A fond farewell as we lose 2 more business icons
Slowly but surely, seemingly one by one, they are disappearing. They are local icons, businesses that make us what we are – a community.
It is one of the reasons why websites and Facebook posts recalling them – and their heyday – are so popular.
Who doesn’t to this day hold vivid memories of the legendary Bazaar of All Nations. If there was a single place that simply screamed Delco, that may very well be it.
We still lament the passing of the Granite Run Mall, even as the Promenade at Granite Run rises to replace it.
In the past week we have posted notice that two more very familiar names will be disappearing from the local business scene.
Joseph D. Doubet has been located on State Street in Media for a quarter century. But the building where they faithfully served county residents has been sold, and instead of relocating, they are calling it a career.
This week we note the passing of another icon, one that has stood on Baltimore Pike right outside Granite Run since 1962.
That’s where several generations of the Pompei family have operated the Riddle Ale House.
Places like Doubet and the Ale House offer something you don’t get at a mall, or one of the national chains of jewelry stores or eateries.
And it’s certainly not something you get at Walmart.
At places like Doubet’s and the Ale House, you get family.
Joe and Joyce Doubet always understood that. So did Arnold Pompei. “We developed relationships,” Joyce Doubet said of the family jewelry business. “You get to know the customer’s style, what they like. And they get to know us.”
It’s a sentiment shared just a few miles farther out Baltimore Pike, where the Pompei family fed several generations with a legendary roast beef sandwich that people would drive miles to enjoy.
Arnold Pompei admitted being torn by the decision to sell the location and close up shop.
It’s not easy for me to talk about it,” Arnold said. “I’ve been here a long time and it’s a family business. It wasn’t an easy decision by any means.”
Arnold’s son Nick, who manages the restaurant, talked about the special atmosphere that characterized the Riddle Ale House.
“It’s the casual fun, laid-back atmosphere,” he said.
When we lose businesses like Doubet’s and the Riddle Ale House, we lose a part of what makes us a community.
It’s something you can’t get at Walmart, or even at a mall or your favorite chain store.
It’s people who know your name when you walk in the door. They are your neighbors. And friends. After all, that is their name on the sign outside. That is their “signature” on every one of those roast been sandwiches they served over the past five decades.
Running a family-owned business these days is no picnic.
But we would be remiss if we did not stop to salute them - and wonder about what we are losing.
Farewell, Doubet’s, State Street won’t be the same.
Neither will Baltimore Pike out in front of Granite Run.
We are losing two more local icons.
Typically, both the Doubets and the Pompei family took time to remember – and thank – their loyal customers who stayed with them all these years. And that goes the same for their staffs, many of whom worked at the establishments for decades as well.
“I’d like to thank everybody that has ever come here over the years,” Nick Pompei said.
Actually, it’s us who should be thanking them.
One of the things we do every day in the newspaper business is write obituaries, the last legacy of a person time spent here on this Earth.
We do the same for businesses that have left a lasting mark on the area – and whose absence will leave a void not easily filled.
RIP, Doubet’s and Riddle Ale House.
Thanks for the memories.