Hemorrhaging economy be damned — West Philly is the hottest area in the city right now when it comes to openings. There's the new Naked Chocolate opening at 35th and Walnut in mid-October. Right up the block from the new Middle Eastern spot Hummus, the third Capogiro is joining outposts of the Chipotle and Jimmy John's chains in the brand-new Radian building at 39th and Walnut. Yardhouse American Grill and Sports Bar is replacing Ecco Qui at 32nd and Chestnut. The Memphis Taproomers are opening Local 44 in the former Kelliann's at 44th and Spruce.

But that's not all. After the jump, details on four new places you might not have heard about yet.

Let's start way out west with Crispy Sweetie, a new popcorn and sweets shop on the corner of 52nd and Addision (434 S. 52nd St., 215-472-6065). Owner Gyeong Moon is an Oklahoma native who relocated to Philly a few months back; she actually ran a cheesesteak shop in Tulsa before moving here. Moon specializes in sweet/salty kettle corn and other specialty popcorn varieties — cinnamon, blueberry, grape, cherry, jalapeno, cheddar, etc. (Each bag has a prize inside!) There's also a selection of old-school treats (Slap Sticks, candy cigarettes) and assorted Japanese snacks, from chocolate and strawberry Pocky to the it's-kind-of-an-acquired-taste shrimp chips. They're open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Photo | Drew Lazor

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Ethio Café, the small sitdown/takeout at 44th and Chestnut (4400 Chestnut St., 215-222-2104), reopened around two weeks ago under the management of new owner Genet Bersoma. She says she's in process of tweaking and updating the menu, but you can check out what they have as of right now by clicking the thumbnail at right. They have daily specials, as well. (Check out the Small Bites section in our upcoming issue for info on their amazing lamb kikil dish.)

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Whip around the corner to the shopping center on Chestnut between 43th and 44th and you'll find yet another recently reborn African restaurant: Kilimandjaro (4317 Chestnut St., 215-387-1970), which specializes in Senegalese cuisine and other dishes out of West Africa. Still in its "grand reopening" stage, they're serving lunch and dinner — specialties like thieboudienne (fish stew over rice) and sauce feuille. (Literally "leaf sauce," it is traditionally meat cooked with the leaves of indigenous plants. Here, it's lamb combined with spinach and palm oil.) We've got a scan of their menu, as well.

Last one for now: We've got news of a happy return. Café Clave was a Cubano-themed coffee shop that owner Armen "Gooch" Terzian ran at 4305 Locust St. from 2003 to 2004. After it closed, and Douglas Witmer and Daniel Thut took it over as the Other Green Line. They moved that shop up to 4426 Locust over the summer. Now, Terzian is about a month away from resurrecting Clave, and locals seem to be amped on it — when we dropped by, some old regulars were inside catching up with Gooch, a coffee enthusiast and Afro-Cuban percussionist who's played in bands like McCuba and Caesar and the Latin Playboys. "Quality music, quality food and quality coffee" are on the docket for the reopening — he'll be doing Lavazza espresso, Torreo coffee, a Cuban-themed menu and live music. Interested in performing? E-mail Gooch at thegooch325[at]yahoo[dot]com.

West Philly openings round-up