Fans of Ardmore business "go nuts" after learning shop will stay open
ARDMORE, Pa. (CBS) -- A community rallied to make sure a local business can continue to shell out favorites for years to come.
In Ardmore, there's one shop in particular where people come from all over to crack open the holidays.
The Head Nut is all about the personal experience.
"It's charm, it's old-style business meeting new-style customers," said owner Lee Molineux Jr. "Our customers see the product going into the bag instead of it being done at a warehouse or a small closed store."
The Molineux family business goes back to 1945 when it was known as Tem Tee Nuts.
"Small little packages sold at local super markets," Molineux Jr. said. "And it evolved into what it is now."
It's a bustling store that's filled with nuts, spices, candies, and coffees from all over the world.
This isn't just a store to the Molineux family, it's a home where lifelong bonds are made.
"I was actually in a playpen over there," Molineux Jr. said.
Molineux's father Lee Molineux Sr., showed pictures of The Head Nut's past - and shared stories about how the store stayed open when he went off to war.
"Actually my grandfather, he held it together while I was spending time in Vietnam. And when I came back, I came right back to it the next day," Molineux Sr. said.
"I wanted to kiss the ground in Philadelphia because I was still alive," Molineux Sr. added.
In the last five months, it's been a different kind of war for The Head Nut and dozens of other businesses along the Main Line.
Haverford Township wanted to rezone the area and replace the existing small businesses with newer storefronts and two-level apartments or condos.
"That's the wrong ending for a lifetime of work," Molineux Sr. said.
Customers and supporters of The Head Nut attended town meetings and fought for the small businesses in this district.
About 13,000 people signed a petition to stop the rezoning plan, and the township did, proving the personal experience always makes a difference.
"I'm hoping the place will remain after I'm gone," Molineux Sr. said.
"As you see it now is how it will continue," Molineux Jr. said.