Home Care In Spring House, PA

Brewery ShowcaseNortheast

We’ve all been there. You go to a bar, try a new beer from a local craft brewery and fall in love. After a quick Google search, you realize this brewery is within driving distance, and pretty soon it becomes your favorite hangout. You grow to enjoy their other brewed libations, and before you know it, your local brewery grows a little too fast. Suddenly the attention and focus shifts from the beer to basically everything else: new locations, keeping up with wholesaler demand, a new kitchen, etc. etc. Before you know it three years have passed and you notice that the draft beer menu is always the same, and you’re no longer in love with your old, favorite brewery. So, you find a new place to call home, and hope the cycle doesn’t repeat itself.

This is the story of one brewery, Spring House Brewing Co. in Lancaster, PA, that recognized this all too familiar pattern, and worked hard to rebrand and revitalize itself. And much to this writer’s surprise, it is working.

Spring House Brewing Co. began its humble roots in a 200+ year-old barn located in Lancaster, PA in 2007. After several years of successfully producing and showcasing their brews, the Spring House Taproom was opened in the heart of downtown Lancaster in 2011, and four years later the company continued to grow, as brewery operations were relocated from the barn to a new location that served as both the new Brewery and an additional restaurant/taproom. The following year, in 2016, Spring House’s Imperial Chocolate Stout, Kerplunk!¸ earned a Bronze award at the World Beer Cup. The next year saw the grand opening of the Hazel Street location’s Hell’s Attic Arcade, which includes old-school arcade games, foosball, bubble hockey, a pool table, cornhole, and an additional bar. In the summer of 2019 the first canning line was installed, whereas previously they had to rely on an outside vendor to come in and do the canning for them.

Around this time, things really begin to change. After so many years of successful growth, some might say that the brewery began to rest of their laurels. They continued to rely on the staples that made them standout in the first place. Their flagship beers, Seven Gates Pale Ale and Big Gruesome — a chocolate peanut butter Stout, were in continuous production and featured heavily at both craft beer festivals and their restaurants alike. By 2018, craft beer enthusiasts and locals noticed that the brewery didn’t really have anything new that they were bringing to the table, and instead seemed to rely on the same six or seven beers to satisfy the public’s demands. After a while, some people got bored of the same old offerings and began to look elsewhere. Additionally, there was a big quality control problem, with the beer not seeming to taste as good as it used to, and reports of exploding cans out in the wild.

Enter Scott Richardson, director of operations and market research since 2018. After unknowingly commenting to the owner that Spring House “used to be his favorite brewery,” Scott outlined where he thought the company went wrong, and how he would approach fixing their issues. With a background in Education and no restaurant or brewery experience, it may seem like an odd choice to have offered him the chance to come in and completely restructure the brand, but Scott had a solid plan: update the Spring House brand to better reflect the brewery’s values, and create and produce better beer.

Traditionally, Spring House’s visual marketing was more akin to what you’d find in a traveling circus or haunted house. Skulls, spiderwebs, and pentagrams featured heavily at all locations and were prominently displayed on the beer labels. To some, this kind of branding was intimidating and may have led to unfair judgements before even tasting the beer. As part of the re-brand, the old skull motif was removed from the brewery, which allowed guests to instead focus on the beautiful wood and metal architecture displayed throughout the historical building. With the fake spiderwebs now removed, the open floorplan allows visitors to view the brewery’s massive tanks along with the found artwork — graffiti — unearthed during the initial renovation of the old contractor’s warehouse. Visitors may also be interest to learn that the wood floor was the ceiling of the first floor at one point, which was partially removed to create space for the brew works.

Another important part of the re-brand was the introduction of Spring House’s new Limited Artist Series. While the artwork on their core brand of beer (year-round and seasonal offerings) moved from skulls and pentagrams to a more eclectic style consisting of robots and spacemen, the Limited Artist Series is constantly changing. These unique, small-batch brews are inspired by and feature original works from local artists. Each year the brewery receives entries from 300-400 artists within the areas where their beer is distributed. If selected, the artist is paid for their work, and their art (regardless of its medium) becomes the label on one of the limited brews created that year. The best part? The artist’s name is displayed prominently on the beer and Spring House allows them to retain the trademark used on the label. If visiting Spring House, be sure to checkout the artwork displayed by these artists on the second floor of the brewery.

Part of growing includes taking a closer look at yourself and your flaws. When the team at Spring House realized they were no longer excited to drink their own beer, they knew something was amiss. After a careful reevaluation, the team focused on two fatal flaws that were killing their business: not keeping up with beer trends, and major issues with quality control. For years, Spring House devotees wanted the old familiar offerings of chocolate porters, flavored IPAs, and simple Pale Ales, so that’s what was in constant production. The team at the brewery wasn’t paying attention to how beer trends were evolving, and their styles and flavor profiles were not on par with what was being offered at other breweries. Quality control, in terms of both beer tastes and production, was also a problem. Reports began to trickle in of beer cans exploding while sitting on shelves at beer distributors, and some consumers complained of that dreaded “vinegar” taste we’ve all encountered at one point or another.

So how does one go about fixing these issues? For starters, Spring House brought on the gifted Eddie Lopez Jr. as their new head brewer. Eddie had experience with Hangar 24 in California, and as head brewer at Dock Street Brewery in Philadelphia. He brought with him a great wealth in terms of science and quality control and, perhaps just as importantly, a passion for creating drinkable, lower ABV brews. Eddie is just what Spring House needed. A science-minded brewer who knew how to stop the exploding can dilemma, and who was also a well-read beer lover favoring styles more on-point with today’s trends, including California (not necessarily West Coast) style IPAs, Kölsch, and Barrel-Aged specialties. Some of his interesting beers currently on tap at the brewery includes Tentacles — a fruited Hazy IPA brewed with cherries, Commander Salamander-their kumquat, cucumber lime Sour, and Liquid Afrofuturism — a creamy Stout with notes of almond, vanilla, and roasted chocolate.

So, what’s the deal? Did the re-invention work? On June 25^th of this year the team announced via their Instagram account that, after taking the past year to reinvent itself, they were happy to now offer better beer, better service, and better food. After reading recent reviews, and of course doing some “research” by visiting the brewery and drinking the latest offerings, it’s apparent that the hard work paid off. Visitors are happy and excited again to see what the team at Spring House has on draft. Gone are the days where you walk in to find the same old tired lineup. Instead, visitors can expect to find great food, friendly service, and bold yet innovative brews. Cheers to a job well-done.

Feature image by Spring House Brewing Co.

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Four tenants including Merck & Co. signed deals totaling 117,000 square feet at Spring House Innovation Park in Lower Gwynedd, contributing to an abundance of life sciences leasing that has occurred across the region so far this year.

Leases totaling more than 500,000 square feet were signed in Philadelphia and its suburbs during the first six months of the year and the rate of those deals is higher than many of the other major life sciences markets, according to a JLL report. When it came to leasing activity as a share of the market's inventory, Philadelphia outpaced areas that are hotbeds of life sciences activity including San Francisco and Raleigh-Durham though it lagged behind San Diego. Philadelphia has a smaller inventory, which has made its share of leasing higher.

“In a relatively young market like Philadelphia, this leasing is overwhelmingly in first-generation life sciences space with projects such as One uCity Square, Spring House Innovation Park and 250 King of Prussia Road seeing the most activity,” the JLL report said.

The four new leases completed at Spring House bring the 14-building, 600,000-square-foot campus up to 60% occupied. The biggest deal involved Merck. The Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company, which has a large presence about six miles away in West Point, leased an entire 78,000-square-foot lab building on the campus.

"Merck is committed to being the premier, research-intensive biopharmaceutical company, bringing creative minds together to transform world-class science into life-changing medicines and vaccines," the company said in a statement. "After evaluating several options, the Spring House Innovation Park was considered the optimal choice to build upon our long-standing presence in Pennsylvania, as an active member of the SHIP campus community."

The space will support Merck's vaccines pipeline, the company said.

Other tenants that leased space at the innovation park include: Seres Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, microbiome therapeutics company that is new to the market and took 7,000 square feet in Building 9; Tavotek Biotherapeutics, an existing tenant at Spring House, expanded and now occupies 4,000 square feet; and FlowMetric Inc., a contract research organization, leased 26,000 square feet in Building 4 and relocated from the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County in Doylestown.

Spring House has attracted a number of life sciences companies and related organizations.

For example, Roquette, a family-owned business in France that produces plant-based ingredients used by pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies, spent $25 million on 23,000 square feet for a regional headquarters at the property. Thomas Jefferson University’s Jefferson Institute for Bioprocessing announced last year it was expanding by 40,000 square feet on the campus. Jefferson had opened the institute in 25,000 square feet in 2019.

Beacon Capital Partners, which owns the campus in partnership with MRA Group, plans to move forward with the redevelopment of 100,000 square feet of lab space and two 12,000-square-foot speculative lab suites.

Paul Touhey, Matthew Knowles and Cody Lehrer of CBRE Inc. represented the landlord. Robert Zwengler of CBRE represented Merck, Justin Bell of Newmark represented FlowMetric, Patrick Kelley of Avison Young represented Seres Therapeutics, and Frank Palopoli from Cushman & Wakefield represented Tavotek Biotherapeutics.

Three area projects – one in Montgomery County and two in Chester County – have been approved for millions in state funding to support redevelopment efforts.

The projects receiving funding through the Business in Our Sites, or BOS, program are the redevelopment of the former Rohm & Haas Spring House facility in Lower Gwynedd and the redevelopment of the Pennhurst Hospital site in East Vincent and restoration of the former Foote Mineral site in East Whiteland.

In all, seven projects that will create 3,300 jobs in six counties were approved for funding by the Commonwealth Financing Authority, said Gov. Tom Wolf in announcing the grants and loans.

“The Business in Our Sites program is a critical business development tool that allows us to prepare an arsenal of pad-ready sites for future business growth in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said. “The projects approved will take sites in need of redevelopment and prepare them for Pennsylvania’s businesses of tomorrow, today.”

The Chester County Economic Development Council will administer the funding for the two Chester County projects while the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Montgomery will handle the Rohm & Haas project.

The projects are:

* Developers were approved for a $4 million grant and a $8 million loan to assist with the redevelopment of the former Rohm & Haas Spring House facility. BOS funds will be used for infrastructure costs including roads, fiber optic network, underground utilities, energy efficient hot and chilled water loop, stormwater basins, sanitary and chemical pump stations, electric, and parking areas. The total project cost is $32 million and will create approximately 400 jobs, the state said.

* Pennhurst LLC was approved for a $4 million grant and a $6 million loan to assist with the redevelopment of the former Pennhurst Hospital site. BOS funds will be used for environmental remediation, demolition, roads/streets, excavation/grading, and engineering.

The cost is $13.2 million for remediation and site prep work for the project that is expected to eventually create around 600 new jobs, the state said.

* Developers of the former Foote Mineral site in East Whiteland were approved for a $4 million grant and a $6 million loan to assist with the redevelopment of a brownfield site in East Whiteland. BOS funds will be used for grading and excavation, demolition, infrastructure and in-ground utilities, foundations, and paving. The total project cost for the prep work is $16.7 million. It is expected to create about 60 new jobs, the state said.

Derek Strine of Delaware is the developer of the Pennhurst site, which has a sordid history.

MRA Group of Horsham purchased the Rohm & Haas property for $10 million in March from the Dow Co., which acquired Rohm & Haas in 2012.

It has rebranded the site as the Spring House Innovation Park, or SHIP, where there are 11 buildings with nearly 600,000 square feet of space.

The campus, which totals 133 acres at an interchange with the Route 309 expressway, is less than three minutes north of the Fort Washington exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Mike Wojewodka, senior vice president of MRA Group, said Wednesday, “we are creating a regional center of excellence.”

Plans include first class office and laboratory facilities, a campus environment with a university-affiliated presence.

Also in the plans are a boutique hotel with full amenities, co-working space with on-demand offices and shared office/conference facilities, on-site child daycare, a health/fitness center, and a retail village.

“With township, county and state support, we will continue to redevelop the campus into a best-in-class innovation park,” Wojewodka said. “The funds will allow us to replace and enhance the robust campus infrastructure including roadways, fiberoptic network, underground utilities and energy efficiency improvements.”

In Chester County, the Pennhurst State School and Hospital – Opened in 1908 – was closed for good Dec. 9, 1987. It was originally built to house and sterilize residents who, at the time, were referred to as having a mental deficiency. The practice of sterilization eventually ended, but the practice of segregating patients with developmental disabilities lasted much longer.

The facility was closed after courts found conditions there unsanitary, dangerous, and inhumane. Recently, it has been opened for the Halloween season as a haunted attraction that many find objectionable given the property’s notorious past.

“It’s a pretty large redevelopment project,” said Michael Grigalonis, chief operating officer of the Chester County Economic Development Council. “It’s exciting to see it re-purposed.”

Located off Route 724 near Spring City, it has 23 buildings totaling more than 600,000 square feet on it. The buildings contain asbestos, Grigalonis said of the environmental hazard there.

Strine said the developers decided residential development was out of the question for the 100-plus-acre property due to its notorious past. He plans to put industrial, commercial and medical office uses on the site.

The state, he said, left a lot of environmental and safety issues when they closed the hospital. Most of the buildings will be demolished but a “core” of six may be saved to make some sort of museum or remembrance to the former state hospital.

“It’s not something you want to forget or ignore,” said Strine, whose company is based in Wilmington, Del.

In all, Strine expects the project will have a value of about $113 million. Work, he estimated, would start sometime in 2018 after the state approves his work plan for the site.

“The goal (of the remediation work) is to make it shovel ready,” he said.

The other Chester County site to receive funding, the Foote Mineral property, is a former Superfund site where lithium leaked into the soil that’s been remediated, said one of the developers, Greg Walters.

West Chester-based Walters Co. and Roskamp Management Co. of Sarasota, Fla., are involved in the redevelopment of the property located off of Swedesford Road east of the Valley Creek Corporate Center.

Walters on Wednesday was mum on the developers’ plans for the site.

“”I can’t talk about the project right now,” he said.

In 210, the Daily Local News reported the cleanup of the Foote Mineral federal Superfund site on East Swedesford Road almost complete.

The Cyprus Foote Mineral Co. processed lithium and other mineral ores from 1946 to 1991 at the site, dumping waste into pits and on the ground that subsequently contaminated the site and groundwater.

Declared a federal Superfund site in 1992, the cleanup didn’t begin until 2005 when the purchasers of the land, Frazer Exton Development, wanted to build a senior living facility on a portion of the property.

“This is a very happy time for the owners of Frazer Exton Development,” Dan Sevick, president of the company, said at the time.

Sevick, along with Walters and Charles Lyddane are listed as developers in the current project, Grigalonis said.

“We’re excited about the redevelopment of under-performing assets,” Grigalonis said of the two Chester County projects.

– To contact Business Writer Brian McCullough, call 610-235-2655 or send an email to [email protected].

Governor Tom Wolf announced seven new Business in Our Sites (BOS) project approvals through the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA), to support redevelopment projects in Pennsylvania projected to create more than 3,300 jobs. One of the projects approvals is through The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Montgomery and was approved for a $4 millon grant and a $8,047,210 loan to assist with the redevelopment of the former Rohm & Haas-Spring House facility located in Lower Gwynedd Township.

Governor Wolf explains:

“The Business in Our Sites program is a critical business development tool that allows us to prepare an arsenal of pad-ready sites for future business growth in Pennsylvania…The projects approved will take sites in need of redevelopment and prepare them for Pennsylvania’s businesses of tomorrow, today.”

The BOS program empowers communities to attract growing and expanding businesses by helping them build an inventory of ready sites. Approved projects can use the funding for any site development activities that are required to make the site shovel-ready. The sites must be previously utilized property or undeveloped property that is planned and zoned for development.

The proposed Spring House site was bought last March for $10 million, by the MRA Group of Horsham from the Dow Group (who owned Rohm & Haas) and will utilize BOS funds for infrastructure costs including: roads, fiber optic network, underground utilities, energy efficient hot and chilled water loop, stormwater basins, sanitary and chemical pump stations, electric, and parking areas. The total project cost is $32,047,210 and will create approximately 400 jobs.

Spring House Innovation Park (a development of MRA Group) proposes plans for the 11 building, 133- acre site and states on it’s website that:

Spring House Innovation Park is a premier, 133-acre multi-use campus. Comprised of 600,000 square feet of building space, Spring House will include a university-affiliated regional center of excellence for innovation and advanced production, and a business incubation and commercialization center. Our focus is in attracting companies that can best utilize the robust existing laboratory infrastructure and excellent location in the Delaware Valley.

In addition to first class office space and laboratory facilities, MRA desires to craft a campus environment with an on-site hotel, shared office/conference facilities, on-site child daycare, a health/fitness center, a retail village containing approximately 40,000 square feet of restaurants & other amenities, and a planned residential community. Retail, residential, and hotel uses are subject to zoning approval.

Spring House Innovation Park will not only be an asset for the multi-disciplined industries that work on-site but also a multi-generational destination for the surrounding community.

The space plans to include:

Kathleen Hunsicker, Lower Gwynedd Supervisor, offers congratulations, and looks forward to a planning process that will enhance the township’s economic sustainability.

This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Fast-casual Mexican Restaurant Brings Its Famous Tortillas and Mixed Ingredients to Spring House

APPR, Local Business

SPRING HOUSE, Pa. – Burritos Better Built have a new home in Spring House.

Pancheros Mexican Grill announced today that it has opened the doors to its newest restaurant at 1105 N Bethlehem Pike, Suit F. With each and every bite of fresh-pressed tortillas, perfectly-mixed ingredients and velvety queso, local residents and visitors alike will soon find themselves in true burrito paradise at Pancheros.

“We’re excited to bring a fast-casual Mexican food concept to the Spring House community,” said Tom Gillespie, co-owner of the new Pancheros Mexican Grill in Spring House. “This is a brand that I am proud to be a part of.”

Tom is partnering with co-owners Marla Fasti and Alex Dergalis who together have extensive experience in the restaurant, financial and retail industries.

“We are thrilled to be joining the Spring House neighborhood and look forward to growing within the community,” said Rodney Anderson, founder and CEO of Pancheros Mexican Grill. “With this team we really hit the jackpot because of their vast experience in accounting and the restaurant industry. We are excited to welcome them to the Pancheros family.”

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The birth of the perfect burrito dates back to 1992, when Pancheros founder Rodney Anderson opened the doors to his first restaurant in downtown Iowa City, Iowa. Since then, the brand has grown into 13 states with approximately 70 locations.

Over the years, Pancheros has gained a loyal fan following. The concept stands apart from other big-name burrito concepts because of its quality ingredients, faster service and better burritos. However, almost anyone would agree the most distinguishing factors for Pancheros are its innovations – the fresh-pressed tortillas and proprietary ingredient mixing spatula, Bob the Tool.

The Spring House location is looking for qualified candidates to join their growing team. Email [email protected] for more information.

Following the opening in Spring House, Pancheros Mexican Grill has expansion plans in place to open additional locations throughout Pennsylvania. The brand is currently seeking qualified entrepreneurs who fit the culture and are interested in opening one or more new Pancheros restaurants in the state.

There are currently approximately 70 Pancheros Mexican Grill across the United States with an additional 10 in development.

For more information on Pancheros Mexican Grill in Spring House and elsewhere, visit https://www.pancheros.com. To learn about franchising opportunities with Pancheros, visit https://franchise.pancheros.com/.

About Pancheros

The beginning of Pancheros dates back to 1992 when Rodney Anderson opened the brand’s first restaurant in Iowa City, Iowa. Not too long thereafter, Pancheros became a staple of the Eastern Iowa restaurant scene gaining attention and a loyal following much like it does today for its homemade, fresh-pressed tortillas, quesadillas, tacos, burrito bowls, salads and queso. Amid its popularity, the brand has successfully grown from its roots and today a robust franchising program has led to approximately 70 locations across 13 states.

For information about the company, visit https://www.pancheros.com/menu. To learn about franchising opportunities with Pancheros, visit https://franchise.pancheros.com/.