Let’s manifest cool places in new spaces around Chadds Ford

🥇 And the winner is… Sweetgreen. 🥈 Followed closely by Carlino’s Market. 🥉 And coming in third place, Kaffe Karma. These are the types of cool new spaces around Chadds Ford that residents want to spend their money on.

Although no medal was awarded to the fourth-place finisher, y’all wanted just about anywhere families can hang out with their kids and maybe, just maybe, teens can hang out on their own to explore a tiny bit of growing independence.

Last week, just for fun, I posed the question to the community here, on Facebook, and on Instagram, asking what people would like to see in the new retail and restaurant space currently being constructed at Painters Crossing. What could it hurt to let commercial developers know what we hope to see popping up in new spaces around Chadds Ford?

Friends, you understood the assignment.  You offered so many good suggestions.

I know next to nothing about commercial real estate, so I have no idea how many of the suggestions are realistic. It’s Henderson Group’s job to make the math math. But if we could have our druthers, I included a list below of what local residents might want to see added to our community.

But before we get to The List…

One final note before we get to The List. Glaring at Painters Crossing from across a busy Route 202, the old State Farm building stands lonely and waiting to be filled with energetic fun. Several people commented that back in the ’90s, Painters Crossing was a place for families to hang out.

Kids got dropped off at the movies and bought candy from the local candy shop. 🍬 Nervous-nelly parents who didn’t want to stray too far from their teens grabbed dinner at a restaurant in the retail center. What if we could have that again, only better?!

Imagine the possibilities of a lively Painters Crossing center, connected via a safe, robust crosswalk to a former State Farm building transformed into a multi-purpose entertainment center. I asked a friend who works in commercial real estate about this. Such a plan seems to hinge on those entertainment tenants committing in advance to the project, so I guess we need to get the bowling alley, mini golf, and sports bar owners to show up and sign some letters of intent!

Who’s got the connections?

On to The (Wish) List of new spaces around Chadds Ford

In no particular order (except the few at the top that were quite popular), here are all the recommendations.

🥇 Sweetgreen

Lots of people wanted a healthy, fast casual build-your-own salad spot. Chopt and Saladworks were also mentioned, though Sweetgreen was the most popular (and I think it’s the best). 😉 There’s a Saladworks down the road in the shopping center at Route 202 and Dilworthtown Road. But it’s not quite the same as Sweetgreen, and it’s not particularly close given traffic on 202.

🥈 Carlino’s (or an Italian market)

This received several votes as well as some related suggestions, including Pagano’s and Eataly. We had an Eataly down the street from us when we lived in Chicago, and it was enormous. I’m not sure that would fit into this space, but it can never hurt to ask.

🥉 Kaffe Karma

New-to-me, this is a coffee shop by day and a yoga and meditation spot by night. They don’t even have a website, as far as I can tell. But it got a lot of love. It looks like there is one in Greenville, Delaware. Not sure if they have other locations?

Independent Bookstore

A handful of people mentioned sneaking an indie bookshop into this place. I’ve tried to manifest one of these in Chadds Ford for a while, so I’m on board with this. An indie bookshop is a tough place to run without losing oodles of money. Maybe it could partner with a wine bar or something? There are other indie bookshops in the area if you’re curious. 📚

Entertainment spaces

So many people wanted an affordable place for tweens and twenty-somethings to hang out with friends. With two teenage boys, I agree that there is a real lack of public spaces for kids to hang out. They deserve to be teenagers in public (respectful but likely a little mischievous in an age-appropriate way).

Frankly, these kids have access to money (thanks to their parents), so I think they could afford to support a place like this. We just need to get someone into town with the right mindset. Where are all the middle school and high school teachers at? They know the spirit!!

And everything else on The List

Food – Meals

• Naando’s
• Playa Bowls
• Protein House
• Wendy’s
• Fresh bakery (breads and pastries), like Black Lab Bakery – this one got a few votes, and one vote for delicious donuts and brownies
• Chicken Salad Chick
• Culvers
• Nick’s Pizza Parlor
• Steakhouse or similar nice restaurant (with outdoor seating) – some responded with recommendations for similar spots like Snuff Mill in Wilmington, La Fete also in Wilmington, Bardea Steak
• Authentic Jewish deli (like Hymie’s or Kibitz Room)
• Macaroni Grill or Olive Garden – This suggestion came up a few times, and I find it interesting. The Carrabba’s in that same space didn’t seem to work. There was also an Olive Garden in Wilmington, a few miles down the road on Route 202. There seems to be an interest, but maybe not enough to support a full-time restaurant?
• Chinese/Asian/Thai fusion
• Sonic with a drive-through
• Produce Junction
• Nifty Fifties
• Insomnia Cookies – There’s a Crumbl just down the road near Wegman’s. Are they super different? Honest question.
• Dirty soda shop (like Swig)
• Han Dynasty
• Goldie Falafel

Retail

• Gift shop
• Pure Hockey
• Vuori
• Play It Again Sports
• Game On State
• Altard State
• Alo
• American Eagle
• Nordstrom Rack

Activities

• Outdoor space for live music, benches, and play areas with pop-up food trucks and microbrews
• “Barcade” for families (with good food!) – somewhere kids and adults can hang out together
• Mini golf (indoor or outdoor) – this got several votes! Putt Shack, are you interested?
• Cooking school (include kids!)
• STEM / Maker lab – It’s probably not exactly the same, but there’s a kids’ STEM school in Garnet Valley that’s pretty neat. I featured them a while back!
• Play cafe for kids with coffee/wine car
• Fun gaming lounge (board games, shuffleboard, ping pong) + good food!

A little note to all the commercial developers

I’m not sure how all this commercial development “stuff” works, so I respect that there’s a process, and I’m anything but an expert. I wonder, though, why developers don’t engage more with the community to find out what they’d like before digging and pouring concrete.

We’re seeing right now that a lack of communication or engagement at Ridge Rd and Route 202 (the potential future site of The Shoppes at Concord) isn’t serving anyone well. Imagine the possibilities of doing a little front-end work to build something the community could love.

If someone is bold enough to transform that dumpy old State Farm building into something exciting and connect it (i.e., make it walkable) to a thriving Painters Crossing development, that place could be a bustling center of delight… and delightful revenue. 💰💰💰 Who’s the brave warrior willing to endure years of the development process and eventually become a hero?!!

The busy intersection of two highways gives it premier opportunities to draw from neighboring communities, and there are plenty of things we would love to see come to our town. Spoiler alert: We’re just not that into another grocery store¹ and definitely (definitely!) not another gas station.² 🤪

tl;dr –> We want healthy fast-casual and cool places to meet up and hang out with friends and family (including kids). That’s it. That’s what we’re missing. That’s where we want to spend our money!

Anywooo... do what you wish with this information. It’s very unscientific, but we asked the core audience who will be spending their loot on what they love and showing up at township meetings to 💩 on what they don’t.

Fingers crossed 🤞🏻 we get some of these top recs in new spaces soon. We’re invested in the community, and we hope you are too!

Love,

Chadds Ford + our surrounding neighbors

1. We already have Whole Foods, Wegmans, Giant, Acme, Target, ShopRite, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Fresh Market, Walmart, another Target, and another Giant within a few miles. Did I miss any? I’m beyond grateful we don’t live in a food desert. Maybe those grocery stores can help out friends who need them. 💛 ↩︎
2. Pssst… EVs are all the rage around the world. The US will eventually catch up to this affordability trend. Please don’t invest in more gas stations just when we’re turning the corner toward their decline. ↩︎