Locked In
Having ignited Yardley’s downtown with its combination of food, beer, and ambience, Vault Brewing expands its presence beyond the bounds of Bucks County. Plus: Owowcow Creamery.
From made-from-scratch gastropub fare, to finely crafted beers brewed just a few blocks away, to live music and ambience in a communal space carved out of a shuttered bank, there’s a lot to love at Vault Brewing in Yardley. One thing guests won’t find at Vault: wall-mounted TVs. Owner and Managing Partner Scott Burney does not expect that policy to ever change.
“No TVs was a choice we made,” says Burney, who has been a Yardley resident for more than 30 years. “Vault is more about having a place to get together and have a conversation over high-quality food and beer.”
Renee Mahoney, who handles Vault’s restaurant operations, payroll, and human resources, adds with a laugh, “Even our Wi-Fi is not good.”
While many breweries brew exceptional beer, their food is often less than imaginative. Not so at Vault. Burney says many patrons are surprised by the scope of the menu and the elevated food quality. Ingredients are locally sourced whenever possible. The pizzas are blistered to perfection in a wood-fired oven. And, unlike most restaurants, the kitchen has a grand total of zero fryers.
The menu changes seasonally or quarterly; new additions to the fall menu include the smoked roast beef and cheddar handheld, steak tartare, and, for dessert, the pumpkin spice panna cotta. Gluten-free and vegetarian selections abound, as do options for families with children, which represent a growing percentage of the restaurant’s clientele. Many items can be customized; for those who follow a plant-based diet, the bánh mì can be made with tofu in place of the standard pork belly.
Among the menu’s staples, Vault’s leadership have their favorites. For Burney, it’s the wild mushroom pizza. For Mahoney, it’s the duck and apple pizza, made better with the tang of Blue Stilton cheese—“I don’t even like blue cheese, and if it’s not on there, it just doesn’t make the pizza,” she says. “The combination is so different.” For Director of Brewery Operations Eric Leypoldt, it’s the pork belly fries, made with roasted fingerling potatoes, cheddar cheese, and, of course, a generous allotment of smoked pork belly.
Guests can also expect a strong-as-iron beer program. Led by Head Brewer Chris Sayko, Vault is always brewing up something new and exciting to complement its five “core” brews: the Teller Pilsner, the 5 Cees American-style IPA, the Public Offering New England-style IPA, the Of Hops and Clouds New England-style pale ale, and the Dead Cat Bounce New England-style double IPA. In autumn, for example, Vault will bring back Sweet Potato Ale, an annual favorite made with whole roasted sweet potatoes, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Leypoldt describes the taste as “like fall in a can.”
“We like to try fun, new things,” he adds. “Sometimes it’s a traditional style we don’t get to brew often, and sometimes it’s a weird fruited sour. Surprisingly we did an English mild ale, which is a very traditional ale low ABV (alcohol by volume), and it was a big hit, so I’m hoping we see less experimental beers and more traditional styles coming back in fashion. … We don’t get too crazy and try to make everything true to style with quality ingredients, just like the food side.”
Being so close to New Jersey has been a benefit to Vault, considering the fact that most New Jersey breweries are restricted from selling food. Burney says regulars include customers from nearby towns across the river, including Ewing, Hopewell, Penington, and Princeton.
Fans of Vault can now find its brews far beyond the borders of Yardley. Investments in a freestanding production facility in Yardley, just a few blocks from the restaurant, have enabled Vault to expand its wholesale operations serving customers throughout southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, particularly the central part of the Garden State.
Also, more than a year and a half ago, Vault opened a brewpub in Easton as a sister to the original. Burney says the team chose Easton for its relative proximity and its up-and-coming status. For anyone who hasn’t visited Easton in some time, the city has been almost completely transformed over the past 10 to 15 years.
“I grew up north of there, and driving through visiting my parents years ago, Easton and Bethlehem and Allentown were not good areas,” Burney says. “Bethlehem and Easton have definitely turned the corner. Easton has a lot of new apartments—nice apartments—and that’s part of what drew us there, in addition to finding an old building with thick stone walls that felt very similar to [what we have in Yardley], with a much bigger event space.”
Making a Day of It
Yardley has undergone some distinct changes, too. While Yardley may have a vibrant downtown now, with a fantastic culinary scene, that was not always the case. The folks behind Vault Brewing deserve much of the credit for the town’s rise.
“Fourteen years ago, Vault added a very nice spark to the town that’s definitely bled into what it is today,” Burney says. “It was a pretty sleepy Main Street, mostly Realtors and insurance and almost nothing else downtown. You had the old staples, like the Yardley Inn and the Continental [Tavern], though the Continental was in a much different form that it is now; it’s still tavern-type fare, but they redid the whole building and it changed the look of the town.”
Burney and his team have their hands in other popular Yardley restaurants—namely, Pretty Bird Coffee, Pretty Burger, and Kawaii Tori Sushi—which they recommend. They also sing the praises of the town’s other culinary hot spots, such as Bagel Train, Charcoal BYOB, and Panna Gelateria & Bakery.
Yardley has become a destination for more than just restaurants. Women’s boutiques, a vintage shop, and a refillery, as well as an independent bookstore in Commonplace Reader, line Main Street.
“For being as small of a town as we are, there’s a lot of diverse options,” Leypoldt adds. “You can really come in and make a day of it.”
Close to Perfect
Apart from Vault Brewing, Yardley and nearby Newtown combine to make up one of the Philadelphia area’s most exciting culinary destinations. Here’s a small sample of what you’ll find.
Anyone who appreciates Neapolitan brick-oven pizzas should make a beeline for Acqua e Farina on Richboro Road in Newtown. Choose from many selections, but the oh-so-simple margherita is tough to beat. acquaefarinanapoli.com
Charcoal BYOB has been serving up “locally sourced, seasonally inspired” fare since the mid-1990s. From the ingredients to the presentation to the freshness and flavor, Charcoal’s dishes deliver every time. The location of this Yardley icon is worth raving about, too, especially for anyone who appreciates a view of the water. charcoalbyob.com
Like many historic Bucks County taverns, Yardley’s Continental Tavern has ties to the Underground Railroad, and even one or two ghost stories. While the history is fascinating, guests flock to the restored Continental for the combination of food and libations, hospitality, and ambience that’s tough to duplicate. contav.com
The thin, crispy, and oh-so-slightly charred pizzas at Yardley’s DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies (and its sister location across the river in Robbinsville) are in a class all their own. While it’s almost impossible to improve upon perfection, we prefer our pies topped with black olives and hot peppers. delorenzostomatopies.com
A Newtown staple, Isaac Newton’s serves up a broad menu of burgers, sandwiches, and other favorites in reliably fine form. For anyone who appreciates the glorious simplicity of a grilled cheese, Isaac Newton’s offers multiple iterations. It’s also known for its lineup of draft beers—more than 20, including local brands like Sly Fox, Warwick Farm, and Yards. isaacnewtons.com
Stop at La Grange French Steakhouse for lovingly prepared entrées, cocktails, and desserts inspired by the heart of western Europe. Take a seat in the elegant yet relaxed dining room, and let the confident team of servers take care of the rest. The wine list is, in a word, magnifique. lagrangeyardley.com
A Newtown institution that began its life as an early-20th century barn, La Stalla serves up an array of Italian-influenced dishes built for sharing. The open kitchen adds a lot of energy to the room, making a night at La Stalla more of an interactive experience than a meal. lastallarestaurant.com
For an immensely satisfying breakfast (or lunch) without any gilding of the lily, head to Pat’s Colonial Kitchen on State Street in Newtown. Pat’s does just about everything right in an atmosphere that feels much like home. We love the communal dining room, but we prefer the wraparound porch in warm-weather months. facebook.com/patscolonialkitchen
Few places compare to The Temperance House, an historic inn and tavern with a scratch kitchen on Newtown’s State Street. It’s a festive place all year long, but we prefer it in the colder, darker months, when we can settle in and enjoy selections from the extensive tap list and a menu of hearty tavern fare. temperancehouse.com
Vecchia Osteria takes an old-school approach to serving Old World cuisine perfected from family recipes. Everything about this Newtown BYOB leaves an impression, from the energetic dining room, to the atmosphere, to the menu of authentic Italian classics. Don’t skimp on the house-made desserts; the espresso tiramisu is a crowd favorite. vecchiaosteriabypasquale.com
Cold Comfort
John Fezzuoglio was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, in a neighborhood where people knew their butchers and bakers. When he moved to Bucks County, he discovered that, by and large, people didn’t have the same connection to their food—so he did something about it.
“John wanted to create a place where he was creating real food, and where people knew where their food was coming from,” says Shira Tizer Wade, managing director of Owowcow Creamery, the company Fezzuoglio founded in 2009. “As much as possible, we use local ingredients—cream, milk, eggs, honey, chocolate from Raymer’s in Doylestown. In the summer, any time we use fruit, it’s locally sourced.”
The “eat local” approach resonates now more than ever. The cyclospora outbreak attributed to contaminated lettuce brought into the United States from Mexico is the most recent example why.
“Local farmers are so important to the food landscape,” Wade adds. “We know where our ingredients come from. … A lot of ice cream purveyors say they’re homemade, but they’re still using artificial bases and colors. The tide is turning to artisan, and we’re happy to be part of that.”
Owowcow’s flavors range from simple staples such as Madagascar Vanilla, to exotic options such as Strawberry Salted Stracciatella, Local Sweet Buttered Corn, and Honey Lavender. Wade has a couple of favorites: Sweet Honey Cream and Blueberry Lemon, the latter of which she describes as “the perfect blend of sweetness and tartness.”
Since joining Owowcow in 2011, Wade has watched the brand take off. The company has grown to five locations—Chalfont, Easton, Ottsville, Wrightstown, and across the river in Lambertville—with a robust wholesale business to boot. Although she doesn’t expect Owowcow’s brick-and-mortar store count to change in the near future, she sees continued growth on the horizon.
“We’re open year-round, other than a weeklong break between Christmas and New Year’s,” she says. “We have a great season even when it’s not summer, and we do seasonal flavors every month of the year. … Even if it’s rainy or cold, there’s never a bad time for ice cream.”
Photo by Alison Dunlap
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life, September 2026.
