At 5:30 on a Tuesday, where in downtown Bryn Mawr can you buy a coffee and something to eat, or meet a friend at a bar? Until recently, the list along Lancaster Avenue was short. Two businesses are changing that this fall. One has already pushed its closing time later. The other has built a 150-seat room meant for evenings at the address that has been the village's hardest restaurant space to keep filled.
Both come from farther west on the Main Line, and both are treating Bryn Mawr evenings as worth the extra hours. Together, they suggest the downtown's center of gravity is starting to shift later in the day.
The Buttery Moved Its Closing Time Two Hours Later
The Buttery opened at 836 W. Lancaster Ave. in June. It is the third café from John and Silenia Rhoads, who started the bakery in Malvern in 2015 and later added a counter at the Ardmore Farmers Market. When it opened, The Inquirer reported hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the kitchen serving until 3 p.m. The owners also said they hoped to add dinner "in the fall or winter."
As of early October, the Bryn Mawr location's page lists dine-in and takeout from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. That adds two hours to the end of the day. The Buttery has not announced a separate dinner service in Bryn Mawr, and the official menu is still labeled breakfast and lunch. The later hours do make it an option after work, though.
The Fall 2026 menu is all-day food that holds up into the evening: al taglio pizzas such as mushroom and roasted garlic, salads and grain bowls such as a beet-and-feta panzanella, quiche and soup, and breakfast plates like a harissa BEC and a delicata squash breakfast hash. The seasonal drinks list includes an autumn-spice latte, a salted-maple matcha and a spiced apple chai.
The original location already shows where this could go. The Inquirer's fall forecast notes that the Malvern Buttery has added dinner service with Neapolitan pizza and shareable plates. Bryn Mawr has the later hours so far. A dinner menu has not been announced.
915 Lancaster Has Been Looking for the Right Kind of Evening
Bryn Mawr's largest evening bet sits farther along the avenue, at 915 W. Lancaster Ave. in Bryn Mawr Village. The space has had three restaurants in seven years.
| Years | Restaurant | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 to 2021 | Enoteca Tredici | Closed after business on Aug. 20, 2021; the owner said it had not proved financially viable |
| 2022 to 2024 | Fiore Rosso | Steakhouse tied to Marc Vetri and Jeff Benjamin; renamed in 2024 |
| 2024 to around New Year's 2026 | Il Fiore | Closed at the turn of the year |
| Fall 2026 | Alessandro's Enoteca | Opening targeted for mid-to-late October |
The dates above come from The Inquirer's 2021 report on Tredici's closing, which puts the opening in June 2018. They also come from the paper's 2025 closings roundup, which says Il Fiore took over from Fiore Rosso in mid-2024. Savvy Main Line remembers Tredici as a "monster hit" when it debuted. That outlet dates the opening to 2017, attributes the closing to financial problems and the pandemic, and says Il Fiore closed at the start of 2026.
The details that keep coming up are size and setting. Savvy reported that Il Fiore's décor did not appeal to many diners, and the new team promised "a warming trend." The Inquirer's January report noted that the room's existing industrial look and restaurant setup could help the next tenant open faster. The next operator inherits a ready-made kitchen, including the dry-aging equipment, and has to make a large room feel like a neighborhood place.
What Alessandro's Enoteca Is Built to Be
Chef Alex Fiorello's third restaurant follows Alessandro's Wood Fired Italian Grill & Bar on North Wayne Avenue and Alessandro's Pizzeria in West Chester. In June, Montco Today, citing the Philadelphia Business Journal, reported the Bryn Mawr plans: about 6,000 square feet, 150 to 175 seats, a bar, two private rooms, a cocktail lounge and a raw bar. The same report said the workers' compensation firm Pond Lehocky Giordano had invested just under $1 million in Fiorello's restaurant group, its first investment in hospitality.
The planned menu includes handmade pasta, wood-fired pizza, live-fire cooking and dry-aged meats, plus some Japanese influence and possibly a few sushi-style items. The culinary director is Matt Arcomone, who has worked at Osteria, Vetri and Palladino's. The Inquirer's fall forecast says the restaurant is meant to have a stronger evening and bar scene than Fiorello's Wayne restaurants.
The property owner has said directly what kind of evening he wants at this address. Paul Aschkenasy, who owns Bryn Mawr Village, told Savvy Main Line in January:
"We are very excited to have a restaurant that appeals to so many of our neighbors, has a lively bar scene, and is priced such that people can visit on a regular basis."
The goal is repeat weeknight visits more than once-a-year celebrations. A bar with a raw bar and pizza from a wood-fired oven fits that goal. So does a team whose Wayne general manager promised "warm hospitality vibes." The private rooms and cocktail lounge leave space for bigger occasions too.
The Opening Date Has Moved Twice
Anyone hoping for a reservation should know the timeline so far. In January, Savvy reported the restaurant could open as early as April. In June, Montco Today's report said September. On Sept. 9, The Inquirer put it at mid-to-late October.
As of Oct. 7, the restaurant's own page still says "COMING SOON - October 2026." It lists the address as 915 Lancaster Ave. but gives no opening day, hours or menu. No later announcement has confirmed a soft opening or the start of reservations. For now, the honest status is that the restaurant is pending and expected this month.
Delays like this are common in large restaurant buildouts. The Inquirer's fall forecast notes that three restaurants from its 2025 list are still a full year behind schedule. A room built for 150 or more diners has a lot to get ready.
Saturday Morning Is Still the Base
The evening hours build on a strong daytime routine. The Bryn Mawr Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through December at 7 N. Bryn Mawr Ave., just off Lancaster. Its vendor directory covers much of a week's groceries. Not every vendor attends every week, so check the market's weekly lineup before you go. Directory names include:
- Settantatre Pasta Company, for fresh pasta
- Birchrun Hills Farm and Canter Hill Farm
- Davidson Exotic Mushrooms, Frecon Farms and Hands on the Earth Orchard
- Philly Fair Trade Roasters and Sarah Bakes
- Wild Flour Bakery, Two Gander Farm and Scrape & Scoop Ice Cream
There are also less expected stalls, such as Five Saints Distilling, Deer Creek Malthouse and Melmos Dog Treats. The market has eight or so Saturdays left in the season.
An October Calendar for Later in the Day
These are the dates and details that matter for evenings on and around Lancaster Avenue over the next few weeks:
- Oct. 9. Bryn Mawr Film Institute starts its run of HA-CHAN SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!, with showtimes listed through Oct. 15 on the theater's event page.
- Oct. 18. SEPTA's new Regional Rail timetables take effect. On the Paoli/Thorndale Line, Amtrak work is rerouting trains between Overbrook and 30th Street and moving inbound schedules by five minutes through Nov. 21, according to SEPTA's schedule notice. Bryn Mawr's station is at 54 N. Bryn Mawr Ave.
- Mid-to-late October. The target window for Alessandro's Enoteca. Check the restaurant's page for confirmed hours before planning around it.
- Daily until 7 p.m. The Buttery at 836 W. Lancaster Ave., for a pastry and an autumn-spice latte on the walk home from the train.
When Alessandro's opens, 915 Lancaster will have its fourth restaurant since 2018, with a bar and lounge planned for evenings.
The opening of a restaurant at 915 Lancaster tells you a lot about where downtown Bryn Mawr is headed. If you're curious how changes like these affect the homes within walking distance, Nora DeCristofano would be glad to talk it through over coffee. Let's Connect.
