Jen and Laurel Dunlea and their beloved shih-tzu Ava Gardner in their Narberth home. “There’s no one else I’d rather be trapped with than my mom,” Jen says.
If you didn’t check “yes” next to organ donor on your driver’s license application, consider, if you will, the plight of Jennifer Dunlea.
In the spring of 2020, Jen was a bubbly senior at Harriton High School, excited to study marketing at sunny San Diego State.
Four years later, she’s practically a prisoner in her own home, awaiting her second double-lung transplant.
With her transplanted lungs functioning at 20 percent and slipping, the lifesaving phone call can’t come soon enough.
She’s needed supplemental oxygen 24/7 since 2020. “It’s scary to feel like you’re suffocating even when you’re on oxygen,” she says.
Leaving the Narberth apartment she shares with her mom for anything but medical appointments – and frantic ER visits – seems risky and pointless. Not only is there a constant fear of infection but there’s a wheelchair to maneuver, oxygen tanks to lug around, and the stares of strangers to endure.
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“I’ve been disabled and I’ve been able,” explains Jen, 22, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age 2 but has had long stretches of relative health. “Living in the world as a disabled person is so much harder – not just because of how you’re feeling physically, but [because of] the way you’re looked at and the way you’re treated. Even going for a walk around the neighborhood – you’re treated like an infant and people talk over you. They’ll ask my mom if it’s OK to give me something. But I’m right there. I can talk, you know.”
Worried she’ll bring an infection home to Jen, Laurel Dunlea, a single mom, only ventures out to buy necessities. “I’m a nervous wreck driving her with oxygen tanks,” Laurel confesses.
This week is Jen’s “lungiversary” – usually a joyous marking of the day she received new lungs at CHOP – but there will be no celebration this year. June 7 will be a day like any other: Jen will spend it at home with mom – perhaps working on the adaptive clothing line she’s designing – hoping for the phone to ring.
Jen Dunlea a few days after her double-lung transplant at CHOP at age 13 and (right) in a selfie taken in the ER at the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania in 2023. “Even with the high-liter oxygen that I can only get in the hospital, it’s getting much harder for me to breathe,” Jen says.
Laurel calls the waiting game a “conundrum … There’s such high demand for organs that you have to be really sick to get one. But the longer you wait, the weaker you get and the harder it is to survive and recuperate from such a procedure. It’s just awful.”
After five good years following her initial transplant, Jen developed chronic lung rejection and BOS (Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome). Ravaged by CF, her own lungs lasted 13 years; her transplanted lungs have endured nine. A third pair, however dicey the prospect, is her only option.
Jen and Laurel in Manayunk during a relatively healthy stretch in 2018 and Jen’s 2020 Harriton graduation photo.
Too old for CHOP, Penn Transplant Institute now manages Jen’s daily care but deemed her case too high risk for repeat transplant surgery. Among her complications: a stent to treat a 2018 blood clot, transplant-induced cancer and diabetes, and a new feeding tube.
Jen gives a thumbs up in early May after a feeding tube was inserted in her abdomen to help her gain weight so she can survive a second double-lung transplant. Suffering from chronic nausea, she was down to 87 pounds at the time.
“She’s on so many medications and she was expending so many calories just to breathe,” explains Laurel. “She can’t even get a glass of water for herself. Just walking into the bathroom is a lot for her.”
After a two-year nationwide search for a transplant facility that would accept her, Eureka! The highly respected, high-volume NYU Langone Transplant Institute agreed to list Jen in February.
Getting on NYU’s list has been a huge relief but comes with its own challenges.
The transplant will cost about $1 million. Thus far, the Dunleas have mostly relied on Medicaid. Laurel had to quit working to care for Jen 24/7 and has only taken consulting jobs when her daughter’s health has allowed. “I’ve leveraged everything – my savings, my retirement funds – just to get her the best care,” Laurel says.
The two say they need to relocate to New York to ensure continued Medicaid coverage and proper post-surgical care and therapy at NYU Langone. The first year will be critical.
Commuting from Narberth is out of the question. “Every time I put her in the car to New York, we go through three huge tanks of oxygen and it’s just so hard on her,” Laurel says. “And I can’t even lease a place without listing a job.”
Desperate, she contacted COTA (Children’s Organ Transplant Association), a nonprofit that helps families raise funds for life-saving organ transplants. To date, 89 people have donated $34,000 to Jen’s COTA campaign – far less than the $250K the Dunleas estimate they’ll need. “I just hope people read it, share it and post it. And maybe donate like a dollar or whatever you can do,” Jen says.
“The campaign has had a hard time gaining momentum,” admits Laurel. “I’m not on social media – it was never my thing. I was just too busy taking care of my daughter.”
The Dunleas also don’t have a built-in network from the neighborhood or from Jen’s school. “We don’t have that community to plan a dinner fundraiser or whatever. We’ve been like nomads, moving around.” Their quest to find the best medical care for Jen has included moves from southern California to Denver to the Main Line.
Laurel Dunlea made this lawn sign, posted outside their Narberth home.
As Jen hangs on, anxious for the call that will lengthen her life, she feels her spirits sagging.
“All I want to do is to be 22 years old, have a job and go out with my friends. But mostly I don’t want to be scared anymore. I’m scared every day that my condition will get worse. I’ve had setback after setback. I want to be the same happy and bubbly person I used to be, but the only way is to be near NYU and my team of doctors. Maybe they can transplant hope, too.”
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Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to Jen Dunlea’s COTA campaign.
Easygoing neighborhood bistro Carina Sorella charms Bryn Mawr
Bi-fold windows create an open-air feeling inside Bryn Mawr’s newest restaurant, Carina Sorella.
Cloaked behind construction walls for months, Carina Sorella (“darling sister”) has finally bared her face to Bryn Mawr – and she’s a beauty.
A classic study in white and black and with forest green accents, this casually sophisticated newcomer is off to a fast start with sizable crowds even on weeknights.
There’s nary a trace of the building’s predecessors – the long-running Bryn Mawr Flower Shop and adjacent copy center. The two were gutted and combined to create a 100-seat restaurant, 20-seat oval bar, and a 24-seat private dining room upstairs.
The central bar and main dining room, designed by Center City’s SHOPHOUSE. Among the room’s interesting touches: the living wall behind an oversized arched window, replacing an old fire escape.
Carina is owned and operated by DRC Collective, a growing restaurant group that includes The Diving Horse in Avalon and Pub & Kitchen and Trattoria Carina in Center City.
Both the menu and the prices are meant to be “approachable,” Operations Director Dave Sherman tells SAVVY. “We want to be your ‘everyday’ Italian restaurant. You can come in for a Caesar salad and meatballs and a glass of wine or enjoy the full experience.”
There’s the usual Italian fare: five pizzas, seven homemade pastas, chicken parm and veal chop saltimbocca and a smattering of seafood dishes.
Standouts during our visit: the shareable antipasti that substitutes marinated vegetables and whipped ricotta for cured meats and hard cheeses ($18), the Pear Pizza with speck, taleggio cheese and burnt honey ($19); and the meatballs with whipped ricotta ($16).
Note to chef: the Gemelli with basil pesto and pistachio ($23), which sounded intriguing and was recommended by our excellent server, Beryl, was surprisingly blah and not worth the carbs, in our opinion.
Portions are mostly generous. Plan on sharing a pizza or bringing half home.
While some have compared the décor to the old Enoteca Tredici in Bryn Mawr Village, the overall vibe reminds us of Parc on Rittenhouse Square. If Parc had an Italian cousin, we think she’d resemble Carina Sorella.
On the menu: shareable starters $7- $19; five pizzas $14- $17; apps and two salads $11 – $19; four veggie sides $8 – $11; eight pastas $22 – $31; eight mains $29 – $59.
Carina Sorella, 866 Lancaster Ave. Bryn Mawr, is open Sun. – Thurs., 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 4 to 11. Reserve on Open Table. Weekend brunch and weekday lunch coming soon. Private parties for up to 24.
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Business as usual? Not at Eadeh Enterprises, a local real estate firm and Berwyn’s biggest booster
The Eadeh Enterprises Team at their Berwyn offices: Facilities Manager Dave Black, President & CEO Stacey Ballard, Sharon Burchard, Leasing VP Keiran Ryan, Linda Katarynick, Marketing & Community Outreach Manager Lily Tooher, COO Joanne Marks and Construction Supervisor Mike Nolan.
Traditionally, Main Line landlords lay low. Deals are struck discreetly. The less said and known about the folks who rent to residents, shopkeepers and corporations, the better.
Not so at Eadeh Enterprises, the Berwyn-based real estate firm that’s packed with personality, more than earning its tagline, “Not Your Typical Landlord.”
Why atypical?
For starters, in an industry dominated by men, Eadeh is proudly owned and managed by women.
The wife and daughters of the late Ernest Eadeh took ownership when he passed in 2010.
They remain involved but day-to-day operations are led by Stacey Ballard, its president and CEO for nearly a quarter-century. As fun-loving as she is civic-minded, Ballard is so linked with Eadeh, people assume she’s part of the family. (She’s not.)
Eadeh President/CEO Stacey Ballard confers with Construction Supervisor Mike Nolan during the extensive buildout of the old D’Amicantonio Shoes building in Wayne. It’s now home to Main Line Yard, an indoor baseball training facility.
Another differentiator: Eadeh goes the extra mile for its smaller retail tenants.
“We do a lot of more handholding,” Ballard explains. It’s not unusual for Eadeh to help a new mom-and-pop merchant with space planning, construction, permitting, business advising, branding and promotion. “We’re a little more concierge than signing on a dotted line. Sometimes our guys can get stuff done faster. The whole point is trying to get people open so they can start doing what they do well.”
Among its appreciative tenants: RAZRBAR in Wayne where owner Ed Tell extols Eadeh’s “ability to add a local relationship touch to the otherwise transactional world of real estate leasing. I felt the Eadeh team really cared about our business success.”
Another tenant fan is Kramer Drive’s Meg Robertson who says Eadeh has helped her “navigate the ups and downs of running and growing a small business” for the last 15 years.
About 40 percent of Eadeh’s portfolio is retail. More than 100 buildings including dozens of high-profile shops along Lancaster Ave. from Wayne to Frazer are owned by Eadeh. Velvet Shoestring, La Parisienne Salon & Spa, Main Point Books, At The Table, Play it Again Sports, and Surrey Consignment Shop are all Eadeh properties.
Eadeh also invests in its buildings.
“Ernest was buying and repurposing old buildings before it was fashionable,” says Ballard.
Under her watch, Eadeh has done the same.
A favorite recent project: converting a 200-year-old bank barn and adjacent post-and-beam office building on Swedesford Rd. in Malvern into Living Well Studios (below) for health-and-wellness practitioners.
About 20 percent of Eadeh’s holdings is residential, a segment that’s thriving despite the newly built competition.
“We’re constantly upgrading our apartments,” says Ballard. Take the Sheldrake, a 56-unit apartment building in St. David’s. Ballard says Eadeh recently turned dated galley kitchen/dining combos into “modern kitchens with huge islands” – reflecting the way people eat and entertain today.
“We don’t have a bocce court and we don’t give you nitro coffee in the lobby but you also pay $500 less and you still get a pretty incredible apartment,” Ballard says.
But perhaps the quality that most separates Eadeh from the landlord pack is the company’s commitment to the local community.
That ethos started with Ernest Eadeh, who grew his family’s Wayne rug store into one of the area’s top commercial and retail flooring firms before catching the real estate bug in the 1970s. He helped restore buildings at Valley Forge Park, sponsored disadvantaged students, supported Home of the Sparrow’s building projects, partnered with Paoli Presbyterian Church to help families in need, and even presided over the T/E School Board.
That focus on community continues today under Ballard – who started digging ditches and hauling bricks for Eadeh before learning the real estate ropes, then taking them, from her boss.
Eadeh’s fingerprints are all over Berwyn.
The Christmas lights, the holiday house decorating contests, and community tree lighting? Thank Eadeh. In five years, the firm has invested $100K on the festivities.
Ballard presents donations from the holiday tree lighting to Berwyn Fire Co. Chief Justin Brundage.
The redevelopment of Bronze Plaza with a new home for Handel’s Ice Cream and a new town gathering place? An Eadeh project.
The patriotic mural near Clay’s Bakery? Ballard’s baby, inherited from her late boss.
The Berwyn Farmer’s Market? Another Ballard brainstorm.
Some of the locals behind the popular Berwyn Farmer’s Market: Eadeh’s Stacey Ballard; Sweet Jazmine’s baker Kim Cuthbert; StudioFlora’s Chrissy Piombino-Bennett; Handel’s Ice Cream’s Buck, Haley and Casey Buchanan, and Culinary Harvest co-founder Carlo Luciano.
“Our philosophy – and Ernest used to say this all the time: If you make the business community stronger with a good mix of restaurants and stores, people will want to come there and be part of that vibe,” Ballard says. “Also, as a successful business in the community, we believe it’s the right thing to do.”
To keep Main Line business districts humming, Eadeh sometimes structures leases to give fledgling businesses time to get on their feet.
When Zummo Bikes, a nonprofit bike shop that mentors young people, needed space, Ballard gave it an empty Berwyn storefront rent-free for two years.
“Eadeh gave us a chance to get acclimated,” says Zummo founder Steve Oliver. “It made a huge difference in our little 501(c)3.” Zummo remains in the building and pays discounted rent.
Ballard would rather strike a deal than let a property sit vacant. “As a landlord, if you hold out for top dollar, you edge out the mom and pops and the creative entrepreneurs. You end up with empty space or with national companies that don’t care about the community and don’t invest in it.”
Eadeh’s newest project: buying the old shoe-and-boot repair shop property and converting it to a coffee shop and retail space. “We try to embrace the needs of the community and everyone wants a coffee shop in Berwyn,” Ballard says.
An artist’s rendering of the old former shoe cobbler property at Woodside and Lancaster Ave. in Berwyn. The building at right will be completely remodeled and will house a coffee shop with wraparound porch and patio seating.
In typical Ballard fashion, she’s crowdsourcing the coffee tenant. “I’m encouraging Berwyn residents to start reaching out to their favorite coffee shops and tell them to come to Berwyn!”
She leads the local Rotary, champions the veteran’s association, paints kids’ faces at Easttown’s 4th of July festivities, and loves a good costume.
Ballard as the Easter Bunny facetimes with a child who accidentally missed a chance to meet the bunny in person, and (right) working the Upper Main Line Rotary Club’s Oktoberfest.
Berwynites will long remember Ballard carting her “pet” cow statue around town to boost businesses – and spirits – during COVID. (Marjorie the Berwyn Bovine has permanently retired to the pasture outside Handel’s.)
When nearby Daemion Counseling Center honored Ballard with its “community champion” award at its 50th anniversary celebration in 2022, the gala sold out and raised record funds. (Naturally, Ballard insisted on buying the centerpieces.)
While her penchant for supporting all things local may have come from her mentor, Ernest Eadeh, it is fully backed by Leslie Eadeh and her daughters, Heather and Chantal.
Says Ballard: “They’ve given me the liberty to do this and they support all these endeavors. I love my job. I’m the luckiest person in the world.”
A who’s who of local leaders meets quietly in Radnor for antisemitism summit
Three of the Main Line’s top cops: Radnor’s Chris Flanagan, Narberth’s John Strong, and Tredyffrin’s Mike Beatty await questions at the May 1 antisemitism forum at the Willows.
This is a challenging time to be Jewish, but the community has your back. That was the chief takeaway from a rather extraordinary forum held at the Willows last month.
Why extraordinary?
First, the panelists. When was the last time local leaders of law enforcement, public schools, clergy and government shared the same stage? The lineup included Delco DA Jack Stollsteimer; Radnor, Tredyffrin and Narberth police chiefs; T/E and Radnor school superintendents; area rabbis, rectors and chaplains; and Delco Commissioner Elaine Schaefer, Chesco Commissioner Marian Moskowitz and PA Representative Lisa Borowski.
Second, the meeting was held with zero fanfare. The press was not tipped off. Nor was there advance promotion on social media.
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We only learned about it after spotting a photo of the “the inaugural meeting of the Main Line Community Action Group” posted by Radnor PD in Instagram.
The vaguely named “community action” was sharing information about antisemitism on the Main Line. How widespread is it? How is it handled by those in authority? How can residents of all faiths support each other during these fraught times?
The meeting was orchestrated by “two Jewish women and Jewish mothers involved in their communities” (to quote one of the organizers) with the support of the local chapter of the Anti-Defamation League. Lisa Schreiber of T/E and Dorothy Potash of Radnor joined forces after leading successful campaigns in their townships to pass resolutions condemning antisemitism last year.
“It felt like the heat was rising again,” explains Schreiber. “We’re learning a lot of this comes in waves and we’re coming upon the crest of another wave.”
After a fairly quiet second half of 2023 (even after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack), Schreiber and Potash point to emotional fallout from the recent encampments at Haverford and Bryn Mawr colleges, the vandalism of a Wynnewood synagogue, and the brouhaha over Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s decision to cancel a screening during the Israeli Film Festival.
About 150 people – some Jewish, some not – showed up to hear 15 community leaders.
“We were absolutely blown away at the support. We didn’t have to twist arms,” Schreiber says.
For security reasons and to avoid media distractions, the two deliberately kept the meeting on the down-low.
“Any event that involves Judaism or a Jewish person right now requires an enormous amount of security,” says Potash. “Unfortunately, that’s the state we’re in.”
The two feared a publicized meeting might attract protesters who would “make the meeting about Israel and politics” which it wasn’t.
The summit opened with sobering statistics from Abbey Krain, senior associate regional director of ADL Philadelphia.
Antisemitic incidents – harassment, vandalism, bomb threats, swatting campaigns, physical attacks – spiked 140 percent from 2022 to 2023, making last year by far the worst year since the ADL began compiling stats 45 years ago. Pennsylvania ranked 6th in number of antisemitic acts including six reported incidents on the Main Line.
The DA and police chiefs assured the audience that they take all reports of hateful speech and actions seriously.
“The public can rest assured that should hate speech cross the line into criminal activity, it will be investigated and prosecuted,” relayed DA Stollsteimer.
The school superintendents were equally re-assuring.
Schreiber and Potash say they’re “thrilled with the allyship they heard from the school districts.” Superintendents Ken Batchelor and Rich Gusick said they haven’t seen a rise in antisemitic acts since October 7. But both felt students have been affected by older siblings’ experiences on college campuses. They also said Jewish students have been targeted in hateful group texts and social media chats. If kids didn’t have phones, school would be a much happier place, officials agreed. Both superintendents mentioned offering Holocaust history classes at various grade levels – although Holocaust education is not mandated in PA.
According to the organizers, the meeting’s most emotional moment came from Rabbi Peter Rigler, who lives in Radnor and leads Temple Sholom in Broomall.
When the moderater asked how his interfaith partners showed up for him since October 7, Rabbi Rigler said, in effect, they hadn’t. Relationships with area pastors forged in recent years were put on ice. One pastor told him that “with everything going on right now, he didn’t know how comfortable his community would be” continuing interfaith activities.
“What I heard was antisemitism,” Rigler tells SAVVY. “I understand there’s a diversity of opinion on Israel – even in my own congregation – but to not be able to sit in a room with Jews is devastating to us.”
Temple Sholom’s social justice partners have also kept their distance since October 7, he says.
With armed guards standing sentry (his security budget is up 18 percent), congregants are attending services and programs in increasing numbers. “Engagement is at levels I’ve never seen because people are hungry for community and it’s one of the places, thank God, people feel safe to come and express their Judaism … Our community is scared and very much on edge,” he adds.
Although he was “nervous” going into the Willows forum, he left buoyed.
“It wasn’t a group of 200 Jews sitting there. It was diverse. There was definitely comfort in seeing my kids’ elementary school teachers, the school superintendents and the police chiefs all come out. It really showed that different facets of our community care about these issues.”
Another speaker, Rabbi Gerri Newburge, who leads one of the area’s largest synagogues, Main Line Reform Temple in Wynnewood, also appreciated the summit.
“It was important for me to be there because of the incredible rise of antisemitism in the world and even in our own backyard,” Newburge tells SAVVY.
There’s a sense of unease in the Jewish community on the Main Line, she says. “Everyone is kind of holding their collective breath with, oh gosh, what’s gonna happen next?”
Newburge says her temple’s security budget has doubled since Oct. 7. With 162 preschool students and 300 older students on campus on weekdays and Shabbat services and B’nai Mitzvahs on weekends, “there are almost always two armed guards on the property,” she shares. “When I first arrived at the synagogue in 2014, doors weren’t even locked. You could pull open our front doors and walk right in.”
A pro-Israel lawn sign at Main Line Reform Temple in Wynnewood.
The need for security “breaks my heart,” Newburge says. “I don’t want our young people to be afraid of being Jewish but this is what we have to do to protect ourselves and bring some measure of peace of mind to our community.”
Instead of focusing on matters of faith, religion and spirituality, “some ridiculous percentage of my time is devoted to all things antisemitism, Israel, anti-Israel, what have you,” she says. “This is an existential crisis for our community.”
Rabbi Newburge was among the clergy and Jewish leaders who’ve met with Sam Scott, executive director of Bryn Mawr Film Institute. Scott has been working to mend fences after BMFI’s contentious April decision to cancel an Israeli Film Festival entry for fear Pro-Palestinian protesters from area colleges might endanger patrons. BMFI showed the film by court order to a sizable audience and issued an apology.
A demonstration outside BMFI in April prompted by the theater’s refusal to screen a film about an Israeli musician.
Newburge calls BMFI’s decision “a hugely insensitive misstep” but says she’s willing to be part of the solution and work with [them] because I do think that BMFI is a cherished cultural institution in our community.”
Another group Rabbi Newburge has been counseling: local college students who attend services at her temple.
“This is a particularly challenging moment to be a Jewish college student,” confirms Rabbi Jeremy Winaker, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Hillel Network which serves 60 of the roughly 125 Jewish students who attend Villanova; 100 of the 250 or so Jewish students at Bryn Mawr College, and about 55 of the estimated 250 Jewish students at Haverford.
“They’ve been put in the uncomfortable position of having to choose sides or withdraw from conversations because there’s often no space for nuanced conversations,” Winaker says. What’s most challenging is the binary environment created by the protesters. Jewish students who support both Jewish self-sovereignty and Palestinian liberation have a hard time finding a place. Additionally – and this is important – some of the rhetoric employs antisemitic tropes or intimidation … It becomes hard to differentiate what is a protest of the Israeli government and what is a new form of antisemitism.”
A group of Jewish students, faculty, parents and alumni at Haverford College recently filed suit alleging Haverford has discriminated against its Jewish community by tolerating antisemitic speech and failing to support Jewish students.
“I can’t tell you what it feels like to walk by a sign that says “The final solution is the only solution” or “Kill the Jews,” says Potash, the meeting co-organizer, who has a child at Cornell. “It is profoundly sad and frightening and very difficult to talk to your kids about.”
Some local Jewish moms have acted as surrogate moms to fearful college students at Haverford and Bryn Mawr, escorting them to Jewish events on campuses, Winokur confirms.
The fourth panel at the Willows meeting – elected officials – shared their efforts to combat Jewish hate in their respective counties and in Harrisburg.
Chester County Commissioner Marian Moskowitz told the gathering that she received her first death threat due to her Jewish heritage shortly after she was sworn in but has encountered hate growing up in Kensington and when she moved to Malvern 40 years ago.
“I am committed to sharing my personal experiences – both from my childhood, adulthood and as an elected official – along with my perspective as a mother with a son living in Israel.” She acknowledges “the weight of this moment. It’s profoundly saddening.”
Attendee AnnaMarie Jones, a former Radnor commissioner who isn’t Jewish, tells us it was “incredible” to see neighboring police chiefs and school officials on the panel.
“This interconnectedness sends a powerful message that we are unified in learning about antisemitism and how to combat it,” Jones tells SAVVY. She attended the meeting to support her Jewish friends and hopes “others will become upstanders, too … Everyone should feel safe where they live. Right now, Jewish people don’t feel safe.”
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SAVVY Picks***
It’s called Not Your Average Joe’s for a reason. The inspired menu at this Suburban Square mainstay features twists and flavor combinations you won’t find anywhere else. And speaking of doing things differently, every item – from app to entrée – is scratch-made right in Joe’s kitchen. Stop by for lunch or dinner or drop in for a drink during Happy Hour. It runs every weekday from 3 to 6 with 30 percent off the entire drink menu. Dine in or kick back on Joe’s sunny patio today!
Two yummy new stands at the ever-evolving Lancaster County Farmer’s Market – and they’re both on trend. Front and center is Lancaster County Juice Co., serving fresh-squeezed fruit and vegetable juices and shots, açai bowls, parfaits, whipped butters, A2A2 raw milk products, blended lemonades, teas and more. New items are added weekly. Not sure what to order? Ask the friendly staff for a free sample. On the same aisle is Slurp This Ramen Kits. Veteran Philly chef Dru Scheidell spent years perfecting restaurant-quality ramen kits in four varieties, plus kids’ kits. Simply nuke for five minutes and enjoy onsite or at home. The stall also offers homemade bone broth, spices, sauces, beef jerky and professional knife sharpening.
***SAVVY Picks are shoutouts & promos on behalf of our sponsors. To learn more about becoming a SAVVY Pick, email [email protected].
Main Line Tavern: Tried-and-true recipes with a classic pub feel in Paoli
Restauranteurs Philip and Kate Ferro at their latest venture, Main Line Tavern in Paoli.
Don’t let the white tablecloths fool you – the new Main Line Tavern is far from fancy.
Open since May 4 in the former home of the Great American Pub on King Rd. in Paoli, it’s the local clone of the popular Chadds Ford Tavern. The menu, cocktails, happy hours – even the complimentary cone of homemade potato chips and blue-cheese dip – are identical.
“Chadds Ford is the blueprint,” explain owners Kate and Philip Ferro, the husband and wife who operate the same concept at the King’s Tavern in Coatesville and hope to franchise it one day.
There’s nothing trendy about what Philip Ferro calls his “suburban comfort food” menu which was developed and perfected over 10 years. “We thought the Main Line needed something like this – not pretentious tasting menus, microgreens and arugula trying to be Center City.”
Adds Kate: “We have something for everyone: families coming in for sandwiches and couples coming in for date nights ordering $70 steaks and Dom Perignon. We’ve had an unbelievable response so far. We’re getting lots of super locals. I’ve had 200 or 300 people tell me they can walk here.”
Signature dishes are the Tavern Roast Beef sandwich ($20) and the bacon-wrapped filet mignon ($42) but every item sells well or it wouldn’t have made the cut, the Ferros say. All dressings, sauces and desserts are made in house and follow standardized recipes.
On the menu: Appetizers & Shared Plates $12 – $22; Raw Bar $8 – $75; Salads $12 – $19 (extra $$ for protein); Tavern Classics $22 – $64; Steaks & Chops $34 – $100; Seafood $32 – $50; Handhelds $15 – $22. Cocktails $16.
A Drexel Hill native, high school dropout and longtime chef, Philip Ferro manages the kitchens. Kate – a former bartender, server and floor manager – handles everything else.
The couple believes consistency is key.
“Mashed potatoes have to be the same on Tuesday and the following Friday,” Philip says. “Kate will make bartenders make the same drink over and over again to get it right.”
The Tavern’s decor is straightforward: dark wood trim, Windsor chairs, and walls lined with black-and-white photos of Main Line landmarks.
Villa Maria Academy lacrosse parents pre-gaming at Main Line Tavern in late May. There are 20 seats at the bar and 180 seats in the dining rooms.
And those unexpected white tablecloths, a pricey extra that even fine-dining restaurants have spurned? They’re here to stay, according to Philip. “They give a softer feel than wood table tops that your arms stick to. They help with sound and overall ambience and make you feel special.”
Backed by investors Chet Patel and Garry Hesselbacher, the Ferros have a knack for turning neglected watering holes into neighborhood mainstays.
When they took over the Chadds Ford Tavern eight years ago, it was a rough-and-tumble biker bar – albeit one once frequented by Andrew Wyeth – where “you came for the roast beef and stayed for the whiskey,” Kate Ferro explains. It now grosses $4 million a year.
The Great American Pub (GAP) was similarly neglected when the couple bought it last fall for $1.2 million. They’d hoped to spend $300K on renovations but wound up paying nearly double, replacing rotting walls and floors and completely overhauling the bar, kitchen and four bathrooms.
Because parking is tight, the Ferro team paid another $1.2 million for the former BP/Gentle Touch car wash next door. The deal gives the tavern 60 parking spaces, the potential for outdoor seating, and once the building is “cleaned up,” rental income from retail and office tenants.
Main Line Tavern is the first of four ventures on tap for the Ferros and their investors in the next year or so: Steel City Brewing in a circa-1893 YMCA in Coatesville, fine-dining 30 Prime in an historic Coatesville bank building, and Augustine Tavern at the old Augustine Inn in Middletown, DE.
Main Line Tavern, 516 E. King Rd., Paoli, [email protected], is open daily at noon. Half-off Happy Hour 4 to 6 p.m. daily.
Downtown Ardmore welcomes Mavey Books
Owner Nadia Alawa at Mavey Books. Open since April 27, Mavey Books replaced Free Will Collective, which moved down the street.
A sweet little indie bookstore just opened on Cricket Ave. in Ardmore.
Mavey Books carries a little bit of everything: mainstream bestsellers, mysteries and book club reads, empowerment/wellness/parenting titles, books signed by local authors, children’s classics and more.
It’s a curated blend of familiar and fresh voices with a focus on diverse and inclusive authors and books, according to owner Nadia Alawa, a Wynnewood mother of eight who minds the store herself with help from her 23-year-old twin daughters, Silla and Deema.
A voracious reader who homeschooled her children, Alawa enjoys sourcing books for a diverse audience.
Sometimes that means finding new authors – whose views she may or may not agree with – or resurrecting forgotten favorites like Pippi Longstocking. “She’s quite a rebellious girl, super fun to read about and great literature.”
The “highly curated” kids corner at Mavey Books.
“We’re excited to be here,” says Alawa. “The community has been fantastic. People are always saying they’ve been looking to have a bookstore and thank us for being here. We’ve had people drive an hour to shop here – when they hear we’re women and minority-owned.”
Alawa tells us she opened the store to be part of the local community and offer “a place where people can come to get their curiosity satisfied and get exposed to new books and ideas.”
Fun fact: Mavey is loosely named for the Alawa family puppy, Maeve, who’s “curious, friendly and inquisitive” – a bit like the people who frequent her new store.
Mavey has a loyalty program ($10 off after 10 purchases) and plans to host a monthly book club and regular author events.
It’s the neighborhood’s first true bookstore.
A few blocks away, The Story coffeeshop sells only donated ”inspirational” titles that focus on faith, history, culture, biography and philosophy. The nearest general-interest bookstore is Narberth Bookshop, which opened in 2016, five years after Borders closed in Wynnewood Shopping Center.
Mavey Books, 8 Cricket Ave., Ardmore, 610-818-2494, [email protected], is open Tues. and Thurs. 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Wed. and Fri. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. 9 to 5 and Sun. 10 – 5. Closed Mondays.
Beloved Berwyn preschool Tarleton closes while nearby BUMNS preschool gets a reprieve
The Waterloo Road mansion that has housed Tarleton School since 1957. Before that, the estate was a private home and, at one time, a hospital, according to its current owner.
After the last “Teddy Bear Time Summer Science” campers are picked up June 21, Tarleton School will cut the lights and close its doors for good, ending a 73-year run.
Owner Jennifer Kane Lynn decided to “evaluate alternative ownership” after longtime director Barbara Smith announced her retirement, according to a letter sent to families in late April. Lynn took over Tarleton from her late grandparents, Joe and Ruth Kane, who managed the school for its original owners, then bought the property themselves in 1986.
“Barbara is Tarleton; she’s irreplaceable,” Dr. Lynn tells SAVVY. “Her well-deserved retirement is the reason I made the difficult decision to close the school.” Lynn also mentions her work as a Main Line Health physician with a busy practice and two children as contributing factors.
“Personally, this is very sad,” she adds. “I went to Tarleton. My children went to Tarleton. For 50 years, many children have benefitted from my grandparents’ vision and Barbara’s wise guidance.”
A plaque at Tarleton’s front door notes that the mansion dates back to 1874.
By all accounts, the announcement came as a shock, sending parents and staff scrambling for alternate placements. September was just four months away.
“This is devastating,” shares Tarleton teacher Lynn Gosnell whose family has deep ties to the school. Two of her children attended Tarleton 30 years ago and two grandsons have followed in their footsteps. After agreeing to sub at the preschool, Gosnell came out of retirement from Rosemont School of the Holy Child to take a full time job.
She’s not alone in her devotion to the school.
Retiring director Barbara Smith started as a Tarleton teacher 43 years ago and never left. She became director when Ruth Kane was diagnosed with a terminal illness in 1990.
“It is incredible how many families have returned to Tarleton to begin the education of their children generation after generation,” Smith noted in her own letter to families. Smith’s letter also mentions an array of challenges in recent years including hiring qualified staff and increasing government regulation.
A private school with no religious affiliation, Tarleton enrolled kids from age 2 through kindergarten and employed a half-dozen certified classroom teachers, several aides and instructors of “specials” like music, art, and foreign languages.
Lynn won’t share plans for the estate, nor will she confirm reports that daycare providers – including A Child’s Place – have toured the property this spring.
“We are taking time to decide the best option for everyone,” Lynn explains. “It is our hope that the name and school continue in some form in the future but we can’t comment further at this time.”
Tarleton’s aren’t the only preschool parents emerging from a tumultuous spring.
In late April, the pastor of nearby Berwyn United Methodist Church alerted families that the church’s nursery school would change to a more lucrative daycare model in September, citing the church’s “dire financial state,” ongoing deficit and the high demand for full-time childcare.
But after negotiating with distraught preschool parents who questioned whether the church could even pull off the daycare conversion in four months, pastor Kevin Rutledge reversed course. He pledged to keep Berwyn United Methodist Nursery School – aka BUMNS – open for at least another year with the same 9- to-noon program and the usual options for extended days. In exchange, parents promised to better support the the preschool’s partnership with the church, particularly its family programming.
We’re told most of BUMNS staff and teachers are staying on – some of them convinced by parents – but some families found other schools during the negotiations. As a result, there are open spots from age 2 through Pre-K.
What’s new at the New Jersey Shore this summer? Plenty.
Here’s a quick rundown of the some of season’s splashiest newcomers:
Crowds of all ages are flocking to the new Memories in Margate. Probably because new owner Teddy Sourias is a generation younger than Jerry Blavat and it shows.
Updates to the iconic 52-year-old nightclub: an outdoor tiki bar under a pergola serving crushes and craft cocktails, a sit-down dinner menu, later hours, smaller speakers (that should allow you to be heard on the dance floor), disco balls, the word “DANCE” spelled in LED lights, and an area that pays tribute to the Late Great Geater. The weekly lineup: tribute bands on Mondays, dueling pianos on Thursdays, live bands then DJs on Fridays and Saturdays and a Geater Gold Dance parity on Sundays.
The old Clancy’s By The Bay in Somer’s Point – and before that, Stumpo’s and Harry’s Inn – has been gutted and recast as a surprisingly stylish Mexiquila. Mexican favorites, taquilas and tacos til you drop at a giant indoor bar, open-air dining area and seriously swell outdoor bar and lounge.
The place closes strangely early: 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends. Our bartender told us the new owner spent $5 million on the overhaul. They’ll have to sell muchos tacos to recoup all those pesos.
Over some neighbors’ objections. Margate officials approved a rooftop bar at Sunrise Wine & Tequila, now under construction next to Tony Boloney’s on Ventnor Ave. near the Longport line.
What do you get when you combine a doo-wop style motel with an iconic beachfront hotel? Madison Resort Wildwood Crest, Cape May County’s newest and largest beach resort.
New owners spent $52 million joining the mid-century Ocean View Motel with the Royal Hawaiian. The sprawling complex includes 200 guest rooms, three restaurants, two pools and two hot tubs, cabana and poolside seating for 100+, two fitness centers, two rooftop event spaces and more. A full roster of special events includes A Barefoot Country All Day Party on June 23, a Simply Swifties poolside Taylor Swift tribute show July 4, and 1st Annual Luau on August 17.
Cape May will have to wait until midsummer for the opening of The Fish House, which is replacing The Grille at Sunset Beach. A cross between a seafood shack and soulful beach bar, The Fish House will serve fresh catches, craft sandwiches, homemade local ice cream, wines and cocktails – and the most striking sunsets in town. The new venture is a partnership between the Hume family, who own Sunset Beach, and Zest Restaurant Group.
The most noteworthy newbie in Sea Isle City: popular Italian trattoria Anthony’s has moved 42 blocks south on Landis Ave. to the longtime home of Busch’s Seafood in Townsend’s Inlet. Owner Anthony Foster tells us he made the move for a liquor license and expansive banquet space. Foster also runs Anthony’s outposts at the historic Lamb Tavern in Springfield and Paxon Hollow Golf Club in Media.
The bar at the new Anthony’s in Sea Isle over Memorial Day weekend.
The old Anthony’s at 44th and Landis is now home to a second Blitz’s Market deli.
Avalon may be cooler by a mile but restaurants with liquor licenses tend to be loud and crowded while the better dining spots tend to be BYOBs. Flipping the script: Black Cactus, a sophisticated spot for craft cocktails and dinner that should open in a few weeks. Real estate developer Ed Kennedy is converting the old Caldwell Banker property at 27th and Dune Drive into Mexican-themed Black Cactus. Food will be handled by the chef behind Philly faves Messina Social Club, Tulip Pasta and Wine Bar and Attico Rooftop. Kennedy snagged a rare Avalon liquor license for $2 million and bought the property for $3.1 million. Clearly, nothing comes cheap in this Shore mecca.
A few other switcheroos in Avalon:
- Seven Mile Island favorite Kohler’s Bakery – now run by longtime employees – has moved to 21st Street. High Dune Bakery is operating in Kohler’s old 27th street location.
- Goodness Bowls moved from 20th to 27th Street and an outpost of Juice Pod is in its old space.
- Il Posto, an Italian BYOB owned by the Polpo people, is expanding into the old Brian’s Waffle House, which closed in 2022.
- Family-owned Via Mare Ristorante has ended 60 years on Ocean Drive. It will reportedly be bulldozed for new single-family homes.
Another dearly departed shore favorite, Voltaco’s on West Ave. in Ocean City, is being reincarnated as Patroni’s and should open any day now. Look for the concept that former owners operated for seven decades: hoagies, pasta, pizza, cheesesteaks and such. Why mess with success?
Ocean City folks are mourning the loss of their go-to spot for Jersey corn, tomatoes and peaches. After a 46-year run, the 34th Street Market, which, in only-at-the-Shore fashion, also scooped ice cream and rented bikes, was demolished in April. A new building with ground-floor retail and four upstairs condos will take its place.
Also on 34th Street, the O’Hara family, the locals behind Uncle Bill’s Pancake House and Nauti Donuts, have expanded to mini-golf. Sandcastle Putt Club features Mussel Beach, silly seagulls, seafaring otters and a sunbathing seal and is now open daily.
Fox29’s Bob Kelly surfs with staff at the new Sandcastle Putt Club. (Instagram photo.)
In downtown Ocean City, Jolly Jellyfish, a toy store that promises lower prices than Amazon, is attracting doting grandparents to 8th and Asbury, already popular Maria’s Grill is serving breakfast, lunch and dinner at 9th and Central, and Bakeria 1010 (transplanted from Linwood) is slinging artisan pizzas at 9th and Asbury.
New signs mark Easttown history
Unveiling a new marker in Devon on May 18 (from left): T/E Historical Society (TEHS) board member Meg Wiederseim, Easttown Historical Commission (ECH) Chair Anna Sicalides and Secretary Bill Friedrich, TEHS President John Senior, ECH member Joyce DeYoung, Easttown Supervisors Alex Bosco and Sean Axel, EHC member Richard DiStefano, “Devon” authors Steve DiAddezzio and Margaret DePiano, and Sandy D’Ignazio.
Pop Quiz:
- What was the Village of Berwyn called before 1877?
- Which high-society summer resort predates the neighboring Devon Horse Show and Devon Train Station?
Stumped? Stroll around Berwyn and Devon and you’ll find answers on two new markers. Or cheat and look below.
Initiated by Easttown Historical Commission and approved by township supervisors last year, the new marker program will “highlight the people, places and events that are relevant to the history of the township,” says ECH Chair Anna Sicalides.
Two markers will go up each year, chosen from a list of candidates compiled by the EHC. Sicalides tells us one will be posted at Helena Devereux’s original Devon property, which was just demolished to make way for a 10-home subdivision by Bentley Homes.
Newtown Square pizzeria gets a new name and a snazzy makeover
Carmine’s Eatery in Newtown Square Shopping Center has a full bar and table seating.
Carmine’s Pizzeria, a once-pedestrian Newtown Square pizza parlor, has sleek new look and concept – with a new name to match: Carmine’s Eatery.
Owners are the same: Kosta Nikolos and his father, Chris, who also operate The Ale House in the same shopping center.
The light and airy look – with textured walls and wooden accents – makes a nice backdrop for the Nikolos’ new “Modern American Meets Mediterranean” concept.
“We’re serving elevated American eats with a few of my favorite Greek and Italian dishes,“ says Kosta. “For instance, my mom makes a killer whipped feta that we had to put on the menu.”
And yes, Carmine’s still serves pizza, including a personal pie just for kids. But now it’s baked in a new brick oven that “cooks the perfect Neapolitan pie on top of a rotating stone in under four minutes.”
On the menu: Shareable appetizers $15 – $18; Sides $10 – $14; Soups/Salads $15 – $20; Sandwiches $15 – $19; Brick Oven Pizzas $16 – $20; Entrees $19 – $25.
There’s also a full bar with beers, wines and specialty cocktails.
Dine inside or out – there are 95 seats total – or order online for pickup or delivery.
Carmine’s Eatery, Newtown Square Shopping Center (near Michael’s), 3570 West Chester Pike, 610-356-9009, is open Sun to 11 to 10 and Fri. and Sat. 10 to 11 (bar stays open later).
This and That
Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers will rumble into downtown Wayne this Saturday night, headlining the 9th annual Wayne Music Festival. About 10,000 people are expected in town for the free, day-into-night street party. Fifteen acts from near and far and across a range of genres will perform on three outdoor stages and inside 118 North beginning at 2 p.m. Some 75 vendors will offer local restaurant fare, beer gardens and family-friendly activities. Feel free to bring your own chair, blanket and water bottle. Details and the full lineup here.
Berwyn Farmer’s Market is back to its weekly schedule with a bunch of new vendors joining the 26-stall mix. You can now sip Gryphon coffee drinks on the patio and (depending on the Sunday) score grass-fed beef, heritage pork, and pasture-raised chicken and eggs from Hershberger Heritage Farm; award-winning cheeses from Amazing Acres Goat Dairy; JT Wilder’s legendary BBQ; La Cabra Brewing breakfast sandwiches and BBQ; Chuckie B’s Meatballs; artisan liqueurs from DeRo in Bridgeport; craft spirits from Red Brick Distillery and lots more. The market is open – rain or shine – every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. into the fall.
Two new tenants at Gateway Shopping Center. After-hours pet clinic UrgentVet should open in August in the former Trek space. And Bb.q Chicken, a Korean fried-chicken franchise, has taken a small spot near TJ Maxx.
At long last, Asian supermarket Hong Vuong is due to open in the next few weeks in the old Mealey’s Furniture building in Swedesford Plaza. The shopping carts are already tied up outside.
Right down the road, Mango Mango Dessert has taken adjacent storefronts on Swedesford near Sport Clips and Cuticle Corner. Mango Mango sells fruity Hong Kong-style desserts for dine-in or takeout including smoothies, juices, fruit-topped waffles, cakes and crepes. The chain started in NYC’s Chinatown 2013 and already has more than 30 franchise locations.
If you’re expecting juicy tidbits about the unfortunate Memorial Day Weekend incident at a certain Margate restaurant involving a certain Main Line shopkeeper and a certain celebrity couple, you won’t find them here. Enough has already been written, shared and posted. It’s over. She was ambushed by a certain magazine and has apologized. We’re with Philly ChitChat’s Hugh E. Dillon on this one. We won’t name her, nor will we share the infamous video. Five minutes of bad behavior shouldn’t ruin your life.
If you enjoy Lark, Top Chef Nick Elmi’s snazzy restaurant overlooking the Schuylkill in Bala Cynwyd, you’ll flip for his latest venture at the Ironworks at Pencoyd Landing: The Pump House. An event venue with river views and an intriguing lower-level speakeasy, The Pump House can handle up to 350 guests. The look is appropriately industrial-chic with 30-ft. ceilings and exposed steel beams and ducts. Elmi and his partners reportedly spent $8 to $10 million on the buildout.
Midtown Social at the former 30 Main in Berwyn is about to unveil Midtown Hall, a 4,000 sq. ft. event venue with dance floor on the second floor. Owner Mike DiDomenico tells us the Hall can host seated events for 150 or cocktail party-style soirées for 225.
Jane Win Jewelry – local creator of the inspirational gold coin pendants encircling necks everywhere – just opened a lovely new showroom near Cornerstone on West Ave. in Wayne. Hard to believe that Wayne mom Jane Winchester Paradis’s super successful company has only been around six years, isn’t it?
Free Will Collective has moved to larger space a few doors away on Cricket Ave. in Ardmore. Now operating at the old JB Merrick Apothecary, the Collective is a smoke shop and glass art gallery and sells handcrafted jewelry, clothing and assorted sundries. Its outpost near Aneu in Paoli is no longer open.
Gratz College is opening a second campus on the Main Line. The college has agreed to buy two historic properties in Bala Cynwyd – Levering Mill Tribute House and Levering Mill House – from the Merion Foundation. The new campus will host public programs and serve as a cultural center, co-working and gathering space. Gratz is a non-sectarian institution founded in the Jewish tradition and specializes in Holocaust and human rights education and antisemitism awareness.
A few newcomers at the King of Prussia Mall:
- Gregory’s Coffee just opened its first PA outpost, and its 41st overall, near Kate Spade on the first floor. The coffee chain sells the usual coffee drinks plus smoothies, juices, sandwiches and pastries.
- The old Outback Steakhouse is now home to Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings, a Michelin-recommended Southern Chinese restaurant and bar. The house specialties are handmade crab and pork soup dumplings, crispy pan-fried pork buns, and Shanghai-style dim sum.
- Father’s Day gift alert: Cult-fave men’s and women’s athletic apparel shop Vuori opened to huge crowds last Friday. (Hot tip: Splurge on Vuori “dreamknit” joggers and sweatshirts. You’re welcome.)
- Tommy Bahama is moving to the Connector and adding a tropical-themed Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar.
Shut down by Tredyffrin Township’s zoning officer last August, the 16 pristine Dink City pickleball courts at Valley Forge Military Academy & College (VFMAC) are open again. “After many discussions with the school, we are transferring management of the courts back to VFMAC,” Dink City founders Bryson Craft and Robbie Norton announced in an email to players this spring. The courts operate on a membership basis – there’s a monthly fee for unlimited visits up to two hours a day.
Sometimes, the answer’s in your own backyard. After a nationwide search, Lower Merion officials chose lifelong local Andy Block as the township’s new police superintendent. He started work on Monday and his badge ceremony is set for June 18. Block has 38 years of law enforcement experience including 28 years in Radnor and most recently, four years as police chief in Lower Moreland. He’s also a longtime volunteer firefighter for Gladwyne Fire Department.
Kudos to Main Line Health cardiologist Maribel Hernandez, who will accept WomenHeart’s Wenger Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice in Washington, DC next week. Co-founder and Medical Director of Lankenau Heart Institute’s Women’s Heart Initiative, Hernandez was chosen for her dedication to improving the lives of women living with or at risk for heart disease. Dr. Hernandez has been on the medical staff at Main Line Health for over 20 years.
Former standout Stoga U.S. government teacher Deb Ciamacca says she’ll run for Delaware County Sheriff in 2025. Among her credentials, she’s a former Marine captain who led guards at Camp Pendleton Correctional Facility and graduated from the Naval Justice School. Ciamacca retired from Conestoga after 20 years to run an unsuccessful campaign for state representative in 2020.
Well, that was quick. Less than a year into his tenure as Superintendent of Lower Merion School District, Steven Yanni is taking a pay cut to jump ship for the same job in his home district, Central Bucks. Lower Merion school board president Kerry Sautner has assured folks that full-day kindergarten and changes to school start times will begin this fall as planned. Yanni’s commute will be shorter but he’s taking on a big job – Central Bucks has been a hotbed of controversy of late. The former Republican-led school board banned Pride flags and tried to limit “sexualized content” in library books. The last superintendent abruptly resigned last November after the board flipped to Democrats. Meanwhile, a search is underway for Yanni’s replacement – Lower Merion’s second superintendent search in as many years. You may recall that after just a year on the job, Khalid Mumin left to become PA Secretary of Education in 2023.
Were you wed at The Willows? Reminisce about that special day and tour the restored Willows Mansion at a happy hour just for Willows Wedding Alumni from the last 50 years. Willows Park Preserve is hosting the free, “cocktail casual” shindig with beer, wine and light fare on Thursday, June 27, 5:30 to 7:30. RSVP to [email protected] by June 23.
And finally, the gods certainly smiled on the Devon Horse Show & Country Fair this year. Except for a stormy Memorial Day, skies were sunny, temps were delightful and crowds were thick. Didn’t get there? Enjoy this montage, courtesy of local photographer Brenda Carpenter.
***For a reel of 20+ fun pics from the Ladies Day hat contest – another smashing sell-out with a chic Parisian theme – head over to @savvymainline on Instagram or Facebook)***
PS We’re off on our usual summer-batical but will be sharing breaking news on our social media feeds. Be sure to give us a follow on Instagram and Facebook if you don’t already. Happy Summer, Main Line!
Jordan Coyle, winner of the $226,000 Sapphire Grand Prix. A native of Ireland, Coyle was a first-time competitor at Devon.
Itty Bitty Tea party in the Devon Club.
(Above) Three Ladies Day Hat Contest winners and (below) seven judges. See SAVVYMainLine’s Instagram or Facebook feeds for lots more hat pics!
This is an incredible issue chocked full of great happenings on the main line and shore. Thank you!!!
Thank YOU for reading SAVVY!
Wonderful issue, Carolyn…..as always!! Especially loved the pictorial montage at the end. Makes me so proud to live in this community….have for 50 years.
Happy Summer!!
Love Savvy Mainline! Touched by Jen’s story. Please pass on Fred’s Footsteps as a possible resource. A hospital social worker can refer and it may be a way to be granted money towards their fundraising goal! Fred’s Footsteps
(484) 368-3602
Thank you so much for sharing that. Fred’s Footsteps is a wonderful idea. I will let the Dunleas know right now!
Thank you Caroline for this mix of swell community happenings and deep community need. You covered it all and challenge us to make a difference. Enjoy your well earned summer break!
I truly appreciate all the work that goes into these newsletters! Just a heads-up that the Hung Vuong Asian grocery store is slated to open next Wednesday 6/12 per their Instagram page.