Brickette Lounge to Become Honky Tonk with Texas-Style Barbecue

The yet-to-be-named “true country and western honky tonk bar” will open on Pottstown Pike (old Hwy 100) between West Chester and Exton at 1339 Pottstown Pike, West Chester, PA 19380, according to a Craigslist ad seeking a full-time restaurant manager. What Now Philly reached out to James Waldron, the Director of Operations for 3 West Hospitality – the “growing restaurant operations and management group heading up the operation – but received no comment. The honky tonk’s projected debut is unknown.

In 2019, longtime Brickette owners husband-and-wife Dave and Karen Valentino put the restaurant up for sale. Two years later, the venue remained on the market, even after dropping the asking price by $200,000.

The Brickette (lovingly referred to by regulars as “The Brick”) stayed open while on sale, likely increasing the difficulty with which the Valentinos let the venue go. That’s because The Brick is steeped in history and saturated with memories, marriages (one couple met and was married at the lounge), and the occasional bouts of mayhem. 

“David’s father, Lewis Valentino, worked a luncheonette from 1956-1963, located just south of Exton Station,” the article explains. “After that property was condemned to build the Rt. 100 Exton bypass, Lewis opened up a luncheonette at the current Pottstown Pike site in 1963. David said his father took the name from the former luncheonette, and the ‘Brickette Steaming Hot,’ was born. Lewis passed away in the 1990s.”

At the time of the aforementioned Daily Local article, Karen and Dave were under the impression the building would possibly be demolished and replaced by a development. Regardless, David explained he’d never step foot in the new establishment, even if an eatery/watering hole remained after the sale. 

As for the honky tonk set to take over the famed location, it seems the owners and operators are taking things quite seriously, offering their eventual restaurant manager health and dental insurance – a luxury seldom heard of in the bar industry. And while the closure of The Brick is, indeed, sad, 3 West Hospitality seems intent on paying homage to all that was built and buried within The Brick’s walls. 

“Now under new management, our goal is to breathe new life into the restaurant that was originally established over 60 years ago.”