Yowie

Yowie was founded in 2016 by Shannon Maldonado, a former fashion designer, in Philadelphia's Queen Village and South Street area. It started as a design-forward home goods shop and has since grown into something larger: a boutique hotel with a ground-floor shop and a cafe at 226 South Street. The shop carries design-forward gifts and home goods from independent artists, friends of the brand and heritage makers.

Upstairs, the hotel's suites are furnished with curated pieces from independent artists and use contactless check-in with remote guest support. Forin Cafe, the in-house day cafe, serves pastries, salads, sandwiches and seasonal fare sourced from local farms and purveyors, open Monday to Friday from 7am to 2pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 3pm. Yowie was featured in New York Magazine's Strategist roundup of Black-owned home decor businesses in 2020.

Note that the old yowieshop.com address no longer works; the business now runs helloyowie.com for the hotel, shop and cafe, and shopyowie.com for the online store. Contact is by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and the brand is on Instagram and Pinterest as helloyowie. Stop in for coffee, shop the collection, or book a stay.