Ardmore's Fall Openings Are Arriving in Stages: What's Open Now, and What Lands Before the Holiday Market
"We like the idea of going into the downtown areas and being a nice hangout spot, welcoming people to our table," Andrea Folino told PennLive in January, when her family's winery was talking about expansion. Eight months later, that downtown turned out to be Ardmore's Cricket Avenue.
This fall, Ardmore's announced openings are moving at two speeds. Restaurants from families with years of Main Line and regional experience are opening on schedule or close to it. The retail, fitness and service storefronts announced over the same weeks are still behind brown paper and Coming Soon signs, and several have pushed their dates back. If you walk Lancaster Avenue often, that split explains why the block feels busier at dinner than it does at 10 a.m.
Vintner's Table opened at 24 Cricket Ave. on Sept. 28, according to the Radnor-Haverford Herald. It is the Folino family's third Pennsylvania location, after Phoenixville and Wyomissing. Every wine on the list comes from the family's own vineyard, Folino Estate in Kutztown. That vineyard now has more than 23,000 vines across 14 acres, and the Pennsylvania Wine Invitational named Folino Estate Pennsylvania Winery of the Year.
The format grew out of a small salumeria near Lake Como that Andrea and Marco Folino found on their honeymoon, one that served cured meats, cheeses, honey and olives with wine. The Ardmore space has a main dining room plus a mezzanine that can be booked for private gatherings. The restaurant opened with limited reservations so staff could settle in, which is worth knowing before you show up on a Friday expecting a table.
Hours posted on the Vintner's Table Ardmore page are:
Those early closing times make it an afternoon or early-dinner stop more than a late-night one. A Saturday brunch there and a walk down to Lancaster Avenue now fit together easily.
The second restaurant on this fall's list is due next month, and it has the longest Ardmore history of anything coming soon. WIN Hospitality's Blue Elephant, an Italian-Thai restaurant with Japanese influences, is expected to open in November at 64–66 E. Lancaster Ave. It will take over part of the Mikado Thai Pepper space, Patch reported on Oct. 13. No exact opening date had been announced.
That address is where the restaurant group began. Sutida Somboonsong opened Thai Pepper in Ardmore in 1991, and she and her husband, Win, opened Mikado next door in 1999. They later took down the walls between the two restaurants. From that Lancaster Avenue base, the group grew to include Teikoku in Newtown Square, Azie in Media, and Maison Lotus and Jade Rabbit in Wayne.
Pearl Somboonsong Murphy, the founders' daughter, developed the Blue Elephant concept. She now runs WIN Hospitality with her brother, Paul Somboonsong. The first Blue Elephant opened in Pottstown in 2018, and a second followed in Wayne. The menu mixes sushi rolls with pasta in Thai seasonings, such as miso butter gnocchi. The Philadelphia Business Journal first reported the Ardmore plan.
So both fall restaurants come from operators who have done this before. Vintner's Table already runs two other locations, and WIN Hospitality is opening a third Blue Elephant at the same address it has run since 1991. The storefronts announced alongside them are a different story.
Patch's September roundup of Ardmore businesses coming soon and the Lower Merion Times' report on Suburban Square named several retail, wellness and service openings for this fall. Here is where each one stood on its own channels in mid-October:
| Business | Address | What it is | Earlier stated timing | Latest public status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arhaus | 71 St. James Place, Suburban Square | Home furnishings and décor | Fall 2026 | Still listed as Coming Soon |
| Calm & Strong Pilates and Yoga | 46 Rittenhouse Place | Yoga and mat Pilates studio | September 2026 | Site says to join in December 2026 |
| Pure Green | 56 E. Lancaster Ave. | Juice, smoothie and acai bowls | "Next year," per a July report | Phone and hours still marked Coming Soon |
| VEG ER for Pets | W. Lancaster Ave. | 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital | No date given | Location page says Coming Soon |
| Solis Mammography | 171 W. Lancaster Ave. | Breast imaging | No date given | Listed as coming soon in September |
Calm & Strong shows the slip most clearly. In early September, Patch expected the Rittenhouse Place studio to open that month. Its own website now says construction is underway and tells members to "Get Ready to Join in December 2026." Arhaus was reported in September as planning a fall 2026 opening at Suburban Square with no exact date. The center's listing for the store still reads Coming Soon.
Pure Green is sending mixed signals. Its Ardmore page promotes ordering from the store while listing its phone number and hours as Coming Soon. In July, The Philadelphia Inquirer gave its timing as next year.
The emergency vet matters most to pet owners on the west end of the avenue. VEG's Ardmore location page says the hospital "will soon be open," with no date. VEG lists the address as 161 W. Lancaster Ave., while Patch reported it as 167, so check the company's page before you rely on it in an urgent moment.
One food business sits between the two groups. Taco Heart, a Texas-style breakfast-taco shop, was set to open on Oct. 5 inside the Ardmore Farmers Market at 120 Coulter Ave., The Inquirer reported in August, and MONTCO.Today carried the same date. Suburban Square's farmers market vendor directory does not yet list it among the named vendors, so ask at the market before planning a breakfast around it.
With half the list still unopened, the dated calendar in downtown Ardmore runs through Ardmore Music Hall. Its current event listing has multi-night runs nearly every few weeks:
The Disco Biscuits' six December nights are the longest run on the list. Show dates can change, so check the venue's page before buying dinner reservations around one.
Two of those dates line up with the restaurant timeline. Eggy plays the first full weekend of November, the month Blue Elephant is expected to open. Daniel Donato's run overlaps Saturday, Dec. 5, the same day as the Ardmore Holiday Market.
The Downtown Ardmore District lists the Ardmore Holiday Market for Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the corner of Cricket Avenue and Lancaster Avenue. More than 20 craft vendors and live music are planned. It is the only dated holiday event on the district's 2026 calendar so far.
That corner is a short walk from 24 Cricket Ave., where Vintner's Table starts weekend brunch at 11 a.m., the hour the market opens. Dec. 5 also falls inside Calm & Strong's stated December start and after Blue Elephant's expected November opening on East Lancaster Avenue. Whether Arhaus, Pure Green and VEG ER for Pets have taken down their Coming Soon signs by then is the next thing to check on the avenue.
If you are weighing how the new tenants on Cricket and Lancaster Avenues fit your own plans for your Ardmore home, Collin Whelan and The Two Cols follow these storefronts as closely as the listings. Schedule a Consultation.
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