SAVVY MAINLINE

it's what you want to know

‘I’m tired of being the sad story’: Berwyn’s Nadine and Kevin Rudd open up about his early-onset Alzheimer’s kit

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / 37 Comments /

Samantha’s wedding isn’t until October but Kevin Rudd, father of the bride, is already working on his toast.

He scribbles ideas in a journal as they flicker in his brain: sweet father-daughter moments, questions to puzzle through. Which songs did Sam and I sing on car rides to the College of Charleston? What was the funny thing that happened on our trip to Piney Point?

Ten years ago, Kevin would have delivered a pitch-perfect toast. A prominent investment banker and public speaker, he would have nailed it. No stage was too big, no microphone too intimidating.

But today, at age 63, he’s worried. Will he get the words out without jumbling them up?

Read More See More

Wayne welcomes World Wide Stereo, a next-level hub for the latest in home tech and entertainment

/ By Caroline / /

Prepare to scrape your jaws off the floor, folks – World Wide Stereo in Wayne is a WOW!!!

Newly opened in the old Starbucks, it’s a welcome 180 from that sketchy CBD/kratom shop that Radnor township wisely gave the boot after a hot minute. It’s also a snazzy upgrade over its former Main Line home in Ardmore.

Indeed, World Wide Stereo Wayne is way more than a store – it’s a show-and-tell emporium: a place – for homeowners, builders, architects and designers – to not just see the latest in smart tech and whiz-bang entertainment, but to EXPERIENCE it.

Read More See More

Dapper & delightful: The Jockey Tavern giddyaps into Malvern

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Near the heart of horse country – ten minutes from Radnor Hunt and eight miles from Devon – sits the new Jockey Tavern: horsey, handsome and … HAPPENING.

Crowds have swarmed place – the former McKenzie Brew House on Rte. 30 – since it opened November 14.

And for good reason: The décor is smashing, the booze is bountiful, and the food is on the money and fairly priced. In racing parlance, a superfecta.

Read More See More

Holy Macaroni! Ardmore’s new Mac Mart is a mac ‘n cheese lover’s dream

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

What’s WAY better than Kraft, MUCH better than Annie’s, and LIKELY better than homemade? The gourmet mac ‘n cheese at the new Mac Mart in Ardmore.
 
Now open in a blaze of yellow glory on Rittenhouse Place, Mac Mart is all mac ‘n cheese all the time and in myriad iterations – for eat-in, take out and catering.

Read More See More

‘Pretty Wrecked’, a Wayne mom’s new tell-all; This is not your father’s library; Main Line family brings Cabrini to the big screen; Wayne Wawa & lux condo news; Hello, Osushi Wayne, Fiore Rosso 2.0, Full of Grace Florals, Blue Heron, RAZRBAR & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

With her girl-next-door face and bouncy personality, it’s hard to picture Wayne mom Tracy Viola as the duplicitous, defiant drug-addicted teen in her new memoir, Pretty Wrecked.

But maybe that’s the point of this tell-all: looks (and smarts) can be deceptive. Heck, they help you deceive. You can be pretty – and pretty wrecked for years – but you can fool yourself for only so long.

Sooner or later, you’ll crash and burn.

Tracy hit rock bottom seven months after her Agnes Irwin graduation when, strung out and shivering with nowhere to sleep, she crawled inside an empty Toyota parked behind the Devon Acme.

Read More See More

Spring beginnings! Blue Elephant Wayne, Amada Radnor, Exit 13 Gastrobar, Berwyn Farmer’s Market, Coulter Place Ardmore, HOTWORX, Discseel, Le Mignon & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Recession? What Recession? No sign of it here, with so many restaurants, retail and building projects taking root this spring.

We begin in downtown Wayne, where a long-time-coming Blue Elephant has finally made her grand entrance.

Read More See More

Coping with coronavirus: The Main Line pauses, pivots and pitches in. Will life ever be the same?

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Frankly, we weren’t going to publish. This coronavirus crisis is too crazy/awful/unwieldy to even begin to unpack. Plus, we weren’t sure how to handle our loyal advertisers, who have enough bills to worry about.

But we’ve been monitoring the Main Line’s New Normal. And while plenty about it stinks, there’s good news worth sharing.

So we’re going ahead. You’ll see our advertisers’ banners and hear some of their corona-coping stories but they won’t be billed. It’s the least we can do.

Read More See More

Much ado about development: the latest in Berwyn, Devon; Fallout from Radnor’s fallen trees; Cutting-edge beauty/wellness in Paoli; Uh-oh in Ardmore; Happy B-day Campli Photo & BMFI; Cool new companies & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

After a string of hearings sometimes so raucous with foot stomping and chanting that officials asked police to stand sentry, Easttown’s zoning board has – drum roll – ruled on Berwyn Square.

Both sides claim partial victory – although, arguably, the bigger win went to the developers.

But this one’s far from over.

Read More See More

Social edition: Loretta Swit in Wayne, Jazz for Home of the Sparrow, Appleford Summer Solstice, Natural Lands’ Stardust, DAR, ML School Night & City Year soirées & more

/ By Caroline O'Halloran / /

M*A*S*H fans flocked to the Cottage at Valley Forge Flowers to meet Loretta Swit, aka Hot Lips Houlihan.

The star: A longtime artist and animal rights activist, Swit, now 79, came to Wayne June 29 to sign copies of Switheart: The Watercolour Artistry & Animal Activism of Loretta Swit. Fetched from New York by a Valley Forge Flowers staffer, Swit was reportedly “lovely” and raved about the antiques and collectibles at the Cottage.

Read More See More