Apr 11, 2008

Waiting to be discoveredBy Crissa Shoemaker DebreePhillyBurbs.com

The retailers at the Main Street Marketplace in Doylestown have a running joke: How many people will come in and say they didn’t know the stores were there?

“Every day, we laugh about how many people come in who found us by accident,” said Sylvia Nelson. She owns Truly Yours, a boutique that sells new and used designer fashions and accessories.

Nelson and her fellow shop owners will laugh for another reason today, the first day of a three-day grand opening celebration featuring live entertainment and daily raffles.

In addition to Truly Yours, 13 retailers call the Marketplace home: Andr’s Wine & Cheese Shop; Hunting and Gatherings, an interior design and home accessories store; Main Street Gallery; clothing stores Mode Clothing, the Underground Monkey and Vestiti on Main; gift shops Mima & Co., the Thatched Cottage, Pink Ivy and Nature’s Splendor by Melanie; A Rare Treasure, which sells antiques; Beans Beauty, a salon and beauty supply store; and the Pennsylvania Soup & Seafood House restaurant.

The Marketplace — formerly the County Linen building, and briefly home to the ill-fated Fresh Merchant food store — is reminiscent of a Main Street farmers market. Stores have wrought-iron gates instead of doors. Eight-foot walls, designed for air flow and electrical reasons, add to the openness.

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