Suburban Square: A Destination For Healthy Shoppers?

A recent USA Today video about health-focused retail spots featured the Ardmore shopping center.

A salad shop, an upscale athletic wear chain and a frozen yogurt store are all recent additions to Suburban Square, and shopping center manager Mark Bachus recently told USA Today that the center is striving to become a destination for healthy consumers. In an article about the trend toward health-focused retail spots, Bachus told USA Today about City Sports' expansion  from a 7,000-square foot space to a 10,000-square foot space, also highlighting the additions of Sweetgreen, Lululemon and the upcoming FruittiYummi frozen yogurt shop, which will move into Coldstone's old Suburban Square location. "It's just a reflection of people being more in touch with their health and watching what they eat and their lifestyle," Bachus told USA Today…

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Upscale Bridal Shop To Fill Vacant Priscilla's Space

Elizabeth Johns will open its Suburban Square location in September.

A new upscale bridal boutique and evening wear salon will be moving in soon to Suburban Square, in the area vacated by Priscilla of Boston last fall. Elizabeth Johns be a high-end shop focused on the whole bridal experience, said Jill Leach, who will be the salon director when the store opens in September. Elizabeth Johns will offer bridal and special occasion apparel and accessories "along with the very highest level of attentive, personalized service," its website reads.  Owner Melinda Ladyzinski opened the first Elizabeth Johns in Morristown, NJ, shortly after Memorial Day 2012. Ladyzinski, whose background is in realty, was inspired to start her own bridal boutique after a less than optimal experience wedding dress shopping for her …

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Amanda Mahnke

9:58 am on Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Brian, I did ask about that—Leach said basically that she was happy to be near them, as women are more likely to be drawn to Suburban Square for dress shopping with two stores there. She reiterated how a big focus at Elizabeth Johns is the experience of dress shopping. When Priscilla was in that same spot, they became the number one store in the company despite having Bijou right next door. …   more ›

Govberg Jewelers Leaving Merion-Cynwyd for Suburban Square

The departure will leave retail space vacant at a busy intersection.

Govberg Jewelers is preparing to depart its Merion-Cynwyd home of two decades for a prime location about three miles away in Suburban Square. Since 2009, the company had been searching for another Main Line location, owner Danny Govberg told Patch. "Govberg Jewelers’ Bala Cynwyd location had been in need of a renovation for some time, and rather than invest in modernizing and enhancing the current space, an ideal retail location became available at an opportune time," Govberg said via email. "We anticipate an influx in the number of customers due to the high level of traffic at the Suburban Square shopping center, and recognize a terrific synergy between the center’s existing clientele and Govberg Jewelers’ expansive product offerings." …

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All That & Ardmore

New City Sports to Open Saturday in Suburban Square

A grand opening party is set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

City Sports will open its new, larger “concept” store within Suburban Square in Ardmore on Saturday, company officials said. Taking over the space previously occupied by Talbots, the 8,000 square-foot store will feature a “refreshed and fully integrated shopping experience, including the brand’s new women’s concept,” according to a recent corporate statement. The focus on women includes “apparel and fit consultants,” and what the company claims is the most comprehensive assortment of sports bras in the Western world (check out the “Bra Finder” here), along with a large selection of training pants, yoga and pilates gear. Other features of the new space include a freestanding footwear wall, an iPad station and lockers for participants in …

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Starbucks Bets on Blonde Roast

The Suburban Square location debuts a milder roast in Ardmore.

The traditional blend of Starbucks' pike roast too bitter for you? Well, the national chain debuted a tamer brew Tuesday and invited java lovers to try it out. At the Ardmore Starbucks in Suburban Square (on St. James Place at Coulter), store manager Melissa Harris said the blonde roast coffee has been well-received by customers. The corporate HQ touts it as "lighter-bodied and mellow," as the coffee is "subtle and soft with mellow acidity, (which delivers) an approachable and flavorful cup with slight hints of roast." “It took eight months and more than 80 different recipe and roast iterations before we landed on the exact flavor profile our customers told us they were looking for,” master roaster Brad Anderson said in a news release. “…

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All That & Ardmore

A Sweet(green) Means for New Year's Resolutions

"Live a little..."

Walking by Sweetgreen in Ardmore's Suburban Square one day last week, we found this: a window full of wishes, dreams, preferences, self-admonitions... In short, a whole lotta New Year's resolutions, Sticky-Noted for all the world to see.

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Last-Minute Shoppers Jam Ardmore's Suburban Square

Traffic was a nightmare, but horns were minimal.

Every parking spot was taken—over in the Anderson Avenue lot off Montgomery, the large lots between and among the Ardmore Farmers Market and Trader Joe's, and every single metered spot along Coulter Avenue and St. James Place, too.  On Friday afternoon at Suburban Square in Ardmore, business was booming, as shoppers did some last-minute Christmas and Hanukkah shopping, grabbed some lunch, a cup of coffee, and tried to score deals on newly marked-down merchandise. For those who haven't been to the shopping center in some time, they got a good look at the new courtyard, too. The landscaping and new surface hardscaping are almost complete, as workers kept at it amid the crowds. (Alas, the fountain is still shrouded in a blue tarp, but at the …

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Suburban Square's Festival of Lights

The first night of Hanukkah was celebrated in Ardmore.

About 100 adults and children gathered on Tuesday evening for the lighting of the Menorah in Suburban Square marking the first night of Hanukkah. After the lighting ceremony, conducted by Rabbi Michael Lichtman of the Chabad of the Main Line, there was a celebration with music, decorations, crafts, free food and giveaways. Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is one of the best-known Jewish holidays not because of  its religious significance but because of its proximity to Christmas. The holiday celebrates the re-dedication of the Jewish Temple after the Jews successfully overthrew the Greeks, who had ruled the land for more than 100 years. The pure oil needed to burn a lamp all through the night in the Temple was scarce—with …

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All That & Ardmore

'Small Business Saturday' a Shot in the Arm for Ardmore Shops

But on a record-setting weekend, big retailers still did best.

Traditionally, Black Friday is a much bigger boon for larger retail operations than it is for small businesses, so when American Express announced the creation of "Small Business Saturday" last year—a day-after special that uses rebates and free advertising to lure holiday shoppers to locally owned stores—Ardmore business owners were cautiously optimistic. And while they didn't perform at Walmart- or Target-levels this weekend, they agree the program seems to have been a help. "Black Friday is traditionally a mall thing, and most small businesses don't do very well, but Small Business Saturday—we were pretty busy," said Sherry Tillman, proprietor of Past*Present*Future. "My expectations are always low, though, so I'm never disappointed." …

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Black Friday Hours in Ardmore and Region

Suburban Square, Bala department stores, and more.

If getting up early on the day after Thanksgiving and battling crowds and traffic is a part of the whole holiday experience for you, we've got some info on hours here. Let us know if we missed anything notable, and don't forget about Small Business Saturday... *** At Suburban Square, all stores are slated for 12-hour days on Black Friday—9 a.m. to 9 p.m., including Macy's (click here for the Square's holiday catalog). The Apple Store is promising a "special one-day Apple shopping event." Some stores at the Square will be open earlier, though, such as Gap, which throws open its doors at 6 a.m. Urban Outfitters is open at 5 a.m. In Wynnewood, the Bed, Bath & Beyond is open at 5 a.m., closing at 9:30 p.m. The Old Navy is open at MIDNIGHT—yes…

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