By David Jones

I’ve been waiting for a new restaurant in downtown Parkesburg for awhile and was hoping someone would step up and into the spot last held by ‘One Love’ on West First Avenue.

In recent weeks I’ve seen activity inside and wondered what could be afoot.  Well, this past Saturday everything was revealed to me.

The new restaurant is Ethel Rose.  For the time being they will only be open on the weekends as they go through a process becoming more familiar these days known as a “soft opening.”

Lin and I thought we’d venture in and get as much information as we could this past Saturday and try ER’s version of Fried Chicken.  For now they are keeping it simple.  The menu consists of 2 choices.  One is Fried Chicken and the other is Fried Fish.

Dishes come with a compliment of black eyed beans and rice, sweet potatoes, boiled cabbage and corn bread.  All of this for a nice price of $13.  There are other sides available for $2.50 each.  Lin and I thoroughly enjoyed our dinners, which were good sized portions.

The name of the new restaurant derives from 2 grandmothers, one named Ethel and the other Rose.  The establishment is being run by 5 sisters and one of their nieces.  Two of the five sisters came out and introduced themselves to us and told us it has long been a dream of theirs to operate a restaurant and they couldn’t pass up the opportunity when it was presented to them.

Inside the place looks much the same as it did under One Love, but the ladies are constantly working on the space to make it their own.  Their niece is a graduate of a culinary school in Atlanta and I am told her skills are well-developed and include excellent desserts.

The soft opening will continue through the rest of the year for now with a true Grand Opening in early January 2016.

Once the grand opening comes they will be serving a full menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.  Until then, they will only be open on Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m.

They will serve breakfast from 7-11 a.m. and then begin the chicken and fish offerings through till closing.  On Sundays the menu changes slightly with the addition of a fairly traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings.

Lin and I met sisters Cynthia and Brenda.  Both ladies are very pleasant and want to appease their customers.  Our young waitress was also very nice.  Business is not overwhelming at this point, but it is serving the purpose the ladies had intended, letting them get their new operation under way and working out the details and kinks as things move forward.

In the past year we’ve seen One Love come and go on First Avenue and Bread’s BBQ come and go on Main Street.  The restaurant business is very tough and even more so in our little town, but I’m hopeful for Ethel Rose.

We intend to try their weekend breakfast next Saturday and plan to do our part to help them through their soft opening and we are looking forward to the grand opening and a thriving new restaurant in downtown Parkesburg.

402 West 1st Ave, Parkesburg
(484)718-3378

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A native of Chester County and a 1968 graduate of Octorara Area High School, David Jones earned a Masters Degree in Medical Ethics from from Villanova University. Mr. Jones served as CEO of both Mayview and Wernersville State Hospitals and later worked directly with then Governor Rendell to modernize and right-size Pennsylvania’s entire state hospital system. Jones and his wife Lynn make their home in Parkesburg and dine out frequently across Chester County and the Delaware Valley.