Micro-Winery And Bistro Proposed In Downtown Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA —An innovative urban micro-winery and bistro is proposing to set up shop on the first floor of The Residences at 50 North Main Street.

Worth & Worth, represented by Fox Rothschild, is scheduled to appear before the borough’s zoning hearing board this week seeking zoning relief to bring the winery to its redevelopment project.

The building, located at North Main Street and Shewell Avenue across the street from the Doylestown Fire Company and the Bucks County Administration Building, is being renovated and expanded to include six high-end residential units, enclosed garage spaces and first floor
commercial and office space.

The developer will be seeking an eating place - sit down use variance before the zoning board to allow Waters Edge Wineries to open in the office/commercial space fronting on North Main Street. Under the current office zoning, a wine bistro is not a permitted use.

According to schematics of the proposed bistro, the first floor space would include a main lobby, an 85 seat dining room area, a bar and a kitchen. A basement floor would feature a tasting room and an on site micro-winery production facility.

The Doylestown Waters Edge would be a first for the franchise in Bucks County and the first in Pennsylvania. Its other locations are in California, Illinois, Kentucky, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.

Waters Edge was founded as an urban winery in 2004 by Ken and Angela Lineberger in Rancho Cucamonga, California, under the name “The Wine Tailor”.

The business evolved from being an award-winning winery to being a winery during the day and a wine bar in the evening. The Linebergers expanded the business by appealing to a wider audience by creating a more flexible model. They also added weekend entertainment and paired wines
with light food and appetizers.

The micro-winery makes all its wines in-house and features classic selections as well as lesser-known grape varieties while its food offerings include a selection of appetizers, sandwiches, salads, flatbreads, entrees and desserts.

The developer previously obtained variances from the zoning board and land development approvals from the borough to redevelop the property as a dwelling in combination use, including six dwelling units, five enclosed garage parking spaces, commercial space and related improvements.

Built in 1897, the building known as the Hellyer building, originally housed A.S. Hellyer & Sons Dry Goods and Notions. It most recently housed the Bucks County Human Services Department before the county sold the structure to Stephen Worth in 2018. Many may remember checking out books
there when the building housed the Doylestown Branch of the Bucks County Free Library from 1956 to 1988.

Now known as The Residences at 50 North Main, the six new residential living spaces range from a 2,950 square foot, bi-level penthouse condominium listed at $2.5 million to an 1,830 square foot second-floor condominium listed at $1.45 million.