Expanding their footprint
Pub adds fine-dining offshoot during pandemic
Like countless restaurant owners across the country, Neville Gardner has faced unprecedented hurdles in 2020.
Gardner and his staff at McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub& Whiskey Bar in downtown Bethlehem have rolled with the punches, however, adapting in multiple ways to the constantly changing business restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Over the past several months, Gardner and his crew enhanced the pub’s already strict cleaning practices, increased outdoor dining space while limiting indoor seating and introduced various to-go boxes, featuring multiple servings.
Their latest effort to weather the crisis is a new indoor dining concept, Lafayette Room, which debuted Nov. 13 above McCarthy’s neighboring Donegal Square, a 35-year-old Celtic gift shop that Gardner, a native of Northern Ireland, also operates at 534 Main St.
The second-floor space, with seating for 20 customers at socially distanced tables, offers a rotating selection of continental dishes not found on McCarthy’s menu.
“I was always planning to do something with this room, but when COVID hit, that kind of moved up my plans,” Gardner said of the underutilized space, which previously housed Celtic Cultural Alliance offices. “Some people think I’m crazy for opening a new venture during the pandemic, but all restaurant owners must do something — often multiple things — to survive right now. I looked at the potential costs of enclosing our patio, and it just wasn’t worth it, especially with it getting so cold.”
Lafayette Roomis normally open 6-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays by online reservation only, but Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s Thursday announcement mandating that indoor dining at restaurants be shut down until Jan. 4 has temporarily halted service.
When it reopens next month, executive chef Jill Oman and her culinary team will prepare such dishes as local pekin duck breast, cast-iron USDA choice beef tenderloin and a burrata BLTsalad with smoked pork belly. Most entrees are in the $25-$35 price range.
“We have sea bass with a really nice beurre blanc, braised Guinness lamb shank and Irish cream chicken, made with in-house Irish cream,” said Oman, noting that Lafayette Room’s cocktails and wines are also different than those offered at the pub.
“There are Celtic dishes, but there are also other influences, including a little French, a little Italian and a little American,” Gardner added. “The overal concept — from the food to the atmosphere — is more fine dining compared to the pub.”
Lafayette Room, featuring tabletop oil lamps and stained glass art in the windows, is named after Gen. Marquis de Lafayette, who convalesced from a leg wound suffered at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777 at the Bethlehem site’s former structure, the home of George Frederick Beckel.
During the indoor dining shutdown, Gardner plans to renovate another vacant upstairs space into an overflow dining area for McCarthy’s. It will feature three private dining rooms accommodating an additional 24 patrons.
“I’m not happy about [the shutdown] because I’m going to have to lay off some staff again, but I’m also not surprised by it due to the number of cases these days,” Gardner said. “The unfortunate part about it is that at restaurants like ours where the rules are being followed to the letter, people are not getting sick. People are getting sick because they’re having family gatherings and they’re doing other stuff, and there’s no way to stop that.”
McCarthy’s will continue to offer outdoor dining and takeout during the shutdown. Info: redstagpub.com.
More foodie finds
Staying on the topic of new dining destinations, fast-casual eateries Uno Taqueria and Takkii Ramen, offering Mexican and Japanese cuisines respectively, opened last month at 1042 Mill Creek Road, across from Walmart, in Lower Macungie Township.
Uno, specializing in authentic Mexican-style street tacos, opened Nov. 19, according to Humberto Chavolla, who’s operating the business with his wife, Elia.
The 24-seat restaurant, occupying the space that previously housed Cold Stone Creamery and The Green Pepper, is the second Lower Macungie restaurant for the Chavollas.
In March, the couple opened Casa Catrina, a full-service Mexican restaurant, at 1905 Brookside Road. They previously operated Fiesta Olé for 15 years at 1116 Chestnut St. in Emmaus.
At Uno, customers can order tacos comprised of unique fillings such as cauliflower, nopales (cactus pads) and al pastor (pineapple and marinated pork cooked on a vertical rotisserie) in made-on-site soft shell corn tortillas.
Other varieties, starting at $3.50 for a single taco, include Baja fish, birria (braised shredded beef ), ribeye, roast chicken and shrimp. Info: 484-221-8639.
Takkii Ramen, specializing in Japanese noodle dishes, opened Nov. 28, according to owner and chef Marco Lu, whostudied the art of ramen making in Yokohama, Japan.
The 30-seat restaurant, occu
pying the space that previously housed Quiznos and Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, is a sister restaurant to Rakkii Ramen, which opened in December 2018 at 328 S. New St. in south Bethlehem. The brand also has three other regional locations.
Takkii, which has another outpost at the recently opened Trolley Barn Public Market in Quakertown, features a handful of popular Rakkii dishes, including noodle-wrapped shrimp and spicy miso ramen.
Much of the new restaurant’s menu is comprised of fresh creations, however, including Takkii beef ramen, fried chicken ramen and black garlic tonkotsu ramen (pork broth with signature black garlic oil, marinated egg, braised pork belly and more). Info: 610-351-1700.
Another bit of delicious news: Aloha Poke Bowls, a 9-monthold eatery offering signature and customizable poke (diced fresh fish) bowls along with smoothies, bubble tea and fruit tea at 7801 Glen Livet Drive West in Fogelsville, will open a second location early next year at 641 S. West End Blvd. in Quakertown, according to owner Jeff Lin.
The new location will also offer noodle dishes, Lin said. Info: alohapokepa.com.
Odds and ends
The new year will bring a new craft beverage business to Bethlehem’s South Side.
Five Maidens Cider Company, crafting alcoholic ciders fromlocally sourcedapples, aims to open a production facility and tasting room within the next few months at 327 Polk St.
Operators Andrew David and Brian Williams are looking to begin renovations on the building, located between East Third andEast Fourth streets, early next year before opening the facility to the public.
The partners are renting the building, which previously housed an insulation company, from neighboring Touchstone Theatre.
“Wewere originally hoping for February,” David said. “Now, we’re thinking more like March/April.”
David and Williams’ journey of opening an urban cidery began in 2009, when the duo started homebrewing beers.
In 2015, when a family member wasdiagnosed with celiac disease, their passion for homebrewing led them to also produce glutenfree alcoholic beverages such as ciders and seltzers.
Apples for the cider are being sourced from Bethlehem-based Scholl Orchards, and about seven rotating ciders will be on tap, along with a few Pennsylvania beers.
“We’re going to have hopped ciders,” David said. “We’re going to have standard semi-sweet and semi-dry ciders. We also started experimenting with some different yeast varieties.” Info: 5mcider. com.
Lastly, Nosh @ Nana’s, at 515 Hamilton St. in downtown Allentown, permanently closed on Friday, according to owner Nafije Castro. The breakfast-and-lunch spot, on the ground floor of the Three City Center office building, over the past five years established a loyal following, including workers from Lehigh Valley Health Network and Lehigh County Government Center, thanks to its fresh soups, salads and sandwiches.
Castro, who previously ran Nana’s Cafe & Grille a few blocks away at 722 Hamilton St. for six years prior to Nosh, wished her friends and customers a blessed and safe holiday via a post on the business’ Facebook page.
“This has been a long beautiful journey with everyone over the years,” Castro wrote in the post.
According to City Center Investment Corp., which owns Three City Center, an experienced restaurateur will open a new eatery with a similar concept in the space in January.
“The entire City Center team congratulates Nafije on her greatly deserved retirement,” Jill Wheeler, City Center’s vice president of sales and marketing, said in a written statement.
Nosh joins a growing list of other recently closed downtown Allentown dining spots, including full-service restaurants Bay Leaf and Macho’s Sports Bar along with Downtown Allentown Market vendors Doughnut Love, Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine and Licensed 2 Grill @TheMarket.
Other restaurants, including The Dime, Chickie’s & Pete’s, Tim Hortons and Queen City BBQ, remain temporarily closed.