Ground is broken for Cracker Barrel in Ridley
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP >> It won’t be long now, six months to be exact, until fans of the Cracker Barrel Restaurant will be able to visit the popular eatery when it is opens at the Ridley Square shopping-eating-sleeping center in November.
“We got word that ground was broken today,” said township Board of Commissioners President Bob Willert of Monday’s official construction start.
The restaurant and retail store’s official address is 125 S. Stewart Ave., in close proximity to the I-95 on and off ramps. The 10,000 square-foot building will include the iconic front porch and retail store. There will be seating for 180 patrons at one time. Willert said he was told the new facility will hire more than 175 full and part-time employees.
“And that’s good news for us,” Willert said.
A company spokesperson said the interior of the restaurant will feature an antique decor on the walls which is customized to the local community. And the spokespersons said there are no replicas. The company design team is in the process of researching Ridley and planning out the interior of the restaurant.
Cracker Barrel joins two hotels, a Wendy’s, and a Royal Farms convenience/ gas station store in the shopping center. Word came out in December 2015 that Cracker Barrel was scheduled to locate at the site.
The development of Ridley Square is on the site of an abandoned wastewater treatment facility that was once part of the Central Delaware County Sewer Authority. Several years ago the township created the area of 20-plus acres as an Industrial Heritage Corridor District. Another hotel that is not part of the Ridley Square development opened about five years ago at the intersection of the Industrial Highway and Sellers Avenue.