The new Parlour Doughnuts and community patio in the heart of Berwyn Village. The former cobbler’s cottage (at left) is being fitted out for a barber shop.
Berwyn’s renaissance just got a little sweeter.
Once known mostly for its no-frills tavern and landmark ice cream shop, Berwyn Village is, block by block, becoming reborn.
First came the Sunday farmers market. Then the increasingly elaborate holiday lights. Then the hand-painted murals, Trader Joe’s and a stream of small businesses betting on Berwyn’s future.
Now comes Parlor Doughnuts.
The long-awaited arrival of the wildly popular Midwest chain marks another milestone in Berwyn’s evolution from drive-through town to destination.
But Parlor isn’t just another coffee-and-pastry shop.
With its sprawling patio, wraparound porch and unexpectedly expansive menu, the new gathering spot has all the makings of a second town square — after Handel’s, of course.
(And if a certain developer would finally do something about that cyclone-fenced eyesore across the way, Berwyn would really be cooking.)
Parlor is America’s fastest-growing doughnut brand, opening more than 100 franchise shops since 2019, but its Berwyn outpost is about as local as it gets.
Owners Janet Bartholdson Fry and Garrett Fry live just minutes away and are raising their three children in the community they’ll now help caffeinate and feed.
Owner Garrett and Janet Fry worked with developer/landlord Eadeh Enterprises to create a place that fosters conversation and community.
“We’re hyperlocal and we love Berwyn,” says Janet Fry, a former teacher and coach at her alma mater, Agnes Irwin, who will oversee much of the business behind the scenes.
Garrett, meanwhile, plans to juggle predawn doughnut-making shifts with his full-time career in insurance software.
The couple had talked for years about investing in a business together. They stumbled on Parlor while vacationing in Florida. Janet returned from a random doughnut run with the kids carrying a small box for her husband.
“I thought I’d eat half,” Garrett recalls with a laugh. “I finished the whole thing. This doughnut was different.”
Different, indeed.
Instead of dense cake-batter rings, Parlor’s signature “layered doughnuts” are oversized, square and almost croissant-like – flaky and buttery on the inside, delicately crisp outside and topped with everything from maple bacon and cookies-and-cream to fresh strawberries and cream.
They’re made fresh in small batches throughout the day, with 20 core flavors and rotating monthly specials. June’s lineup features Strawberry Shortcake, Key Lime Pie and Banana Pudding. Keto, vegan and gluten-friendly options are also available, along with a canine-approved treat for four-legged friends.
For those looking beyond sugar, the menu stretches well past pastries. Artisanal breakfast sandwiches, acai bowls, breakfast tacos and avocado toast round out the morning offerings, while lunch brings savory “doughnut melts” topped with combinations like Buffalo Chicken and Chicken Bacon Ranch. A full slate of coffee and espresso drinks features the brand’s proprietary medium-roast blend.
Yet what truly distinguishes this Parlor is the setting.
For more than a century, the property at 602 Lancaster Avenue was home to the Quici family, who repaired riding boots and shoes in a quaint corner cottage.
When Joe Quici retired and closed the cottage in early 2024, Berwyn-based Eadeh Enterprises saw an opportunity.
A Google Earth image of the former Quici homestead and cobbler’s cottage.
“We knew we weren’t going to tear it down because it added so much charm and character to the community,” says Stacey Ballard, Eadeh’s president and CEO. “The building itself isn’t historically significant,” Ballard says. “But the family history with the boot shop on the corner is.”
A section of patio pays tribute to the Quici family who lived in the house and worked the corner shoe-repair shop for more than a century. In mid-May, Joe Quici and his extended family visited their restored homestead and gave the Frys a $2 bill for good luck.
Eadeh restored the family home and adjacent cottqage, preserving architectural details and adding period-inspired flourishes.
The home has two one-bedroom apartments upstairs, a rear parking lot and ample space for outdoor gatherings. A barber shop, name TBA, will open in the cobbler’s cottage in the coming months.
Eadeh President and CEO Stacey Ballard points out the home’s original hand-turn doorbell.
Finding the right tenant for the ground floor took a while.
“We definitely wanted a coffee shop here because we were living in a coffee desert,” Ballard says. “Go to Wayne and there are three. Berwyn had zero.”
Eadeh approached some 20 Philadelphia-area coffee operators about expanding to Berwyn. They all passed.
Then the Frys called, looking for a place with character – not a spot in a strip mall – for their doughnut venture.
Unfamiliar with the Parlor brand, Ballard sent an Eadeh intern to the nearest Parlor in Lancaster to buy a few dozen doughnuts for her team.
The verdict was unanimous.
“We loved them,” Ballard says. “We knew we’d found our coffee shop.”
As luck would have it, Parlor’s nostalgic Americana aesthetic paired naturally with the Quici property’s turn-of-the-century roots. The company’s name references the parlor as the historic heart of the home, while its vintage branding nods to the “Doughnut Lassies” who fed troops during World War I.
“The house is of the right era,” Janet Fry says. “We put a lot of love into this. It feels magical and meant to be.”
That spirit extends beyond the doughnuts.
While the porch is reserved for customers, the expansive patio was designed as a community gathering space. For weeks, neighbors have been stopping by to admire the restoration and peek through the windows.
“People are really excited about the doughnuts,” Garrett Fry says. “But they’re telling us this is a place where they want to come and spend a little time.”
And therein lies the broader story. Berwyn has become a place where people choose to linger.
Parlor Doughnuts may have arrived with an out-of-state pedigree and a devoted national following.
But in Berwyn, its appeal may be simpler. The village has a new front porch where neighbors can gather.
Parlor Doughnuts, 602 Lancaster Ave., Berwyn, will be open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning Monday, June 15. During opening weekend, June 13-14, doors open at 8. Catering and online ordering are available.
From bread shares to sold-out classes, slow-fermented sourdough is rising fast
Bakers Kate Ercole and Allie Lombardi, aka the Main Line Sourdough Moms, first bonded as St. Katharine of Siena “girl moms” — each has three daughters – who enjoy feeding their young families. Their shared passion for sourdough has since become a thriving side gig.
Like mahjong, sourdough is having a Main Line moment.
Whether it arrives on your doorstep as part of a weekly bread share, peeks out of a farmers market tote, or emerges from your own Dutch oven, the humble loaf has risen from pandemic pastime to full-fledged lifestyle trend.
Perhaps the biggest proof of sourdough’s local ascendancy is Wild Yeast Bakehouse, the microbakery founded in a Rosemont home five years ago that will expand its square footage tenfold when it debuts in Wayne’s Eagle Village Shops this summer (below).
But there are smaller signs, too.
Two Wayne women – Instagram’s “Main Line Sourdough Moms” – are filling baking classes as quickly as they can schedule them.
Allie Lombardi and Kate Ercole have turned what many consider an intricate – some say intimidating – hobby into a cottage industry, teaching aspiring bakers how to feed finicky starters, stretch and fold dough, shape loaves, proof them patiently, and eventually pull their own crackling boules from the oven.
Allie Lombardi and Kate Ercole demonstrate each step in the baking process to a rapt audience in Lombardi’s Wayne kitchen.
Like many sourdough devotées, the pair came to the craft in search of healthier ways to feed their families.
“I started reading bread labels in stores and questioning all the emulsifiers, additives and flavorings that make them shelf-stable and aren’t naturally occurring,” says Lombardi, a fitness and health enthusiast. “Knowing I can make my family fresh, homemade bread — and they really enjoy it — makes me feel good. It’s become my love language.”
More comfortable in the kitchen than behind a mixer, Ercole discovered sourdough after her youngest child developed perplexing grain and dairy sensitivities.
“We couldn’t eat in restaurants, so I started doing a lot more cooking and baking at home,” she says.
Part of sourdough’s appeal lies in its perceived health benefits.
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The lengthy fermentation process partially breaks down gluten and starches, making it easier to digest than conventional bread. And its low-glycemic score has attracted people looking to better manage blood sugar, though experts caution that individual responses vary. There’s also the fact that artisanal and homebaked sourdough should have four ingredients: sourdough starter (aka wild yeast), flour, salt and water.
Still, no one mistakes sourdough for convenience food.
From starter to finished loaf, the process can stretch more than 36 hours.
“It’s definitely slow,” Lombardi says with a laugh.
Her “students” leave with a jar of starter, a beginner’s guide and the confidence to bake their first loaf at home.
The response has surprised even them.
“Everyone’s been really into it,” Lombardi says. “We get three or four texts a day from somebody proudly sharing a photo of a loaf they’ve made.”
Of course, not everyone wants to spend two days making bread. Plenty of Main Liners are content to support artisanal bakers who do the heavy lifting for them.
Scratch-made sourdough at The Buttery in Malvern and Ardmore – and soon Bryn Mawr – has won raves from the likes of Martha Stewart, who visited the Malvern bakery in March.
When Wild Yeast Bakehouse opens in Wayne, customers will be able to browse a wider selection of naturally leavened breads and sourdough treats. The boutique bakehouse will also double as a learning lab where customers can “learn more about the process and benefits of sourdough and gather with friends to try your hand at making some bread,” according to founder John Goncher (below).
The ten-times-larger space will enable Goncher to better serve his “bread share” delivery customers, his wholesale partners and his farmer’s market channels in Wayne (inside D’Innocenzo’s Bakery) and Media.
Others hopped on the trend unexpectedly.
Bryn Mawr’s Alison Sabarr initially dismissed homemade sourdough as “ridiculous… I would never do that,” she says. With a full-time, travel-intensive job, there was no way she would find the time.
Then she visited a friend whose kitchen smelled of freshly baked bread.
“She walked me through the process and shared her starter. I tried it and got hooked,” Sabarr says. “It’s a long process, but it’s not hard.”
A year later, she’s experimenting with flours, flavors and scoring techniques, sharing her starter and showing off her handiwork with friends.
“It’s almost like an art form,” she says.
In an age of instant gratification, sourdough insists on the opposite. It asks for patience, practice and a willingness to embrace imperfection.
Somewhere between the stretch-and-folds and the overnight proofing, local bakers are discovering something pretty darn satisfying.
The reward isn’t just the loaf. It’s the ritual of making it.
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This and That
Newly renovated 333 Belrose in Radnor has been re-opening ever so softly and slowly – to invited guests only. Reservations should open in the next week.
Convinced the Main Line would rather proteinmaxx than carb-load – and is willing to pay for it, Fearless Restaurants has scrapped plans for pizza-and-pastafocused Testa Rossa at the old Bertucci’s in Wayne. A new concept, Martini & Roz, will focus on “bold proteins, pristine seafood and pasta as a refined complement.” Think fewer fussy sauces, higher quality ingredients.
Martini & Roz is slated to open in the old Bertucci’s space this fall.
The “retro-futurist” restaurant will feature a tasting counter, a glass “cheese cave,” and seating for 180 inside and another 70 outdoors. Fearless Partner Sydney Grims tells us the out-of-the-gate success of upscale Triple Crown at the Radnor Hotel and guest feedback prompted the switcheroo. The new name is a tip of the cap to her grandparents, restaurateur Martin Callahan and his Italian wife, Roz Rossi.
Longtime Bryn Mawr bar Kelly’s Taproom thinks it’s on the rocks. Nearly 3,000 people have signed a petition, started by owner Angie Mitchell, to “support Kelly’s Taproom to prevent foreclosure.” PA state police issued multiple citations to the bar last month for alleged liquor code violations including serving minors, excess noise and selling unlimited drinks at a set price. Owners Angie and Gene Mitchell claim their 37-year-old bar is being unfairly targeted by law enforcement and Lower Merion officials. They say they’ve caught thousands of fake IDs with sophisticated new scanners and carefully monitor sound levels with new technology.
You’ll have to wait a wee bit longer for the long-awaited debut of The Buttery in Bryn Mawr. The café at the former Kindred Collective has postponed its grand opening to Saturday, June 20. Pop in opening weekend for a new-to-Bryn Mawr lemon poppy pastry and leave with a free sea-salt sable cookie and a branded Buttery tote (while supplies last).
Ogyu Japanese BBQ is now sizzling in the old Iron Hill space in Ardmore – an ambitious new concept for the growing O Restaurant Group, owners of Osushis in Ardmore and Wayne and Hiramasa in Newtown Square. Ogyu’s sultry Greenfield Avenue space has a full bar and serves Yakinuku (tabletop-grilled meat) lunches and dinners daily – fixed price or a la carte.
Villanova favorite Goodness Bowls is expanding to Paoli, its ninth location.
Goodness is slated to open in the former Cup of Dreams space in Paoli Village Shoppes in July.
The eatery produces a potpourri of healthy goodies including smoothies, bowls, juices, salads, wraps, oatmeal and more.
Avalon’s Pink Gator is headed to the Main Line. The preppy-chic boutique is building out a second store in Paoli Shopping Center. The Rios sisters, daughters of owner Paula Rios, will be minding the store beginning August 1.
Out of commission for months, the popular tot lot in Wilson Farm Park is preparing to re-open this month. The new playground will be fully fenced with new surfacing and play equipment. You may recall the Labor Day tragedy of 2024 when a 3-year-old wandered out of the Wilson tot lot and drowned.
The chef who put Manayunk on the culinary map with hotspots Sonoma, Derek’s and Kansas City Prime, is now running the kitchen at Rick’s Tavern, a super-casual new restaurant and bar in Conshy. Derek Davis is turning out modern takes on Italian classics, along with pastas, customizable pizzas, cheesesteaks, hoagies and burgers. Restauranteurs Rick and Gale Maloney gutted the old Pizza Time/Old Time Saloon and opened Rick’s in late May.
Funky, whimsical, quirky, gift boutique, curiosity shop, downtown Ardmore’s Past*Present*Future has long defied definition. And in a few short weeks, it will fade to black. Owner Sherry Tillman is retiring after 50 years in business, the last 30 on Ardmore Avenue. A storewide going-out-of-business sale started this week. Tillman will sell the building after her liquidation sale.
The Main Line developer who never shies away from a fight – see Willistown’s embattled Rock Hill Farm – is again wading into controversial waters. Brian O’Neill of MP Ventures proposes to build a cluster of five data centers in King of Prussia. Hundreds of residents confronted O’Neill at an Upper Merion Township Planning Commission meeting in late May, voicing concerns about scale, noise, massive power demands and environmental impacts. O’Neill pushed back, arguing that the centers will be an economic savior for empty office parks, providing thousands of jobs and tax revenue. He claimed modern data centers are benign. “The beauty of these data centers is they don’t create traffic, they don’t make noise… They don’t pollute.” His facilities will feature closed-loop cooling to safeguard local water reserves and will produce their own power to minimize strain on the power grid, he says. Meanwhile, Harrisburg is considering imposing a statewide moratorium on data-center construction statewide as municipalities contend with growing public backlash.
In downtown Wayne, one project is nearly finished while the next one is just getting started.
Wayne Station – the brick building under construction for the last year-and-a-half at Lancaster and Louella Aves – is scheduling hard-hat tours for its luxury one- and two-bedroom apartments. Residents will live above an upscale 85-seat steakhouse, a STRONG Pilates studio and a second outpost of The Little Gym.
Meanwhile, earth movers have been busy at the former municipal parking lot across from Boyds. The Concordia Group broke ground on the 45-unit super-deluxe condo project, 60 West Wayne, in mid-May.
The 60 West condominium complex is under construction on Lancaster Ave.
Dirty is also flying in Ardmore, where developers finally broke ground on the Piazza at Ardmore May 20. Barring construction delays, the massive apartment-retail complex will open in February of 2028 – exactly 100 years after the debut of Suburban Square. “Ardmore is one of the most extraordinary communities in the country, and it deserves a development matching that ambition,” said developer Dan Piazza. “Our family spent decades assembling this block so Ardmore could have this moment, and we can say with certainty it was all worth it. The Piazza at Ardmore is the next chapter of the Main Line.”
Six standout Main Line gardens will be featured in the first-ever Pennsylvania Garden Party. Villanova Garden Club and Garden Club of Bala Cynwyd are local hosts of the two-day statewide tour of 90 public and private gardens on June 20 and June 27. Tickets, valid for both days, are $25 and include a full-color tour book and map. Proceeds benefit community outreach efforts by garden clubs across the state.
A farmers market with no fresh produce? Ardmore Produce, the longtime veggie and fruit vendor at Ardmore Farmers Market, is reportedly leaving at summer’s end. Here’s hoping Kimco finds a replacement ASAP. The community deserves a thriving market – not one that’s still half empty.
Meanwhile, the occupancy rate in downtown Ardmore hovers at a healthy 91 percent – even after the recent closures of Party Palace Depot and Kung Fu Tea. Te latter will soon be replaced by Half a While Tea and Cake.
Lower Merion and Harriton football teams could merge as soon as next year. The school board last month approved a preliminary cooperative agreement for the 2026-2027 school year. The Harriton Rams went 0-9 in the Central League for the tenth straight season last year, while Lower Merion went 1-8. Faced with dwindling rosters and fearing for players’ safety in lopsided games, parents and players have been pushing for a merger for months. The agreement requires PIAA approval before the school district can iron out details.
As the grassroots Pencils over Pixels parents’ group gains steam, Lower Merion school board is proposing to limit screen time in the youngest grades. Under a draft policy introduced this week, the district would stop assigning iPads and personal devices to kindergartners, first graders and second graders. “Technology shall not be used for routine class instruction in these grades,” the policy reads. In third and fourth grade, devices would be stored on carts. If adopted by the board, the new policy would start in August. A “bell-to-bell” ban on cell phone use in Lower Merion schools could start the following school year.
Ellis Preserve has a tasty new spot for cheesesteaks. After ten years serving their signature 100% ribeye sandwiches and homemade cheesesteak eggrolls in Center City, sibling owners Dimitri and Electra Poulimenos just opened a second Cleavers closer to their Newtown Square homes.
A friendly reminder: Texting, taking a pic or even holding your cellphone – even if your car isn’t moving – is now verboten in PA. If the cops spot you, they can hit you with a $50 fine.
On June 1, gas-powered leaf blowers were outlawed in Lower Merion but there’s a big BUT. After landscapers complained, the township may refine its ordinance to specify that the ban targets only handheld and backpack-style blowers – not wheeled, tow-behind blowers and chemical sprayers.
Six months after equestrian-chic Vanner House moved out, the historic Ithan Market building on Conestoga Rd. in Radnor has a new tenant: Roots Salon & Head Spa. A full-service upscale beauty salon, Roots also offers special scalp treatments and head massages. A grand opening celebration is set for June 25.
Mad Anthony Wayne Café is ringing in five years at the Wayne train station this month. A neighborhood staple for well-crafted coffee drinks, cold brews, gelato and pastries, the veteran-owned cafe feels like it’s been part of the community forever, doesn’t it?
T&E Care is retooling its signature Fall Fest fundraiser this year. After years of galas and, for three years, community rock concerts, the grassroots neighbors-helping-neighbors nonprofit will host a 5K & Family Fun Run Oct. 11 at Wilson Farm Park. Sponsorships available.
One more reason to root for the Nova Knicks in the NBA Finals. Small forward Mikal Bridges was once a Main Liner – and not just because he won two Natty championships at Villanova after sharpening his game at Great Valley High School. A fun story in this week’s Inquirer recounts his T/E elementary school years when he lived in two-bedroom Devon apartment and was shooting hoops at Bo Connor Park. As a kid he dreamed of a house on the beach. Today he owns an oceanfront manse in Avalon. Now if that doesn’t scream Main Line …
PADELphia at AFC Fitness in Bala Cynwyd is no longer the only game in town. The world’s fast-growing racquet sport now has a second indoor club, OH! Padel, at the former Planet Fitness in Malvern. A third venture, Main Line Padel, is seeking township approval to open outdoor courts and a clubhouse at 341 Conestoga Road near Brightview Senior Living in Wayne.
Just Salad just opened its first Philly-area outpost in Ardmore West Shopping Center. But the name’s a misnomer: the fast-casual chain sells protein-dense plates, bowls, wraps and smoothies. Another Just Salads is heading to King of Prussia across from the mall.
Stoneleigh comes alive with the sound of music this month. The public garden in Villanova is hosting three feasts for the ears: an organ concert on its rare 1931 organ this Friday, June 12 at noon; a new music ensemble, Tunes on the Terrace, Saturday, June 13; and Follow the Sound, a ticketed naturalist-led evening stroll punctuated with impromptu musical performances Saturday, June 20.
The Tredyffrin Heritage Center at Duportail in Chesterbrook is going all-in this July 4. A “Dare to Declare” reading of the Declaration of Independence starts at 1, followed by an American folk concert by Craig Bickhardt in the Federal Barn, patriotic games, face painting, balloon-making and more. Families are invited to picnic on the grounds of the circa-1740 Duportail House. Festivities are free and open to all.
Priced out of the World Cup? Locust Lane Brewery has you covered. The Malvern craft brewer is hosting family-friendly game watches at Nor View Farm in King of Prussia through July 19. BYO lawn chair. Epicurean Garage will feed you. Locust Lane and Petrucci’s Ice Cream will supply the cold stuff.
And finally, here’s something you don’t see every day: a black bear in your doorbell camera feed. Willistown/East Goshen/Hershey’s Mill residents reported multiple bear sightings last week. Apparently, the bear has been sniffing around for food. Police have advised residents to empty bird feeders, keep BBQ grills spotless and take coolers inside. Game wardens caught a black bear in Montgomery County last week.
Wow, lots to love on the Main Line. Thanks for the updates, Caroline.
Is there any news about the Paoli Hardware space that is still empty?
So sad they closed.
You and the rest of the western Main Line! That store was a treasure. Nothing to report.
Always such a delight to read on the computer my eyes getting tired on the little phone Keep up the good Work!
How about the new restaurant in Bryn Mawr Square next to Kirna Zabete, it was supposed to be from the owners of Alessandros in Wayne? No update…
Yes, a second Alessandro’s is still happening- Restaurant fit-outs always take longer than owners anticipate. Just made a note to ask Alessandro for his target opening date.