Three popular chain restaurants are under construction in Lower Bucks County in high-profile locations in Middletown and Bristol townships.
When are they expected to open? Here's the update.
Nifty Fifty's, 501 S. Oxford Valley Road, Fairless Hills
If you pine for an order of burger, fries and a milkshake with a side of tailfins, Elvis and neon, this joint’s for you.
The locally owned and franchised chain is building its ninth store in Bristol Township at 501 S. Oxford Valley Road, Fairless Hills, at the site of a long-shuttered Bank of America branch.
“We hate to give an exact date of a grand opening, but probably late summer,” said Ron Toscani, who owns the chain’s Warminster locale.
“What makes us different is we make everything fresh the day it’s served. Everything’s made on site. We grind our own meat,” added Toscani, who was at the construction site this week.
The Philadelphia-area chain was launched by Leo McGlynn in 1987.
According to the company's website, McGlynn's “passion for cooking stemming from his childhood, combined with a desire to provide deliciously thick and enjoyable malts and milkshakes and fresh food similar to the timeless soda shop recipes of the ’50s … Nifty Fifty’s was opened to give all of our customers the opportunity to experience the 1950s.”
Chick-fil-A, 1440 E. Lincoln Highway/US-1, Langhorne
The latest store in this popular franchise is to replace a closed and gutted, and now demolished, Ruby Tuesday along Lincoln Highway, near Lowe’s.
The store is approximately 2 miles from another Langhorne Chick-fil-A, near Sesame Place at the Oxford Valley Mall. That may seem like the company is cutting it close, but the Oxford Valley Mall store is jammed daily (except Sundays, of course) with lines of cars through its drive-thru. Some wait times can take as long as 20 minutes.
Chick-fil-A’s corporate media spokesman did not return a message this week. But a source at the construction site said the new store will relieve those long lines.
“When this place opens, they’re going to raze and rebuild the (Oxford Valley Mall location),” the source said.
And when will the new store open?
“Sometime between June 20 and June 26, that’s what we’re planning,” the source said.
Panda Express, 2424 E. Lincoln Highway, Langhorne
This Rosemead, California-based chain is building its second location in Bucks County in Middletown at the site of the venerable Blue Fountain Diner (renamed Langhorne Speedway Diner) before the building was razed.
Panda Express markets itself as a healthy fast-food alternative for those who love Chinese cuisine with “bold American tastes.”
A message left with corporate on Tuesday was not returned right away, but construction workers installing the site pad said that their work would be done in approximately five weeks and that the building would likely take another three months to complete.
So look for the place to open in late summer 2025.
JD Mullane can be reached at [email protected].