Guests at a January birthday party gets candle-making tips at the new Corks & Candles on Cricket Ave. in Ardmore.
Already bustling Cricket Ave. in downtown Ardmore is poised to get even busier.
We’ve already told you about the posh new day spa, Cure de Repos, in Cricket Flats, the newish luxury apartment/retail complex just down the road from eight-story One Ardmore.
Well, right next door to the spa, an equally stylish outpost of Corks & Candles is off to a promising start.
“Birthday parties, bridal showers, date nights, girls nights – anything you’re celebrating, this is the place to come,” enthuses owner Chris Holloway, who opened the BYOB candle-making biz with wife Tia (below) after retiring from a 30-year career in finance.
Chris and Tia Holloway also sell already-made candles at Corks & Candles on Cricket Ave.
While they sip and snack, guests use “pairing notes” to make two, 8 oz. candles, mixing-and-matching 45 scents from a scent library. BYO beverages and nibbles are encouraged. Sessions take about 90 minutes and cost $62.
Corks & Candles’ flagship is in the King of Prussia Town Center. Ardmore is its first franchise location.
Just a block south on Cricket, a sweet new plant shop, Plant 4 Good, uses horticulture to connect the community
Plant4Good owner Carolyn Vachani at her new shop near John Henry’s Pub in Ardmore. A retired nurse, Vachani became certified in therapeutic horticulture after gardening at her Merion Station home helped her cope with the stresses of COVID.
The ground floor of this Cricket Avenue charmer sells a curated array of plants, pots, supplies and support – and just about every cute, garden-inspired gift on God’s green earth.
The lower-level of Plant4Good offers something else entirely: a wide array of fun, sometimes quirky, plant-centered workshops. On tap so far this year: Galentine flower-arranging, sourdough baking, low-tox living, lip-balm making and seed gardening.
Unique hands-on happenings are just the start of what owner Carolyn Vachani has planned.
Certified in therapeutic horticulture, she envisions Plant 4 Good as a hub for spreading the joys of gardening to community groups, senior centers and schools.
According to Vachani, who was a Penn oncology nurse educator until her retirement, playing in the dirt boosts wellness and longevity. Plants cleans our air while gardening reduces stress, offers gentle stretching, Vitamin D, sunshine and socialization, she says.
“Lots of people who live in Blue [longevity] Zones garden into their 90s. The gentle exercise prevents falls and broken hips and helps them stay active for many years.”
In Vachani’s mind, the “plant” in Plant 4 Good is a verb. “The activity of planting – whether for your personal benefit or for a community garden that supplies a food pantry – brings about good.”
Also coming to Cricket Ave.: a full-service restaurant with outdoor dining
With Twenty One Pips closed, there’s a big, fat retail vacancy at the ground level of eight-story One Ardmore while the slightly newer Cricket Flats down the street is now fully leased. A local restauranteur, who prefers not to be named, is taking the last unfilled spot on the corner and will open a 3,265 sq. ft eatery with covered outdoor sidewalk dining.
According to Cricket Flat’s leasing agent, Peter Spain of CORE Development, the restaurant’s working name is Rafs. It’s a new concept for the restauranteur and shouldn’t be confused with the bakery café, Rafs, in New York City.
