By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Belle Vie Photography

MIXX’s whimsical interior plays off a Parisian influence with dramatic, dark red chandeliers, antiqued white wash brick walls, and damask print and butter-colored seating.

AroundMainLine.com’s second monthly get together on February 22nd, Monday Night Meetup at MIXX, offered more than 30 AML fans and Main Liners an opportunity to enjoy and dine at Villanova’s newest hotspot. MIXX is the eighth property of Win Signature Restaurants and owners Win and Sutida Somboonsong. Located in the downstairs space, formerly the home of “Maia Market,” to Main Line diners, this latest addition re-opens the 22,000 square foot space in its entirety. When Win Signature Restaurant Group took over the upstairs of the location (that formerly housed Maia) and converted it to Azie on Main, they were eyeing the vacant downstairs space for a different venue. “We weren’t exactly sure what we were going to do with this space at first. But, once we settled on the downstairs and the name, then the planning begin,” explained Christine Olmsted, company ombudswoman. “Comfort food with a twist was the concept that we settled on, and Win (the company) sticks to what we know. Most of our properties have a global influence, but we know that does not always translate in a suburban environment. MIXX is like the girl next door, she doesn’t always make your heart race but you always go back to her for comfort and a ‘safe place.’”

MIXX made for an outstanding locale for AML’s February Monday Night Meetup. Our guests enjoyed happy hour specials from 5 to 9pm (extended two hours to honor our special event) and one lucky attendee walked away with a gift card for dinner for two! One Monday each month, AML will be hosting Monday Night Meetup across the Main Line as a casual and fun way to catch up with our Facebook fans and Twitter followers and connect with the community at-large. Join our Facebook fan page to stay in touch and up to date with all our events and our full details on our next Monday Night Meetup! Local restaurants and businesses interested in hosting an event with AML can email us at: info@aroundmainline.com.
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By K. Kittles/Main Line Meow columnist
Photos by BUP Photography

AML staffer K. Kittles is spearheading Main Line Meow, a new column bringing all the latest suburban business and people news to local desktops. Have a compelling tip for Kittles? Email him at: kittles@aroundmainline.com.

They say curiosity killed the cat. Well, not in my case. Let me introduce myself to the few of you (Main Liners most especially) who do not know me. My name is Kittles, K. Kittles, and I’ve been around these parts for the better half of eleven years. I’m a lucky little feline if you ask me. Besides my brilliant owners being hard core Villanova basketball fans (thus my clever moniker), they are pretty terrific people. Over a decade ago, I was hanging out at a local SPCA shelter waiting for someone to fall head over heels in love with me. At the time, I was still developing my looks and this handsome mug of mine—but I was pretty darn cute at five-months-old. So, a little coercing on my part behind the bars of my cage and a few coy little poses, and before I knew it I was whisked up, kissed an inordinate amount of times and on my way to my new forever and fabulous Main Line home.

Fast forward to today, May of 2009, and I guess you could say I’m a local celeb. There aren’t many people who don’t know me, or recognize my gorgeous green eyes, soft gray and black striped fur or sensational, confident strut. And, after ten years of hitting the streets (and I mean the streets), I pretty much have my paw on the pulse of what’s going on around these suburban Main Line parts.
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By AML Publisher
Photography courtesy of Bernadette Uzcategui Photography

The brains and beauty behind a brilliant business model are Main Line moms and Tymel co-principals Melissa Parker (left) and Tyra Hodges (right).

If there are two idioms that ring true when describing a successful entrepreneurial business model in 2009 it is the following: 1) Necessity is the mother of invention. 2) Timing is everything. With so many Americans astutely aware of reducing their carbon footprint, the green industry is thriving with creative concepts that speak to the nation’s environmentally-cautious consumer. Despite a down economy, all signs point positively towards a growing demand for socially responsible business models.

In the case of Main Line entrepreneurs Tyra Hodges, 45, and Melissa Parker, 40, their invention-fashion forward reusable bags made from recycled materials-was inspired by some timely conversations they had with their children. Hodges was unpacking her groceries one evening in her kitchen last spring when her (then 11-year-old) daughter, Natalie, commented on the amount of plastic and paper she was wasting. Parker had received similar feedback from one of her daughters a few weeks earlier after she completed a school project on the importance of recycling.
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