Tango restaurant closes after 19 years at Bryn Mawr train station

Tango, the destination restaurant at the Bryn Mawr train station, closed abruptly this week after 19 years.

Patrons who attempted to have lunch Friday, Dec. 27 at the restaurant, by the tracks off of Morris Avenue, were greeted by signs on the doors that read, “As of 12/26/19 Tango will be closed for business. Thank you for your years of support.” Those who had reservations were notified Thursday that the restaurant was closing. Its seldom-updated Instagram account’s last post, dated Dec. 7, advertised holiday parties.

Joe Baldino, a longtime owner, did not return a message left with his mother at the restaurant Thursday as well as a text message to his cell phone Friday morning. Chef Sam Sheridan, also a partner, could not be reached for comment.

Baldino’s mother cited keen competition as one reason for the closing.

She said her son would make good on refunds of gift certificates but would not elaborate. A posting on the Facebook group Lower Merion Restaurant Reviews said that the Paoli restaurant Nectar, which shares some investors with Tango, would honor the gift certificates, but a Nectar representative said that was not true.

Tango opened in December 2000 at what briefly was Lewis & Clark, which had succeeded another long-running restaurant, Central Bar & Grill.

Local observers believe that another restaurant group is waiting in the wings. A representative of Amtrak, which holds the lease on the property, did not return a message for comment.

Update: John Brandt-Lee, who owns the nearby Avalon Bistro, will give anyone with Tango gift cards a $25 credit off a meal at Avalon through Feb. 1. (The offer is not valid New Year’s Eve.