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I’m writing in regards to Melissa Jacobs’ “Taming Wildcats” in the March 2014 issue. My husband, Benjamin, and I own and operate Restaurant Cerise in Bryn Mawr. Nightly, after 10 p.m.—particularly on weekends—the sidewalk in front of our restaurant is full of intoxicated students spilling into the street. Their behavior is an embarrassment to the community … stumbling, public urination, vomiting, littering the street with beer cans.
On the one-month anniversary of our opening, our front window was smashed, and an intoxicated Villanova student was apprehended. This past Halloween, a second window was broken.
We appreciate that Lower Merion Township commissioner Scott Zelov has been speaking out and challenging Villanova University to invest resources in controlling its population. But it’s time to do more—and we must trust our township police to maintain order. If Villanova won’t deal with the issue of student drunkenness, let it deal with the issue of student arrests.
We’re thrilled to be a part of the Bryn Mawr community and very appreciative of those who patronize Cerise. Some of the nearby bars, however, are destructive to the community. Sadly, we now understand why the west end of Bryn Mawr has struggled to sustain local businesses.
Elena Thomas, Villanova
