Page 8 - The Hunt - Spring 2022

EDITOR’S NOTE
Looking Back, TMoving Forward
his year, Marshallton celebrates the 300th birthday of its illustrious founder—and rest assured David Cox will take part in the festivities. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be dialing down
his continuing efforts to move the Chester County hamlet decisively forward. Since buying a home there 20 years ago, the West Chester native has reinvented the historic Marshalton Inn and the neighboring Four Dogs Tavern, once a stable for horses and then a popular human watering hole called the Oyster Bar. He and his wife, Wendy, have also launched three Airbnbs on nearby restored properties. “I was told if
I did good food here, the Phoenix would rise,” Cox told J.F. Pirro in an interview for the story found in this issue.
When Cox was a teenager, a summer dishwashing gig at Philadelphia Eagles training camp led to a promotion cooking lunch for the team. At Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, his culinary future was solidified. Soon, he was working in five-star hotels, including Peacock Alley at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. One night, Warren Scott was dining at Manhattan’s Picholine, where Cox was executive chef. Wildly impressed, the Marshalton Inn’s then owner informed Cox of his search for a partner and chef for another venture he called Four Dogs Tavern. Cox found the offer too sweet to resist—
and when Scott died in 2012, he acquired the inn and tavern. “We can have up to two-hour waits, and we get crushed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” he says. “It’s our little vortex, but I’m stuck in it. I guess you could also call it our little oasis, and we do want to keep it that way.”
Now in his late 50s, Cox would like to pass down the business
to his two sons. The older, 19-year-old Caden, is studying business management at West Chester University. Kiernan is 17. “My role is to continue to make these restaurants and this community better, so the value of Marshallton rises,” Cox says. “I hear from realtors that property values are on the rise—not because of the schools, but because of what we’ve done here.”
Hobart Rowland Editor-in-Chief
6 THE HUNT MAGAZINE spring 2022
ED WILLIAMS