Our concise reports on what’s happening around Chester County.

New Snap’s Custom Pizza to Open in Exton

Ardmore pizzeria Snap’s Custom Pizza, which allows customers to choose from dozens of toppings for the set price of $7.49, or for just plain cheese $5.99, has signed a deal for a second location.

The new pizzeria will open at 291 Main Street in Exton on Friday, November 27th, the location previously occupied by Peace a Pizza. It will feature Snap’s six step custom pizza building process. Step 1 is to decide on regular or gluten free dough for a dollar extra, then choose the sauce, cheeses, proteins, vegetables and finally decide on any finishing touches such as a drizzle of chili oil.

Exton residents will be able to start enjoying some of Snap’s endless variety of custom pizzas from Black Friday, and while turkey is not currently among the toppings, there is definitely enough choice to ensure that everyone can find something to enjoy.

Berwyn’s Sweet Jazmines Bakery One of the Nation’s Best

It will be no surprise for food aficionados in Berwyn, that one of the best bakeries in the nation is right here in Chester County.

Sweet Jazmines Bakery was selected from nearly 1,000 entries to be named as a Regional Finalist for the Best Bite Award in the first annual US Foods Food Fanatics Awards. These are designed to honor great people who have an epic love for the food and restaurant industry.

The local bakery is being recognized for its delicious OMG Sweet Potato Cinnamon Bun with Dark Butterscotch glaze.

“These awards allow US Foods to celebrate this passion and recognize some of the most dedicated, creative and skilled professionals in the industry,” said Marshall Warkentin, Senior Vice President, Marketing, at US Foods. “Sweet Jazmines Bakery’s accomplishments personify what it means to be a Food Fanatic and it’s an honor to highlight their great work.”

County’s Website Redesigned to Accommodate Mobile Users

While the majority of the 4.4 million page views that Chester County’s website received this past year occurred on laptops, the number of people using the site and accessing it through tablets and smartphones is growing exponentially.

Rebecca Brain, the County’s Communications Coordinator explained that as a result of this trend they have decided to redesign the website.

The redesigned page, which was launched on November 13th, is search-led, mobile-friendly and features an easy-to-read search bar in the middle of a phone’s display designed to facilitate getting information ranging from jury service to online tax payments.

Chester County Commissioners’ Chairman Terence Farrell said that “a first-class county deserves a first-class website for sure,” and his colleague Commissioner Kathi Cozzone, expressed her gratitude to the employees who worked on the project, saying “I know it was a herculean effort with a lot of folks involved.”

Stonebridge Bank Sold to Lancaster Investors

West Chester based Stonebridge Financial Corp. that filed for bankruptcy reorganization in June, agreed on November 9th to sell Stonebridge Bank to a group of Lancaster-based investors, pending bank regulatory approval.

Stonebridge has not been profitable since 2007, with its capital base slipping from $34 million in 2008 to $7 million by the middle of this year. Loans and other assets have similarly declined, falling from $487 million down to $130 million over the same period. In addition to the bank, the investors are getting a branch in Warminster and a loan office in Southampton.

One of the investors, former Pennsylvania State Representative, Gordon Denlinger, stated that the buyers believe that the latest wave of bank mergers, with even more expected soon, has “created an opening for a locally-owned and based community bank in the south-central Pennsylvania region.”