Black Owned: GO Philly Cheesesteaks & Wing

Go Philly had a legacy prior to it being a business. It’s owner, J. Kinlow, is one of the Black business owners in Tacoma that understood how to grow his business portfolio. He started with the infamous Kinlow’s barbershop and through good business sense and a steady clientele he grew the business into a barber school and hair boutique inside of the Tacoma mall. But Go Philly first opened its doors in the historic Lincoln District on the corner of 38th and G. St. Interestingly enough you can not find any of that history on the Internet, kinda eerie. Not even a photo from my two day search. But I know it to be there for a fact, because the historic Lincoln district is my neighborhood of origin and most of my childhood best friends and wife who went to and graduated from Lincoln High School participated in eating at the original location. Currently Go Philly has two locations, one in Tacoma just above downtown and one in Lakewood (7421 Custer Rd W Lakewood, WA 98499) that is spacious and doing very well for itself. Unfortunately the Tacoma location was in a building that Kinlow didn’t own and per usual in Tacoma the black man who built his way up is being torn down. Fortunately for Kinlow he’s played the game long enough to know the rules don’t change and system behind it is the same. You can expect a new and improved Tacoma Go Philly location coming soon. We have the initial details but passing those along seems inappropriate. We’ll save that for J. Kinlow and his crew. 

You want to eat here, the classics are timeless. You must at least TRY the fried Okra, ANY of the Cheesesteaks, or that Catfish Po Boy. We can’t talk the good up. It’s already up and it’s stuck. Now you just need to find your favorite items on the menu.