That moment when you see a friend post something totally scary.
This is a big warning to everybody who drives a car please look before you go through a green yes green light! at about 2:00 today I watched a very large heavy recycling/trash truck fly through a red light doing about 45 MPH at the intersection of Valley Hill Road and 401 the truck was heading towards RT 202 I was on Valley hill heading towards Bodine road a very small car in front of me was making a rt on a green light and it had not just changed it had been green as I was heading towards the light the car was inches from getting T boned and rear ended this person I hope knows how lucky they were, I my self slammed on my brakes sent all my groceries flying all over the back seat of my truck. For me I was also lucky 2 seconds sooner it could have been me. This light has a warning light telling drivers that the light is red way before they get to the light, there is absolutely no excuse to blow a red light there and at a fast speed in such a large truck. Please tell your kids to always look both ways before going through a green light never never trust another driver will be stopping. Now to try and get my heart rate back to normal. Be safe !!
This company sucks. Even with new owners they suck.
They fly in and out of my street and some weeks I wonder if they are going to end up in our front yards if not worse. I don’t use them. We use Opdenaker and they are terrific and not sloppy dangerous crazy.
My friend went and literally knocked on doors to get security camera footage and she got video. I will share it.
She said to me:
I have a video but it does not look as fast as he was going and you can’t see it was a red light. In the video it took me 6 seconds to cross because I totally stopped and looked at the light to make sure I was not going through a red light. Then I crossed super careful but I was rt behind the car that almost was hit.
She continued:
I am the white truck.
At the point the video catches him he was slamming on his brakes.
Also when I got home I found our recycling can emptied and a bunch of recycling all over the road and also our neighbors recycling the same like 7-9 pieces of trash.
I wonder if it was the same truck.
Well probably at least the same company because that is their usual M.O.
I told my friend to also call the PA State Police because 401 and Valley Hill where this happened is Charlestown Township and well they don’t have local police, they have Staties.
How would you like to get mayonnaise that looks like this?
Well, I did today.
I went to order off the Duke’s website and the website sent me to Amazon. I can no longer order directly any longer, apparently.
So I ordered from the Duke’s store on Amazon. I ordered mayonnaise. I can’t even tell you how disgusting it was when it arrived today.
It’s so disgusting. Truly gross.
And this I think will be the last time that I ever purchase Duke’s mayonnaise and I have been buying it for years and it was my favorite until it arrived today and I thought I would vomit because it was just all like clear yellowy oil.
There was no mayonnaise part to it and it was not beyond expiration and how the Duke’s store thought that was OK to package and send escapes me. It was one of those normal size jars. I guess like 30 ounces or something.
I used to order from the Duke’s website. Why? Because if you ordered directly from them, you also had access to the other things they sold, which included some wonderful mustard as well as flavored mayonnaise or mayonnaise made with avocado oil or light mayonnaise. Basically here on the East Coast, you’re lucky if the grocery store will actually consistently have the mayonnaise in stock. The other products don’t appear in this area. And I love their mustards as a matter of fact, or I did.
I couldn’t believe I was shipped something like that so I Googled Duke’s. And guess what it was sold.
It had been under the flag of Sauer Brands out of Richmond, VA. But apparently in 2025 it got a new corporate daddy. And the new corporate daddy is a multinational conglomerate called Advent International.
RICHMOND, VA, February 19, 2025 – Sauer Brands Inc. (the “Company”), a scaled platform of leading condiments and seasonings brands, today announced the completion of its previously announced transaction in which Advent International (“Advent”), a leading global private equity investor, has acquired Sauer Brands from Falfurrias Capital Partners (“Falfurrias”). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sauer Brands into our portfolio and build upon the success the Company has already achieved to date,” said Tricia Glynn, a Managing Partner at Advent. “Our aspirations are to enable even more consumers to discover and fall in love with Sauer’s brands, including Duke’s Mayo, Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa and Kernel Season’s.”
Well, isn’t that interesting. I’m guessing now there will be multiple products. I will not be purchasing anymore because they’re under this corporate umbrella. I also did like Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa. But given this is how the mayonnaise looks from Duke’s that’s now not really Duke’s in my humble opinion.
Unless something changes where Advent is involved, l will not purchase any product associated with them.
I had finally gotten through listening to the insanity of the West Whiteland Zoning Hearing Board meeting when a new headline for Savvy popped up. DiBruno’s which is now NOT really them any longer, it’s owned by another company now – Wakefern is closing the Ardmore and Wayne locations. A 3rd store in Philadelphia I guess someplace also is closing according to Michael Klein in the Philadelphia Inquirer. So the company that purchased them in 2024 is related to ShopRite as in that guy Jeff Brown who ran for mayor in Philadelphia a few years ago.
Apparently the original store on 9th Street in the Italian Market and the center city Chestnut Street location will survive. I will admit for DiBruno’s my heart belongs to 9th Street. That was a big part of growing up, going there with my father.
I covered the opening of the Ardmore store in 2011. The soft opening launch of it all was March, 2011. I covered it for Ardmore Patch at the time.
March 31 marked the grand opening reception for Philadelphia-based Di Bruno Brothers new store in the Ardmore Farmers Market in Suburban Square.
Di Bruno’s began in 1939, when brothers Danny and Joe Di Bruno opened a small market on 9th Street in the heart of the Italian Market in South Philadelphia. I grew up going there with my family.
My great aunts lived not too far away in South Philadelphia and as a small child my family lived in Society Hill before moving to the Main Line. Some of my earliest memories were treks to the market and to Di Bruno’s.
When you walked into the long and very narrow store that was Di Bruno’s on 9th Street, it was a feast for the senses: cheeses and cured meats were suspended from the ceiling and shelves lined the walls with all sorts of foods and coffees. Large oak barrels filled with olives, pepperoncini, and other brine-soaked treats stood at attention like soldiers. Their spicy, salty aromas saturated the store.
People were greeted with a smile and the brothers were always helpful. You could truly trust them to give you something fabulous when you asked for, say, a suggestion on a cheese or cured meat.
One of my late father’s favorite stories about Di Bruno’s took place one Christmas time, and centered around an older woman in the store who was dressed in neat but threadbare clothes. As he told it, the woman was struggling with what she could get with the very little money she had, when one of the Di Bruno brothers asked if she needed help. She showed them what she had, and they said it would be fine and filled two large shopping bags with food for her. It was obviously far exceeding what she would have been able to pay for, but that was just the way they were. They were kind and they treated all their customers like family.
That feeling and legacy have survived throughout the generations and informed every store Di Bruno’s has opened.
While their latest opens for regular business on April 5in the Ardmore Farmers Market in Suburban Square, Di Bruno’s opened their doors on March 31 for a grand opening celebration that was heaven on earth for foodies.
The Ardmore Market is a very clean and well lit modern space, yet Di Bruno’s, as they have with their other stores, has maintained the feeling of the Italian Market. They spared no expense and treated all of the guests to the delectable treats that made them famous, in addition to samplings from their catering menu.
If the crowd at the grand opening is any indication, Di Bruno’s will be not only a welcome addition to the Main Line food scene, but an incredibly popular one as well.
Buona fortuna Di Bruno’s and welcome to Ardmore!
Here are some photos I took at that launch party:
I only went to Wayne a couple of times because well, Carlino’s in West Chester is out here. Wayne was a big gamble for them when it opened in 2021. I wondered how it would do over time. At the same time they opened Wayne, it seemed like Ardmore was just less than it was before. But I also heard the rents in Suburban Square are crazy expensive around that same time, so was it unexpected to me this news today? Actually yes. I always figured when Wayne opened, eventually Ardmore would be phased out because the Ardmore Farmer’s Market has been a fauxmer’s market for many years, dating back to when DiBruno’s opened there in 2011. As a matter of fact, it was DiBruno’s that got me to go back to the Ardmore Farmer’s Market at all.
Anyway, it’s a major bummer, and I feel sorry for the employees. That will be a BIG empty space in Wayne across from the farmers market there. In Suburban Square? Meh. Kimco will plug some drek in their spot in the fauxmer’s market.
Well I received word today that the ripoff furniture store owner from Malvern/Frazer was sentenced….finally. I mean, this has been going on for a couple of years or more.
So I am referring to Matt Kaplan of the now defunct M. Kaplan Interiors.
M. Kaplan Interiors was a furniture store and interior design firm owned by Matt and Margaret Kaplan. The business, which claimed a long history in the area, was closed following multiple allegations in 2023-2024 of widespread consumer fraud.
I only went in there once when I first moved to Chester County. I pretty much walked out the door minutes after I went in because I was just starting to look for a sofa for our living room and the woman on the floor, who I guess was his wife, was incredibly rude. And it was because I didn’t know what I wanted other than I didn’t want a huge sofa. I was just so uncomfortable. I left and I literally went across the street to resellers at the time and bought a vintage Chippendale sofa and had it recovered and rebuilt.
So today I was told Kaplan was sentenced today. Supposedly 6-23 months in Chester County Prison, 6 years probation, and he must make full restitution. He reports on Monday or something and has this weekend to get his life in order before going to jail.
My comment on the restitution is, I will believe it when I see it. Wonder what is happening with his wife? Because she was charged with a couple of things and I don’t know that they ever did anything with her.
Kaplan pled guilty this past September. See article embedded below and here is an excerpt:
WEST CHESTER — The owner of a now-closed high-end furniture store who was accused of taking money from multiple customers, some of them elderly, but not fulfilling their orders, has pleaded guilty to felony charges in the cases against him, some of which were filed more than two years ago.
As Common Pleas Court Judge Allison Bell Royer prepared to hear a pre-trial matter in the case of Matthew Kaplan on Sept. 2, his attorney informed the judge that his client would instead enter open pleas to four counts in the quartet of cases against him.
Kaplan, 56, of Abington, Montgomery County, pleaded guilty to two counts of deceptive or fraudulent business practices, a second-degree felony; passing bad checks; and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, also a second-degree felony.
As part of the plea colloquy he signed, Kaplan admitted that from 2018 to 2022, in the course of doing business at M. Kaplan Interiors in Frazer, he “offered and exposed for sale and delivered less than the represented quantity of furniture, including to victims at or above 60 years of age.”….
Kaplan appeared before Judge Allison Bell Royer with his attorney, Mark Cerroni of Media. The guilty pleas came without an agreed-upon sentence between Cerroni and Assistant District Attorney Peter Johnsen, so Royer will decide his sentence at a later date.
Some similar charges are also pending against Kaplan’s wife, Margaret Kaplan. Her trial is pending.
This guy tanked a business that was started in like the 1920s. I find that amazing.
It took a while but justice was served. I wonder if they will just ignore his wife now that they have sentenced him? Only time will tell.
Let’s be clear about the data center here. What was originally approved and allowed by East Whiteland you’re not going to cancel that BUT given the size and the expansion they want to do on something that is not yet open and proves it needs. It is like a whole other plan and shoukd be treated as such, right??
Now the data center developer wants to upgrade some technology and move some stuff around. If that is hypothetically beneficial to his plan and would be beneficial to the residents that’s one thing but that does NOT mean the developer should just get a gimme supersizing prize of a half built project not up and running, does it?
And I hear that East Whiteland is putting a live stream on for this very heated topic. Their reticence with that is they don’t want to be hacked again (happened with Zoom) and have to see porn but you know what? how many other municipalities still do Zoom every week? Maybe their Internet safety protocol isn’t strong enough? The planning commission is but the opening salvo here.
Anyway as per East Whiteland’s website:
The Applicant for the proposed Data Center on Swedesford Road will attend the upcoming Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 7:00pm (Livestream Available via Link Below)
The Applicant for the proposed Data Center on Swedesford Road will attend the upcoming Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 7:00pm to present an Amended Plan for the project. In addition to in-person attendance, the meeting will be available to Livestream via the Township Website using the link below. Public comment may be submitted via email to bcarosello@eastwhiteland.org. Please submit comments by 4:00pm on Wednesday.
People need to make sure that they tell every single supervisor and Township staff (politely) if they don’t want this. And they can’t just do it on social media. You have to zoom into the meetings, go to the meetings, send emails. Call media you know to cover it. Residents and those concerned need to make the time, not excuses.
If residents had paid more attention around 2022 when this whole thing was going through initial approval process, maybe we wouldn’t be here today but we will never know as that ship sailed. What hasn’t sailed is the developer does not have the Divine Right of Kings to make his project bigger, does he? That wasn’t what was approved, and it has to go through a whole new planning process from top to the bottom or it should right? I mean a 629,830 square foot increase is not smidge larger is it? “1,026,800 s.f. to 1,656,630 s.f. (along with related increases in building coverage and impervious coverage)” is quite a bit larger, yes?
And people from East Whiteland are contacting East Whiteland about the 55+ development that was approved years ago unavoidably in West Whiteland. Again, that ship sailed. I told people here and people told people other places about all those meetings, and the residents did not pay attention. And the problem with that project is under the Municipalities Planning Code so it was approved. And until that weighty outdated tome in Harrisburg is comprehensively updated to protect our communities, they are going to be targeted by developers for whatever is going to make them the most money in that minute and that is the truth isn’t it?
Also to be noted is there are many many West Whiteland residents who are concerned about the potential supersizing of this data center. They had to deal with this developer when he wanted to put a hydrogen hub right next to their park right in the same area. And that didn’t happen because the residents and supervisors stood up and took action.
In my humble opinion, the supervisors in East Whiteland need to be on the same page as the residents when it comes to data centers. If that developer wants to improve technology, that is mutually beneficial to all or tweak design on plan size approved, that is one thing, and it’s something they should want to do for their bottom line in the future, right? But we are already seeing changes in our power grid from data centers. We run the risk of having well water polluted by these data centers. There are other ways it is harmful to the environment and then there is the sheer noise. So East Whiteland approved a data center and it’s not up and running yet so there is no actual proof that is supersizing is needed at this juncture, is there? It is a developer want, it is not a developer need in my opinion and I’m allowed to have that.
I also of the opinion that we cannot depend on the planning commission to say no to this. I don’t think they have the knowledge necessary to do anything other than pass it along with a rubber stamp. In my opinion, I think they are all going to say unless people turn out and protest that “oh it’s OK. It’s better for people. It’ll bring lots of business and tax revenue” or whatever platitudes get blown up people’s rear ends and there’s no proof that it will do any of those things, but that’s what they’re told isn’t it?
This is who is on the planning commission:
Deborah Abel, Chair Todd Asousa, Vice Chair Bob Logan Bill Wrabley John Laumer Tim Kelly Jaime Damiani
Go to https://www.eastwhiteland.org/ for more information on this project and for telephone numbers and email addresses, etc.
This was a superfund site – EPA- Foote Mineral. The planning commission should know that you can’t just come in with a resubmission like this- it has to start the clock again with a resubmission- where is the impact study? What is the complete feasibility? Planning needs to restart the clock if the developer wishes to expand, isn’t that a truism? Who inspects? Who is the monitoring agency? So many variables.
I just saw this photo (minus the X) posted elsewhere. I feel compelled to address it because it’s the kind of messaging that is counterproductive to protecting our communities and the environment.
It’s the kind of messaging we get from some politicians talking out both sides of their mouth, and from the industry itself, giving false assurance that they won’t pollute or deplete our resources because there are strict environmental regulations in place.
It’s false.
We don’t HAVE anywhere close to adequate rules in place to protect our air and water from this buildout of AI data centers and power plants to fuel them – not to mention protect climate and communities.
Workers? These hyper scale data centers create very few jobs once built – and the intent is to eliminate workers.
And we have a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection that has a history of turning a blind eye to violations by certain industries. And it’s led by a Secretary who has been engaged in backroom dealmaking with these corporations and has promised to deliver Amazon with the “highest level of service, accountability and urgency to meet their project needs”. (See letter in comments obtained through a RTK request.
Let’s not pretend the situation in Pennsylvania is anything different.
And what Ginny said was similarly said by a dear friend today who keeps asking Harrisburg WHO is responsible for watching Data Centers? WHO is the monitoring agency? I mean those who live with the PA DEPs inconsistency in their communities know this is a problem. WHO watches and who watchdogs the entities who are supposed to watch?
Also from Ginny:
Oh, and my opinions are bought to me by the First Amendment. They haven’t repealed that yet as far as I know.
Ok residents, the weekend surprise is essentially the data center developer building in East Whiteland wants to make it BIGGER.
We have a proverbial foot in the door scenario, and IMHO East Whiteland never should have allowed the foot to get there in the first place and I am allowed to have this opinion under the First Amendment.
To QUOTE the township:
📌The Applicant for the proposed Data Center on Swedesford Road will attend the upcoming Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 to present an Amended Plan for the project. The Amended Plan differs from the Previously Approved Plan as follows:
total building square footage has increased from 1,026,800 s.f. to 1,656,630 s.f. (along with related increases in building coverage and impervious coverage)
cooling equipment has been redesigned and relocated from the ground immediately adjacent to the buildings (water-consuming cooling towers) to the rooftop (waterless rooftop chillers) along with corresponding sound mitigation barriers
emergency back-up generators have been relocated from the basement of the buildings to the ground immediately adjacent to the buildings along with corresponding sound mitigation barriers
office uses and loading facilities have been relocated from the southern side of the buildings to the northern side of the buildings facing Swedesford Road
additional trees and landscaping have been proposed on the former sewer lagoons located between the development site and Swedesford Road
design and location of stormwater management facilities, parking lots, and internal circulation areas have been modified
previously proposed microwave towers, antenna yards, and ground-mounted cooling towers have been removed
East Whiteland Township needs to say NO and they need to enable Zoom capability for ALL meetings where this is concerned given the weather and number of residents and neighbors who will be interested.
Again… the weekend surprise is essentially the data center developer for the East Whiteland Data Center on Swedesford next to West Whiteland park land, wants to make it BIGGER.
East Whiteland Township needs to say NO and they need to enable Zoom capability for ALL meetings where this is concerned given the weather and number of residents and neighbors who will be interested.
When we (myself and others) posted about this data center first happening a few years ago, very few people were interested. It was the chorus of crickets.
Recently, some people seemed like they were interested in this again and people wondered where they were a couple of years ago. This is the same developer that West Whiteland turned down for the hydrogen plant.
Once upon a time, I think this developer was like a stock broker or a money manager, but then he saw the dollar signs here didn’t he? So that’s fine if this is his chosen career path, but he shouldn’t detrimentally affect residents in multiple municipalities should he?
I make no secret of the fact that I always thought this was too big a plan for Swedesford Road. And at the time I couldn’t believe the people in developments across the road didn’t seem bothered by this.
Here are some interesting comments so far:
If you Google the project, here’s what comes up (in part):
Key Project Details
Location: 760 Swedesford Road, Malvern, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Capacity: Planned for 290 MW of power, with significant capacity for 2 million square feet of development.
Partnership: A joint venture between Green Fig Land Company and 1547 Critical Systems Realty.
lol Features: Designed for hyperscale users with potential rooftop solar (up to 7 MW) and high-density, interconnected capabilities.
Sorry, not sorry but residents and residents of neighboring municipalities had better wake up this time around.
The bell on the original data center being built, can’t be on wrong, but residents should have a say and be able to say no to making it bigger.
A neighboring site offers an additional 5 million square feet of development potential.
fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty and Green Fig Land Co. have unveiled the latest advancements at their 100-acre hyperscale data center developmentoutside Philadelphia that could eventually comprise up to 2 million square feet of space. Lease options are now available for build-to-suit, powered shell and turnkey data center space.
Located about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia in East Whiteland Township, Pa., the site was acquired by GFLC and 1547 in 2022. The development firm had previously received the local authorities’ approval to construct two data centers of about 1 million square feet each. An adjacent property is available for the development of data center buildings totaling up to 5 million square feet.
While looking for items in WVT’s bills lists that may pertain to the commercially-marketed-venue-in-my-residential-neighborhood, I found this one. It stood out as a new vendor and had a weird description (“security check”). It was also around the time my personal email and social media had gotten hacked.
Cowan Investigations is a NJ PI firm of ex-cops that promotes assisting with marital issues (cheating spouses, alimony, bug sweeps, etc.) with some “private sector” business thrown in (litigation support, background checks).
On August 6, 2025, my position was eliminated. Tom left the building that morning and had the treasurer and an attorney deliver the news. I was asked to sign a separation agreement, which I did not do; I said I wanted to have my attorney look at it (spoiler: I never signed it). I gave up keys and passwords for various accounts before I left that day, except for one. I was asked to turn over the username and password to the WVT FB page: a request for something that does not exist specific to that page.
Back in July, Tom had asked me for that same info, and I explained to him that there IS no username/password specific to that page; I was just an admin of the page through my personal FB account. I did not create the page. It was created many years ago by Erica, a former township manager (at least that was what I was told). Through the years, various folks had been added/removed as administrators of that page. However, those folks had to have active FB user accounts because that is who FB holds accountable for the postings. That July, Tom admitted he did not understand social media because he didn’t have accounts. However, he said his daughters did, and he would have them create an account for him. But he never did that before I left.
So, on my last day, I was asked for my PERSONAL username and password for FB. I declined, but I did offer to immediately add anyone else as an administrator to the township FB page before I left. The treasurer shook her head “no”, and the permit clerk said he didn’t use social media. There was no one else. I said to contact me later that day with an account to add. That day passed with no contact.
Three weeks later, after back-and-forth with the attorneys, the treasurer contacted me directly about the FB account and was told per my attorney that all communication was supposed to be through him.
I do not think the township liked that response because on September 23, I got a notification from Google that someone was accessing my personal email on a computer located at the township building during township hours. MY PERSONAL EMAIL. I clicked that it was “not me” but that person was already into my personal account.
That night, I saw notifications via my personal FB account that there was activity going on with the WVT FB page (which I had never accessed since the day I left). Namely, someone had gone in as me and re-activated Kathy Shillenn’s administration rights to that page (Kathy was the township secretary before me), and between the 2 accounts had deleted each and every post I had made on the Township FB page since I had started (a big no-no per Sunshine Law), AND they were attempting to post as Kathy… using HER personal FB account. I contacted Kathy… and it was not her. She asked me to get her off that page again. It took quite a while of interacting with the person posing as her to get it to stop. I believe it was around 11:30pm.
The next day, Kathy and I filed police reports with the WVTPD. I confirmed that accessing someone else’s personal email and social media is ILLEGAL even if you have access to the passwords.
But as you might have figured out, Tom apparently does what he wants regardless of the law… until he gets caught. So just like when he was told about having to send RTK requests electronically for electronic copies that already exist (not doing so is ILLEGAL), he was also told that he and/or his “people” had to stop ILLEGALLY going into our accounts. And it all stopped. And the deleted FB posts were restored (but not by the township).
The township administration is not technologically savvy. That was seen when it took months to remove my name from the township videos of the BOS meetings. And it took them until early January 2026 to reach out to my attorney with a new FB account to add as an administrator: Thomas Ryan (manager@westvincenttwp.org). On January 5, I sent an invitation to that account to be an administrator to the township FB page. My attorney got a response on January 15 that they needed a password to that page. THERE IS NO PASSWORD. But I sent the invitation AGAIN. I confirmed with Kathy that there was not a password needed when she originally added me. I have never been prompted for a password for that page EVER. The only password for FB is for my PERSONAL ACCOUNT.
Okay, so let’s jump back to Cowan Investigations. Their website talks about things like getting electronic items from “cheating spouses” and such. Maybe THIS company had something to do with illegally accessing my email and social media?? Because it doesn’t seem like the administration has the ability to figure these things out on their own.
So I asked about it last night at the meeting. The BOS was NOT surprised to hear that the township was involved in illegally accessing my personal accounts (good to know that they seem to be okay with that… watch how the chair turns to Tom to question if it was related to “something” and Tom quickly shuts her down… just like the RTK situation).
So the whole group refused to answer my question: WHAT EXACTLY WAS THIS $2500 “SECURITY CHECK” DONE BY THIS NJ PI COMPANY THAT OUR CURRENT SECURITY PROVIDERS AND/OR WVPD COULDN’T HAVE HANDLED?
Silence. I expected that because they are full of secrecy. So I will submit the RTKs for my questions. But it is another bad look for this township manager and the board that hired him.
——————
And on a side note, my neighbors got some of the info we requested on our RTK about the venue. SOME. Luckily, I had other feelers out and was able to get some missing emails…. Once the attorney finishes the paperwork, expect to see more… much more…
And on a final note, in case anyone wants to play the “disgruntled ex-employee” card… that is far from the case. I disclosed none of this on social media until the township decided to play fast and loose on the zoning in my neighborhood. If that never happened, you would not have heard from me. But having this issue of a “commercially advertised event venue in my residential neighborhood” be repeatedly ignored by the manager and the board made me decide to make some noise because people need to see just who is running our township. And it ain’t pretty…
Yep. That’s part of the regular view at 249-269 Lancaster Avenue in Malvern, East Whiteland. This week it’s a dumped mattress and some other stuff a couple of weeks ago. It was bags of trash, just sitting in the middle of their property. As in somebody dumped trash, it wasn’t collected there. A lot were white kitchen trash bags.
The property is rotting. It looks like hell. Why should residence and anyone that drives by look at new slumlord city there? And what about the businesses nearby? Don’t they deserve better?
I seem to remember that when the property sold around 2019, we knew that the buildings were going to be torn down and at first we were told a Lidl Market was going there.
Lidl went elsewhere. Then there was this whole thing about putting apartments there. East Whiteland Township did not want that and I don’t remember what happened but the apartments didn’t happen (thank goodness.)
So every once in a while, you hear a little rumor but mostly it just sits in rots and becomes a trash dump.
I took some moody photos in 2020 because I wanted to record the vintageness of both locations.
I don’t know about my readers, but I am of the opinion that these developers and property owners shouldn’t just be allowed to let locations rot because they can’t get their own way. Can you agree on that? I mean, if you want another example, look at one of my favorites, the farmhouse at Clews and Strawbridge with boats in front of it half of the time, right?
Would it be too much to ask if they would tidy up their properties while they are pending whatever is going to happen? And is there other stuff going on with that property that people need to know about?
Would the property owner like to look at this if it was sitting on his front lawn or whatever?
I saw this earlier today and literally started to cry. This is my friend Lisa’s business. I started out as a customer years ago when I met Lisa at one of the first Clover Markets in Ardmore all of those years ago. Literally we met in 2010 and became friends, I am not jut a customer. And I am a happy customer.
Lisa the owner is a wonderful warm hearted person who would give someone a hand up if they needed help. She has a rare generosity of spirit that someone or several someones has decimated. I think there should be a special place in hell for people like that.
Even Martha Stewart has been to her store. She has a great eye and a wonderful mix of new, vintage, and antiques. And this is a very historic property and fabulous adaptive reuse.
In case people can’t read her message via my screenshot, here it is in her words:
Dear Friends.
I am sorry. I need to close the store for a bit. I have tried so HARD the last couple of months to try to keep it together. In almost 30 yrs of doing what I ABSOLUTELY LOVE to save, we had a very bad robbery. They pulled in the back driveway with a van, and uhaul. I don’t understand how, but they managed to override the system. They had at it. The basement, attics, backyard, shop, and my office. Let alone a constant supply out of my vehicle, and trailer. I believe this was over time, LOADS of vtg xmas, art work, costume, jewerly, primatives, salvage, garden, paper, glass, minitures, mirrors etc.. many collections and memories in boxes.
I IMMEDIATELY shut our social media down, and was trying to work through the trauma. It HURTS so bad. I watched it go through auctions, area consignments shops, in the antique shops as well as marketplace. I feel so LOST, betrayed, and mentally EXHAUSTED. We work so HARD at being a small business, let alone save 2 old houses over 200 yrs old. It is so SAD we live in this kind of world.
Take pictures, do inventory it will save u in the long run. Don’t keep keys out, let alone how you store your valuables. Keep your guard up. DON’T think it WON’T happen to you.
I CAN’T THANK my family and friends, state police ENOUGH for helping me work through this. Esp. my husband Spencer. Quite tough loosing the bits and pieces of your life’s work. I know the man upstairs has a plan. I TRUST him. I look forward to being, and feeling our happy place again. “Three floors, have fun. ”
I thought it was bad enough when the losers stole her hydrangeas outside a few years ago. But this? This is like someone raped her. This is her business, livelihood, dreams, hopes, hard work.
This is the kind of crap stuff that is a joy sucker. What she sells can’t be magically replaced like it is an Amazon warehouse.
What I am asking of readers, especially fellow antique and vintage dealers is keep an eye out. Be wary of too good to be true and unknowns wanting to peddle things like she describes. If you are a dealer be aware, this could happen to you.
Lisa will rebuild and we will all support her. I firmly believe there is a special place in hell for people who do things like this to wonderful people and small businesses.
Yes, it’s a dead Rite Aide but if West Goshen has their way TONIGHT they will push to change the zoning and make it a car wash??? Allow me to quote West Goshen Sunshine and Hello West Chester verbatim (I do not think they will mind):
A Sunshine Report heads-up: West Goshen Board of Supervisors will hear a Zoning amendment tied to the former Rite Aid site on Phoenixville Pike at tonight’s annual organizational meeting.
The amendment, if approved, would permit a car wash to open at 1307 Phoenixville Pike. Under the Township’s current Zoning Ordinance, car washes are only permitted by Conditional Use in the C-5 General Highway Commercial Zoning District. This section of Phoenixville Pike is part of the C-1 Neighborhood Commercial Zoning District.
The request is being advanced in connection with a proposed redevelopment by Spotless Car Wash Brands. The site is owned by Peter Kathopoulis, of 92 Victory Investments of Upper Darby, PA.
The meeting is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the West Goshen Township building. Approval of this zoning amendment could expand where car washes are allowed township-wide.
No meeting minutes for real for real so trying to sneak it in much West Goshen? There was a blip in November with this but then NOTHING. Can’t find any old minutes or plans and that is anti sunshine (for a change) and sleazy.
I am REALLY familiar with this intersection. Why? Because PECO or AQUA or PENNDOT has had W. King Road Closed for so long between Ship and Boot, I go through there once a week on average. It’s a busy, difficult intersection with others near by that West Goshen because when you cross over it goes towards Fern Hill and the hospital stuff and Greystone development. A spit away is West Whiteland Township and I don’t know any residents who knew about this there!
And let’s talk environmental impacts from car wash runoff?
Oh and look at their traffic study and other comparables …. Maryland AND Virginia??? OH COME ON.
