia based chain restaurant serving vegan Israeli food. The restaurant was created and is currently owned by Michael Solomonov under the restaurant group CookNSolo, which also owns the Philadelphia-based restaurants K'far, Federal Donuts, Laser Wolf and Zahav.^[1] The restaurant's venue "Lilah" is named after the Hebrew word for night.^[1] The restaurant serves food that is kosher and vegan, including falafel dishes and tehini shakes.^[2][3] The restaurant's head chef is Caitlin McMillan.^[2]

Restaurant information
Owner(s)	Michael Solomonov
Head chef	Caitlin McMillan
Food type	Vegan Israeli cuisine
City	Philadelphia
County	Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39.9512°N 75.1726°W / 39.9512; -75.1726
Website	www.goldiefalafel.com

Operations

The restaurant maintains multiple locations in Philadelphia.^[1] Another location was opened in Google's New York City campus in 2024, serving exclusively employees of Google.^[4][5]

2023 protests

More than 400 people attended protests outside of Goldie's restaurants^[6] after the restaurant fired three staff members for expressing pro-Palestinian sentiment following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel,^[7] either by wearing Palestinian flag pins or by expressing support for Palestine on social media.^[7][4] The firing was accompanied by a post on social media by the restaurant's owner, Michael Solomonov, announcing that 100% of his restaurants' profits on October 12, 2023 would go to supplying aid and medical assistance to the Israeli Defense Forces.^[7] At least $100,000 was raised for the Friends of United Hatzalah, affiliated with the IDF.^[4] The Philly Palestine Coalition called for a boycott of Solomon's restaurants.^[8][9] Governor Josh Shapiro condemned the protest, as did President Biden and other political officials, claiming the chant was antisemitic for having targeted a restaurant owned by an Israeli-Jewish owner.^[8][9][10]

References

1. Smythe, Laura (2 June 2021). "Solomonov Restaurant to Open Outpost, New Events Venue in Fishtown". NBC Philadelphia. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
2. Turshen, Julia (18 July 2018). "Caitlin McMillan Can Solve Any Problem". Eater. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
3. Sheehan, Jason (7 March 2022). "Get Excited: Federal Donuts and Goldie Launch Center City Flagships". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
4. Fortney, Luke (2024-02-29). "Google Has the Only New York Location of Goldie Falafel — And It's Not Sharing". Eater NY. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
5. Gergely, Julia (2024-02-26). "A secret, private outpost of Michael Solomonov's Goldie Falafel just opened in NYC". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
6. Severson, Kim (12 December 2023). "Protests Are an American Tradition. But Why at Restaurants?". New York Times.
7. Chan, Wilfred (2023-12-08). "A protest against a top Israel-born chef was called antisemitic. Staff tell a different story". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
8. "Pa. pols, White House react to viral Goldie chant in Philly". WHYY. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
9. Chang, David; Gyllenhaal, Randy (2023-12-04). "'Blatant act of antisemitism': Gov. Shapiro condemns pro-Palestinian protest outside Jewish-owned Philly restaurant Goldie". NBC10 Philadelphia. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
10. Helmore, Edward (2023-12-04). "White House condemns 'antisemitic' rally outside Philadelphia falafel shop". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-24.