OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Northbound restaurant opens in former Souderton train station
“Good food and good drinks.”
That’s what Northbound is all about, Executive Chef Jeff Sacco, one of the owners, said.
The menu, he said, is “American-style gastropub with American classic and regional kind of influences.”
A ribbon-cutting for the new restaurant in the former Souderton train station was held Aug. 31 with Souderton Borough, Indian Valley Chamber of Commerce and SoudertonTelford Main Streets members on hand.
The restaurant is a partnership between the owners of the Butcher and Barkeep in Harleysville and Boardroom Spirits in Lansdale.
Sacco, who’s been in the restaurant business since the early 1990s, said he started in the front of the house before going to culinary school.
The Butcher and Barkeep opened in 2013, with Northbound becoming the second restaurant the Butcher and Barkeep owners have opened.
“When this opportunity came up, we jumped all over it,” Sacco said.
“It was a long time coming, but the building looks amazing,” he said. “Everybody’s done such a fantastic job.”
Souderton Borough leases the train station, its two accompanying buildings and the parking area from SEPTA and has renovated and restored the buildings to be subleased to businesses.
“We’re really looking forward to helping downtown Souderton grow,” Sacco said.
“We’re excited to have them here,” Indian Valley
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Steven Hunsberger said.
New businesses such as Northbound are helping make Souderton a destination, he said.
“This is one of the first steps to draw people into the community to help support the economic strength that we experience here,” Hunsberger said.
A soft opening with a limited menu was planned for 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5, with the full dinner menu starting the following night, Thursday, Sept.
6, Sacco said. On Monday, September 17, the restaurant will begin serving lunch, he said.
Along with serving lunch and dinner, there will be Saturday and Sunday brunches, he said. Northbound will be open 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sundays, he said.
Northbound is no reservations, he said. It has about 40 employees, he said.
Online advertisements for job openings had said the
restaurant was looking for “hardworking, determined and friendly people.”
All the alcoholic beverages at Northbound will come from products made in Pennsylvania, Sacco said.
“It’s a new concept utilizing a distilling license,” he said.
Along with the restaurant’s indoor seating, there is also a patio for outdoor dining. Over the winter, that section will be wrapped and heated allowing it to be used most of the year, Cody Ferdinand, another of Northbound’s owners, said.