Saying “the industry is changing,” the co-owner of Pennsylvania Soup & Seafood restaurant in Doylestown’s Main Street Marketplace recently announced the business is closed.
“It’s more fast and casual now,” said Keith Blalock, who owned the borough restaurant for 17 years with Chad Riedley. “We were a sit-down place — with no alcohol. It was unprofitable,” Blalock said, during a phone interview.
Soup & Seafood, as it was commonly known, made a big hit with the public when it first opened in 2007. From its walk-up ordering area that overlooked the kitchen to its offerings of the always in-demand creamy crab soup and Buffalo chicken wraps, it was a popular lunch spot to sit down or take out. In its earliest days, it also offered fresh seafood.
What might fill the vacant space is uncertain, although Blalock said there have been some inquiries.
Blalock and Riedley opened Penn Tap Room, a successful restaurant with a large patio on West State Street, in 2010. That will remain open, said Blalock. The partners are also planning a new restaurant just outside the borough that, Blalock said, will be “one-of-a-kind” and serve alcohol.
An announcement is expected next month, said Blalock.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
