Goldie (restaurant)

Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia

Restaurant information
Owner(s)| Michael Solomonov
Head chef| Caitlin McMillan
Food type| Vegan Israeli cuisine
City| Philadelphia
County| Pennsylvania
Coordinates| 39°57′04″N 75°10′21″W﻿ / ﻿39.9512°N 75.1726°W﻿ / 39.9512; -75.1726
Website| www.goldiefalafel.com

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]

## Operations

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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

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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

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1. ^ a b c Smythe, Laura (2 June 2021). "Solomonov Restaurant to Open Outpost, New Events Venue in Fishtown". NBC Philadelphia. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b "Pa. pols, White House react to viral Goldie chant in Philly". WHYY. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
9. ^ a b 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.

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