Rich's Deli Has Fed Fort Washington Since 1978. Now It's Looking for Its Next Owner.

"It is with mixed emotions that I've decided to put Rich's Deli up for Sale and retire. If you know anyone that might be interested please reach out. We will maintain normal operations until we have a buyer! Thanks! Rich"

Rich Rosenau posted that message on Friday, September 25, 2026, and Around Ambler ran it the next morning. According to Wiss Now, the post had drawn 132 comments by September 28. Longtime customers congratulated him on retiring and shared memories of the deli.

Those comments make sense once you look at where the deli sits. Rich's Deli is at 430 S. Bethlehem Pike, between Germantown Academy and the Fort Washington SEPTA station. For 48 years it has run on two schedules, the school day and the train. Right now that station stretch of the pike is also under review, as Whitemarsh Township weighs a proposal to rebuild part of it around the rail line. A buyer would be taking over a business whose surroundings are being discussed at the same moment.

What the announcement settled, and what it left open

The post answered the question most regulars cared about first. Rosenau said the deli will maintain normal operations until a buyer is found. He gave no closing date and no deadline. He also asked for word of mouth, inviting anyone who knows an interested buyer to get in touch.

MoreThanTheCurve ran the story under the headline "Whitemarsh deli up for sale" and put the deli in Fort Washington's Whitemarsh Township section. That matters for the second half of this story, because the planning process now underway near the station is a Whitemarsh process.

A family deli tradition that started on Hunting Park Avenue

Rich's Deli did not start from scratch. According to the deli's own history, it began a generation earlier in Philadelphia.

1. 1964 to 1973. The Rosenau family ran Paul's Delicatessen, a corner deli near 24th Street and Hunting Park Avenue. The deli's history says that is where Rich Rosenau "inherited his love for the food business."
2. May 30, 1978. Rosenau took over the property on Bethlehem Pike in Fort Washington. At first the deli served breakfast and lunch takeout.
3. May 2023. The deli marked 45 years in business, and Glenside Local wrote about the milestone.
4. September 2026. Rosenau announced the sale and his retirement.

Counting Paul's, the family's deli business in the region goes back to 1964. In the deli's history, Rosenau explains why he opened his own place: "People always have to eat, and having grown up in the food business, having the desire to only work for me and make people happy, I opened Rich's Deli in 1978."

Two schedules set the day at 430 S. Bethlehem Pike

The deli's location explains who its customers are. In the 2023 profile, Glenside Local reported that its main patrons are Germantown Academy students and commuters who work in Philadelphia. The Fort Washington station is next door, and the school is right beside it.

The 2023 hours fit those two groups. The deli opened at 7:00 a.m. every day and closed at 5:30 p.m. on weekdays, 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. A 7:00 a.m. opening covers the first coffee before an inbound train. A weekday close at 5:30 p.m. covers the after-school crowd. Those hours come from a three-year-old article, though, and the deli's current contact page doesn't list hours. Call before a special trip.

The decor is all local. Glenside Local described high school banners, newspaper clippings about local high school sports legends, photos of Rosenau's two sons, and Philadelphia sports memorabilia that includes a seat saved from Veterans Stadium. The deli's history calls it "a community hub, a spot where friends meet, families gather, and memories are made."

What a buyer would take over, and what can't be listed

On paper the business is easy to describe. The menu has breakfast sandwiches and platters, hoagies, and grilled food including cheesesteaks. The breakfast platter comes with eggs, cheese, home fries and a choice of breakfast meat. Customer testimonials on the deli's homepage mention cheesesteaks, Italian hoagies, bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, and breakfast platters. The catering menu lists breakfast buffets, cold platters, sandwich and hoagie trays, salads, hot dishes, and three- and six-foot hoagies. Orders come in by phone at 215-646-9860 or 215-646-2686, and through Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash.

In 2023, Rosenau told Glenside Local that his employees had been with him an average of 25 years. He also described what 45 years at one counter had given him:

"We appreciate the continued loyalty and we appreciate knowing everybody. I know multiple generations of families in the area."

Around Ambler asked its own readers what a new owner should focus on at a long-established deli. The poll choices included keeping the menu and recipes, keeping longtime staff and the culture, and modernizing the brand. Those choices match what is at stake. The recipes and equipment can change hands in a sale. The staff's years at the counter and the generations of families Rosenau knows by name can't be written into a contract.

The station stretch is being redrawn at the same time

Whatever happens with the sale, a buyer will be stepping into a corridor the township is actively planning. On September 24, 2026, the Montgomery County Planning Commission reviewed a proposal from the Hankin Group for 431 to 461 Bethlehem Pike. That site is 10 lots totaling 5.2 acres on the east side of the pike, between Station Avenue and Fort Hill Drive. An October 9 preview of the plan on MoreThanTheCurve gave the address as 435 to 455 Bethlehem Pike and the size as 5.5 acres. The county letter's figures are used below.

Here is what the sketch plan shows, according to the county review in the township's October 13 agenda packet:

The plan depends on a proposed new zoning overlay called TDO-3, Transit-Friendly Design Overlay 3. To qualify, a property would have to be in the VC-1 Village Commercial District, cover at least 3 acres, sit within 1,000 feet of a SEPTA rail station or bus stop, and have buildings designed to LEED Silver standards. Residential density would be capped at 32 units per acre. The county said it "generally supports" the proposal. One concern it raised was that the sketch plan was missing details on a direct connection to Fort Washington Station.

The proposal was on the Whitemarsh Planning Commission's October 13 agenda for discussion. The preview reported that Hankin was asking for discussion, not a recommendation. The township's packet notes that the Planning Commission is advisory and doesn't make formal decisions. Nothing has been approved. The overlay, the plan, and the timing are all still under discussion.

For the deli, all of this adds up to a possible change in the area around it. For 48 years, the customers at 430 S. Bethlehem Pike have mostly been people passing through on their way to class or a train. The sketch plan would add 162 apartments and new storefronts on that same stretch near the station. Whoever buys Rich's Deli would be taking over a business built for those customers just as the township considers adding more neighbors and more retail nearby.

Before the sign changes

Rosenau's announcement promised normal operations until a buyer is found. To order, call 215-646-9860 or 215-646-2686, or use the delivery apps linked on the deli's contact page. Larger catering orders need advance notice, so a holiday office lunch or a six-foot hoagie for a November gathering is best booked early. If you know someone who might want to own a 48-year-old deli beside a train station, Rosenau asked people to send them his way.

Changes on the blocks around a station tend to shape how a neighborhood feels for years. If you'd like to talk through how the Bethlehem Pike corridor near Fort Washington station fits into your own plans, Diane Reddington has been watching these streets for nearly four decades and is happy to share what she sees. Let's Connect.