PHILADELPHIA -- When Orbi Bitraj sees weekend crowds now flocking to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, on summer nights — some stumbling upon his corner Italian restaurant for the first time, others arriving in groups for reserved tables — he feels an immense sense of gratitude.
And not just for that night’s business. He’s thankful, too, he said, for the borough’s decision two years ago to close the main thoroughfare of Bridge Street and turn it into a pedestrian plaza during warm-weather weekends. The move was meant, borough leaders said, to help the dozens of restaurants and shops stay afloat after pandemic closures and amid continued restrictions.
Bitraj, an owner and business partner of Il Granaio, puts it matter-of-factly: “If it wasn’t for the street closure, we would be out of business.”
