New Slate Belt soda shop serving up classic fare
American eats, homemade ice cream and 1950s nostalgia
Happy Halloween weekend, Retail Watchers! If you’re looking to briefly escape the horrors of 2020, a new Plainfield Township restaurant is serving up friendly service, classic American cuisine and a heavy dose of 1950s nostalgia.
DAT’s What I’m Talkin’ Bout, which opened Oct. 25 at 5684 Sullivan Trail, is a retro-style soda shop offering house-made ice cream and Italian ice, savory options such as 6-ounce black Angus steak burgers, and a vibrant atmosphere evoking the heyday of American malt shops — complete with pink walls, turquoise booths and an old-fashioned jukebox blasting rock ‘n’ roll classics from Elvis, Bill Haley & His Comets and other legendary acts.
The look is so authentic — an epoxied floor features nearly 1,000 records — that you almost anticipate The Fonz, Danny Zuko or George McFly to walk through the door.
“We went the extra mile to make sure people really forget their worries here,” said co-owner Lilly DiMarco, noting wall murals of a vintage drive-in and other scenes were painted by local artist Lawrence Meng.
The eatery is a family affair with DiMarco and her husband, Joseph, overseeing operations with the help of their three daughters, whose first initials form DAT: Danielle, 18; Alexandria, 24; and Victoria (Tori), 9.
The Kunkletown couple previously ran DiMarco’s Bakery and LynDee’s ice cream shop at Routes 209 and 115 in Chestnuthill Township, Monroe County for 12 years, but they were forced to close those businesses earlier this year after the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced plans to demolish the stores’ strip mall and construct a new round-about at the intersection.
“We decided to do something
different outside of the Brodheadsville area, and we found this building, which used to be a PNC Bank, to be the perfect spot,” Lilly said. “We’re looking to offer people food that is quick, delicious and affordable in a really fun setting.”
Customers can choose from such appetizers as mini pierogi, spicy pickle fries and smoked gouda and mozzarella bites; sandwiches and wraps such as pulled pork, French dip au jus and chicken cordon bleu; and steak sandwiches like Philly, BLT ranch and Buffalo chicken. There’s also a wide variety of salads, burgers, hot dogs and cakes.
“Many of the items are under $10, and that was our goal,” Lilly said. “As a family of five, we know how important it is to get good food at a good price.”
DAT’s, featuring outdoor dining in the former bank’s drive-thru area, also offers 26 rotating flavors of made-on-premise ice cream, including such seasonal flavors as pumpkin cheesecake and caramel apple, along with other chilled treats like ice cream floats, flights, milkshakes and sundaes. Hours are noon to 9 p.m. daily. Info: 610-365-8650; facebook.com/DATSWHATIMTALKINBOUT.
Sweet spots
Staying on the topic of sweet spots, trays of cookies, cannolis and quesitos are situated in front of shelves of raisin nut bread, ciabatta rolls and French baguettes at the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market’s newest merchant, Heaven
on the Go.
The business, which opened Oct. 8 in the lower level space that previously housed longtime vendor From the Hearth, offers artisan breads, fresh-baked pastries and coffee.
Husband and wife owners Luis and Sharon Luna are serving baked goods such as churros, turnovers, tres leches cake and guava-filled pastries, with many recipes hailing from Luis’ parents’ Puerto Rican bakery, Luna’s, which has locations on Linden Street and Union Boulevard in Allentown.
Artisan breads, including challah, French boule, olive thyme and sourdough, are sourced from prominent regional bakeries such as LeBus and Metropolitan in Philadelphia. Info:
Info: kyte.site/heavenonthego.
If doughnuts are your confection of choice, the Lehigh Valley’s newest Dunkin’ location, dubbed a “next-generation restaurant,” opened Monday in an end unit of a newly constructed strip mall at 4098 Bath Pike in Hanover Township, Northampton County.
The 2,200-square-foot eatery, joining more than 13,100 locations of the coffee and baked goods chain worldwide, features Dunkin’s “restaurant of the future” experience, with digital kiosks, increased energy efficiency, a tap system serving eight cold beverages and an On-the-Go drive-thru lane allowing DDPerks members whoorder ahead via Dunkin’s mobile app the ability to bypass the ordering lane.
A final morsel of sweet news: Star Gaetaniello, a local baker with 20 years of experience under her apron, and her husband, Tom, recently closed on a two-story building at 929 Main St. in Northampton (a few doors down from Mario’s Pizza) and plan to open a bakery on its first floor in January following renovations, according to a news release.
The bakery, Cakes On Main, will specialize in cupcakes, made-to-order cakes, special occasion treats and holiday desserts. Customers will be able to preorder cakes, and a variety of cupcakes and certain cakes also will be for sale at the shop to be consumed off premises.
Trolley Barn Public Market
After more than two years of development, the highly anticipated Trolley Barn Public Market, a 19,000-squarefoot market and food hall featuring a diverse mix of around 15 vendors, is set to open Friday at 116 E. Broad St. in Quakertown, according to an announcement on the venue’s website.
The retail and dining hub, comprised of renovated buildings surrounding a dormant 19th century train station, will house three craft beverage anchor tenants: Easton brewpub Two Rivers Brewing Co., Lower Saucon Township
vineyard and winery Black River Farms and new business Doan Distillery.
Food vendors will include Yard’s
Pizza, specializing in thin-crust pizza; True Blue, offering Mediterranean favorites such as hummus, gyros and kabobs; TheMeatWagon, serving such barbecue staples as smoked-on-site brisket, kielbasa, chicken and baked beans; and Takkii Ramen, a sister business to Rakkii Ramen( with a location in Bethlehem), offering Japanese cuisine like ramen, udon and rice bowls.
For people with a sweet tooth, the market also will feature Bucks County Confections, featuring cookies, brownies and other sweet treats from Bucks County bakers like Papa’s Cupcakes in Perkasie; and a second location of Downtown Allentown Market favorite Batch Microcreamery, offering 16 rotating flavors of hand-crafted, super-premium ice cream, milkshakes, sundaes andmore.
Other vendors will include smoothie business Blend Life; Center Valleybased Red Door Coffee Roaster, offering single-origin coffees, blends and flavored coffees as well as naturally decaffeinated flavors; Rail Yard Meats&Market, offering proteins from local farms, sandwiches and regionally sourced artisan breads; and Full Earth Goods, a “wellness shop featuring high-quality goods and handmade gifts,” including local kombucha, CBD oil, organic produce and to-go food from Trexlertown’s Café Santosha.
Trolley Barn, which will operate Thursday through Sunday, also will feature private event space for weddings and other functions. Info: trolleybarnpublicmarket.com.
Odds and ends
Switching from food to fun, the
Lehigh Valley’s first Urban Air Adventure Park, part of a Texas chain with more than 260 indoor adventure parks open or under development nationwide, is expected to open in the coming weeks at 6900 Hamilton Blvd. in Trexlertown, franchise owner Matthew Pitz said.
The facility, occupying a 64,000-square-foot space that previously housed The Bon-Ton department store in The Shops at Trexlertown, will feature a multilevel go-kart track, “Warrior” obstacle course, “Tubes” playground, ropes course, climbing wall and cafe. A trampoline area will feature a dodgeball arena, free-style open jump section, “Slam Dunk Zone” and more.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the business has implemented a variety of enhanced cleaning procedures and safety precautions, including limiting the number of guests, taking the temperatures of staff and guests upon arrival and having dedicated sanitation team members wipe down frequently touched equipment. Info: urbanairtrampolinepark.com.
For people who find adventure on the open road, Keystone Harley-Davidson has parked in a more convenient spot for Lehigh Valley motorcycle enthusiasts.
The dealership, offering new and preowned Harley-Davidson motorcycles, is tentatively scheduled to move on Tuesday from its longtime home at 770 State Road in Parryville, Carbon County, to its newly constructed, 25,000-squarefoot home at 2800 Eberhart Road in Whitehall Township, according to a post on the business’ website.
Owner and President Bob Eggstein, whopurchased the decades-old Blocker Harley-Davidson dealership in May 2011, promises the “same great service, same great people, same great experiences you’ve expected in Parryville.”
Eggstein took an interest in moving his dealership to the Lehigh Valley when Crossroads Harley-Davidson in Coopersburg closed in 2012, according to a news release. Info: 610-379-4055.
Lastly, a destination for all-you-can eat fried chicken, mashed potatoes and other home-style favorites has ended its run of more than 25 years at the Whitehall Mall.
Old Country Buffet, which bills itself as “America’s premier buffet restaurant,” on Oct. 18 permanently closed its only Lehigh Valley location, according to a news release.
The stand-alone restaurant, near the shuttered Sear’s department store, had been temporarily closed since late March due to the pandemic.
VitaNova Brands, a Texas multiconcept operator of Old Country Buffet and other independent restaurant brands such as HomeTown Buffet and Ryan’ s, also recently announced the closures of five other restaurants in its portfolio.
The closures were a result of “expiring leases for locations with declining sales prepandemic,” Jason Kemp, president of VitaNova Brands, said in the release.