Musings on a year of Very Main Line moments

Well, that was something. Promising beginnings. Bittersweet endings. Bubbling controversies. And nagging questions.

Long vacant and forlorn, two sleeping giants were nudged awake in Wayne and Devon:

A group of Main Line movers and shakers was working quietly (until we spilled the beans) to resurrect the historic Anthony Wayne Theater as a community film-arts-and-culture hub. Will their new nonprofit raise enough cash to light up the long-dark marquee? We’ll be first to pop some corn – and corks – when that time comes.

And that fish-out-of-water restaurant complex opposite Whole Foods in Devon (below) – once home to Shiraz and La Jonquille – finally got a taker. But how new owner Rich Kim manages to turn a flashy Persian palace into a second SALT Korean BBQ and another restaurant TBA is very much TBD.

We also welcomed a slew of new businesses, many of which struck that perfect Main Line balance between tradition and trendiness. And, in the case of the wildly anticipated Trader Joe’s in Berwyn: between free-spending and thriftiness.

Several old-timers received much-needed glow-ups in Wayne. The long-vacant Gap is now Ballard Designs. The old Cowan’s Flowers is now Nature’s Vin wine bar & shop. The old Starbucks is now World Wide Stereo. And over in Bryn Mawr, the old Barnes & Noble is now … a new Barnes & Noble.

Two Radnor properties received handsome mane-to-tail equestrian makeovers. Droves of us saddled up for Triple Crown Restaurant, Bar & Events at the Radnor Hotel while Vanner House, unfortunately, didn’t survive a full year. Tough location for a niche boutique but we sure were pulling for you gals.

But the Main Line wasn’t just horse happy (and sad. See Radnor Hunt Races below.) We adored more portable pets. Witness the transformation of an oversized old Rite Aid in Devon into a Ritz Carlton for dogs, aka K9 Resorts Luxury Pet Hotel.  Meanwhile, Ardmore’s Main Line Urgent Vet Care understood that when it comes to our ailing dogs, we want treatment, um, YESTERDAY.

 We also appreciated beauty in unexpected places. How ’bout all those marvelous new murals dotting Berwyn and Devon and the sweet makeover of Schauffele Plaza in Ardmore?

Hipsters and yo-pros flocked to downtown Ardmore – actually most already live there – to embrace quirky newcomers like Plants 4 Good, Cork & Candles, and the new Mystic of the Main Line. Our question: How did these whippersnappers already know coffee-cup readings were a thing?

Meanwhile, the Land Rover set converged on upscale Ardmore newbies like Leveaux Pilates and Cure de Repos Day Spa. Wait ‘til they hear Arhaus and Barry’s Bootcamp are heading to Suburban Square.

The Main Line again made dining out a prized sport. 

In Berwyn, Settantatre Pasta & Provisions and Laine’s Bakery set a new standard for gluten-free fare.

In Wayne, Burton’s Grill & Bar snazzed up the old Chili’s with decently-priced American fare, and Maison Lotus and Jade Rabbit Speakeasy at the old Margaret Kuo’s, transported us to Season 3 of White Lotus – without the creepy stuff.

And it seemed all of Wayne went nuts when we announced a Strafford outpost of Johnny’s Pizza, the crazy-good pizza and steak shop In Bryn Mawr. We get the buzz but why oh why is their long-awaited sign so darn small?

A few miles east, Love & Honey Fried Chicken received a warm southern Howdy-Doo near Rosemont Square – and that was during Villanova’s finals. Just wait ’til those coeds returns to campus after break, flush with Nova bucks.

A few blocks away, the no-frills gem, Manorah, started serving up grandmom’s authentic Thai recipes. We’re rooting for this sweet little family. You?

Just off the Pike, we caught a scent of impending success at Aroma on Ford. Finally, a worthy successor to West Conshy’s Stella Blu.

Main Line entrepreneurs again proved you don’t need an MBA; you just need a good idea. 

KidsPark in Haverford, Clubhouse Wellness Center  near Valley Forge and Find A Sitter Today in Bryn Mawr reimagined childcare while BOBIcares connected us to on-demand care for our parents.

Main Line Purls in Devon built a community of knitters.

Main Line Pumpkins made bounteous pumpkin displays fall’s must-have home accessory.

And Bryn Mawr’s Color Pharmacy brought customized hair color home and its cost back to earth.

Concierge-style medicine took off with the debuts of Bryn Mawr Personalized Primary Care and, for women of a certain age, the nearby MP Collective.

Meanwhile, Main Line Health filled in the blank between Paoli Hospital and Bryn Mawr Hospital with a comprehensive new facility near the Devon Horse Show.

Tredyffrin-Easttown School District colored outside the lines when it began converting a Berwyn office building to Bear Hill Elementary. One surplus office complex down, a zillion more to go.

But 2025 wasn’t all rainbows and roses.

The Main Line asked questions, expected the best and understood that details matter. In other words, folks who felt wronged showed up and were heard.

A critical mass of Radnor students and parents smelled censorship when an ad hoc committee – following district policy – removed three books with LGBTQ themes from the high school library. Kids walked out of school in protest and the school board got an earful. Not only were the books re-shelved but the district set out to update the policy.

Tredyffrin Township and Chesterbrook neighbors watched a former swim & tennis club slowly go to seed over a development fight and said, to heck with it. We’ll buy the land ourselves and turn it into a racquet park.

Radnor township and Wayne Presbyterian had a polite tug-of-war over the church’s prized parking spaces. Eminent domain was threatened but cooler heads worked out a new lease agreement and everyone went home happy. Holiday parking, saved!

Aggravating pickleball pops pitted Berwyn neighbors against the community treasure they otherwise loved living near: the Upper Main Line YMCA. Courts were closed while neighbors went to court.

Artificial Intelligence reared its disturbing head in local schools. We told you about the despicable AI-generated video of girls at Radnor High School. A nickel for every other school mishap involving AI that was kept quiet.

Meanwhile, a plan to merge the Harriton and Lower Merion football teams was short-circuited when the superintendent came out against it. Is it game over? Maybe for now. But keep an eye on those dispirited Harriton players and their parents. Losing’s no fun.

The site of Berwyn Square (the old Handel’s block) continued its multiyear reign as an Upper Main Line Eyesore. Will developer DP Partners Group ever put a shovel in the rubble? Or will DP unload the project to another developer? Or will Easttown supervisors don superhero capes, swoop in to buy the block by eminent domain and turn it into a park? Merchants may balk but, boy, would Berwyn Village folks whoop it up.

Meanwhile, Gladwyne braced for major changes to its bustling little village after a Bryn Mawr developer started buying up buildings but wouldn’t say why. Stay tuned – we’ll have fresh details soon. Hint: some will be tasty.

But Gladwyne’s goings on seemed quaint compared to the behemoth bound for Ardmore. The long-stalled overhaul of the IHOP and nearby car dealerships on Lancaster Ave. was bought by a new developer touting local cred and toting updated plans and a new name for the 270-unit apartment/retail project: The Piazza at Ardmore. All well and good but any way you slice this piazza, it’s A LOT to swallow.

While we’re talking development, The Powers That Be – with residents’ input – started master planning the downtowns of Ardmore, Wayne and Berwyn. Top of mind: easy parking, walkability/bike-ability, traffic/density, preserving “character,” and finding “the right retail mix.” Props for thinking ahead. As they say, it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.

And national news kept spilling over our shores. Scores of boomers picketed weekly outside the Devon Tesla and gathered en masse at suburban No Kings protests. November’s elections only confirmed what’s been increasingly clear: even the Main Line’s purplish zip codes are bright blue. When longtime Willistown Republican “Farmer Bob” Lange hosts a fundraiser for the Democrat running for the supervisor seat he’s vacating, you know the Chesco GOP has some work to do.

Is this good-bye?

The Main Line may lose Radnor Hunt Races, THE place to schmooze in seersucker each May.  Radnor Hunt Club began the search for a new partner to manage its signature steeplechase-a-palooza but amid rising costs that may be a fence too tall, even for the horsey set. Which means the nearly 100th running of the Radnor Races this May could be its last. In a certain social strata, the collapse of the Races would be right up there with the end of the Vassar Show House, the Academy Ball and the Antique Show.

Valley Forge Military College soldiered on. For now. But the end of Valley Forge Military Academy, a Main Line institution since 1928, draws nigh. (Psssst. There’s a new plan brewing for 14 acres of primo VFMA real estate not previously reported and it’s not Eastern U. We’re on it.)

Speaking of primo properties, the once gracious estate of the late philanthropist Dodo Hamilton stood tattered and tottering behind Eagle Village Shops. The signs for its replacement, the single family homes of “Strafford Walk,” went up in the fall. So it’s go time for Rockwell Custom to bulldoze the mansion, greenhouses and outbuildings. We’re just glad Mrs. Hamilton, a prize-winning amateur horticulturalist, didn’t live to see her beloved backyard overrun with weeds.

After 50 years in Bryn Mawr, The Birth Center – we never could get used to the “Lifecycle Wellness” part – will deliver its last babies next month, done in by rising costs. A crying shame.

Bryn Mawr’s ambitious but ill-fated Il Fiore put a fork in it. For four years, the upscale Italian spot failed to find its footing despite its early association with celebrated chef Marc Vetri. The cognoscenti much preferred its predecessor, Enoteca Tredici, despite its association with once-embattled restaurateur Greg Dodge, who now lives happily in South Florida. “I have no legal issues,” he tells us.

Among other so-longs shared in SAVVY:

Joanne Fabrics in Gateway, Main Line Seafood in Paoli, Teuscher’s Chocolates in Wayne, John Henry’s Pub in Ardmore, Gladwyne Market and Blackfish BYOB in Conshohocken.

After 80 years in Paoli, Walter J. Cook Jeweler became Michael Cook Jeweler in smaller, by-appointment space in Paoli.

Also in Paoli Deborah Van Cleve sold her 39-year-old wedding dress business and in a same-church-new-pew way, now beautifies homes rather than bodies at nearby Window Concepts.

And finally, we gave high fives to a multitude of worthy people, businesses and orgs, including:

…Bryn Mawr Film Institute and Sam Scott for giving us 20 years of laughs, tears, chills, thrills and brainy film studies.

…T & E Care, FLITE and Sandi Gorman (co-founder of both) for quietly filling in financial gaps for local families for 20 years.

…Portrait photographer David Campli, locals know him as Mr. Malvern, who celebrated 35 years and counting on King Street.

…Handel’s Ice Cream which rang in 20 years in Berwyn with a festival that raised funds in memory of owner Buck Buchanan’s best friend, the late, great “Big Dan” McMonigle.

…Breastcancer.org and the Women’s Resource Center for empowering women for 25 and 50 years, respectively.

…The volunteer food pantries from Narberth to Paoli that fed folks during uncertain economic times.

…Beth Kephart, the literary lioness who lives among us, for her first foray into fiction. Tomorrow Will Bring Sunday’s News: A Philadelphia Story is a shimmering triumph.

…Michael Caruso, now the proud owner of Silverspoon in Eagle Village Shops after waiting tables there for 14 years. PS He still waits tables.

…Veteran broadcaster and longtime Main Liner Tracy Davidson who gracefully exited the anchor stage to share her warmth and wisdom with in-person audiences across the country.

…And 60-year Tredyffrin resident Chubby Checker, 84, who was finally installed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Twister campaigned for the honor – can’t blame him for that – but lives like a hermit at home. Have you run into him at Wegmans? We sure haven’t.