Q & A: Philip Ferro and Kate Hussey of the Chadds Ford Tavern

Philip Ferro and Kate Hussey Philip Ferro and Kate Hussey Philip Ferro and Kate Hussey of the Chadds Ford Tavern of the Chadds Ford Tavern of the Chadds Ford Tavern

In October 2017, Chef Philip Ferro purchased the 220-year-old Chadds Ford Tavern with an idea to keep the flavor of its rich history alive while modernizing its menu with both five-star entrees and Tavern favorites. Along with his fiancée Kate Hussey, Ferro has turned the Chadds Ford Tavern into a hotspot for those seeking gourmet meals or a great burger, a beer and an Eagles game. Chadds Ford Life recently met with Philip and Kate to discuss the continuing success of a local favorite.

Chadds Ford Life: When you purchased the Chadds Ford Tavern in October 2017, you saw potential within its walls. What vision did you have for the restaurant that inspired you enough to take over its ownership?

Philip: I don’t know if it is the lighting or the wood or the old architecture, but when you walk into the Chadds Ford Tavern, you are hit with a calm and relaxing feeling, and it is very hard to replicate. The place still had the good bones, but I just wanted to clean it up and pair the new with the old – by installing a new floor, new light fixtures and a new ceiling. I wanted to give it a feeling that I call “New Classic.”

The Chadds Ford Tavern is not only a nod of thanks to former owner Tommy Drane, but the reimagination of what a modern tavern should look like. Take me through the steps of what you did to achieve that “New Classic” ambience.

Philip: It was a combination of everything. Tommy had some Wyeth prints and some Bill Ewing paintings in the restaurant, and I acquired a few more that I hung up a week or so ago. The Chadds Ford Tavern was been woven into the history of Chadds Ford. For instance, Tommy told me that Andrew Wyeth would sit near the fireplace and sell his art out of the Chadds Ford Tavern, so I wanted to celebrate that history.

The booths were sticky from the 50 years of their being there, so I had them all refinished and had cushions on the backs and the seats. I also introduced tablecloths to soften the feel of the restaurant and enhance that “New Classic” feel.

Kate, the big question facing a lot of restaurants these days is “Who drives the menu? Is it the chef, the management or is it the customer?” Some who go to the Chadds Ford Tavern ask for the Prime Kuvobuta Pork Chop and a glass of Chardonnay, while others want a Handheld and a mug of beer, often at the same table. How would you describe your menu?

Kate: Philip opened the Chadds Ford Tavern in April 2018, and I came aboard in June of that year. Philip’s menu was borne out of everything he has learned over the years, what sells and doesn’t sell, in a way that offers something for everyone.

I have been saying from day one that we have a phenomenal staff, a phenomenal atmosphere and we offer phenomenal drinks, but they come to the Chadds Ford Tavern for Philip – for what he does with food.

You can have great service and a great cocktail, but if your steak is horrific, you’re not going to go back to that restaurant. On the flip side, if you have terrible service, you’re not likely to return to that restaurant. In order for a restaurant to succeed, every single aspect has to go hand-in-hand with each other.

So often, the success of a restaurant begins with the dedication of its owner, and becomes an infectious energy that inspires everyone else, yes?

Kate: When Philip first opened the Chadds Ford Tavern, he was spending as often as 18 hours a day building this restaurant, in the kitchen and away from his children. If the servers are going to work here, they have to put at least half

Courtesy photo

Ferro’s menus are an eclectic blend of classic dishes and handheld favorites that appeal to any culinary taste.

of that effort in, because if our guests don’t see that effort, it affects every other part of what we do.

Philip, talk about your approach to food. What goes into your menu and what do you want to achieve with it?

Philip: My approach is to keep it simple. People want steak, potatoes and a good vegetable. People want real appetizers. There is a time and a place for fancy food, but if you want to have consistently great food that you can rely on every day, that’s what we strive to achieve. The Chadds Ford Tavern is my ninth restaurant, so the menu is reflective of my 27 years in the restaurant industry and knowing what sells and what our guests want.

You both have enjoyed several years in the restaurant industry. What drew the both of you to want to pursue a career in the industry?

Kate: By chance, I happened to get a job at Manny Hattans in Kennett Square when I was 16 and asked to operate their takeout counter. At first it was a job, and then I came to love it. That love grew a little more when I started running Floga Bistro across the street. I held onto that love for a while, but realized that it wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Continued on Page 24

Photo by Richard L. Gaw

Philip Ferro and Kate Hussey of the Chadds Ford Tavern, with their daughter, Serafi na.

Q & A

Continued from Page 23

I went to Penn State and received a degree in psychology. I then moved back to Kennett Square and walked into the Chadds Ford Tavern just to pursue a part-time job while I looked for opportunities in the psychology field. Soon after, Philip and I started dating and I soon realized I wasn’t going anywhere. I enjoy the multi facets of running a restaurant. Philip is the one who got me back into the restaurant industry and he is the one who keeps me here.

Philip: The first thing that got me interested in cooking were those TV commercials that sold hand blenders. I was about ten years old, and was intrigued by the fact that you could use these blenders to whip eggs into what looked like whip cream. By the time I was 12, I became glued to the Food Network and then I began to cook for my family when I was in middle school – dinners as complicated standing rib roast and all of the sides.

By the time I was 15, I was working part-time at restaurants as a bus boy, and then I was asked by a chef at Catherine’s in Drexel Hill to cut some onions. He saw that I knew how to handle a knife, and then I found myself on the line, cooking with guys in their 40s.

When I was 17, I began to take vo-tech classes in cooking, and although I eventually dropped out of high school, I was also running the kitchen at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield.

I was earning good money, I was pleasing people and I loved preparing food, and they saw the talent in me at such a young age, and it just progressed from there.

Kate, if Philip is the overseer in the kitchen, then you are the overseer of everything else at the Chadds Ford Tavern, from staffing to reservations to maintaining the smooth, wellfunctioning engine of a well-run restaurant. Describe how you are able to multi-task in an industry where at any moment, chaos may disrupt order.

Kate: It comes through experience. There have been times when Philip and I look at each other wide-eyed, but we just figure out what to do. In the event of a last-minute cancellation table for a party that happens exactly when 30 other people walk in the door and you don’t have a table ready for them, you don’t know how to handle until you have to handle it.

Continued on Page 26

Project time: 2 weeks 2 DAYS.

Why settle for shower walls that look like plastic?

Home Smart Industries is the areas only Authorized Dealer of Kohler’s LuxStone shower wall system made of 70% real crushed marble and professionally installed at prices comparable to acrylic showers. Don’t cover your problem up with a tub or Specialists at a price you can afford.

$1,000 OFF

plus 0% APR

Low monthly payment plans Low monthly payment plans and FREE ESTIMATES

ONBATH ONBATH & & SHOWERREPLACEMENTS SHOWERREPLACEMENTS

4.9 Stars, 373 reviews on

www.HomeSmartind HomeSmartind.com

INDUSTRIES

Bathtubs | Showers | Kohler Walk-In Baths

Authorized Dealer

Call Home Smart today

to schedule your free in-home estimate. 888-670-3731

>Must call this number<

*Cannot be combined with any other offer. Previous sales excluded. Good at initial presentation only. $1,000 discount is only available to be used towards purchasing Luxstone walls. Additional work is extra and optional. Financing available for qualified buyers. Exp. 09/01/2021 PA:PA013302 * NJ: 13VH 04301900 MD: MD129485 * DE: 2008206060 NO PRICE QUOTES GIVEN VIA PHONE.

Q & A

Continued from Page 24

The truth is, the Chadds Ford Tavern doesn’t succeed with just the two of you. Talk about some of the other people who help to make the restaurant successful.

Kate: We have an unbelievable team. They have done everything for us, and for each other. At the top of that list is Iggy Acuna.

Philip: Iggy came in during construction of the new Chadds Ford Tavern back in early 2018, speaking not one word of English. She put her son on her phone who told me, ‘My mom wants a job washing dishes.’ I told him to tell her that I needed a pantry chef, so I told him to tell her that I was going to teach her how to be a chef. She watches me make desserts, and the salads –

Kate: Meanwhile, she didn’t know how to read a menu at the time. When the tickets came through, she looked for certain letters to help her determine what she was supposed to prepare.

Philip: Now, four years later, she runs the kitchen at the Chadds Ford Tavern. She does all of the ordering, manages the kitchen staff, makes sure all of the cleaning is done and on her only day off, she comes in at five o’clock in the morning and cleans the entire restaurant.

Kate: Catherine “Katie” Mervine works full-time at the Chichester School District but is also a phenomenal server, bartender and chef manager at the Chadds Ford Tavern. She is hard-working, reliable and our customers love her. We also have my sister Jess, who is now the general manager, followed by my mother Betsy and most recently my father Leo, who now gets more five-star reviews than anyone else in the restaurant.

Philip: The moral of our story is that we would rather promote the staff we work with rather than bring in an outside manager from Craig’s List. We want people that know our system in order to enable them to succeed in that system.

Courtesy photo

Ferro’s menus are an eclectic blend of classic dishes and handheld favorites that appeal to any culinary taste.

Courtesy photo

Ferro purchased the historic tavern in 2017 and spent the next several months renovating its interior to meet the design standards of a “New Classic” restaurant.

Is running a restaurant a lot like giving a daily performance?

Philip: Every single day I have to make sure the stage is set for everyone to succeed. I have to set up the lighting, arrange the music, prepare the kitchen and write the specials list. For many years, I was doing all of that on my own, but now, Kate provides the management to make sure that everything goes according to plan. But still, it’s a production that goes on every day.

Philip, you have owned ten restaurants in your career, and you are currently in the planning phase of creating two restaurants in downtown Coatesville -- at the old Chester County Bank and at the original YMCA Building. What continues to drive you to work so hard?

Philip: I just want to be successful. It’s been about taking an old building and repurposing it as a way of showing people that this is what I can do – and what Coatesville can do -- against great odds. I began meeting with architects three years ago and finally got both locations out of the developers’ hands. I want to be known as the high school dropout from Upper Darby who came to Chester County and played a part in the revitalization of Coatesville.

What have been among your most favorite moments at the Chadds Ford Tavern?

Kate: New Year’s Eve, 2020, right before the pandemic. It was wall-to-wall bodies. At one point that evening, we had 285 people in the restaurant, and the kitchen was pushing out food faster than I had ever seen before. We were forced to place more tables in the restaurant, and everywhere you looked, there was dancing.

Continued on Page 28

2022

Thanks for voting us “Best Consignment Shop” 13 years in a row

Prada Chanel Hermes Celine Michael Kors Kate Spade Tory Burch Louis Vuitton · and many more!

Ralph Lauren Gucci Burberry Louis Vuitton Alexander McQueen John Varvatos · and many more!

Hockessin 302-239-4034 7185 Lancaster Pike

Mon,Tues,Thurs,Fri 10am-6pm, Wed 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-7pm Sun 12-4pm - NOW CONSIGNING WINTER

www.designerconsignerde.com

Q & A

Continued from Page 26

At the end of the night, there were still 100 people at the bar area watching a fiddle player perform on top of the bar. Philip and I then looked at each other as if to say, ‘Can you believe this?’

Philip: My favorite moment is looking around and seeing a full restaurant of happy people. It’s a good feeling, because it’s ultimately what you get in this business for.

What are your favorite spots in Chadds Ford?

Kate: My favorite spot is being at home. Realistically, we don’t hang out. That’s the cost of being in this business. Our hang out and our life is this restaurant.

You throw a dinner party and can invite anyone – famous or not, living or not. Who would you like to see at that table?

Kate: I would love to see my grandparents again. My grandfather put my siblings and I through college, and I would like for him to see how successful I have become, in partnership with Philip. I would love for my grandmother to meet Philip, and I would also like to invite Whitney Houston. She was my idol when I was growing up.

Philip: I would like my grandmother at that table, to see how successful I have become. My mother told me that when I was a young boy, I was glued to my grandmother as she made pork chops. I would also like to invite my Uncle Brian and my father, who passed away when I was 21, who also never got a chance to see my success.

As far as people in business, I would like to invite [restaurateur] Steven Starr, Chef Thomas Keller from The French Laundry and Donald Trump.

What food or item can always be found in your refrigerator?

Philip: Peanut butter and jelly. We had it last night!

Kate: Between helping to run our restaurants and our young daughter Serafina, I have very little time to shop, so I am constantly telling Philip to pick something up on his way home. There is always frozen pizza, lemonade and cookies and milk, every night.

The Chadds Ford Tavern is located at 1400 Baltimore Pike in Chadds Ford. To make reservations, call 484-800-4084, or visit www.thecftavern.com.

- Richard L. Gaw