The Chadds Ford area is one
business poorer today. The Old Wooden Market and Deli is no more; its doors
closed May 31.
This is the same location that
was once home to the old Wawa on Route 1 at Station Way Road. When the Wawa
pulled out unexpectedly in January of 2008, the site was empty for a year and
the location never fully recovered, even after a new shop opened in early 2009.
That owner sold in September to
the recent owner, Bill Bondarchuk. It can’t be said he didn’t work hard. Mr.
Bondarchuk worked seven days per week and went months before ever taking a day
off. He busted his buns, but wound up taking it on the chin.
So what went wrong? Pointing
fingers is easy. Was it simply a bad economy, national and local? Was it a bad
business climate in the township? Was it the year the storefront was empty? Was
it a result of poor business decisions? Was it something else or all of the
above? Most likely the answer to each question is yes, but that’s not very
instructive. The devil is in the details and we are not privy to all those
details.
Suffice to say, overhead was
high, extraordinarily so, according to the owner. Ultimately, that was the
downfall. Not a lack of signage, though that was an impediment.
Perhaps, as someone suggested,
the name of the shop never caught on. Would “Chadds Ford Deli” have worked
better? Maybe.
During the year after Wawa
left, the parking lot was a ghost town on weekends. A photo taken on a Saturday
in May of 2008 showed how desolate the parking lot was. All that was missing
were tumbleweeds.
We hope that doesn’t happen
now. There has been talk of a new owner taking over—possibly reopening in
July—but so far there is nothing official, just talk.
It’s a good location, with a
bank and a U.S. Post Office branch in the same strip. It should do well, but it
should have been doing well already.
We wish Mr. Bondarchuk well in
his future endeavors. His personality and work ethic make him deserving of the
success that eluded him in Chadds Ford.
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