Tom Starner

When it comes to Philadelphia’s history, McGillin’s Olde Ale House has no peer. With its beer taps flowing since 1860—the year the nation first elected Abraham Lincoln—McGillin’s is the oldest continuously operating tavern in the city as well as one of the country’s oldest.

In one corner, c-stores, trying to reinvent themselves and steal customers from restaurants by beefing up the quality and quantity of their food.