SKIP THE DMV
Two brothers – a Bethlehem councilman and former Bethlehem mayor – open driving school and testing center to alleviate stress of obtaining a license
Whether it was a pleasurable experience or a memory that you’d like to forget, most people can recall the process of obtaining their driver’s license.
Perhaps you had to schedule your Driver’s Skills Test a few months out at a PennDOT facility. Maybe you were stuck in a crowded waiting room for an hour and a half.
Whatever the case may be, the experience almost certainly entailed proving your chops next to an examiner who you met a mere few minutes ago.
The process can be nerve-wracking, but two prominent area individuals — Bethlehem City Councilman Bryan Callahan and former Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan — are looking to ease the stress.
In mid-November, the brothers held a grand opening of Callahan Driving School and Testing Center, offering on-the-road driver training and Pennsylvania driver’s license testing within two days, at 3650 Nazareth Pike in Bethlehem Township.
Bryan, a veteran Bethlehem Area School District health and physical education teacher with more than 25 years of driver education experience, founded Callahan Driving School about 10 years ago.
The idea for the business arose after the school district eliminated its driver education program, Bryan said, leading many students and parents to reach out to him directly for help.
“Initially, I was doing probably 10 to 12 lessons a week, but then I became even busier and had to hire another instructor,” Bryan said.
Callahan Driving School, which previously operated solely online, recently expanded to a storefront when the business also became a PennDOT authorized testing facility following state legislation that passed in the last few years.
The legislation, which resulted from DMV testing centers being overbooked with monthslong waiting periods, allows for third-party testers to administer driving exams, using the same state-approved guidelines as the local DMV office.
“We are a PennDOT-authorized tester, certified by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Education,” said Bryan, one of the school’s 10 certified test administrators. “Students receive the same kind of testing here, just in a more relaxed, supportive and one-on-one setting.”
The school offers six hours of on-the-road lessons for $399, with completed lessons typically fulfilling most insurance companies’ requirement for a discount, Bryan said.
The lessons, which are broken down into three twohour sessions, begin with instruction on turns and city driving in three settings: a flat and secluded neighborhood, a neighborhood with a few hills and, lastly, downtown Bethlehem, where they learn to scan for traffic lights, pedestrians, double-parked cars and more.
The second lesson includes instruction on highway driving and merging, while the last lesson focuses on perpendicular parking, parallel parking and test preparation.
“For the second lesson, we let students drive on routes 378, 22 and 33, getting on and off every [Route] 33 exit up to Wind Gap,” Bryan said. “On the way back, we let them do it on their own with minimal guidance, and that’s really the beauty of our facility. We get to know our students’ abilities first-hand, leading to a test immediately following the third lesson. At the DMV, the examiners have never met you, and they spend probably 15 minutes with you.”
The testing center, following all COVID-19 safety guidelines, features a driver’s course in the back parking lot, where the Callahans place cones and signs to test students’ driving and parking abilities.
In addition to the six hours of lessons, students can opt for only the road test ($89 with your car; $129 with a Callahan car) or a package deal, including six hours of lessons and the road test for $485. Info: 610-984-1330; callahandrivingschool.com.
Foodie finds
Also in Bethlehem Township, Napoli Pizza + Italian Cuisine opened just in time for National Pizza Week, ending this weekend.
The restaurant, offering pizza, pasta and other Italian specialties, opened Jan. 7 at 2013 Willow Park Road, owner Walter Roca said.
The building previously housed other Italian eateries, including Fratelli Pizzeria & Cafe, Jonny’s Pizzeria
Restaurant, Amato’s Pizzeria and, most recently, My Italian Heroes, which closed last spring after 3½ years of business.
Roca, a former manager at Pizza Joe’s Italian Restaurant in Nazareth, serves as Napoli’s head chef.
The restaurant, with seating for about a dozen customers, serves Neapolitan cheese pizza, with slices starting at $2 and pies starting at $10.95 for a medium, 14-inch pie. There are also Sicilian and grandma’s pizzas along with more than a dozen gourmet varieties, including taco, Philly cheesesteak and stuffed chicken parm.
Other menu highlights include calzones, strombolis, hot and cold subs, wraps, salads, chicken sandwiches, made-on-site Angus burgers, such appetizers as fried calamari and steamed clams and entrees such as manicotti, chicken piccata, veal Marsala and shrimp fra diavolo. Info: 610-419-0563.
A couple of other pizzerias are coming soon to area: First, Teresa’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria is expected to open within the next few weeks at 6561 W. Tilghman St. in Upper Macungie Township, owner Raul Gonzalez said.
The BYOB eatery will occupy the building that housed Paese Mio, an Italian restaurant that closed in December 2019 after more than 20 years of business due to husband and wife Mike and Rosa Basile’s retirement.
Gonzalez, of Orefield, previously worked as a chef at Allentown’s Bellissimo Ristorante for about 15 years and will lead Teresa’s culinary team.
The menu is still being finalized, but Gonzalez said that patrons can expect regular, Sicilian and gourmet pizzas, including grandma and margherita, available in personal, small and large sizes.
Teresa’s, named after Gonzalez’s mother, sister and daughter, also will offer salads, appetizers, hot and cold subs and Italian dinners including lasagna and veal Parmesan.
Second, Mex-Italia Pizza Restaurant, offering Mexican and Italian cuisines, is expected to open within the next few weeks at 1038 Union Blvd. in east Allentown, co-owner Bienvenido Herrera said.
The BYOB restaurant will occupy a renovated space that previously housed Clove Fine Indian Cuisine, which continues to operate two locations in Bethlehem Township and Lopatcong Township, New Jersey.
Mex-Italia will offer New York-style, thin-crust pizza in 12-, 14- and 16-inch sizes.
Nearly two dozen gourmet pizzas, starting at $12.99, will include General Tso’s chicken, Hawaiian and Mediterranean. Other Italian specialties will include calzones, strombolis and baked pasta dinners such as lasagna, ravioli and veal Parmesan.
Mexican favorites will include tacos, taco salads and chimichangas. You’ll able to create your own burritos, burrito bowls, grilled quesadillas, three-cheese nachos and salads by choosing chicken, pork, steak or shrimp.
Other menu highlights will include cheesesteaks, club sandwiches, hoagies, wraps and side orders such as broccoli cheese bites and Jamaican beef patties.
One final bit of pizza buzz: Papa John’s, which opened more than 25 years ago at
817 Linden St. in Bethlehem, permanently closed in late December.
Signs posted in the storefront direct customers of the pizza chain to visit nearby locations at 706 N. 13th St. in Allentown and 2531 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township.
“We hope to reopen this market in the future with another franchise partner,” Blair Carpenter, Papa John’s senior manager of corporate communications, said in a statement.
The Kentucky-headquartered company has more than 5,360 locations in 48 countries and territories, including about a half dozen in the Lehigh Valley.
New salons
A new Whitehall Township nail salon is helping people put their best foot forward in 2021.
LY Nail Spa, owned by Ly Doan, opened Dec. 19 at 2612 MacArthur Road, next to Jersey Mike’s Subs, manager Tom Pham said.
Manicures start at $20 for a classic manicure, featuring trimming and shaping of nails, grooming of cuticles, hand massage with lotion and nail polish.
Pedicures start at $30 for an express pedicure, featuring a nail cut down, shaping, cuticle cleaning, light scrub, callus removal, massage and polish.
The salon also offers color acrylic, pink and white and ombre (two colors smoothly graduating into each other), deluxe pedicure and collagen spa pedicures services. Info: 484-820-1211.
Lastly, Shear Ambition, offering men’s, women’s and children’s hair-cutting and styling services, opened Nov. 4 at 200 Nazareth Pike in Lower Nazareth Township.
Owner Suzanne Katynski purchased the former Styling Ovations salon, changing the business’ name and recruiting four new stylists in the process.
Shear offers cuts for all ages, with women’s cuts starting at $40, men’s cuts starting at $20 and children’s cuts costing $15.
Other services include color, partial and full highlights, up-dos, balayage/foilyage, toner/gloss, perms, Brazilian blowouts and facial waxing. Info: 610-759-5354; shearambitionllc.com.