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  • Winter storm warning for Philly; blizzard conditions expected at the Shore

    Winter storm warning for Philly; blizzard conditions expected at the Shore

    A winter storm warning is in effect for Sunday — a blizzard warning for the Jersey Shore — and Sunday into Monday Philly’s snow has a shot at doubling the amount that fell on Jan. 25, the National Weather Service says.

    “At this point, that’s certainly possible,” Zachary Cooper, meteorologist with the National Weather Service said Saturday. The official forecast is calling for just over a foot in the city, with the potential for the total reaching 18 inches.

    Blizzard warnings up for the Shore, where onshore winds are forecast to howl past 35 mph, with moderate to major flooding possible.

    While it wasn’t in the official language, the weather service on a Saturday morning might well have included a supermarket stampede warning.

    The actual winter storm warning is in effect from 7 a.m. Sunday until 6 p.m. Monday.

    With a surprising level of agreement computer models and their interpreters Saturday were seeing the storm as being inevitable. It was forecast to affect the I-95 corridor from Washington to Boston — a rarity in recent winters.

    The weather service listed a 25% chance that totals could approach two feet in the city.

    “It’s going to be a long-duration event,” said Cody Snell, meteorologist with NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md.

    On the plus side, this will not have the staying power of the 9.3 punitive inches that accumulated on Jan. 25 and spent a three-week vacation in the region. No ice is in the forecast, and daytime temperatures above freezing and the February sun likely will erase most it by the end of the workweek.

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    What time would the snow begin in Philly?

    Precipitation is expected to begin Sunday morning, said Snell, possibly as a mix of snow and rain that becomes all snow.

    Snow may have a hard time sticking during the day, said Tom Kines, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc., since temperatures will be near or slightly above freezing and the late-winter sun will be a factor, even it’s just a rumor in the sky.

    Plus the ground won’t be especially cold after a Saturday in which the temperature may approach 50 degrees.

    However, the upper air is going to be quite cold, Snell said, and when the snow is falling heavily, as it is expected to do Sunday night, “it will cool the column.”

    He said areas that get caught in heavy snow “bands” would see the highest amounts.

    What would be so different about this storm?

    The storm is forecast to mature into a classic nor’easter, so named for the strong winds generated from the Northeast.

    Nor’easters are the primary source of heavy snows along I-95, but the ones that produce heavy snow from Washington to Boston have been scarce lately.

    “Over the past several years, they’ve been few and far between,” Kines.

    The Jan. 25 storm was not a nor’easter per se, said Snell, but more of a case of the “overrunning” of warm air over cold air producing the snow and sleet.

    John Gyakum, an atmospheric scientist at McGill University in Montreal and a winter storm specialist, said he anecdotally has seen a trend of coastal storms intensifying too far north to have much of an impact on the Philly region.

    If that were the case, it could be a symptom of global warming, said Steve Decker, meteorology professor at Rutgers University. Storms form where cold and warm meet, and that may have been happening farther north lately.

    In any event that evidently won’t be the case Sunday.

    What could go wrong with the forecasts?

    Are you new around here?

    The storm consists of multiple moving parts, and as it bounds off the Southeast coast, it is due to intensify rapidly over the warm Atlantic waters.

    Meteorologists advised it was still unclear precisely how intense it would become and what path it would take.

    Forecast busts have been known to happen, including a famous one 25 years ago. On a Friday, the weather service warned of a storm of “historic” proportions to begin that Sunday.

    What Philly got was about an inch of snow that fell over three uneventful hours.

    In 2015, the head of the Mount Holly weather service office publicly apologized for a busted forecast.

    However, in recent years, the region hasn’t had all that many serious snow scares.

    In this case, expect details to jump around even as the precipitation is falling, but Snell said “confidence is growing” that substantial snow is going to happen.

    Inquirer staff writer Stephen Stirling contributed to this article.

  • Wawa has expanded far beyond Philly. But hometown fans still fuel the chain’s success

    Wawa has expanded far beyond Philly. But hometown fans still fuel the chain’s success

    Wawa customers have been able to order roasted chicken on sandwiches, salads, burritos, and more since summer 2024. Hoagie-loving Philadelphians may scroll past the high-protein option on Wawa’s trademarked built-to-order screens, while others tap its icon instinctively in their rush to order lunch.

    Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens said he sees the chicken breast differently.

    From idea to inception, “that was a labor of love for quite a long time,” Gheysens said in a recent interview. “It’s 37 grams of protein, something consumers are really looking for today.”

    And, he added, “it’s still highly customizable, which our customers love doing at Wawa.”

    To Gheysens, the menu addition shows how the Delaware County-based company responds to consumer demand. Just as it did decades ago when Philly-area store managers began brewing coffee for customers on the go, and in 1996, when Wawa executives decided to start selling gasoline.

    Even now, with nearly 1,200 stores in 13 states and Washington, D.C., Wawa is still listening to consumer feedback, Gheysens said. And despite expanding as far away as Florida and Kentucky, the CEO said, the convenience-store giant remains especially in tune with its hometown fans.

    “For a lot of people, it’s their daily routine,” said Gheysens, a South Jersey native. “It becomes a part of their neighborhood. It’s a relationship that’s built on consistency, on trust” — and on getting customers out the door in five minutes or less, depending on the time of day.

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    Customers say they are drawn to the homegrown chain for its convenience, consistency, quality, and wide-ranging menu of grab-and-go and made-to-order items (even though some miss the old Wawa delis where lunch meat was sliced on the spot).

    In Runnemede, 78-year-old Barbara MacCahery said she goes to her local Wawa at least a couple of times a week — “sometimes for breakfast, sometimes for a sandwich, a lot of times for coffee.”

    In MacCahery’s mind, she said, the chain has proven itself time and time again for decades: “It’s very rare that you’ll have a bad experience.”

    Wawa’s ‘secret sauce’ for success

    More than 100 years ago, Wawa started out as a dairy, delivering milk to Philadelphia-area households.

    Wawa has set a national standard for success in the convenience-store industry, said Z. John Zhang, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

    “It really is some kind of a secret sauce,” said Zhang, who studies retail management. “For many people, Wawa has become a destination store,” one that combines “speed, customization, and perceived high quality” with near-constant availability — many Wawa stores are open 24/7.

    The company got its start as a dairy, delivering milk to Philly-area households. In 1964, it opened its first store in Folsom. Soon, the family-owned company expanded into New Jersey and Delaware, and established a reputation for quality and speed, with slogans like “People on the Go — Go to Wawa Food Markets.”

    Wawa’s first convenience store opened in Folsom, Delaware County in 1964.

    Wawa is privately held, owned in part by workers who get a percentage of their earnings contributed to an employee stock-ownership plan. Zhang said this program likely leads to more-invested employees who provide better customer service.

    Because Wawa is not public, it is not required to disclose its finances, and company executives declined to discuss them.

    But by many appearances, Wawa seems to be doing well: Over the last decade, the company has increased its store count by about 65% and doubled its workforce to about 50,000 associates.

    Philly-area Wawas are often crowded, too, which is key to making money in the convenience-store industry.

    A gas attendant fills up a customer’s tank at a Wawa in Pennsauken in 2020.
    A history of Wawa’s on-again, off-again relationship with Center City

    Consumers spend about $7 on average when they stop at a convenience store, said Jason Zelinski, vice president of convenience and growth accounts for NielsenIQ.

    “We think it’s high-impulse, but 80% of all people who walk into a convenience store pretty much know what they want,” said Zelinski, who consults with retailers. (He declined to discuss specific companies and said he has never worked for Wawa.)

    Successful operators have encouraged customers to spend more by adding seating and improving their food service, Zelinski said. And stores with better food see higher profit margins.

    “Once you have somebody that’s addicted to your food service program, they’re more likely to come back to your store vs. a competing store,” he said.

    In 2020, Wawa debuted new menu offerings, including hamburgers, pot roast, rotisserie chicken, pasta alfredo, and kids meals, at a tasting in Media.

    Wawa has certainly gotten people hooked on their coffee, hoagies, and ever-expanding menu, Zhang said. Options added in recent years include pizza, wraps, protein-packed “power meals,” limited-edition coffee flavors, and smoothies “boosted” with protein, vitamins, and minerals.

    Yet Wawa has not expanded in all areas.

    The company recently closed several stores in Center City, citing “safety and security concerns” in some cases. Last month, it closed its Drexel University location after its test of a digital-order-only format was not successful.

    In the Philly suburbs, smaller-format Wawas have also shuttered, often in communities that already have multiple larger Wawas.

    This older Wawa in Cherry Hill closed in 2024. The township has six remaining Wawas.

    Despite Wawa’s best efforts, not all stores thrive, Gheysens said. But “luckily for us, we’re still in growth mode, and don’t have to worry about closures in a broad way.”

    Gheysens said he sees room for more Wawas in the Philadelphia market — even as convenience-store competitors like Maryland-based Royal Farms and Altoona-based Sheetz have opened new stores in the region.

    Sheetz wants to move into Delaware County, home of Wawa

    Wawa executives want “to make sure that we are the number-one convenience store in the area, that’s important to us,” Gheysens said. “These are our hometown counties.”

    What keeps Philly-area consumers going to Wawa

    A Wawa customer eats a breakfast Sizzli during the 2024 grand opening of the company’s first central Pennsylvania store.

    Many Philly-area consumers grew up alongside Wawa.

    In interviews with nearly a dozen of them, some were quick to reminisce about early memories of their local stores, such as the distinct smell of coffee and deli meat or the excitement of a Wawa run with high school friends. Others bemoan what has changed with the company’s expansion, including more congested parking lots.

    Most have a quick answer when asked what their Wawa order is.

    Rick Gunter, 45, of Royersford, misses the Wawa of his youth. Back in the day, he said, the Wawa hoagies “hit different,” with lunch meat fresh off the slicer.

    Contrary to some customers’ beliefs, most stores still bake Amoroso rolls — a custom recipe made exclusively for Wawa — fresh in store multiple times a day, Gheysens said. As for the deli meat, the CEO said that was another decision rooted in customer preference.

    When customers have participated in blind tests of the pre-sliced meat Wawa uses today against a fresh-sliced alternative, “they can’t tell the difference,” Gheysens said. “They would choose our pre-sliced meats, because of what we’ve done in terms of quality and the supply chain and the ability to deliver them at such a pace.”

    A sandwich maker at Wawa wraps a hoagie with turkey, provolone, tomato, and lettuce in this 2020 file photo.

    Some customers disagree.

    “It was way better when it was kind of also a deli. Now they try to make everything for everybody,” said Bill Morgan, 79, of East Coventry Township. “I’m within five miles of three Wawas, but I rarely eat their food. Only under extreme duress.”

    Morgan acknowledged he must be in the minority, given how crowded Wawas are at lunchtime. And despite his distaste for much of their food, he said he still gets gas there and loves their coffee. And he can’t help but admire their business model.

    “I wish they’d sell stock,” Morgan said.

  • Josh Shapiro visits the White House as Mikie Sherrill skips governors meeting after clash with Donald Trump over Democrats’ attendance

    Josh Shapiro visits the White House as Mikie Sherrill skips governors meeting after clash with Donald Trump over Democrats’ attendance

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined President Donald Trump at the White House for a breakfast on Friday, following weeks of uncertainty and strife over whether any Democrats would attend the traditionally bipartisan annual event after Trump reversed course on a decision to disinvite two other blue-state governors from the meeting.

    A spokesperson for Shapiro said he decided to attend the meeting at the White House once Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis were invited, despite Trump previously declaring the pair of Democratic leaders were not welcome.

    “Gov. Shapiro chose to join his colleagues and go to the White House to raise real issues and harm the Trump administration is doing to Pennsylvania,” Rosie Lapowsky, Shapiro’s press secretary, said in a statement.

    Trump initially planned to invite only Republican governors to the annual event that coincides with the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington, D.C., but faced pushback by the group’s GOP chair. Trump then invited Democrats, as well, but rescinded the invitations for Moore and Polis. In a post on his Truth Social platform earlier this month, Trump wrote that the two Democratic governors were “not worthy of being there.”

    The weekslong back-and-forth threatened the nonpartisan nature of the National Governors Association that represents 55 governors, including those from all 50 states and five U.S. territories. Ultimately, the NGA declined to facilitate the annual breakfast event, and Trump later re-invited Polis and Moore.

    Josh Shapiro won’t attend any events with Trump that exclude fellow governors
    President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a breakfast with the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

    Moore, Polis, and Shapiro were among the more than two dozen governors who attended the White House breakfast Friday, where Trump delivered brief remarks. Other Democrats, including New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherill, decided against going.

    Sherrill, a former member of Congress who just began her term last month, said in a statement that she opted to skip the White House breakfast to “focus on other NGA meetings.”

    “The president’s chaotic back-and-forth about the NGA was counterproductive and Gov. Sherrill decided not to attend,” said Sean Higgins, a spokesperson for Sherrill.

    What Shapiro talked about

    Shapiro described the closed-door meeting between Trump, the governors, and all of Trump’s cabinet as productive for him to advocate for specific issues directly with federal leaders.

    “Folks were respectful to me,” Shapiro told reporters following the meeting. “I went there with a mission to talk about things that were important to Pennsylvania.”

    Shapiro, who is currently running for reelection and touts his ability to work across partisan lines, has expressed an openness to working with Trump on issues specific to Pennsylvania, though he has challenged the president more than a dozen times in court since Trump took office last year.

    Shapiro said he was able to discuss his top issues directly with federal officials. He said he spoke with U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins about the reemergence of the avian flu in Pennsylvania; discussed releasing withheld broadband funding with Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick about releasing withheld broadband funding; and talked with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought about the ways “their policies are hurting rural Pennsylvanians.”

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, another Democrat who attended the meeting, said afterward in a news conference that she was glad to hear what lessons Trump said he learned from his administration’s immigration enforcement mission in Minneapolis that led to mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents.

    Hochul said Trump told the group that “we’ll only go where we’re wanted,” alleviating concerns among some Democratic governors that their states may be the next to see a full-scale federal presence upending daily life.

    Weeks of back-and-forth ahead of the White House breakfast

    Sherrill and Shapiro were among the 18 Democratic governors who earlier said they would not attend the event if their colleagues were excluded.

    “Democratic governors have a long record of working across the aisle to deliver results and we remain committed to this effort,” they said in a joint statement on Feb. 10 through the Democratic Governors Association. “But it’s disappointing this administration doesn’t seem to share the same goal. At every turn, President Trump is creating chaos and division, and it is the American people who are hurting as a result.”

    They added: “Democratic governors remain united and will never stop fighting to protect and make life better for people in our states.”

    In comments to CNN last week, Sherrill said that “worse decisions” would be made without all the governors there.

    “For the president to pick and choose who he is going to have to sort of undermine the very focus of this, of coming together to get stuff done for the country just seeds more … chaos,” the New Jersey Democrat said.

    Gov. Mikie Sherrill, shown here at a news conference as volunteers gather prior to shoveling snow at Fairview Village on Martin Luther King Day during a day of service, in Camden, New Jersey, January 19, 2026.

    Moore, the nation’s only Black governor, and Polis, the first openly gay man elected to U.S. governor, were the only two leaders Trump singled out, raising concerns by civil rights groups.

    Trump, however, cited different reasons for his objections to Moore and Polis’ attendance. He said he wanted to exclude Polis because his state continues to incarcerate a former county clerk over her conviction related to allowing election-denier activists access to election data following the 2020 election. Trump also expressed a number of grievances toward Moore, including his handling of the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and Baltimore’s crime rates.

    Following the meeting Friday, governors from both parties reaffirmed that they were still committed to working with Trump despite the turmoil.

    “It’s really important imagery that we stand together as governors of our states and represent all of America, and just remind people that there’s really more that brings us together and unites us than divides us,” said Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who chairs the NGA.

    Shapiro separately told reporters that he has worked with directly Trump to “save steelworker jobs” but remains ready to challenge them in court if they threaten Pennsylvanians’ rights.

    Asked whether he has a good relationship with Trump, Shapiro said: “We have a relationship where we can work for the people of Pennsylvania, that’s my job.”

  • Quakertown High School students arrested during ICE protest. Videos show them bloodied after a confrontation with police.

    Quakertown High School students arrested during ICE protest. Videos show them bloodied after a confrontation with police.

    Several students at Quakertown High School were taken into custody on Friday after a student walkout protesting federal immigration enforcement escalated into a confrontation that left at least one teenager bloodied and in handcuffs, according to witnesses and video footage from the scene.

    School officials said the episode began shortly before noon, when dozens of students left campus without permission to demonstrate along Front Street in opposition to the policies of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. What followed, according to videos posted widely on social media, was a chaotic scene involving students, an unidentified man, and local police officers.

    By late afternoon, authorities had released few details about what prompted officers to intervene or how many students were detained.

    In a letter to parents, Lisa Hoffman, the acting superintendent of the Quakertown Community School District, said 35 students left school grounds at about 11:30 a.m. to stage the protest. She said district officials were informed by the Quakertown Police Department that the students were “engaging in unsafe and disruptive behavior,” though she did not elaborate on what that behavior entailed.

    The school also went on a short lockdown as a precaution, she said.

    Quakertown police contradicted the account offered by school officials, saying in a statement that as many as 50 students were involved in the protest, which “began peacefully” but became dangerous when students entered traffic, threw snowballs, kicked cars, and damaged property, including a car’s sideview mirror.

    “Officers issued additional warnings to maintain civil,” the statement said, before “confrontation escalated, and some individuals assaulted officers.”

    Police said “five to six juveniles and one adult have been taken into custody,” but offered no additional information.

    Videos circulating online offer a fragmented glimpse of the confrontation. In one clip, a man is seen grabbing a teenage girl and placing her in a chokehold. A male student rushes in and strikes the man, after which police officers move in and take the student into custody. Other footage shows protest signs scattered across the sidewalk, speckled with blood, and a teenage girl in handcuffs with blood visible along the side of her face.

    A woman who was dining inside a restaurant along Front Street said she watched the confrontation unfold just outside the window.

    “This man was easily twice her size,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal. “She couldn’t have been much more than 100 pounds.”

    When a male student stepped in to help the girl, she said, the scene quickly spiraled. Another woman in the restaurant recalled that several adults — including police officers — forced the boy to the ground.

    “The situation completely escalated,” said the second woman, who also asked not to be identified out of fear of reprisal. “There were multiple grown men getting in the faces of the children, spit flying out of their mouths.”

    It remains unclear what role the man played in the altercation. Both women said they later saw him drive away from the scene in a police vehicle.

    The statement by police made no mention of the man, nor did it include details about any injuries sustained by the students.

    Messages seeking comment from the school district were not immediately returned Friday afternoon.

    The Buck’s County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Friday that it was aware of the incident and was “gathering information.”

    “We are committed to ensuring public safety and will provide updates if and when legally appropriate,” the office said.

    By late afternoon, the number of students taken into custody had not been disclosed, and school officials had not said whether any would face disciplinary action.

    Videos also showed papers and books scattered on the sidewalk next to dropped and bloodied signs. “These children were thrown around and brutalized by these officers,” said one of the women.

    School officials had been aware of the planned student walk-out, according to the high school’s Facebook page, and canceled it Friday morning.

    “While we respect students’ rights to express their views, our first priority is to ensure a safe and secure environment for all,” House Principal Jason D. Magditch wrote in a letter posted on the Facebook page. “At this time, we believe canceling the protest is the most appropriate course of action in the interest of student safety and well-being.”

  • Tired Hands Brewing turned its original Ardmore outpost into a private event space as it navigates the future

    Tired Hands Brewing turned its original Ardmore outpost into a private event space as it navigates the future

    Tired Hands Brewing’s Ardmore Brewing Company brewpub has been turned into a private event space, for now, as its owner navigates the future of the beer company.

    Tired Hands’ Kennett Square taproom and bottle shop is permanently closed, owner Jean Broillet confirmed to The Inquirer on Thursday. Tired Hands’ Beer Park in Newtown Square also will not reopen this summer as the property’s owners are looking to redevelop it, Broillet said.

    Tired Hands’ Ardmore Fermentaria and Fishtown restaurant St. Oner’s remain open for business. The brewing company’s MT. Airy Biergarten is a seasonal operation that will reopen in the spring.

    Broillet said the decision to shift to private events at the Ardmore Brewing Company location was born out of a number of factors: having two Tired Hands locations in Ardmore was confusing for customers; ongoing construction in Ardmore created a “prohibitive environment” for doing business; and the changing landscape of brewing has prompted Tired Hands to begin reimagining parts of its business model.

    The changing face of Ardmore, and of Tired Hands

    When Broillet opened the first Tired Hands location, the BrewCafé, in 2012, he said there was little by way of interesting, high-quality food and drink in Ardmore. At the time, he said, Tired Hands’ craft beer and artisan meats and cheeses stood in stark contrast to the Wawas and Irish pubs the area was accustomed to. Now, that era is a distant memory as Ardmore blossoms as a culinary destination on the Main Line.

    Ardmore “went from zero to 60 really quickly in terms” of dining and entertainment options, said Broillet. He added that Tired Hands was a catalyst for that progress.

    In 2015, Broillet and his business partner and wife Julie Foster opened the Fermentaria at 35 Cricket Terrace, just blocks from Tired Hands’ first location at 16 Ardmore Ave.

    The Fermentaria was a major expansion for Tired Hands. It offered food options that extended beyond the BrewCafé‘s sandwich-and-salad-based menu, like steak frites and baby back ribs. It also quadrupled Tired Hands’ production capacity. At the BrewCafé, Tired Hands’ brewers were able to produce 1,000 barrels of beer annually. At the time of its opening, Broillet anticipated the Fermentaria would increase production to 4,000 barrels per year.

    Tired Hands opened St. Oner’s, a Fishtown restaurant and brewpub, in 2020.

    In the years that followed, Tired Hands opened the seasonal Biergarten in Mount Airy, the Kennett Square taproom, and the Beer Park in Newtown Square.

    In 2021, Broillet stepped down from daily operations after allegations of sexism and racism at Tired Hands proliferated on social media, including claims that women were held to different standards than their male counterparts and employees were berated or publicly humiliated for mistakes. Broillet returned to his post at the helm of Tired Hands a year later.

    Broillet said that “lots of valuable lessons, worldly lessons, were learned during that process” and that Tired Hands is doing everything it can to “prevent that from ever happening again.”

    Ardmore Brewing Co., located at 16 Ardmore Ave. in Ardmore, Pa. Owner Tired Hands Brewing Company has transitioned the brewery into a private events space for the time being.

    Changes in Ardmore, closure in Kennett Square

    While opening a second Ardmore outpost helped grow Tired Hands’ footprint on the Main Line, having “two of the same company” also made things “pretty confusing for people,” Broillet said.

    In efforts to iron out the confusion, Tired Hands rebranded its BrewCafé last spring, renaming it the Ardmore Brewing Company, upgrading its interior, and adding more food and cocktail options while cutting down its beer list.

    “The confusion was still there,” Broillet said.

    Broillet also brought on a culinary team that had extensive experience with private events. They began to host a handful of events at the brewery — retirement parties, birthdays, etc. — which were a success.

    At the same time, major construction had created a “prohibitive environment for us to do business here on Ardmore Avenue,” Broillet said. Construction on the mixed-use Piazza project and Ardmore Avenue Community Center are ongoing, both of which are proximate to Ardmore Avenue and the businesses that operate there.

    The brewery shifted to exclusively hosting private events in the last few months, a decision Broillet said he “couldn’t be happier” with.

    The brewery owner said the Ardmore Avenue location will be open to the public again in the future, but did not specify in what form.

    The taproom and bottle shop in Kennett Square will not reopen.

    Broillet said he opened a Tired Hands outpost in Kennett Square, in part, to have a presence near his family members who lived there. Though it was a “fun” chapter, Broillet said it no longer made sense to operate in Kennett Square, where Tired Hands already has a strong network of distributors that can get their beers into people’s hands without making them trek to the bottle shop.

    What comes next?

    Broillet offered assurances that Ardmore Brewing Company will open up to the public again, but said the specifics aren’t clear yet. Tired Hands also plans on expanding its Mount Airy footprint with a permanent restaurant space.

    For brewers across the country, the specter of people drinking less alcohol looms large. Sales of craft beer fell 4% in 2024, and there were more brewery closings than openings in late 2024 and early 2025, the first time in 20 years such a phenomenon had occurred. Brewerytown’s Crime & Punishment Brewing shuttered last April, with its owners citing a shifting culture around alcohol among the reasons for its closure. Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, a Philly-area craft brewing pioneer, abruptly shuttered all of its locations in September.

    Broillet said that while the changing dynamics of the industry remain on his mind, Tired Hands was not “acutely a victim of that downturn.” Sales had been down slightly over the past few years, but Broillet attributes that more to having two locations in Ardmore than to the state of the industry. He’s bullish about Tired Hands’ ability to distinguish itself and sees excitement in the changes.

    “Those sentiments have a way of just propelling you forward,” Broillet said.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • Mae Laster, longtime French and algebra schoolteacher and noted civic activist, has died at 87

    Mae Laster, longtime French and algebra schoolteacher and noted civic activist, has died at 87

    Mae Laster, 87, of Philadelphia, retired French, algebra, and photography teacher for the School District of Philadelphia, longtime president of Friends of Wynnefield Library, award-winning committee chair for the Philadelphia section of the National Council of Negro Women Inc., community center adviser, church trustee, volunteer, and undisputed Laster family Scrabble champion, died Friday, Jan. 2, of age-associated decline at Lankenau Medical Center.

    Born in Philadelphia, Ms. Laster earned academic degrees at West Philadelphia High School and Temple University. She was a lifelong reader and stellar student, and she tutored her high school classmates in math and later taught elementary and middle school students for 30 years.

    “She was a firm and no-nonsense kind of teacher,” a former student said in an online tribute. “But she was a lot of fun. As an adult, she always offered guidance and advice.”

    Her daughter, Lorna Laster Jackson, said: “She had a passion for learning and sharing with others. She was always an advocate for children.”

    Ms. Laster chaired community service and Founder’s Day committees for the National Council of Negro Women Inc.

    Ms. Laster served as president of Friends of Wynnefield Library for more than 20 years and was active at its many book readings, content discussions, concerts, and fundraisers. She earned several important financial grants for the library, and her personal collection of books at home numbered more than 1,000.

    “She loved reading to our young patrons, especially during our Dr. Seuss birthday celebrations,” library colleagues said in a tribute.

    She chaired community service and Founder’s Day celebration committees for the National Council of Negro Women and earned the local section’s achievement award in 1998. “Mae was a blessing to the Philadelphia section,” colleagues said in a tribute. “We will always remember her feisty way of asking questions and not easily put off.”

    Ms. Laster was an advisory board member at the Leon H. Sullivan Community Development Center and a trustee at Zion Baptist Church. Colleagues at the community center called her “a very thoughtful and talented person.” They said: “She was always forthright and had a strong opinion.”

    Ms. Laster (center) especially enjoyed reading to young people at the Wynnefield Library.

    At church, she was a member of the New Day Bible Class and proofreader for the newsletter. She also volunteered with the Wynnefield Residents Association, the Girl Scouts, and the 4-H Club.

    In a citation, City Council members praised her achievements regarding “education, community service, and all those whose lives were enriched by her wisdom, kindness, and unwavering faith.” In a resolution, members of the state Senate noted “her extraordinary life, her enduring contributions, and her lasting impact on education, community, and faith.”

    Friends said in online tributes that she “had a great sense of humor” and was “the sweetest mom on the planet, who was always like a mom to me.” One friend called her “a community-minded leader who advocated tirelessly to preserve the quality of life in Wynnefield.”

    At home, Ms. Laster studied the dictionary, knew words that nobody else did, and became the undisputed Scrabble champion of her family and friends. She was so good, her daughter said, that nobody volunteered to play against her. “It was humiliating,” her daughter said.

    Ms. Laster was a lifelong advocate for children.

    Mae R. Johnson was born June 5, 1938, in Philadelphia. She grew up in Winston-Salem, N.C., with her grandmother and returned to Philadelphia in the 1950s to live with her mother and begin high school.

    She was an excellent student, especially good with words and numbers, and she graduated from West Philadelphia High in 1956 and earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education at Temple.

    She met Francis Laster in the neighborhood, and they married, and had a daughter, Lorna, and sons Francis Jr., Charles, and Ahman. Her husband owned and operated the popular Rainbow Seafood Market, and they lived in West Philadelphia and Wynnefield. They divorced later. He died in 2020.

    Ms. Laster enjoyed bowling, photography, and horticulture. She listened to jazz, classical, and gospel music. She collected butterflies and stamps.

    Ms. Laster was “all about positive change,” her daughter said.

    She shared recipes with friends and kept in touch through memorable phone calls. She helped organize high school reunions and appreciated the educational TV shows on the Public Broadcasting System. She retired from teaching about 20 years ago.

    “She was all about positive change,” her daughter said. “She spoke from compassion and her truth. She did more good than she knew. She was dynamite.”

    In addition to her children, Ms. Laster is survived by six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, three great-great-grandchildren, a sister, and other relatives. A brother died earlier.

    A celebration of her life was held earlier.

    Donations in her name may be made to Friends of Wynnefield Library, Attn: Terri Jones, 5325 Overbrook Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19131.

    Ms. Laster graduated from West Philadelphia High School in 1956 and earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education at Temple.
  • Philly-area lawmakers applaud Supreme Court striking down Trump’s tariffs as area businesses brace for uncertainty on refunds

    Philly-area lawmakers applaud Supreme Court striking down Trump’s tariffs as area businesses brace for uncertainty on refunds

    Pennsylvania lawmakers say Congress should reclaim its power over taxes and tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court quashed President Donald Trump’s controversial global tariffs.

    The nation’s high court ruled 6-3 Friday that Trump overstepped with tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, dealing a significant blow to the president’s economic agenda and reasserting congressional authority.

    Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — both Trump nominees — joined liberal justices in the majority. Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented.

    Trump told reporters at the White House Friday that he was “ashamed” of the three Republican-appointed justices for not having “the courage to do what’s right for our country.”

    But local lawmakers celebrated the decision as a step toward alleviating inflation exacerbated by Trump’s tariffs.

    It’s “​​the first piece of good news that American consumers have gotten in a very long time,” said U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Philadelphia), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee.

    The decision is unlikely to be the end of the road for Trump’s efforts to impose tariffs. The court struck down the broad authority Trump had claimed to impose sweeping tariffs, but he could still impose additional import and export taxes using powers he employed in his first term.

    Friday’s decision centers on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, including the “reciprocal” tariffs he waged on other countries, The Associated Press reported.

    What’s next

    It remains unclear what will happen to tariff revenue that’s already been collected — about $30 billion a month since Trump took office last year, NPR reported. But Pennsylvania lawmakers are pushing for Congress to reassert its power to control the country’s purse strings.

    “As the Supreme Court validated this morning, Congress has the authority to levy taxes and tariffs,” Boyle said. “It’s time now for us to finally reclaim that authority and bring some certainty and rationality to our tariff policy, which under Donald Trump has been all over the map and changes day by day, even hour by hour.”

    Casey-Lee Waldron, a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks), said in a statement Friday that the lawmaker “applauds” the high court’s decision, “which validates the Congressman’s opposition to blanket and indiscriminate tariffs that are not narrowly tailored, and that do not lower costs for the American consumer.”

    Waldron added that Fitzpatrick supports enforcing trade laws, but “this should always be done in a collaborative manner with a bipartisan, bicameral majority in Congress.”

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and N.J. Gov. Mikie Sherrill, both Democrats, celebrated the decision Friday in statements that noted the challenges the tariffs had caused for local economies.

    Speaking to reporters at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, Shapiro said tariffs had done real harm to Pennsylvanians, citing rising prices for farmers and for consumer goods.

    “There is a direct line connecting those price increases to the president pushing the tariff button,” Shapiro said. “I think the Supreme Court got it right, and I say that as a former attorney general, and I say that as someone who actually follows the law.”

    U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.), however, came to the defense of Trump’s tariff policies, saying in a statement that he believes Trump “was using legitimate emergency authorities very effectively to protect our national security and achieve fair trade for U.S. companies and American workers.”

    McCormick, a former Treasury official and former hedge fund executive, said he was disappointed with the court’s ruling and called to find other ways to accomplish Trump’s economic and national security goals, which include preventing “foreign competitors from cheating Pennsylvania workers.”

    Shockwaves in Philly and beyond

    Trump enacted the sweeping tariffs early last year, arguing that the move would incentivize companies to bring operations back to the United States and even trade deficits with other countries.

    The move, however, sent shock waves through the U.S. economy as prices increased and U.S. exports, including Pennsylvania’s lumber sales, suffered.

    Tariffs slowed business at the Port of Philadelphia, which reported cargo volume down across the board.

    Philly is a major gateway for produce, bringing in more fresh fruit than any other U.S. port, largely from Central and South America. The port saw record container volume last year, handling almost 900,000 units, up 6% over 2024. About two-thirds of that cargo was refrigerated — fruit and meat, for example.

    But this year got off to a slow start. “The story is increased competition and tariffs,” Sean Mahoney, marketing director at the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PhilaPort), said during the agency’s board meeting on Wednesday.

    Leo Holt, president of the city’s primary terminal operator Holt Logistics, hopes companies that see savings would pass them on to consumers. In practice, he acknowledged many would likely take a conservative approach.

    “I think consumers are going to demand that at least there’s an accounting for what they’re paying,” Holt said Friday.

    U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) said in a statement that he knows many Republican colleagues of his “are privately breathing sighs of relief this morning at the court’s decision.”

    “They should instead be asking themselves why they didn’t use their legislative authority to do more to stop these tariffs when they had the chance — and what they’ll do differently next time when President Trump inevitably tries again,” Coons said.

    ‘Nobody is going to rush to drop their prices’

    The Supreme Court’s ruling will be welcome news for some businesses, but it also sparks uncertainty.

    Not all of Trump’s tariff increases came through the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and therefore some will remain in place, said Julie Park, a partner at London-based tax and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.

    “This decision brings further uncertainty for businesses,” she said in a statement. That’s in part because Trump could seek to reimpose tariffs through other legal tools, leaving “businesses in limbo about if they will get refunded.”

    U.S. exporters will also be closely following what happens next, since the fate of Trump’s tariffs will likely determine whether other countries, like Canada, keep their retaliatory measures in place. Canada is Pennsylvania’s biggest export market, with the state sending more than $14 billion in goods there in 2024. Top exports included machinery, cocoa, iron, and steel.

    Pennsylvania’s dairy industry has also been caught in the middle of the global trade war, as China and Canada imposed extra taxes on those goods in response to U.S. tariffs.

    It’s also unclear whether companies will receive refunds for the tariffs they’ve paid in the past year.

    Tim Avanzato, vice president of international sales at Lanca Sales Inc, said his New Jersey-based import-export company should be eligible for as much as $4 million in tariff refunds.

    “It’s going to create a paperwork nightmare for importers,” he said, noting that he doesn’t expect the Trump administration to make it easy to retrieve this money.

    Avanzato said he is also watching for ways the administration may implement new tariffs. Consumers, he said, shouldn’t expect changes in the immediate term.

    “Companies are not very good at passing on savings,” Avanzato said. “Nobody is going to rush to drop their prices.”

    Sen. Andy Kim (D., N.J.) said Trump cost Americans “a lot of money.”

    “Trump 2.0: You pay for his tariffs, tax breaks for his billionaire donors, & insane corruption for his friends and family,” the South Jersey Democrat added in a social media post.

    The Supreme Court’s decision is “a step” in righting wrongs by the Trump administration, he said, but there’s “so much more to go.”

    Staff Writers Katie Bernard, Max Marin, Aliya Schneider and Rob Tornoe and The Associated Press contributed to this article.

  • Haverford president is considering convening committee to review Howard Lutnick’s name on campus library

    Haverford president is considering convening committee to review Howard Lutnick’s name on campus library

    Haverford College president Wendy Raymond is considering convening a committee that would review whether mega donor and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s name should remain on the campus library.

    Raymond’s statement to the campus community this week follows concerns expressed by Haverford students and alumni about Lutnick’s ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She noted “a growing number of Fords have written to express their dismay.”

    “While forming a naming review committee does not predetermine any outcome, it is a serious step and not something I would take lightly,” Raymond wrote to the campus. “I will take the time necessary to continue to reflect and to engage with thought partners before determining whether to activate a review committee.”

    Howard Lutnick’s name is on the library at Haverford College. Will that change after his appearance in the Epstein files?

    Under Haverford’s gift policy, the school can rename a building if “the continued use of the name may be deemed detrimental to the college, or if circumstances change regarding the reason for the naming.” If Raymond convenes a committee, she would then consider its recommendations and make her recommendation to the external affairs committee of the board of managers, as well as to its chair and vice chair. The external affairs committee then would make its recommendation to the full board of managers.

    Lutnick, a 1983 graduate and former chair of the college’s board of managers, is one of the school’s biggest donors, having given $65 million. Documents released by the U.S. Justice Department this month show that Lutnick had contact with the late financier as recently as 2018, long after Epstein pleaded guilty to obtaining a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.

    Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledges meetings with Epstein that contradict previous claims

    And during congressional testimony last week, he said he visited Epstein’s private island with his family in 2012. Lutnick previously said he had not been in a room with Epstein, whom he found “disgusting,” since 2005.

    The outside of the Lutnick Library at Haverford College.

    Raymond’s announcement comes one day after students held a town hall to discuss their concerns and feelings about Lutnick‘s ties to Epstein.

    Students who organized the town hall said Raymond’s communications about Lutnick have fallen short. They said they had hoped at least to see a review committee started.

    “Many students, including myself, are deeply disappointed and, in many cases, hurt by the neutral and softened language in these communications,” senior English major Paeton Smith-Hiebert wrote to Raymond.

    Smith-Hiebert is co-founder of the Haverford Survivor Collective, which started in 2023 and is led by Haverford students and survivors of sexual assault. She said while Raymond notes she is having conversations about the topic, the collective hasn’t been consulted.

    “Given the gravity of this situation, survivors are among those most directly affected,” she wrote. “Many are feeling significant harm and institutional betrayal … While I understand there are many stakeholders to consult, it is difficult to reconcile the stated commitment to engagement with the apparent absence of those most impacted.”

    Raymond’s message, she said, also should have included a reference to resources or support for survivors who are struggling, she said.

    Between 50 and 100 students attended the nearly two-hour town hall, several attendees said, with no students speaking in favor of keeping Lutnick’s name on the building. Students introduced an open letter with demands that has since been signed by 235 students, staff, and alumni as of 8:30 a.m. Friday, said Smith-Hiebert. The letter calls on the college to immediately convene a review committee, rename the library, acknowledge the distress and harm members of the community are experiencing, and “adopt a clear and unambiguous morals clause” in the gift policy.

    Students also discussed the possibility of protest actions to urge the college to act as soon as possible.

    The issue of Lutnick’s name on the library is likely to come up at a plenary session, where students discuss and vote on important campus issues. That session is scheduled for March 29.

    If the students were to pass a resolution calling for the removal of Lutnick’s name from the library, it would go to Raymond for signing.

    Milja Dann, 19, a sophomore psychology major from Woodbury, N.J., said she went through all of the Epstein files that mention Lutnick and Epstein and saw references to at least seven planned in-person encounters. Students compiled a 10-page document on the Lutnick-related material in the files.

    “I feel it is extremely difficult for survivors of sexual violence to see that name and know it is so closely associated with a man who has perpetuated violence and harm to so many people,” Dann said.

    A Commerce Department spokesperson told the Associated Press last month that Lutnick had had “limited interactions” with Epstein, with his wife in attendance, and had not been accused of “wrongdoing.” Lutnick told lawmakers last week: “I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with him.”

    Some students at the town hall talked about the difficulty of going in the library, which is the heart of the academic campus.

    “For me, walking into that space has been uncomfortable for a while,” Smith-Hiebert said, referring to when Lutnick was named President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary. “That discomfort has only intensified given this news.”

    Lutnick, formerly chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., a New York City financial firm that lost hundreds of employees in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, served on Haverford’s board for 21 years.

    In addition to the library, which also bears his wife Allison’s name, the indoor tennis and track center is named for his brother Gary Lutnick, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee who was killed on 9/11, and the fine arts building carries the name of his mother, Jane Lutnick, a painter. He also funded the college’s Cantor Fitzgerald Art Gallery.

    Students discussed whether removing Lutnick’s name from the library would be enough or if other references should come down, too, said Cade Fanning, the associate editor of the Clerk, Haverford’s student newspaper, who attended the meeting.

    “That had the most split opinions,” said Fanning, 21, a senior history major from Annapolis.

    But people were concerned that seeing the Lutnick name on anything, even if it was a relative, would be difficult for survivors, Fanning said. And the relatives’ names still signify Lutnick’s “imprint” on the college, he said.

    Students also discussed that while they want his name off the library, the college should install a plaque explaining the history, rather than erasing it, Smith-Hiebert said.

  • Reese’s grandson accuses Hershey of degrading chocolate, making it ‘not edible.’ Is he right?

    Reese’s grandson accuses Hershey of degrading chocolate, making it ‘not edible.’ Is he right?

    The grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups went viral after penning an open letter to Pennsylvania’s Hershey Company on Feb. 14. But it was far from a valentine.

    Brad Reese, 70, accused the confectionery manufacturer of hurting the brand his grandfather H.B. Reese began a century ago, cutting corners with its chocolate quality. Within the week, Reese’s post has sparked discussions about brand integrity, ingredients, and legacy.

    In a LinkedIn post, Reese said Hershey’s assortment of Reese’s products (including the valentine heart-shaped ones he had recently sampled) include different, cheaper ingredients, swapping milk chocolate for compound coatings and peanut butter for peanut butter créme.

    “How does The Hershey Co. continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality, and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients (Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter) that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” Reese wrote.

    Reese isn’t wrong. Several Reese’s products today — including the valentine’s hearts and the Easter egg-shaped versions — use chocolate-flavored coatings that cannot be legally called “milk chocolate,” a term that’s regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. It’s unclear exactly when the swaps occurred.

    The flagship Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups continue to list milk chocolate and peanuts as the first two ingredients.

    Still, the product line’s variance represents a shift across the candy industry as cocoa prices continue to rise, driven by a combination of factors, including climate-sparked changes in supply, tariffs, and labor shortages, the New York Times reports. Chocolate companies, including Hershey’s, have responded by making cost-effective ingredient swaps. The Times reported that several chocolate-forward Hershey’s candies no longer listed milk chocolate among their ingredients during last Halloween season.

    Hershey doesn’t deny the swaps, but is defending its quality.

    The company said in a statement Wednesday that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made the same way they’ve always been, with house-made milk chocolate and roasted peanuts, but that ingredients for some other Reese’s products can vary based on demand.

    “As we’ve grown and expanded the Reese’s product line, we make product recipe adjustments that allow us to make new shapes, sizes, and innovations that Reese’s fans have come to love and ask for, while always protecting the essence of what makes Reese’s unique and special: the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter,” the company said.

    A package of Reese’s Hearts is shown on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)

    A government database last updated in 2023 shows changes to the ratio of peanuts and milk chocolate used in Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs over the years. Three years ago, the egg chocolates had more peanuts and milk chocolate than anything else. But the current formula lists sugar and vegetable oil first — and no milk chocolate.

    Reese said he thinks Hershey has gone too far this time.

    He picked up a bag of Reese’s Mini Hearts for Valentine’s Day, but threw them away after sampling.

    “It was not edible,” Reese told The Associated Press. “You have to understand. I used to eat a Reese’s product every day. This is very devastating for me.”

    Reese’s grandfather, H.B. Reese, spent two years at Hershey before leaving to form his own company, H.B. Reese Candy Co. in 1919. The company manufactured about 12 types of chocolate, made with ingredients that included real cocoa butter, fresh cream, and freshly roasted peanuts.

    He invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in 1928. They were a hit and had wrappers included the slogan: “Made in Chocolate Town, so they must be good.” H.B. Reese died in 1956. His six sons eventually sold his company to Hershey in 1963.

    Now, Reese is waging war.

    He redesigned his personal website to take on Hershey’s ingredient swaps. The lead photo on the homepage shows an orange cap with the phrase “MAKE REESE’S GREAT AGAIN” stitched on the front. He says the website is devoted to “protecting Reese’s brand integrity.” It includes a list of news coverage his LinkedIn call-out has received to date.

    “Right now, the REESE’S story is diverging from what’s inside REESE’S products. And that divergence puts REESE’S and the legacy behind it, at risk,” Reese said on LinkedIn. “As the grandson of the man who created REESE’S Peanut Butter Cups, I’m not asking for nostalgia. I’m asking for alignment. For truth in REESE’S brand stewardship.”

  • A Willow Grove man who used insider info to make $617,000 trading stocks was sentenced to two years in prison

    A Willow Grove man who used insider info to make $617,000 trading stocks was sentenced to two years in prison

    A Willow Grove man who made more than $600,000 by trading stocks based on confidential information his then-girlfriend gave him about an impending corporate acquisition was sentenced Friday to two years in federal prison.

    Carlos Sacanell, 59, apologized for his actions before U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone, saying he’d made a “terrible decision” and had “profound regret” for what he did.

    “This action does not represent who I am,” said Sacanell, who pleaded guilty last year to one count of securities fraud.

    Sacanell’s crimes occurred in 2023, prosecutors said, when his longtime partner told him that her company, the Chicago-based Oak Street Health Inc., was about to be acquired by CVS Health.

    The next day, prosecutors said, Sacanell — without his girlfriend’s knowledge — bought hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Oak Street stocks and call options.

    Sacanell adjusted his purchases over the next few weeks as his girlfriend continued sharing occasional insights about whether or not the deal might go through, prosecutors said. The woman was not aware that he was trading on the information she gave him, prosecutors said, but when the acquisition ultimately closed, Sacanell netted about $617,000.

    In April 2023, prosecutors said, the FBI confronted Sacanell — who worked as a scientist — about what they viewed as his suspicious trades, but he denied that he had any insider information about Oak Street or the deal.

    Sacanell was indicted in late 2024. His relationship with his then-girlfriend has since ended, his lawyer said, and he is now expected to report to prison in about two months.

    He is also expected to be deported once his term of incarceration ends, his lawyer said. Sacanell was born and raised in Spain before becoming a lawful permanent resident of the United States, but will now likely be deported due to his conviction.

    Sacanell said he had already repaid about $300,000 worth of his illicit proceeds, and vowed that he would not commit any similar infractions in the future.

    “I regret it every day of my life,” Sacanell said.