Around Phoenixville

Just received an email from the Iron Hill mailing list indicating that they will officially be open for business at 5:30pm this evening.

Construction has begun on a new Children's Plaza in the downtown area. The plaza, which will be located on the north side of Bank Street, is a joint effort between The Kiwanis Club of Phoenixville and the Main Street Community Development Corporation. At this point, construction of the plaza is scheduled to be completed by Thanksgiving. Here are some excerpts from The Phoenix article dated 9/27/06 ---- "The Kiwanis have undertaken the construction of the Plaza as a significant community service project that will provide a legacy for the future," said New. "Club members are working closely with Barry Cassidy (Main Street-CDC Executive Director) as well as project planners, landscapers and construction personnel to insure that the construction of the Kiwanis Children's Plaza meets the downtown area's redevelopment standards. The Kiwanis Club will also provide significant support to the project." ... The Children's Plaza will have multiple uses, acco

Quick update on the Iron Hill opening. Via their mailing list I received this yesterday ---- The contractors are almost finished and we are in the home stretch! We have been diligently training our staff, preparing our soups and sauces and fermenting our beer. Our goal is to open next Monday Oct 2 or Tuesday Oct. 3 at 5 pm. We will notify you via email as soon as the date is finalized. ----

The website for Molly Maguire's Restaurant and Pub has (partially) been launched. According to it the new restaurant will open in Fall of 2007. To date, the About Us is the only page that has any real info but there is a lot of good info. Here is some of what the site says.. --- Molly Maguire's Restaurant and Pub will house an extensive first class kitchen serving American and Continental cuisine in a resplendent environment styled after the finest publican facilities in the developers homeland of Ireland. The two upper floors of 195 Bridge Street will be converted to three condominium living units. The restaurant complex will encompass the ground floor of both 195 & 197 Bridge Street and the second and third floors of 197 Bridge St. a/k/a "The Corner" The restaurant will seat about eighty diners on the first floor with an additional fifty seats on the second floor and another sixty seats on the third floor. The

In an email they sent out towards the end of August, Iron Hill indicated that their target opening date is Sept. 25. From the looks of things I have my doubts but its clear that they are close. Here is the rest of the update --- Hello Phoenixville! We are knee-high in construction and working fast and furious to open our doors. After final installation of the brewery we plan to start brewing on August 15 if we have PECO on the same side as the beer Gods. With much mashing, sparging, fermenting and filtering we'll have our six house beers on tap by opening! Our target opening date is Monday, September 25th. This date is still a target and will most likely move up or back depending on how construction goes but everything is proceeding well. We will have more information and a firm opening date in upcoming newsletters. Thanks for your patience and we can't wait to serve you! ---

Another interesting news item that came out of yesterday's Chamber of Commerce breakfast was that the Gay Street Bridge reconstruction project is tentatively scheduled to begin in April, 2007. When asked about the Gay Street Bridge, DiGirolomo said that April 2007 is targeted for the bridge. "We will put bids for demolition and construction at the same time," he said. "PennDOT is offering to put a leased fire truck and personnel on the north side. They've been very responsive." DiGirolomo concluded by praising the borough for its continued revitalization. "We offer things that other places don't offer," he said. "We are known. After all of these years, my parents are thinking of moving here." -- As a north side resident I'll admit to being a bit concerned as to what this will do to traffic but I think it is something that can't happen soon enough. The bridge is an eyesore at best and a serious hazard at worse. Here is to hop

Kevin Finn, owner of Iron Hill Brewery, indicated at yesterday's Chamber of Commerce breakfast that the new restaurant/brew pub will open its doors on Sept. 24. "Our goal is to open in late September - September 24," said Finn. "The brewery tanks are there. The large pizza ovens are there. We were at the F.A.M.E. Festival and got to serve beer and meet a lot of the residents." -- Having been to the Iron Hill's in Media and West Chester I am sure this will be a welcome addition to the Bridge Street restaurant scene. For more information on this and other topics covered at the COC breakfast, please see the article in The Phoenix.

Phoenixville now has something to do on Friday nights in addition to its 'First Friday' festivities. Every Friday this summer will feature the Street Music Series, a concert series that will be taking place on the 200 block of Bridge Street. For more information and a complete schedule of artists and dates, please see the article in The Phoenix.

There is a sign in the window of the old Seacrist's building. I have heard rumors that it will be using all three stories and may have a deck in the back. Unfortunately, the website they advertise on said sign is not active yet to confirm any of this. Here's to hoping it will be an authentic Irish pub.

I had the chance at the F.A.M.E. festival to talk to a couple of the people at the Iron Hill beer tent who all assured me that the Iron Hill will be opening in September. Having been to several of these around the area, it will be a nice addition to Bridge Street when it finally opens its doors.

As a recent addition to Phoenixville, I have spent the better part of seven months trying to find out what is going on in and around the downtown area of Phoenixville. Unfortunately, the information available is hard to come by at best. That is why I have started this blog. My hope is to provide a place where past, current, and future residents of Phoenixville can get information about stores, restaurants, and other businesses that are either setting up or closing down shop. You will also find information about events like First Friday, the summer concert series, and the Friday night concerts taking place on Bridge Street. I really have no idea where this will end up but I think it could be a pretty useful site for those of us who are excited about the changes that are happening around town and would like to have a single place to go for information.