As soon as Brett Fischer gets his Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce membership renewal, he writes a check.
 
The fourth generation to own and operate the borough’s only formal wear retailer with on-site alterations and dry cleaning services, Fischer believes his Chamber membership is non-negotiable.
 
“I admit I don’t take advantage of all the programs and offerings, but I am a member because I am part of the business community here,” Fischer said.
 
A Fischer’s Tuxedo experience is downtown Quakertown made-to-measure.

Fischer stocks more than 7,000 tuxes - from a boy’s size 4 to a size 70-long jacket - and there is something for everyone at his accomplished fingertips.
 
Of weddings – where grandfathers get special treatment – Fischer said, “I’m here to accommodate everybody, and Pop-Pops have a special place in my heart,” he noted. “Grandfathers are really important. If you’re lucky enough to still have one, let me dress him for your wedding,” Fischer said.
 
Fischer knows his trade. His great-grandfather Mathias Fischer founded the business in 1919.
 
“He was a tailor and made clothing from scratch,” Fischer said of his family patriarch, who emigrated from Romania to live in Quakertown.
 
“My Pop-Pop lived to 96, and he always dressed in his tie and sweater vest just like he was going to work,” Fischer said.
 
Fischer recently cleaned and repaired some vintage service garments from the Civil War and World Wars I and II for the Quakertown Historical Society.
 
From the dense wool to the gleaming buttons and service insignia, the jackets are a testament to endurance and craft. His work’s pride and joy is evidenced in carefully folded and pressed jacket sleeves.
 
“We put (the Civil War jacket) back together,” Fischer explained.
 
Fischer’s makes his rentals memorable because he’s creative about the process and invested in his customer’s looking their best.
 
And more than outfitting the area’s young men for their junior and senior proms, he’s created a marketing tool with incentives for his models.
 
Ahead of prom season you’ll see dapper young adults modeling Fischer’s tuxedos in schools throughout the region -  at Quakertown, Upper Perkiomen, Southern Lehigh, Palisades, Saucon Valley, Souderton and Pennridge high schools, showing off Fischer’s tuxedos quality and style.
 
Models can receive discounts for every referral they bring in after spending the school day dressed in formal threads.
 
“I give them each 10 business cards. For every card (used for a rental) they receive $20 off their tux,” Fischer said. That means enough referral rentals can make a tux free for the model.
 
Fischer’s also provides discounted formal wear and dry cleaning services for area jazz bands and ensembles, so the student musicians are dressed smartly as they showcase their talent in area competitions and festivals.
 
Alan Shughart, a long-time Quakertown Community School District band director, has known and worked with Fischer for years to outfit students for jazz bands and ensembles.
 
“For the past thirteen years (at Milford Middle School), Mr. Fischer has rented beautiful pants, cummerbunds, vests and shirts to our students for the entire two-and-a-half month season, for a nominal fee,” Shughart said.
 
“As a professional tuxedo rental and dry cleaning business, Brett uses his skills and talents to help our community. He certainly has dedicated much of his effort to helping school students in Upper Bucks and surrounding communities,” Shughart said.
 
Coming up on 100 years in business, Fischer’s has endured the test of time, political administrations, government changes, taxation, and felt the squeeze often placed on small family-owned and operated businesses.
 
Still, he holds fast to keep his Broad Street doors open.
 
“My family is everything to me. My great grandfather, my father and I, we all added to this business. I want to fulfill their dream,” Fischer said.
 
For more information on Fischer's Tuxedo visit www.fischerstuxedo.com or call 215.536.5137. 

If these walls could talk, what stories they could tell.

Upper Bucks lays claim to a thriving tavern and restaurant scene where historic eateries continue to serve hungry and thirsty locals, visitors and travelers.

They’ve got great food, rich histories and a pedigree of centuries behind them, a trifecta of Upper Bucks eateries boasting the near miss of a Revolutionary War hero’s hanging, a refuge for Civil War slaves on the Underground Railroad and a family’s legacy.
Within a few miles of one another McCoole’s Historic Red Lion Inn (site of the Fries’s Rebellion), The Brick Tavern Inn, (a Civil War Underground Railroad stop) and The Spinnerstown Hotel Restaurant & Taproom, owned and operated by Susan and John Dale, the second generation of the same family offering a community gathering place for more than 200 years.
 
McCoole’s is also home to McCoole’s Arts and Events Place, as well as its own microbrewery.
 
“This is our fourth year brewing beer on site. It sets us apart from various other restaurants because not only do we have our signature beer but we also brew it,” said Jan Hench, owner/operator of McCoole’s Historic Red Lion Inn.
 
Hench spotted the importance of the craft beer movement, and brought on a beer master to create signature seasonal suds, relevant to the area and to the historic property.
 
“It is a very integral extension of the culinary industry with the craft beer movement that is happening over the last several years. We want beers that can only be purchased at McCoole’s,” Hench said.
 
McCoole’s annual Beerfest in April is a showcase for a variety of the region’s craft beers and hard cider. For information about this year’s event, held April 29, visit mccoolesbeerfest.com
 
Celebrating 199 years in 2017, The Brick Tavern Inn on Old Bethlehem Pike in Milford Township is looking for stories about the staple restaurant’s history. Send stories about family milestones or other Brick connections or history via email to [email protected].

Significant renovations to the building aim to keep the historic atmosphere while providing for modern customer needs such as handicapped accessibility, cozy indoor dining and seasonal outdoor dining on the patio where a koi pond and live entertainment adds to the fair weather experience.

The Brick also offers live entertainment inside, check the website for specifics at www.thebricktaverninn.com.
 
The Spinnerstown Hotel Restaurant & Taproom sits in the western most corner of Milford Township and the name reflects the founding family of the village of Spinnerstown.

Susan and John Dale recognize the significance of a “community house” where locals go for information, for socializing and to catch up with friends and neighbors.

“A community gathering place is where you come for the food and the experience,” Susan Dale said.

While the Spinnerstown Hotel has offered curated beer dinners for years now special bottle sales means patrons can purchase a bottle of wine and not feel obliged to drink it all before the check arrives.

“We are expanding our wine business,” Susan Dale said, of the addition of a take-out bottle shop.
The goal is to bring the wine business in line with the extensive beer list and offerings, she explained of the latest niche special interest market.

Crossing Vineyards & Winery in Newtown, is one of the specially wines available at Spinnerstown. “You can sit down, buy a bottle of wine, eat, cork the bottle and take it home,” Susan Dale said.

She said the corked bottle should be stored in the truck of the car in compliance with Pennsylvania’s “open container” liquor laws. For information about Spinnerstown Hotel visit www.spinnerstownhotel.com.