This came over alerts last night in West Whiteland. The location was the Brickette.
Here is a photo from last night:
Once again caused by the parking issues. People parking illegally keep going into this pit-like area right along the bar’s frontage on 100 / Old Pottstown Pike and turns the corner onto Kirkland.
This is where this “pit” is and the patrons -I don’t want to be offensive and call them drunks – seem to be tumbling cars into. Another resident sent this additional photo was taken after the last time we had snow so it’s fairly recent.
So apparently this “pit” has to do with stormwater management.
See an “after” photo and close-up today:
So the patrons of the Brickette also apparently are trashing the property of the place that they are patronizing?
And why is this happening?
Insufficient parking.
Again, no one wants this business to be deprived of success but they haveto address this.
Eyewitness reports from last evening tell me the bar was so crowded that there were many, many cars parked on Route 100 and all over Kirkland Ave.
So again questions must be asked about capacity inside, correct? If they are over capacity and there is a fire or something how old these parking issues impede first responders, and also to be asked is if it’s over capacity inside and God forbid there is some sort of a fire or incident what happens inside with the patrons?
The Brickette had a post up on their socials about their sign taking a tumble in the wind February 29. What would’ve happened if one of the patrons was next to it? I will note that what they put up on their socials clearly shows how close cars are to where people are illegally parking on 100.
Anyway, I am sure my writing about this again will bring yet more comments saying I’m being mean and unfair to the business. But I’m not being unfair to the business. They just need to deal with their parking issues. No one begrudges them their success but with their success comes responsibility, right ? It’s pretty simple.
Un-freaking-believable. Just wrote about the Brickette on Route 100 Old Pottstown Pike in West Whiteland. I have lit up the photo slightly so readers can see.
Here is the original photo I was sent at 8:00 PM on the nose. Those are a bunch of cars, not just a couple.
Look at the fog settling in.
This is patently irresponsible of the Brickette Lounge. They are putting patrons at risk. It’s selfish fuckery and yes I just said that out loud.
That’s all I have got. Shame on the Brickette. They could have satellite parking and a shuttle for overflow. They could do ticketed nights to control capacity. But the management and ownership seem to not be able to do this and why? So truly disappointing.
Also, and related, some long time line dancing folks who have been dancing there since it was the original Brickette have all stopped going. Now these are people who love line dancing, so I inquired as to why. Especially since they were so sad when the original Brickette closed and so happy when it was initially re-opening.
And I was told that not only is there no place to park in the parking lot, there are limited seats inside and they said after you dance for a while you’d like to sit down and watch the dancing and you can’t or if you do get a seat, can we call it? The boozy college student kind of crowd kind of takes over and takes your seat? So does that fit with the profile of the two other bars this company owns in the Borough of West Chester?
Maybe I am unusual, but I was never even a big fan of how crowded the old Rat used to get back in the day.
Anyway, that’s it. Bad bar neighbors are very unattractive. And it doesn’t matter whom they are catering to.
Video came from dad and Philadelphia Magazine posted it. Dad got video from LMPD apparently.
Just when I thought Lower Merion couldn’t get any more ridiculous…well it IS a full moon…but I digress…. Anyway, a Kimco Realty babe at Suburban Square (using that term very loosely) called the police on GIRL SCOUTS SELLING GIRL SCOUT COOKIES IN A LITTLE RED WAGON in Suburban Square ! Picture of a red wagon below for illustration.
Yes, this really happened. So imagine my horror when I saw this in Philadelphia Magazine and a big HT and thank you to Victor Fiorello for covering this :
Suburban Square Calls Cops on Girl Scout Cookie Sales
It’s that time of year: Girl Scout cookie season! ….Most of these Girl Scout cookie sales you see go off without a hitch. But that wasn’t the case on a winter Wednesday earlier this month at Suburban Square. That’s the very Main Line-y shopping center in Ardmore.
Ardmore resident Eric Lowry showed up outside the Starbucks at Suburban Square with his 13-year-old daughter…Between his two daughters, Lowry has been helping sell Girl Scout cookies for close to 10 years. And he says he’d never been told that the girls couldn’t sell wherever they chose to. They’d even sold at Suburban Square in the past.
But on this particular day, an executive with the Suburban Square management group, Kimco Realty, approached Lowry and his daughter and asked them to move. “They said we had to stop selling cookies because we were standing on private property,” Lowry tells me, insisting that the specific spot they were on was not private property, but public. “They threatened to call the police as some kind of intimidation tactic.” Lowry flat-out refused to move and dutifully documented the encounter on his cell-phone camera.
At some point thereafter, the Suburban Square executive relocated to a different part of Suburban Square. There, she spoke with officers from the Lower Merion police department who had arrived on the scene. As seen on police body-cam footage that Lowry later obtained and published on YouTube (yes, this guy actually jumped through the required hoops to obtain body-cam footage from the cops), the Suburban Square executive explained her dilemma to police.
Part of that dilemma, it becomes apparent, is that Lowry’s Girl Scout cookie setup was outside of Starbucks. And Starbucks is a Suburban Square tenant that sells cookies, so the Girl Scout cookies were presumably creating a business conflict. She said that Starbucks was “freaking out.” (A manager at that Starbucks told me they have no comment on the matter.)
And Starbucks is TOTALLY part of this and they don’t want to comment? The big enormous coffee company couldn’t handle little GIRL SCOUTS pulling a little red wagon? They viewed them as competition we guess? Yo David and Goliath, Starbucks? Remember how that sitch turned out? I will be honest, I do not buy anything from Starbucks and have not for years. Their coffee always tastes burnt and they are overpriced on everything.
So Starbucks is no stranger to controversy from coast to coast, and aren’t saying anything according to Philadelphia Magazine. If I still lived in Lower Merion, truthfully I would put THAT Starbucks and Suburban Square on my skip it list. (They get all touchy when you say “boycott” so I would merely spend my money elsewhere as a personal choice.)
Part of the problem I have with this after watching that video that Philadelphia Magazine got from the dad (body cam footage I guess which is technically public information if you want to pay for it, which is what the dad did), is the whole misconception by Kimco’s doofy chick on camera talking about the sidewalks as if it was their private street? Really? I thought St. James place in Ardmore has been a public street in Lower Merion Township since the 1930s? And sidewalks are not public any longer? And Coulter Avenue is a public street too, right? Does Kimco own the Lower Merion roads/ streets now? Very confusing and am I suffering from bobble head disease? I sure hope not.
Of course what really piqued my interest here, is I actually know who the dad is. I knew Eric Lowry peripherally from when I was active in Ardmore and lived in Lower Merion Township. He’s a very nice man with a nice family. Active in the community. Helpful. And he is a very peaceful person, so Ms. Kimco 2024 must have been something special for him to go buy body cam footage etc. (Lower Merion charges for the privilege and it’s more than the cost of a couple of boxes of Girl Scout Cookies.) Also if Ms. Kimco 2024 was recorded by him during their interaction, there is no expectation of privacy in a public space and that took place on a public sidewalk. I guess she gets that now?
Of course also as per Philadelphia Magazine, now Kimco seems to have issued a cover their ass statement. They will give them a booth but they have to fill out a form? Does everyone do this with Girl Scouts? I simply don’t know but honestly? Those people were hostile towards kids selling cookies? The hell with them. I feel utterly disgusted by this example of stupid human tricks.
Please note, I do not have a problem with Lower Merion Police Department here. I feel for the officers that had to deal with the Kimco people. Lower Merion Police Department did not cause this, Ms. Kimco Realty 2024 and apparently Starbucks did. And as for Kimco, their statement to Philadelphia Magazine IMHO is not an apology, and there should be one. That entire Girl Scout Troop in my humble opinion deserves an apology spa day in Suburban Square with lunch on Kimco as far as I am concerned. And Kimco can certainly afford it.
This just blows my mind completely. It’s mean. Again, no tables or booths, they were pulling a little red wagon. It doesn’t get cuter than that.
Support your local Girl Scouts and help these kids meet their cookie goals. And support your local coffee shop and let chain Starbucks sit. And maybe trade in Suburban Square for Main Street Ardmore which is always more user friendly.
Again, please support Girl Scouts selling Girl Scout Cookies. It’s as American as Apple Pie. Calling the police on little girls selling Girl Scout cookies is NOT.
And I will tell you that if you don’t wish to bring Girl Scout cookies into your own house because you don’t eat them or whatever you can buy them as a donation and the Girl Scout troops will give them to people who need a little extra treat in the community.
This opinion is brought to you by the First Amendment.
People are going to think I am picking on a local business just because. I am not. This is a question of public safety, and how neighbors are being treated.
A post on NextDoor caught my eye, and it wasn’t the first post I had seen about problems living near the new Brickette Lounge on Historic/Old Route 100:
I just have to say this…I live near the Brickette, I am very proud of locally owned businesses. However tonight as many other nights the patrons of the place parked directly on Pottstown Pike right in front of the business as well as on Kirkland and other streets close to the bar. I am aware of this situation as it happens often so when I see it I know to be careful turning from Pottstown Pike onto Kirkland & vise versa. This is an issue that needs to be addressed due to the fact as I was turning onto Kirkland tonight and traveling up the street, another vehicle coming in the opposite direction almost hit me head on as with cars parked on the side of the road it leaves the road very narrow there is no way to move over. Thank god the other vehicle saw me at the last moment, came to a stop and we both drove away safe but these patrons parking causing hazards must stop! Some of my neighbors have even found people passed out or eating McDonalds on their front lawn in the middle of the night! The police have been notified on several occasions but nothing has been done to stop this very dangerous situation. Can anyone point me in the right direction of who within the township I can express my concerns to. Thank you in advance.
This is not the first time since they reopened, that I’ve heard these complaints. You see these posts go up in places, and then they come down. Yet the problems seem to persist.
I have no problems with live music, I have no problems with line dancing, but I do have problems when patrons of a bar and seemingly the actual establishment don’t respect the neighborhood in which the bar sits. And whether these patrons and/ or the establishment like it or not, this establishment has residential around it, and they need to be treated with respect.
Kirkland Avenue is its own small neighborhood. And if you’ve ever been on it, it’s a fairly narrow road. It runs between West King and Old Pottstown Pike.
That street is not an extension of a parking lot. And I could tell you honestly without batting an eye if I found bar patrons on my front lawn eating McDonald’s when a bar closed, I would turn a garden hose on them.
3 West Hospitality is a growing restaurant operations and management group that is focused on high-quality concepts and staff development based out of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
I know West Whiteland is trying to deal with this. They are in the process of ordering no parking signs but they are advertising for the signs and no parking on Old Pottstown Pike and Kirkland Ave, etc. and that takes time.
The company which owns the Brickette could do better, but are they in fact being a little hands off? I mean they should want to be a good neighbor, right? The old Brickette Lounge didn’t do this. They never had to deal with parking problems. They weren’t crappy to neighbors.
Last week the Chair of the West Whiteland Supervisors, Brian Dunn, went out on Monday evening at the request of residents to check out how busy the Brickette is on Mondays. You see they do line dancing Mondays and Wednesday. Well he almost got hit coming out on Old Pottstown Pike/ Old Route 100 because of ALL of the people parking on Old Route 100/Pottstown Pike!
Again, I am really glad that this place is doing so well again. It looked so dismal for the last few years of its prior existence. However, there are neighbors to be considered, and there are safety issues.
The owners of this place should be looking for solutions. Success is a great thing to have, but if you can’t fit all your patrons on your footprint, then you have to look to safely solve the problem. People parking on Old Route 100/Pottstown Pike is not safely solving any problems it’s basically Mae West’s famous quote “Hello, Suckers” because it’s only a question of when someone gets hit leaving this bar for parking there, not if, right?
3 West Hospitality and the Brickette could make the line dancing nights or whatever an Eventbrite event. That way when they sold out enough tickets that covered the spaces in the parking lot, they were done for the night on that event. They could rent a shuttle bus and offer shuttle service.
Brickette Lounge has expenses they have to meet for sure, but they also have a responsibility towards the community they exist in. They also have a responsibility towards their guests. And by not stressing things like don’t park on the road in front of the bar, they put patrons at risk, don’t they? Are profits worth more than lives?
Maybe Brickette Lounge doesn’t give a damn about these issues, but they should, shouldn’t they?
I don’t even know where to start with this Ship Road Couplet, other than so far all it’s doing is giving residents heart attacks because of all the people going the wrong way.
I am generally not a giant proponent of things designed by PennDOT, because so often it doesn’t necessarily fit the area they plunk stuff into.
In my opinion, right or wrong, the Ship Road Couplet is why the people who live near Route 352 and West King Rd. didn’t want PennDot to have their way with a traffic circle there a few years ago.
I have been on it once and I didn’t like it. And the reason I didn’t like it is because of people going the wrong way on it and that’s scary. So honestly, I have avoided it ever since.
As is the case with many things PennDot, they engineer things and that’s that. However, I do know that West Whiteland has additional signage and maybe some lights or something arriving soon but it’s just problematic. I know the supervisors there aren’t going to like my opinion on this, but it’s my opinion.
I think this whole couplet was designed solely to facilitate a developer and a development that residents in West Whiteland and elsewhere didn’t want there. It’s a crappy looking development and it’s all about adding more density to an area, bursting at the seams, and then a developer pockets the money and moves along to the next project. Of course, in this case, one of the projects is the land he bought at King Rd and Phoenixville Pike and possibly behind the homes on Old Phoenixville Pike, right?
I also have to ask did the developer kick in any money towards this intersection improvement? I remember when Conshohocken was being redeveloped, developers had to help facilitate road improvements and that included signals, road improvements and a new bridge at one point.
So to me, this was a traffic solution especially designed for a developer and development, but did it really need to be that? It’s kind of like zoning overlays that are designed for developers. I think those are a bad idea too, but you that’s another topic for another day.
Residents have pointed out flaws in the design, even on Route 30. On Route 30 it’s with the turning going straight, etc. and there’s this weird dip or maybe a pocket in the road. So wait until it gets icy if somebody’s going too fast right?
Below for illustrative purposes, are 4 photos that are on Google. Top left is what it looked like before the couplet went in. Top right is a review of the Wawa that’s really a review of the couplet. Lower left taken three weeks ago shows you how freaking unattractive the whole thing is from an aesthetic opinion along with how lame directional curb cuts are. Bottom right is just how big the Wawa is, basically.
Now I have looked at this Wawa, and they have sort of angled curb cuts, but quite frankly, not angled enough to keep people from going the wrong way. I think they need to be angled better, and I think there needs to be one of those little concrete bollard things to prohibit people from turning the wrong way. This is not the first Wawa that has had to revisit curb cuts. I seem to remember a Main Line one having to do it at one time and I think it was the one on Bryn Mawr Avenue and Haverford Road.
All people do is go to the wrong way on this. And I think part of it is all the map programs haven’t caught up with this road “improvement.” and I went on Google just today to see if they finally would have pictures of what the couplet looks like on Google and they do not. PennDOT did a typical pat themselves on the back but not much else.
So PennDOT? Tag you’re it. And I hope you like the photo a nice business was kind enough to share with me today. I think it sums the situation up perfectly: Happy New Year To All Except The Ship Road Engineer.
It’s her birthday and she would like you to support her financially? I will start once again by saying I have no problem supporting farmers and agriculture non-profits. I don’t care what the races, creeds, or colors are of farmers. I am not going to be somewhat ignorant in perception about that like Ms. Jawn makes people feel for essentially not looking like her. And yes I said that out loud because it’s not right. And yes I can indeed express that. Expressing how what I see put out there makes me feel is just that: saying how someone or something makes me feel. Nothing more, nothing less.
So we will start with the entities in the Jawn Universe.
Soooo. Viva Tea Leaf? Website is gone.
I can tell you again I tried the lavender infused honey which was not the greatest honey with a sprig of lavender in the top of the jar. It was in an basket of things I won in a silent auction that the West Chester Food Co-Op had provided. It was ick enough that I threw it out. (It was the only thing that I tossed out from that basket, incidentally. ) This was well before I even heard of anything Jawn.
The store address is now someone else’s business, a masseuse. So this also means it is not the location of Farmer Jawn Greenery any longer, nor should it be the legal address of her non-profit which is still showing incomplete information on the PA Charity website, right?
What little farm in Germantown? (I found that DiBruno’s still has the lavender honey on their website. And it’s $13.99 for 4.5 ounces of we do not actually know where everything comes from. ) One of the more beneficial things about organic honey is buying local honey because it helps with things like allergies because the bees are helping you build up your immunity from eco systems in your area. So whose honey is it?
Updates include it looks like Farmer Jawn Foods was created this past October of 2023. I have no issue with that except for the address. What will be interesting is if it will be disclosed where food is from since the organic of it all for farming at Westtown is still a couple of years out for her. Of course, it makes you wonder how much rent is being paid, what the rent is, that is being paid and all sorts of other things because that’s a big chunk of land correct?
This leads us to the CSA. To a lot of people, the prices are going to be expensive, but honestly that’s kind of what CSA cost these days. The price range puts the Farmer Jawn CSA subscription costs, towards the higher end, but not the highest out there.
What I would like to see is where exactly food is coming from because I have been part of CSA’s before. And I still get farm share boxes weekly, and when I get them, they tell me who the producers are. As in what farms. And I think that is especially important because if you love farmers and you’re involved in a business model like this, you want to help those farmers and their vegetables in your CSA boxes is a big part of their marketing and yours.
But I like to know where things are coming from. I want to know what other farms are participating when I personally invest in a CSA or farm share. I don’t think that’s too much to ask. Just like I don’t think it’s too much to ask at this point that she post her form 990s if they exist as a nonprofit people need to see those things because otherwise then you just wonder where the money’s going. I don’t give anything to nonprofits where I can’t look up a form 990.
Hopefully, this will be a better year than the first “season“ at the old Farmer Pete’s which left a lot to be desired. And part of what left a lot to be desired was the pricing, and the fact that all the advertised open hours they advertised they weren’t actually open.
OK go ahead haters. I am ready for my scarlet B for bitchy blogger. If that’s what some of you think because I wrote this post, I can’t really help you. But it’s something I continue to wonder about and I’m not asking or saying anything wrong.
Caveat emptor.
Enjoy the sunshine today. It is cold and a little slippery in spots, however.
It is no secret that I love Loch Aerie Mansion. I love Addison Hutton architecture and this house is just magical! The difference from way back when I started photographing her. Here are some photos to illustrate the remarkable restoration:
Loch Aerie opened her doors today for a Christmas open house. All that was asked of her visitors was to bring a new toy for Tpys for Tots or non-perishable food for the Chester County Food Bank. In return, we got to soak in the beautiful Christmas spirit of Loch Aerie all restored, take photos with Santa and enjoy some holiday goodies along with cocoa and hot cider.
There were a whole bunch of adorable children, taking photos with Santa! My friend was the Santa and he had a great costume!
Loch Aerie should be awarded all sorts of awards for historic restoration and adaptive reuse that works. I loved this open house this afternoon. Enjoy the photos!
Loch Aerie is in East Whiteland Township, Chester County.
If you are interested in Loch Aerie as an event or wedding space it is located at 700 Lancaster Avenue, Malvern/Frazer PA 19355. Their website is www.lochaeriemansion.com
So my Christmas present to one of my really close friends from forever and a day was to gift her a golden ticket for the Surrey Services Holiday Tour & Shops. Not since we were in high school has there been a great Main Line -centric Christmas house tour essentially. One such tour used to be done by Agnes Irwin, and it was called Christmas in the Country. And then, of course, there were the tours of the Fairmount Park houses and you went around in one of those fun trolleys to each house.
Surrey Services should take a bow. The house tour and shops were an amazing experience. Of course I could kick myself, because I meant to bid on a couple of the trees in the enchanted forest before I was leaving, and I completely forgot. But that’s probably my subconscious telling me I have enough new Christmas stuff for this year!
We started out our day in Bryn Mawr and from there we moved to Villanova. We sadly we didn’t get into that Villanova house because the road was quite narrow and the property next-door to the house we were visiting was in some form of construction mayhem, and there were contractor trucks and landscaper trucks all over a very narrow road so there was no place to move to park and we gave up. that is some thing that was beyond that poor homeowners control and certainly beyond Surrey Services control. It’s one of my favorite roads, but truthfully, I had forgotten how narrow it was in spots.
I don’t know what it is about landscaper trucks on the Main Line, but none of them seem to be able to park. And I’m sorry not sorry that I find that incredibly irksome that the homeowner has a perfectly good driveway and you can see that there’s a house tour going on across the road and they can’t pull their truck in the driveway!
The next two houses were in Berwyn, and they were spectacular! We ended our day with another Radnor Township property, which was my favorite house and not just because it was my friend’s home.
All of these homeowners knocked themselves out for all of us on the tour, and the tour sold out quickly. All of the houses were festive and different. One of the things I liked best about each and every house was the fact that I was in homes that aren’t afraid of art and color. I am not a person who lives in a beige, beige world, so I appreciated the vibrancy in these homes. All of these homes had amazing kitchens, incidentally. And I cook so to see these kitchens was just so much fun for me.
My friend, who was on the tour had the most old-school traditional, beautiful and imaginative Christmas ornaments. He is definitely a kindred spirit as to types of ornaments that I personally love.
From all of the houses, I gathered little ideas to tuck away. I have a very small and simple house by comparison, but all of these houses, even if they were bigger than mine had warmth.
As part of the ticket price, we got a wonderful box lunch from Classic Diner. My friend and I had a turkey BLT. There was no room inside Eisenhower Hall at Valley Forge Military to eat when we got there, but it was such a nice day that we literally sat outside on the edge of the bleachers and had a little picnic. And I thought that was fun.
Parking was a bit of an issue at Valley Forge Military . This is the inaugural year for this event and I think they will figure it out but I think the people that were the ticket holders for the whole day should have had primary access to Eisenhower Hall, and when we couldn’t get into the lot, the police officer directing traffic who told us we couldn’t go into the lot was kind of not so nice and all we did was ask was where should we go to park because we didn’t know.
I completely understand how frustrated the officer must have been personally because it was a lot of cars in that area, but I think next year they should have somebody working the gate that only lets people with passes for the full day or whom require handicap access into that lot right there and people that are just shopping at the shops park at the other lot, which I think was across Radnor Street Road.
We ended up parking in a little lot we accessed from further down Eagle Road and the employees from the school couldn’t have been nicer. I will also note that parking would have been easier as well if some people hadn’t literally taken two spaces for one car —-that’s just bad manners.
Now, although I bitched about this a little right here in this post, I also know that because it was a crush it means this event was a huge success! Surrey has created something fantastic!
The enchanted forest, which I had previewed yesterday was amazing. There is literally nothing better to me than being in a great big room, full of fabulous Christmas trees fully decorated! And in the center of the room was a wonderful table, set for a Christmas feast. And the little bar at the end of the room, where the trees were, was serving, mocktails for people to try.
When you went up the steps to the second floor of Eisenhower Hall, you found yourself in a giant room full of fabulously curated vendors. I was thrilled to see some of my friends and their small businesses there, along with getting an opportunity to see and meet other vendors and local small businesses like Main Point Books.
It was just such a wonderful day. As I’m sitting here writing this, I still feel the happy vibe from the day. And that’s how you know you had a really good day.
This event proves to me that the best kinds of events during the holiday season or ones that give you something pretty and do something good. Surrey Services is a favorite in my family. They do such good work and important work. And they have the nicest volunteers and paid staff that you will meet pretty much anywhere. And if you are still looking for Christmas fun, I would suggest their consignment shop in Berwyn. Last time I was in which was a couple of weeks ago the place totally blew my mind because it was so full of so much awesomeness for Christmas and the holidays.
Hey Surrey, sign me up for the 2024 holiday tour !
A friend just sent me a photo they took outside Lionville Beverage. I haven’t seen anything on social media. I didn’t see anything on CrimeWatch, etc.
So if anyone has any information, please post. This is the kind of thing that really sucks for small businesses. And isis it just me or does this sound like what happened to Locust Lane Brewery not so long ago?
Locust Lane Brewery robbery (story reported 11/16/23)
Given the sign on the door, it sounds like the Grinch made off with the entire cash register. Hopefully they have security cameras that can tell them something?
Clover 🍀 Market is open for their extra special totally fabulous holiday market this weekend December 2 & 3 from 10 AM – 4 PM on the campus of The Westtown School. They have the entire athletic center. There are over 100 curated vendors. It’s so much fun!
It’s free entrance and free parking and the setting is just spectacular if you have never been to the Westtown School!
We went to the preview this morning, and the place was filling up as we were leaving. And it was totally worth it going to the preview and we will totally do that again!
I hope you go and find yourself something spectacular to give us a gift for Christmas or a little something for yourself!
I will note that I did not get anything for writing this post. I am an avid Clover Market fan and was an early Clover Market supporter.
