While countless urban neighborhoods across the country stalled during the pandemic, with halted development and closed down businesses, Fishtown has defied the odds, largely due to Roland Kassis, founder of Kassis & Co., a diverse enterprise spanning real estate, construction, restaurants, film production, and nonprofits, writes Peter Lane Taylor for Forbes.

Kassis, whose Lebanese-inspired restaurant Suraya has anchored Fishtown’s elevated food scene since opening eight years ago, grew even more bullish on the neighborhood when COVID-19 hit. He fast-tracked design on several projects, including multi-story apartment complexes, and added more businesses to the buildings that he had recently completed.

“The pandemic hurt a lot of neighborhoods and developers across the country,” said Kassis. “But except for the lock downs, Fishtown never skipped a beat.”

Since the pandemic, Fishtown has emerged as a culinary hub for some of the hottest chefs and restaurateurs in the nation.

One of the most recent additions is Kassis’s new Thai restaurant, Kalaya. The already popular spot is helmed by Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, the winner of the James Beard Award for Best Mid-Atlantic Chef in 2023, who was recently named to TIME100’s list of the World’s Most Influential People.

Read more about Fishtown and how it has been thriving in Forbes.

_____