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The Brotherly Box Debuts Your Favorite Nostalgic Philly Foods

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This is how the box arrived, all secretive and stuff.

Photos, story by Christine Tarlecki Trimble

Herr’s potato chips. TastyKakes. Soft pretzels. Cheesesteaks. The Liberty Bell.. are you thinking of Philly? Hungry yet? We have just the thing to satisfy your craving for all things Philadelphia- the Brotherly Box!

The BrotherlyBox is the brainchild of Tim Thornton and it invokes feelings and tastes of home… of Philly. When his family moved from Philadelphia, his parents missed those delicious food items that speak and taste of Philly and that you can’t easily buy out of state. Tim created a subscription box service that brought these Philly icons directly to the recipient’s door- or even your own! “Send a box of Philadelphia to a friend, family member, or loved one anywhere in the world!” proclaims the site, and you won’t regret it.

“I read a lot of business related articles and a few months back I came across an article about a similar business model being executed in a different city that was very successful and it really sparked my interest. There’s just so much history in this city that we as Philadelphians are really proud of and we have a lot of iconic products that you can’t get anywhere else,” Tim explains. “My parents moved to Florida after growing up in the Philadelphia area and my mom always missed real Philly soft pretzels, we weren’t ‘allowed’ to come visit if we didn’t bring some with us!”

Tim knew there were many other people missing their Wawa coffee and Tastykakes, too. They began making a list of native Philly products and icons that really resonate with people like the Liberty Bell, the LOVE Park statue, etc., and narrowed it down from there.

Some of the great items Brotherly Box offers.
Some of the other items Brotherly Box offers.

So what can you get? A cheesesteak? No, can’t easily ship a cheesesteak or Yuengling, but The BrotherlyBox can include a hat, keychain or magnet of your favorite sip and nosh.

The box we received had:

  • A mini Philadelphia poster.
  • A cute cheesesteak magnet imprinted with the name of our fair city.
  • Delicious dark-chocolate Goldberg Peanut Chews- we could eat these all day!
  • Crunchy, salty Herr’s Potato Chips. You know you had these in your little metal lunch box growing up.
  • A mini Liberty Bell. Ring that for fun and think of all the school trips to the Bell.
  • A original Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar- usually for s’mores but we broke it apart and enjoyed it between sips of coffee.
  • A deck of Philadelphia playing cards, excellent for beating my family in Rummy.
  • Two packages of peanut butter KandyKakes. Yum. Yum. We know we are lucky enough to go buy these at any local store but it’s been a while since we had one. Bliss.
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It’s like opening Philly’s Pandora box of junk food and trinkets!

And under ALL that was a dozen Philly soft pretzels with a huge packet of salt. Heat in the oven and enjoy. OMG are you drooling yet!?

This box is everything that’s right with Philly! Surprise someone who lives out of state, send one to yourself if you are in the City of Brotherly Love anymore. Plus it’s perfect for the holidays, for family who lives out of town or wants a piece of Philly when they leave, or create a custom box for your wedding for your guests. “The wedding boxes came soon after we began. We thought, what better way for people getting married in Philadelphia to welcome their out-of-town guests than with a box full of Philly favorites? They’re customizable and can be tailored to fit most budgets.”

“We know it’s not just about the products. We know that there are some places outside of Philadelphia that carry Herr’s Chips and Tastykakes, what we really hope to deliver is an experience. We want people to open their box and get that Philly nostalgia, a taste of home no matter where they are,” Tim concludes.

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And let’s not forget the sweet map/art rendering of Philadelphia!