Home Care In Bristol, PA

Talking about the fresh energy flowing through the commercial heart of his formerly faded hometown, Bill Pezza prefers to use the word renaissance — because revival “makes it sound like we were on life support.”

Even if not near death, downtown Bristol Borough in Lower Bucks County certainly was bottoming out in 2000.

“We had over 50% [storefront] vacancies on Mill Street,” borough council president Ralph DiGuiseppe said.

“It was a dead main street that might as well have had tumbleweeds on it,” said Pezza’s son Greg.

Greg and his wife, Dana, own the ITRI Wood Fired restaurant and bar as well as The Forager, a specialty cheese shop downtown. These days, business is so good that she’ll be moving the cheese shop across Mill into a recently vacated space — one of three downtown.

The place now known as Bristol Borough was established as a Delaware River port on what had been Lenape land in 1681. The borough became a thriving center of shipbuilding and manufacturing but began to wither as suburbs bloomed after World War II.

Population peaked at just over 12,000 in 1950 and is now just under 10,000. Major industries like the Grundy Mill, which produced fine woolen and worsted fabrics, have long since closed or moved away.

“There was such a slow and gradual decline that it got away from everybody,” DiGuiseppe said. “But we started cracking down on absentee landlords to fix up their properties. We built new municipal facilities, renovated others, built roads, and upgraded parks.”

After a 16-year-effort, a pair of 250-foot docks opened on the Delaware at the foot of Mill Street in 2017. The $3 million project was built with a combination of federal, state, and county money, along with a contribution from the Grundy Foundation, which provides capital and operating grants to nonprofits in Bucks County.

“We were getting our mojo going again,” said Bill Pezza, who’s the president of a nonprofit, Raising the Bar, which promotes events and raises money for improvements downtown.

In 2016, Pezza and others in Bristol spotted a Facebook post advertising a national Small Business Revolution contest.

“They wanted to give $500,000 ‘to one small town in America,’” he said.

» READ MORE: Small town, big prize: Bristol wins $500K for downtown makeover

Sponsored by the Deluxe Corp., a Minnesota-based business services company whose founder invented the checkbook, the nationwide Small Business Revolution contest ran from 2016 to 2022 and judged competitors in part by the depth and breadth of local support.

“The town was mobilized, organized, and motivated,” Pezza said. “We had a campaign called ‘Pick Us,’ We had a pep rally.”

After Bristol won the contest, Deluxe dispatched a team of marketing and other experts to assist six small businesses in the borough.

The company also provided $500,000 to install a waterfront sound system for events, two information kiosks for the center of town, and poles and other infrastructure for display banners across Mill Street.

Miguel Velez said the expertise and other assistance provided by the Deluxe team enabled him to move his Market Street shop to larger quarters — and grow his clientele.

“Deluxe gave the town and me a spotlight that drew attention,” said Velez, 44, a lifelong borough resident who started cutting hair in 1999.

“When I opened my first shop 13 years ago, there wasn’t much going on downtown. It was pretty much the King George II Inn, a couple of pizza shops, and the jewelry store,” he said. “Now we’ve got restaurants and breweries and boutiques.”

The sisters Rosemarie Mignoni-Szczucki and Carol Fergusongrew up in and continue to operate the jewelry store their father founded in 1947. Mignoni Jewelry is an anchor in Bristol’s downtown.

They remember the center of the borough on Friday evenings, when mill workers went to the banks to cash paychecks and then shop, eat, or see a movie. The Grand Theater closed in 1960 and is now the Discover, Learn and Grow childcare and education service — which wasone of the businesses selected for technical and other assistance from the Deluxe team.

Ferguson said the first major change for the better downtown came about in the 1980s, when what had been a conventional movie house at the top of Radcliffe Street finally closed after nearly 20 years of showing X-rated films. It was replaced by the Bristol Riverside Theatre, now in its 37th season of presenting live entertainment.

“The Bristol Riverside brings thousands of people downtown,” she said.

Pezza, who’s 71 and moved to Bristol Borough from New York City at age 5, said small, locally owned, family-run businesses like Mignoni’s continue to be the backbone of downtown’s economy.

Unlike many older communities that plunged into ambitious “urban renewal” programs when customers and residents started to head for the suburban frontier, Bristol Borough still has most of its pre-war commercial streetscapes. Downtown is intact, compact, and walkable, encompassing about 11 blocks, eight of them on Mill and Market Streets, and offering views of a scenic stretch of the river.

The borough is served by SEPTA Regional Rail and the nearby Burlington-Bristol Bridge, which opened in 1931 and connects Bristol (township and borough) to Burlington City, N.J.

And while vacancies are few, relatively small storefronts can be affordable for start-up businesses.

Sisters Jordan and Andie DeChirico, who are 25, opened Terra Cotta Green Market Co. and began serving vegan and vegetarian fare on the 200 block of Mill Street five months ago.

“We looked at Yardley and Newtown and Washington Crossing, but none of them were as friendly and welcoming as Bristol,” Andie DeChirico said. “We had heard about all the great events Bristol has, and that also drew us in.”

With a distillery, brewery, wine-tasting room, and new dining options — and a waterfront — Bristol is becoming something of a bar scene.

Promotions such as “five bars within 700 steps” help set the tone, as do places such as Hops & Hardware Distillery.

“We’re one of the oldest towns in Bucks County, and now we’re the coolest,” said Denise Mitchell, who along with business partner, Charles Costello, owns the two-year-old establishment.

Karla Sloan, who owns the Bristol Antiques Market and is the chair of Raising the Bar, welcomes the new food-and-drink businesses, as well as stores such as Bristol Books & Bindery.

“I would like to see more retail,” she said. “Especially clothing.”

Meanwhile, according to Pezza, the transformation of a former bank building on the 200 block of Radcliffe into an eight-room boutique hotel is underway.

“Soon, when tourists come here looking for a place to stay, we won’t have to send them out of town,” he said.

And Greg and Dana Pezza said their speakeasy-style cocktail lounge Daddy Tom’s (named for his grandfather, a beloved Bristol physician) is adding an urban vibe to the blue-collar downtown.

“But we don’t want to lose the identity that is Bristol,” he said. “There’s always going to be a bit of grit to Bristol.”

As was true of the Bristol Stomp, a 1960s dance that once made the old river town famous.

There are a number of origin stories about the dance, which involved kids at local record hops floor-stomping en masse to certain beats of certain songs. The local craze inspired a national hit tune by the Philadelphia doo-wop group the Dovells.

“We have the documentation,” Bill Pezza said. “It didn’t start in Bristol, Tenn., or Bristol, Conn.

“It started in Bristol.”

It looks like a busy pharmacy in Bucks County, Pa. will close its doors forever in the middle of September.

It looks like the Rite Aid store located on Commerce Circle in Bristol (Bucks County), Pa. will close its doors forever in a matter of days.

Store employees first told LevittownNow.com that the store would be closing "by September 16," and they've since told 94.5 PST and Townsquare Media the same thing.

We reached out to Rite Aid's corporate offices for an official comment, but have not heard back as of Tuesday evening.

Though, in light of recent headlines, we're not surprised about the closure.

It's unclear, by the way, what will happen to customers' prescriptions at the Bristol, Pa. Store. We've asked for further clarification as well. We'll update this article if we hear more.

UP NEXT: Walgreens Closing 150 Stores By 2024

The Bristol PA Rite Aid store, however, is not the only Rite Aid Pharmacy closing...

The news that the store in Bristol, Pa. is not a surprise.

In the company's Q1 earnings call for 2023, the company acknowledged that it had closed 25 stores, saying that more could close in the near future.

That has proven to be true. In recent weeks it looks like the company has been quietly closing stores across the nation.

We've seen reports in Easton, PA, East Haven, CT, Boise, ID, and more about stores closing.

It's unclear exactly how many Rite Aid stores have closed or will be closing in 2023.

Meanwhile, Rite Aid (which is headquartered in Philadelphia) is reportedly preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg in late August.

The company is reportedly trying to restructure more than $3 billion in debt. They are also hoping to address the lawsuits that allege the company filled hundreds of thousands of opioid prescriptions unlawfully, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Rite Aid will not publicly confirm nor deny the rumors of a possible bankruptcy.

“We do not comment on rumors or speculation," the company's spokesperson, Joy Errico, told USA Today last week.

BRISTOL, Pa. (CBS) -- Multiple homes in Bristol Borough, Bucks County were damaged in a 3-alarm fire Tuesday morning.

The moment the fire happened, the community stepped right in. They donated money, clothes and food to help get the families back on their feet after losing everything.

"Thank god for neighbors for giving me clothes because I came out in my nightgown this morning that's all I had," Tammy Florio said.

Florio said she's left with nothing after her home and several others caught fire on Spruce Street in Bristol.

She said she was lying in bed when the smoke detectors went off and she ran downstairs and saw her couch on fire.

This is a look at the inside of her home:

"I am yelling for my son, he came down and he started running and we were throwing water on the fire trying to put the couch out and I ran upstairs to get my phone, dogs and called 911," Florio said.

Florio said she went banging on her neighbor's doors to make sure they escaped the flames.

The homes were boarded up Tuesday night and residents arrived to pick up donations from the community.

"A Conwell student who was helped by Conwell Egan and the football team they made sure they had everything they needed," a man said. "The rest of the families were taken care of from what we did from JD Mechanical, All Around Removal and In and Out Detailing."

In good times and bad, the community continues to show up for one another.

"This is a best community it really is," a woman said.

"Everyone knows each other so everyone tries to help out one another," a man said.

And it means so much to those affected.

"It's amazing the way everyone is pulling through and the way everyone has been here for everyone else, not just me, but all the families that were affected," Florio said.

Florio and the other families are trying to figure out where to go from here.

The community is still working on ways for more donations.

Kerri Corrado

Kerri Corrado joined CBS News Philadelphia Eyewitness News as a reporter in July 2021.

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Bomba and salsa resonated through Mill Street on Saturday for Bucks County’s 50th annual Puerto Rican Day Festival.

Revelers from the Philadelphia region and New Jersey converged to celebrate Boricua pride through food, music, and dancing.

“The significance is to educate the people and preserve the values and all the gifts that we receive from our ancestors, like faith, hospitality, sharing,” said Maria Berrocal, Vice President of the Puerto Rican Cultural Association of Bucks County, the group that organizes the event every year.

Nereida McCulley-Breustedt, president of the Puerto Rican Cultural Association of Bucks County, said the festival is about instilling pride in the younger generations.

“What brings us here is unity, peace, being with each other, being with each other…dancing,” McCulley-Breustedt said. “Being Puerto Rican you have to know how to dance.”

Crowds lined up for empanadas, chicharrón, bacalaitos, fried plantains, grilled chicken skewers, and more. People were sporting t-shirts, dresses and hats adorned with the island’s flag and signature colors of red, blue and white.

Bristol Township resident Paul Rivera waved a large Puerto Rican flag above his head.

“Cause I’m Puerto Rican!” he shouted.

Philadelphia-resident Madeline Burgos, who grew up in Bristol, said she and her husband, Giovanni, attend the festival every year

“I just love that it’s a peaceful, friendly event, you see everybody from our heritage here,” she said. “You see other people, too, that appreciate our culture and want to learn about where we came from.”

Manuel Rosario from Allentown, Pennsylvania, was selling from his family’s food stall. Chefs Javier Fuentes and Hector Monclova were behind him roasting a pig and working the busy fryers.

“We try to push our culture for the young ones, show them how we used to do it back in the days… cooking outside,” Rosario said.

Trio Renacer, the Cintron Salsa Band, and Swing de Guille played traditional Latin music. Dancers entertained the crowd in the wharf’s center, while onlookers moved their hips in sync.

The Bucks County Genealogical Society had a booth for people wanting to trace their indigenous Boricuan roots.

Festival organizers awarded two scholarships to Bucks County high school seniors.

“We hope that they will continue teaching others about [our] legacy,” McCulley-Breustedt said.

UPDATED: 10:12 a.m., Tuesday: A fast-moving blaze damaged six rowhomes in Bristol Borough Tuesday morning, displacing as many as a dozen residents.

The fire was reported at 6:03 a.m. in the 600 block of Spruce Street in the borough. Thick black smoke from the fire was visible from Route 13 and I-95.

Firefighters from Bristol Borough and Bristol Township quickly arrived to find flames shooting from the homes. Additional alarms were struck within minutes.

“First arriving companies found heavy fire on all three floors. They went in service with hose lines. We eventually went to a second alarm and then to a third alarm,” Bristol Borough Fire Chief Herb Slack said.

The chief said the units all have connected space in the knee walls and that led to the fire quickly spreading through the row of homes.

“We were able to cut it off, and it took a lot of effort,” Slack said. “It’s manpower intensive to get into each one of those dwellings with a hose line and have people actually open up the ceilings and open up the walls to check for the fire.”

Slack wasn’t aware of any serious injuries.

It wasn’t clear as of 8 a.m. how many people were displaced, but residents said the number was at least a dozen.

Fire officials directed those impacted to a nearby church where Bristol Borough Emergency Management was set up. The American Red Cross of Eastern Pennsylvania was responding to assist.

Slack said the cause of the fire was being investigated by the Bucks County Fire Marshal’s Office.

The damage to the six rowhomes varied, but several were badly damaged, the chief said.

The blaze brought firefighters from around Lower Bucks County to Bristol Borough to fight the flames.

Chris Kerner was in one of the homes with five family members when the blaze broke out.

“The adrenaline popped in and I just woke my family up and got them out,” Kerner said, adding his dog was also saved.

For Kerner, Tuesday’s fire brought back bad memories of a 2013 Falls Township fire that he was in. The blaze took the life of his grandfather.

“The last one was when I was younger. It hurts,” he said.

Original Story: Firefighters from around Lower Bucks County were battling a blaze in row homes in Bristol Borough as of 6:45 a.m. on Tuesday.

The fire was first reported around 6 a.m. and was impacting more than one row home in the 600 block of Spruce Street in the borough.

Fire trucks from around the area screamed toward the scene and firefighters dumped water on the home.

Additional crews were called to the scene to assist with firefighting efforts just past 6:30 a.m.

Ambulances were stationed at the scene, but it was unclear if anyone was hurt.

More details to follow.