Summer
Dining Scene in West D Chester COMMUNITY, INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL GRIT Edwin Malet
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County Lines | June 2021 | CountyLinesMagazine.com
OWNTOWN WEST CHESTER IS LOOKING UP! The long-time dining destination is about to burst forth this summer to meet the pent up demands of hungry, loyal diners. Expressing cautious optimism, John O’Brien, Executive Director of the West Chester Business Improvement District, which promotes the economic vitality of the downtown district, reports the Borough’s restaurants are “finding their way back after a hard year.” O’Brien points to increasing numbers of restaurant patrons and the success of its newest restaurants—over a half dozen showed their faith in West Chester by opening in 2020 and early 2021. Yes, PECO’s dig on Gay Street complicated the planned May 1 return of last year’s highly successful Open-Air Market, but O’Brien expects the work to wrap up soon and outdoor dining to resurge along with shopping and downtown events. Now the concern here, as elsewhere, is labor shortages—waiters,