Kevin Kalitz Jr. suggested that we shouldn’t do our interview inside of Beka’s, the cafe he manages inside of Franklin Field. He had a different idea.
“Let’s talk in there,” Kalitz told me, gesturing towards the Palestra.
We made our way into the arena, finding a spot in the backless bleachers. Below us, Penn men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery was barking commands through the final leg of his team’s morning practice.
Kalitz sits in on practice regularly, even though he sees the team enough inside the cafe.
“I can go across this court [and] tell you what they’re all going to order in 15 minutes, even the smoothie they drink,” Kalitz said. “If I wasn’t here with you, I would be in there prepping some of it, because they all come — when there’s practice — they all come in as a group.”
Kalitz’s family has owned Beka’s Catering since he was a teenager. Over almost three decades, the business has catered the Philadelphia Marathon as well as countless other events and celebrations.
Although it sounds like the name of a person, “Beka” is actually an acronym of the Kalitz family’s first initials: “B” and “E” for daughters Brittany and Erica, “K” for father and son Kevin, and “A” for Anna, the mother.
In 2001, after Kalitz graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia, Penn offered his family a location inside of the Chemistry 1973 building at 34th and Spruce streets. Although his father was not initially interested, Kalitz jumped at the opportunity to manage what would then become Beka’s Chemistry Cafe.
The cafe moved across 33rd Street to become Beka’s at Franklin Field in 2021. It has resided on Shoemaker Green since then, quickly becoming a staple for student-athletes looking to grab a quick meal while running to and from practice.
“Kevin’s dedication and support to our student athletes makes Beka’s special,” men’s basketball senior guard/forward Ethan Roberts wrote in a statement. “He’s become a known face to many Penn teams and moreover, an engrained piece to our basketball team.”
Since moving to the student-athletes’ side of campus, this feeling has been mutual.
“I’m surrounded by more like-minded people here, right? In other words, we’re sports people, I’m a sports guy. My family are sports people. So around here, I’m more around my people,” Kalitz said.
Kalitz’s father, Kevin Kalitz Sr., grew up in nearby Grays Ferry. As a kid, Kalitz Sr. would cross the South Street Bridge to watch the Philadelphia Eagles at Franklin Field. The franchise called the stadium its home from 1958 to 1970. Kalitz Sr. and his friends would clamber into the stands to high-five Eagles players after they finished practice.
“The biggest thing [for me] is that our name is on that building,” Kalitz said. “The company that my father built is on Franklin Field. And I think that’s a pretty cool accomplishment. … He [was] a little kid who would go there and hang out, and this was his neighborhood.”
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Halfway through our conversation, Kalitz’s 12-year-old son, Kevin Kalitz III or “Little Kev,” joined us in the stands. Like his grandfather, Kalitz III has made Penn’s block of sports venues his hangout spot.
Kalitz III had just finished having a catch with former Penn baseball pitcher Ryan Dromboski, who had come into Beka’s earlier that morning for breakfast. Kalitz III, a baseball player himself, was thrilled to tell us that his hand was sore from Dromboski’s pitches. He was, after all, having a catch with a professional pitcher.
After putting together an impressive three years on the mound for Penn baseball, Dromboski opted to leave Penn a year early after signing as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies. Last year, he made 17 appearances with the Single-A Clearwater Threshers, posting a 2.69 ERA.
Now, Dromboski’s back on campus and finishing up his degree in communication. He’s also found himself back at Beka’s — a staple of his college experience.
“Kevin’s a great guy,” Dromboski said. “The way he runs that shop. It’s very welcoming. You walk in, you’re instantly greeted before you even order.”
“It’s nice to have Kevin’s son come out to our games — whether it be Penn football, squash, basketball, baseball, really anything — anytime we see him,” Dromboski added. “He’s just a great light and really fun to be around.”
This semester, Beka’s has partnered with members of the Penn Athletics community to launch two new smoothies.
Fans of Penn baseball can order “Pok’s Double Choc,” named for senior utility player Jarrett Pokrovsky. The shake has two scoops of chocolate protein powder, peanut butter, banana, and milk. Meanwhile, strength and conditioning assistant coach Zack Zoller, or “Zops,” got a peanut butter and jelly smoothie named after him as well.
“I don’t know how I got a smoothie. I got lucky,” Zoller said. “The weight room is a good spot, because we see pretty much all the athletes. … We know plenty of kids on other teams, and the kids on all the teams know us.”
Although Penn is beginning to dip its toes into name, image, and likeness deals, these nicknamed smoothies are all in good fun.
“This is all just friendships, and it’s nothing more than that. … It’s not a crazy business deal,” Kalitz said. “You get some athletes that walk in, and [I learn] so-and-so from basketball is friends with so-and-so from lacrosse. I would have never known that if they didn’t walk in and say, ‘let me get the Zops. Let me get a Poc’s Double Choc.’”
Beka’s has always been a family business, ingrained in its name and passed down from generation to generation. With the cafe’s move to Franklin Field and its embrace by the Penn Athletics community, the business has taken on an extended family. That’s made all the difference for Kalitz.
“I had a job right out of the gate with my family business, and that was something that I had no problem being involved in, and I was always involved in,” Kalitz said. “I didn’t think twice about it. … I still don’t believe I made the wrong decision. I think this is for me; this is who I am. This is what I do, and I enjoy it.”
Practice ended. The steady dribble of the basketball and our conversation followed suit. We left the Palestra, and I scurried home to write. Kalitz made his way back to Beka’s, prepping for the team’s usual orders.
