Eagles, U.S. and Italian flags festoon Aroma on Ford at the corner of Front and Ford Streets in West Conshohocken. Newtown Square/Avalon residents Gary and Gail DeSanto formerly owned Alessandro’s in Wayne.
After Stella Blu closed in 2018, its handsome West Conshy home, mere minutes from the Main Line, has ricocheted – repeatedly.
For six months, it was Imbibe Food & Drink, a small-plates spot operated by the chef/owner of Malvern’s Restaurant Alba.
Then it was Jasper’s West Side Tavern.
Then, West Side Bar & Grill.
Then, in 2023, a fishy new concept, Catch 101, caught on for a while.
But now, a new owner with Italian blood and Main Line cred has come to town. We think he’ll stay awhile.
Real estate investor Gary DeSanto, who revived Alessandro’s in Wayne during the two+ years he owned it, paid just under $1 million for the historic Stella Blu building in September.
A couple months later, in a culinary partnership with the Cardillo brothers of South Philly’s Aroma on Third, DeSanto and his wife, Gail, unveiled its sister spot, Aroma on Ford, with elevated Abruzzese fare and cut-above craft cocktails.
DeSanto tells us he’s also trying to acquire nearby Blackfish, the well-regarded BYOB that’s closing at year’s end.
Foodies Gary and Gail DeSanto – who turned around Alessandro’s in Wayne when they owned it – at their new venture, Aroma on Ford, in West Conshohocken. The two renovated the circa-1900 building and brought in a chef partner from Aroma on Third in South Philly. A Radnor alum runs the bar.
We sniffed around the place and sampled a potpourri of pasta last week. Our take: An Aroma this appetizing will stick around.
For starters, the space has never been more inviting.
Comfy new stools anchor the snug bar, cozy banquettes line the whitewashed-brick dining room where art TVs show crackling fireplaces. (Everyone has a fireside seat!) There are new lights overhead and new foyer tiles underfoot. The rear dining area sports a splash of zesty Italian wallpaper.
It all makes for an “elevated but warm and comfortable experience,” says DeSanto who talks about every piece falling into place: a cool building in a “hot town,” a former Alessandro’s standout employee willing to cross the country to lead the bar, and most crucial of all: a “pasta master” from Philly’s Aroma on Third eager to expand to the burbs,
Indeed, minority partner and executive chef Joe Cardillo, a native of Abruzzo, is pumping out nine shapes of homemade pastas with an array of sauces, house-made sweet sausages, bread baked onsite daily and scratch-made desserts.
Two early hits: the Malfadine Bolognese ($30), and the owner-inspired “Gary’s” Paccheri (tubular noodles) with jumbo lump crab in spicy tomato sauce ($35). Erano buonissime!
The dessert tray at Aroma on Ford. Like the pasta dishes, desserts are homemade, generously sized and delish.
Meanwhile at the bar, Radnor High School ’10 alum Andrew Perrot, who opened Alessandro’s with DeSanto, was lured back from California to manage the mixology. Using techniques learned at NYC’s iconic speakeasy, Milk & Honey, including fat-washing, smoking and infusing, Perrot is pouring tasty twists on classic cocktails.
The $16 Ford Wallbanger (left) combines Ketel One vodka with Galliano and grapefruit. The $18 Porchetta Old Fashioned features pork fat-washed whiskey and smoked pecan and is Aroma’s top seller.
On the dinner menu: Antipasti $19 – $28; Soups and salads $12 – $18; House-made pasta $25 – $36; Entrées $28 – $56; Sides $12.
On the lunch menu: Salads and soups from $12; Sandwiches $15; Pasta $25 – $26.
“I find that a lot of people don’t know what they want when they go to a restaurant,” DeSanto explains. “I always wanted to create a place where I could say to them, ‘This is what you should have tonight.’ Our menu will be ever changing. It’s pretty unlikely you’re gonna come back week over week and see the same food.”
Aroma on Ford, 101 Ford Street, Conshohocken, is open Tues. – Sun. 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Private parties and buyouts available. Contact [email protected].
This and That
The old Gap building in Wayne has never looked better. After a long buildout, home furnisher Ballard Designs is open at last in the historic former Woolworth at 132 E. Lancaster Ave. The 10,000 sq. ft. space showcases traditional and transitional design in inviting room vignettes. Ballard’s King of Prussia Mall store was open for 10 years and closed Nov. 22.
How’s this for an out-of-the-box pairing? An Indian brewpub. The owners of popular Indian spots in Exton and Downingtown just opened Vibe Haus Indian Plates & Taps at the old Lotus Inn on Swedesford Road.
The modern industrial vibe at the new Vibe House at the former Lotus Inn. Owners also operate Adyar Café in Exton and Nalal Indian Cuisine in Downingtown.
The pub-inspired menu features Indian fare with modern twists. Think Paneer Bao Sliders, Malabar Fish Tacos, Tandoori Chicken Flatbread and Calcutta Crab Cakes.
House-brewed craft beers on tap in early 2026. Mumbai Mango IPA, a Bangalore Haze or Himalayan White Ale anyone?
Vibe House Indian Plates & Taps, 402 Swedesford Rd., Berwyn, 835-224-5334 is open 10:30 to 10 p.m. daily.
The former Tower Health clinic on Conestoga Road in Radnor is going to the dogs. Affinity Veterinary Health of Malvern is expanding east and renovating the building.
Suburban Square’s rep as a hub for fitness, wellness and beauty burnishes ever brighter with news that trendy Barry’s Bootcamp is coming to town. Hugely popular across the country, Barry’s is taking an end space at Coulter Place, the new retail/apartment project rolling out in the new year opposite Ardmore Farmer’s Market. This is Barry’s second PA studio after Rittenhouse Square.
Other Coulter Place tenants signed to date sound a similar fitness/beauty beat: Skin Laundry (facial rejuvenation lasers); Sugared + Bronzed (gentle hair removal and sunless spray tans); Rhone (performance clothing) and New Balanced (sneakers, athletic apparel).
A sorry sayonara for local moms seeking childbirth options. Lifecycle Wellness and Birth Center in Bryn Mawr – long known simply as “The Birth Center” – is closing after 47 years and 16,000 babies born. The nonprofit offered midwife-centered childbirth in a supportive homelike environment along with prenatal, postnatal and gynecologic care, childbirth education and support groups.
In a statement, Lifecycle blamed several challenges: “shifts in public health” and “rising rates of medical complications” that have shrunk the Center’s optimal pool of healthy, low-risk pregnancies; growing costs for staffing, training and facilities upkeep; and a “steady increase in medical malpractice premiums and legal pressures on maternal care providers.” Community programs end in January; the last babies will be born Feb. 15.
Delaware County just took steps to protect LGBTQ+ residents. A new ordinance prohibits discrimination and establishes a human relations commission to adjudicate complaints. Delco is the third collar county and reportedly the 79th local government in PA to enact legislation safeguarding LGBTQ rights, a community that has been repeatedly targeted by the Trump Administration.
New details about Villanova’s plans for its Cabrini campus. The 112-acre tract will house 900 sophomores in six dorms and one apartment-style building along with several academic programs including the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences with “state-of-the-art” vivarium, the graduate nursing school, core ethics courses and media labs for the Department of Communications. Other highlights: a 100,000 sq. ft. modern sports and rec complex aka The Dixon Center, diverse dining experiences, and a dedicated study center with Tech Zone. The new campus will welcome its first students in August of 2026.
The Buttery spreads ever wider. First, a flagship in Eastside Flats, then a stand at the Malvern train station (which closed for good Dec. 19), then a new bakehouse in Norristown, then a stall at Ardmore Farmer’s Market, and coming in early 2026, a larger café at the old Kindred Collective in Bryn Mawr. But wait. They’re not finished yet. The team is actively seeking new locations – small kiosks, large format coffeeshops or co-tenancies – in the Greater Philadelphia Region.
Meanwhile, Carlino’s Market is coming to South Philly. The Ardmore and West Chester Italian food emporium will partner with Happy Bear Coffee Co., to provide grab-and-go items at a new café at the Navy Yard.
Seven new propane-powered Chesco Connect buses are now on area roads, with nine more to come. The switch from gasoline will save the county $20,000 per vehicle in fuel and operating costs in the first year – up to 50% savings, according to ROUSH CleanTech, the vehicles’ developers. They also run cleaner, dramatically cutting emissions of air pollutants.
Dom Fixes Bikes (DFB) done it again – this year delivering a record 201 bikes to people who otherwise can’t afford them this Christmas.
The DFB team was pumped to load bikes on the moving van last Thursday.
For those marooned on an iceberg: DFB is the nonprofit helmed by Conestoga student Dom Pecora, 16, a TIME Magazine “Kid of the Year” honoree. We gave him his first press when he opened a bike repair shop at age 10. A real slacker, young Dom also led the push for a bike skills park in Tredyffrin, which should open in Mill Road Park next year. DFB repairs bikes at its Malvern storefront and partners with community groups and schools to distribute scores of new bikes each year. This year’s bikes went to kids identified by Changemakers in Pottstown, T/E, Oxford and Norristown schools, and an organization that supports grandparents raising kids.
Some needed TLC is on tap for Tredyffrin’s Friendship Park in Paoli. The Commonwealth has approved a $350,000 grant for the park’s revitalization through the PA Dept of Community and Economic Development. Infrastructure upgrades and improved ADA access are planned.
Guilty as charged. Kevin Krebs, 32, the Malvern man accused of bringing guns to the No Kings protest in West Chester last June and storing 13 bombs at home has pleaded guilty in federal court. He faces up to 10 years in prison and will be sentenced in March.
Well, our social posts about The Silverspoon changing hands were quite the hit.
If you missed it, we shared exciting news about a fixture at Strafford’s coziest BYOB. Michael Caruso, an unfailingly cordial and efficient server with a freakish memory for names, has worked at The Silverspoon for 14 of its 15 years in Eagle Village Shops. And now – wait for it – he owns the place. And he’s STILL waiting tables! Caruso tells us he hopes to increase The Silverspoon’s off-site catering business and restaurant buyouts for private parties..
Lower Merion has doubled its parking meter rates to $1/hour or $1.50/hour in select downtown spots including Cricket Avenue, Cricket Terrace and Rittenhouse Place, and surface lots at Cricket Terrace and Schauffele Plaza. Only the Cricket Ave. Parking Garage remains untouched at just $.50/hour.
If he builds it, they will come … to the old John Henry’s in Ardmore. Sales data showed a bunch of folks from Lower Merion were customers at Dan Tsao’s popular Sichuan spot in Chinatown, so the restaurateur decided to put a third EMei (E-may) in Ardmore, reports Mike Klein at the Inquirer. Tsao, who lives in Lower Merion, bought the old John Henry’s Pub on Cricket Ave. (RIP) and expects to open next summer. Coming online a bit sooner should be Tsao’s second EMei at the former Marra’s in East Passyunk.
Shoutout to big-hearted Irene Brotsky, a dynamo who lives in Villanova and is celebrating the 20-year anniversary of her company, Premiere Home Care. We’re told not only is Brotsky a delightful boss, but she also spends countless hours leading food and clothing drives and helping veterans. (Her significant other is a retired Marine). Nice, right?
Seeking alternative approaches to healing? The Scattering Seeds Collective will stage its second FREE holistic health summit at Penn State Great Valley Feb. 21. The day will showcase a diverse group of integrative health and wellness experts with a focus on chronic illnesses, autoimmune conditions, mental health challenges and prevention. The Collective’s co-founder is Episcopal Academy mom Melissa Esterhai who struggled to find help for a son with the debilitating autoimmune condition, PANDAS/PANS.
Well Rooted is certainly off to a rousing start. The new nonprofit started by Ardmore mom Sarah Todd and Havertown mom Katie Casey was just selected as a Phillies Charity and received a $40,000 grant. Well Rooted offers mentorship and support to young people and families entering, existing or exiting the foster care system in Greater Philadelphia.
Will the third pitch be the charm? Radnor School Board is weighing a plan to open a charter school at Valley Forge Military Academy next fall. Last week’s was the third charter-school pitch to the school board and the first pitch to come before the board after the military academy announced its closure in May of 2026. The other two were rejected but this one – for a school for kids in grades 6 to 12 eyeing careers in law enforcement, emergency response and the military – looks more promising. The board will question the charter school applicants at a Jan. 20 meeting and must vote yay or nay by March 1.
Never say die. After filing for bankruptcy in 2013 and closing all stores, Bed Bath & Beyond is mounting a comeback in partnership with Kirkland’s. All Kirkland’s stores – presumably including locations in Wayne’s Gateway Shopping Center and Exton – will be converted to “Bed Bath & Beyond Home” stores in the next two years. The new, smaller-format stores will offer merchandise from both retailers. Great news for packrats: If you haven’t pitched them yet, those ubiquitous Bed Bath & Beyond coupons WILL be honored.
Some like it hot … for Pilates. That’s why downtown Ardmore’s newish Leaveaux Pilates is already renovating next door. The new space will be dedicated to infrared-heated mat Pilates.
Wallace Dry Goods is gearing up for its Super Bowl, aka Dry January. The booze-free Ardmore bottle shop and bar has always carried the makings for mocktails but now offers an expanding array of functional beverages. Powered by adaptogens like ashwagandha, lion’s mane and l-theonine amino acids, they’re not intoxicating but can offer a little pick-me-up or calming effect. Wallace officially kicks off Dry January on the 2nd when their sample bar will be open all day.
Thank you for your service. Tredyffrin Township honored two longtime supervisors at their final board meetings last Monday night. Congratulations and happy trails to Murph Wysocki who served for 12 years and Matt Holt who served for eight. When they could be binge-watching Task or settling in with a bestseller, they entered the arena to work for their communities for a pittance.
Main Line Urgent Vet in Ardmore is hosting a meet-and-greet reception with acclaimed pet portrait artist Jay McClellan Wednesday, Jan. 21, 7 pm. to 8:30 p.m. McClellan has lent his colorful portraits to lift spirits at the veterinary center on Woodside Road. RSVP to this free event at 610-227-6060.
BellaDonna Gifts’ Donna Martella tells us she’s selling her most popular items in a rear section of her son’s consignment shop, Main Line Revivals. Your only clue is a sign in the window. Radnor officials directed Main Line Revivals to take down its temporary banner outside the building because it was up longer than the ordinance allows.
Make-A-Wish-Philadelphia has a wondrous new Wishing Place in Bala Cynwyd, complete with Wishing Tree, LEGO Room and Think Tank rooms. The color, textures and vibe of the Vince and Lynne Laino Wishing Place were designed to inspire hope, nurture imagination and support children and families as they begin journeys that transform their lives.
Fun fact: More and more big brains at Conestoga are already going to college. Since its inception three years ago, the high school’s dual enrollment program with Gwynedd Mercy U. has doubled in participation and courses offered.
There’s still time to take the pulse of your personal longevity with a (SAVVY-discounted!) PNOE Test and consult. A 10-minute test at Aether Medicine in Wayne will reveal your VO2 Max (widely considered THE key marker of longevity) and the follow-up consult will offer a personalized road map to improving it and living healthier longer. Be sure to tell Aether you want the SAVVY Special: the PNOE test AND the telehealth consult for $350 (regularly $500). Call before Dec. 31 to get the deal – test can be scheduled for early January.
EDITOR”S POSTSCRIPT:
I had a BLAST emceeing the 2025 Tree Lighting at Berwyn Train Station. Hard to say which was more fun: the ugly sweater contest, Mrs. Claus aiming to upstage her husband by arriving in an electric-green Lamborghini, lobbing stuffed moose into eager little hands, or the cavalcade of sugarplum-sweet dancers and singers.
Yours truly with some of Berwyn’s ugliest sweater wearers.
Thanks to the good folks at Eadeh Enterprises, Vern Burling at La Cabra Brewing and Easttown champion Marc Heppe for staging another smashing kickoff to Christmas. Be sure to visit that happy hamlet after dark through the New Year. Its ever-expanding holiday light displays along Lancaster Ave. feature a new Philly LOVE sign and a wiener dog.
And finally… deep thanks for digesting these words. Your time is valuable and the fact that you choose to spend some of it with SAVVY means the world. Please make beautiful memories in the coming days – eat the chocolate, hold loved ones close. I’m off for a little family time and R and R but will come roaring back with fresh scoops in ’26!
Recent Headlines You May Have Missed. Click headline for full story.***
Juggling work, kids and care for older parents? Berwyn-based BOBIcares wants to help.
New details about reported AI-generated video of Radnor High School students
Red (Carpet) Alert! New film focuses on GET Café, Narberth’s uniquely welcoming coffee shop
Hold your horses! Longtime operator and beneficiary to pull out of Radnor Hunt Races
Valley Forge Military shrinks again … this time by half. Eastern U. is the buyer
***All of the above stories were posted to SAVVY’s Instagram & Facebook as soon as they published. Follow @savvymainline to see them as soon as they publish!
Nice sampler plate and drinks!
Happy Holidays to all great reading great way to keep up and enjoy our area!