In the Fall of 2016,
developer Bruce Goodman of Goodman Properties
presented public plans to demolish the
Country Bride and Gent and the adjacent
Sumney West Tavern
and build a Wawa fuel station (sometimes
called a "Super Wawa") in their place.
Goodman created a Limited License Corporation
named "Provco Pinegood Sumneytown" for this
purpose. |
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The Sumney
West Tavern. The original part of the building
was built in 1900. It now has several additions.
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| View of the
tavern from West Point Pike. |
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The Country Bride and Gent bridal salon,
opened in 1995. This building was the Big Pixie
restaurant in the 1960s.
708 Sumneytown Pike. |
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The two properties, at the intersection
of West Point Pike and Sumneytown Pike, are outlined
here. |
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Zooming out, West Point Village is lower
left. The huge "city" is the pharmaceutical company,
Merck & Co. |
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The request for a Super Wawa was denied
due to traffic concerns. |
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| Several public hearings were
held during 2017 before the township
commissioners voted down one version of the
plans in July, and a revised version that
November. The developer then created a
misleading website titled “Bring Wawa to Upper
Gwynedd” and challenged the denial in court. |
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Opening screen of the Goodman
website. The deceitful message fails to mention
there already is a Wawa in Upper Gwynedd. The
site claims that Merck & Co. and Upper Gwynedd
Township conspired "behind closed doors" to
interfere with the construction of the Wawa.
On the website you can "get involved" and sign a
"petition" saying you support the construction
of the Wawa. After a year there are "nearly 450
votes," Did the employees of Goodman Properties
and the friends and family members of Bruce
Goodman vote?
You cannot vote to oppose the Wawa and you
cannot leave a comment without casting a
positive vote. |
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From the perspective of someone
living in the vicinity of West Point or North
Wales, and of the thousands of commuters who
pass by this location every day, here are some
obvious facts: 1. There
is a Sunoco gas station directly across the
street.
2. There is a proposed Royal Farms gas station
and several stores diagonally opposite the
Sumney Tavern.
Update: Royal Farms opened in 2022.
3. The Park Place Diner is directly across the
street.
Update: The diner is now called KORI Korean BBQ
4. There is a Wawa a mile south in North Wales.
5. There is a another Wawa a mile north at
Sumneytown Pike and Valley Forge Road.
6. The West Point Deli and Gulf gas station are
2200 feet north of the Country Bride and Gent.
7. At Sumneytown Pike and Broad Street there is
a BP gas station that sells fuel and snacks.
8. Traffic, though congested during rush hour,
flows smoothly at the intersection of West Point
Pike and Sumneytown Pike.
There is no shortage of fuel or sustenance for
anyone motoring through the area.
Now envision a Wawa where the Sumney Tavern is
located and it is rush hour. Once you entered
the parking lot on West Point Pike traveling
east, dodging through the cars coming in the
other direction, how would get out again? The
traffic would be backed up to the traffic signal
at Sumneytown Pike. (This was not much of a
problem for the tavern, as the daily turnover of
customers was slow and the tavern didn't open
till 11AM.)
You would have to exit going west on West Point
Pike and make a U-turn. This fact is one of the
main concerns of the township.
If you were southbound on Sumneytown Pike and
entered the Wawa parking lot, how would you be
able to get out again and proceed southbound?
The traffic would be backed up to the traffic
signal on West Point Pike. If you were
northbound on Sumneytown Pike and crossed the
southbound lanes to enter the Wawa parking lot,
how would you exit and once again cross the
southbound lanes and continue northbound?
The parking lot would become a log jam of cars
and pickup trucks trying to exit. One car crash
at this busy intersection would incapacitate
automobile traffic for miles in all directions.
Therefore, the proposal by
Provco Pinegood Sumneytown LLC was denied by the
township. |
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Bruce Goodman wrote this letter to the
Upper Gwynedd Board of Commissioners in April of 2018.
In the letter he claims the township spent hundreds of
thousands of tax dollars to oppose him. He then lists
ways he feels the money could have been spent otherwise,
including for road salt and fire hydrant maintenance. He
states the money should be returned to the taxpayers.
Please click on the letter to read it. |
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| The response from the Upper
Gwynedd Board of Commissioners to Goodman's
"ill-conceived plan," including the fact that
they already have 550 tons of road salt. The
Wawa would violate over 30 of the township's
laws. Please click on the letter to read the
response. |
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On Tuesday, June 19, 2018 the
Sumney West Tavern closed without warning. (See
the newspaper article on the next page.) The
owners, John Gawthrop and Richard Abbott,
informed their employees the day before that
they were no longer employed.
Trish and Ed Burkholder, of The Country Bride
and Gent, wrote on their website, "We were very
surprised and saddened to hear about our
neighbor, the Sumney West Tavern, closing."
Gawthrop and Abbott had sold The Sumney to
Goodman Properties for $1,550,000. The
Burkholders were so "surprised and saddened"
that they sold out to the same developer for
$1,825,000. They made the announcement on July
9, after Goodman had already acquired The
Country Bride and Gent. Settlement for both
properties was on the same day, July 9.
Why did Bruce Goodman spend almost three and a
half million dollars to acquire these properties
if his proposal to build a Super Wawa on the
site has been denied twice?
Any updates on the situation will be posted on
this site.
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Inside the Sumney West Tavern. People want their pictures
back. Why didn't Goodman leave the resturant open?? |
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Update: October 9, 2018 |
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The Sumney has been gutted of all furnishings. Where are
the pictures that were on the wall? |
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