Rose Tree Tavern opens doors as Brandywine Conference and Visitors Bureau

Delaware County Council Chairman Jack Whelan (center) was greeted at the door of the historic Rose Tree Tavern by Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation volunteers Janis Kephart of Upper Providence and Maury Hutelmyer of Springfield. The Rose Tree Tavern reopened its doors on May 26, as the new headquarters for the Brandywine Conference and Visitors Bureau, where Kephart also works as an administrative assistant. The Bureau’s Tavern office is now open to the public 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in Rose Tree Park.

to see the inside of the new facility just before it was completed. Also check out the attached PDF file of the liquor license application for the Tavern from 1742.

On May 29, 1739, David Calvert presented a petition to the courts, requesting a liquor license for a "convenient house" he was building on the "Great Road" that leads from Chester. That "convenient house" – the Rose Tree Tavern -- once again offers travelers a rest from the road, now that the building houses the Brandywine Conference and Visitors Bureau (BCVB), according to county officials. 

In August 2004, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation paid for the relocation of the tavern, 200 feet back from the road, as the first step in a redesign of the crossroads. Last summer, county council awarded five prime contracts to cover the renovation, from design and electrical work to plumbing and fire protection. The $1.7 million renovation was funded through the 3 percent hotel occupancy tax, which funds the BCVB, according to county officials.