2025: Another Great Year of Food & Drink in Delco

With the new year approaching, we’d like to take a moment to look back on all that made 2025 the jam-packed and—at least for the foodies among us—delicious year that it was. 

 

Delco was back in the spotlight with the HBO show Task coming out this September, and while they didn’t always get all the details (or the accent) right, it was fun to see our communities featured in a high-profile show. The summer was filled with festivals, concerts and other fun events, like the 18th year of Media’s beloved Dining Under the Stars. And, despite the challenges that the restaurant industry has been facing for the past few years, our homegrown culinary scene continues to flourish, with new spots opening, like Backstage Tap & Grille in Lansdowne, and decades-old stalwarts marking milestones, like Pinocchio’s celebrating its 70th anniversary.  

 

Here at Visit Delco, we covered a lot of this news in our Local Food & Drinks blog, and are excited to share some of our highlights from 2025:

 

Going Out in Style

Sometimes, you’re looking for more than a bite to eat—you’re looking for an experience, a night out on the town that feels special and unique. We took a little guesswork out of planning date night and girls’ night with some really fun ideas (oysters and live music, anyone?) across the county. For a more casual, but still highly entertaining, social outing, check out our round-up of great karaoke and Quizzo nights!  

 

 

Exploring Our Main Streets & College Towns

One of the best things about Delco is how many cool small towns there are to discover; you can take an afternoon or day-trip without having to go far! Many of these boroughs and communities have experienced incredible growth and revitalization, thanks to the hard work of local entrepreneurs and the vision of town councils and committees. We put together a handful of “Dining Around Delco” guides for some of these towns, like Wayne, Lansdowne and Clifton Heights and Havertown with recommendations on where to find tasty breakfast, lunch, happy hour and dinner!

There are also a number of colleges and universities in Delco, from small liberal arts schools to technical colleges to Penn State satellite campuses. Each of these institutions is surrounded by fantastic dining options; so whether you’re a current student, a family coming to visit, or a neighbor going to enjoy an athletics event, a show or a lecture, take a look at our Delco College Dine-Around series. In 2025, we covered Penn State Brandywine, Williamson College of the Trades and Delaware County Community College and Neumann University; don’t miss our previous installments about Villanova University and Swarthmore College.  

 

 

Entrepreneurship Excellence

We are so grateful to all the people who choose Delco as the place to establish their small businesses. There are so many dreamers—from new transplants to lifers—whose vision, work ethic and dedication mean that we have exciting restaurants, cafes and bakeries in our neighborhoods. Getting to share their stories with you is always a delight.

In 2025, we spoke with Christiana Ruiz of Manny Vibez in Norwood, an all-day breakfast and lunch cafe with an emotional backstory. Ruiz, a veteran of the Philadelphia restaurant industry, always wanted to open her own place with her brother, Emmanuel (aka Manny), who tragically passed away in 2022. She forged ahead with her plans, going on to open the cafe right off Route 13 named in loving memory of Manny. Despite a number of challenges along the way, Manny Vibez has been embraced by the community and has established itself as a top-notch spot for breakfast and brunch.

 

 

We also met Dan Langan, a baker, social media influence and cookbook author who was born and raised in Delco. Langan first came into the public eye when he competed on Food Network baking competitions in 2017; he later went on to be a judge and social media content creator for the network. In 2023, he released “Bake Your Heart Out,” and his second cookbook, “Short and Sweet” is slated to launch in the fall of 2026. 

 

 

Over in Media, Monika and Z Rehoric are the owners of the Gifford-Risley House bed and breakfast. After 25 years as small business owners in the floral industry, they shifted their focus to hospitality in 2019 after purchasing a late-19th-century Gothic Revival Chalet-style mansion on North Monroe Street. Years of meticulous planning and renovation restored the property to its original glory, and they now host guests from around the world.

 

 

Recently, we also had the pleasure of chatting with Stephanie Willis, co-owner of Everybody Eats Cafe in Chester, and co-founder of Everybody Eats Foundation. By stitching together catering jobs for film and television crews and running the cafe and adjacent event space, Willis and her team are also able to prepare hundreds of dignified meals each week, available free of charge for neighbors in need.

 

 

Nearby Nourishment

We’re always on the lookout for must-try snacks, food and drink in Delco. This might mean well-known favorites or brand-new establishments! This year, we dug into delicious donuts, baller breakfast sandwiches, phenomenal fried chicken, blissful brunch, happening happy hours and so much more! 

 

 

Thank you so much for reading along this year, and for continuing to support the local independent businesses that make Delco the awesome place it is! We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a healthy, happy New Year.

 

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Want to know more about everything Delco? We’re more than just your source for good eats — we’re your source for where to stay, what to do and more in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. We’re Visit Delco, PA. They say we’re A LOT…and they’re right! Contact us at (610) 565-3679, by email or online.

– Emily Kovach

 

Featured photo: Pexels