Slán leat The Sumney Tavern.
The beloved and cherished — and supposedly haunted — bar and restaurant, which stood for decades at the corner of West Point and Sumneytown pikes in Upper Gwynedd has been turned to rubble, as of Thursday.
Scott Contractors Inc. demolished The Sumney Tavern and the former Big Pixey/County Bride and Gent location, two popular landmarks that greeted Sumneytown Pike commuters rounding the sharp curve near the railroad bridge. There are neither development plans submitted for the sites nor any real estate transactions on record with Montgomery County Board of Assessments, as of Friday morning.
Villanova-based Provco Pinegood Sumneytown LLC purchased a total of three parcels that run from the corner to the railroad bridge along Sumneytown for more than $3 million in 2018. All parcels combined have an assessed value of about $775,000, according to county land records.
Earlier this year, Upper Gwynedd Township Manager Sandra Brookley Zadell told Commissioners that both buildings would likely be demolished in the coming weeks. At the time, the township had already issued a demolition permit for the parcels.
“I think they’re being demolished in preparation for a sale to a new owner,” Brookley Zadell said at the meeting.
The Sumney Tavern, formerly The Sumney West, suddenly closed in June 2018 and Country Bride & Gent relocated in 2019 to South Broad Street in Hatfield Township.
Employees at The Sumney were not informed of the sudden closure.
“All employees were contacted [Monday] morning and informed they were no longer employed. It’s devastating, I didn’t expect this from the owners. They are good people, and very good to me especially,” Narces Clarkson told The Reporter back in 2018.
According to the article, former Sumney Tavern co-owners John Gawthrop and Richard Abbott said in February 2018 that their customer base began to steadily decline, especially after the Giant market closed across the street in 2015.
Gawthorp and Abbott sold the property to Provco Pinegood for $1.55 million in July 2018, according to Montgomery County property records. As far as the former Country Bride and Gent property, that was sold by Edward F and Patricia A for $1.825 million in July 2018, according to property records.
Developer Bruce Goodman was unsuccessful twice, in 2016 and again in 2019, in bringing a “Super Wawa” gas station to fruition at the corner.
According to The Reporter, the Upper Gwynedd Township Commissioners vetoed the first version of development plans in July 2017 after several public hearings, and did the same again four months later to a revised version.
Commissioners’ reason for denial centered around safety and traffic congestion, per reports.
Then, the township found itself the defendant in a lawsuit brought on by Goodman over the development plan vetoes. Litigation continued through 2020, with the township eventually valiant in the end.
In a separate Upper Gwynedd Township project up Sumneytown Pike toward Towamencin Township, Provco Pinegood Sumneytown LLC have discussed plans to demolish and rebuild the Sumney-Forge Shopping Center. It wishes to convert the property into a Wawa with gas pumps at the Sumneytown Pike and Valley Forge Road intersection.
Provco bought the Wawa property in 2018 for $1.8 million, per county property records.
Read more on the demolition and the Sumney-Forge development here.
Photos and videos of the demolition shared online led to some bittersweet responses from local citizens and former customers and employees. A post on North Penn Now’s Facebook page garnered more than 160 comments and 85 shares in a 12-hour period.
The Upper Gwynedd Township Fire Department also posted photos of The Sumney’s last days on its Facebook, chronicling a recent training exercise that took place at the vacant restaurant. This post garnered 24 comments and 173 reactions.
“My great uncle Brock Lucken owned this property as a private residence,” wrote Beverly Maginnis on Upper Gwynedd Township Fire Department’s Facebook post. “Sad to see this property go to commercial.”
“These photos bring back so many memories of when I worked there in the 80s-90s,” wrote Sandy Fluck.
“Wow, I had some good and bad times there. Great friends and great drinking,” wrote Edie Lewis.
“My family had many happy occasions here. I’m really sad it’s gone,” wrote Kim Anderson.
“So sad! But it’s time,” wrote Elaine Storace. “I’ve had many nice times there, but I’m hoping something decent goes in its place.”
“So sad to see that beautiful bar, the actual interior, and the wood that made up the bar just get destroyed,” wrote Lisa Ecklund-Andrey.
“Good training,” wrote Elaine Hegh on the Upper Gwynedd Township Fire Department post, “but sad to see The Sumney go. Heard it was haunted, someone said years ago.”
Some responses raved about their food, like the fried chicken, sweet potato waffles, taco salad bowl, the burgers, or its popular Irish country breakfast & brunch buffet.
“It’s a shame to tear a good restaurant and bar down,” wrote Carole Wilson. “We’ll miss the good food they served.”
“We have fond memories of having dinner on their deck on warm summer evenings,” wrote Barbara Romig. “Truly miss this place.”
“Loved it there,” wrote Linda Kramer. “They had the best buffets.”
Some responses were not so sweet.
“It’s been an eyesore for years,” wrote Christina Lynn. “Goodbye, farewell, so long.”
“That’s been empty for years!” wrote Pat Karpowicz. “Glad to see some progress.”
“Was there once. Christening dinner. Didn’t seat us where we reserved,” wrote Gus Auch. “Refused to move us there even though it was open because the server for that area wasn’t working. Whatever. Bad service, mediocre food. Won’t be missed.”
Other people on Facebook wanted to know what happened with all the veterans’ photos that adorned the walls of the place. According to a Facebook post in Lansdale Community Hive group, the owners tried to get in touch with people who had pictures inside.
“I don’t know all the details on what happened there,” wrote Diego Ramos in response to the post, “but it looks to me like they just shut the doors not really caring what memories were left behind.”
See also:
Proposed Commercial Montgomery Township Development is Deja Vu for Residents
Montgomery Township Residents Sound Off on Proposed Penn Medicine Ambulatory Healthcare Center
Upper Gwynedd Pursuing $1.15 Million Grant to Help Acquire Martin Tract
