Twin brothers serve up out-of-this-world pizza
Paranormal Pizza in downtown Bethlehem offers scratch-made vegan pies
Vegans on the hunt for out-of-this-world pizza have a new destination to frequent in downtown Bethlehem.
Paranormal Pizza, serving scratch-made vegan pies, on Wednesday held a soft opening for pre-orders only at 554 N. New St. (former Milan’s Bistro space).
The 25-seat pizza shop, operated by twin brothers Marc and Joey Kubushefski, then opened for walk-in customers on Saturday.
“A lot of restaurants are offering vegan dishes, but we’re offering only vegan dishes, and we’re focusing on pizza,” Marc said.
The business traces its origin to the onset of the pandemic, when Marc started posting photos of his unique vegan pizzas on Instagram.
The drool-worthy creations quickly gained popularity, with many followers asking if they could purchase the pies directly from him in summer 2020.
“So, I started freezing them and selling them out of my house,” Marc recalled. “There was a high demand, though, and I eventually ran out of freezer space. I then decided to stop selling the frozen pizzas and began taking orders for hot pizzas sometime last year. I’d have new people show up every week, even from out-of-state, and the popularity of the food just kept spreading through social media and word of mouth.”
To capitalize on the momentum, the Kubushefskis decided to open a brick-andmortar eatery with ample kitchen and dining space.
The 2007 Emmaus High School graduates created a menu of eight signature pizzas, including the “Alien Bounty Hunter” (garlic knot crust, red sauce, cashew mozzarella, seitan pepperoni, Beyond Sausage, green peppers, onions and mushrooms), along with a build-your-own option (starting at $18), where customers can choose their crust (sourdough, garlic knot or gluten-free), sauce (red, oil and garlic, Buffalo or barbecue) and other ingredients such as basil, onions and other toppings.
“We also have two types of cheeses, with our main cheese being cashew-based,” Marc said. “For people with nut allergies, we also have a sunflower alternative that tastes very similar.”
In addition to the 16-inch pizzas, which also include a “Lone Gunmen” (olive oil, garlic, cashew mozzarella, oregano, crushed red pepper, Chick’n, broccoli and hot agave), the business plans to offer other vegan selections such as fries, “cheesesteaks” (made with seitan) and “meatballs” (made with a walnut-seitan mix) in the coming weeks.
The shop, which features paranormal-themed decor such as framed UFO photos, a ouija board and neon ghost light, is open 4-9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 9 p.m. Saturdays. Info: 484-3578727.
More foodie finds
More good news for pizza buffs: Just six blocks north of Paranormal Pizza, another new Bethlehem eatery is serving up pizza the “Wright” way — that is, in the classic and unique styles of owner Shane Wright.
Wright, a 2011 graduate of Freedom High School, is offering a variety of pizzas, including regular, thin-crust, gluten-free and Sicilian, at his namesake restaurant, Wright’s Pizza.
The pizzeria, which opened March 18 at 835 N. New St. (former Johnnie Lustig’s Frankfurters spot), features nearly two dozen specialty pizzas, including buffet (chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, fries, onion rings, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese), Mac Attack (ground beef, 1,000 Island dressing, red onion, pickles and mozzarella) and Italian hoagie (ham, salami, capicola, provolone and mozzarella).
Top-selling pizzas in its first week include chili cheese dog (hot dogs, chili and cheddar cheese), grandma (chunky marinara, garlic, basil and mozzarella) and mac and cheese (homemade mac and cheese, bacon and mozzarella).
Wright, who is operating the business with partner Tanu Oza, previously ran pizza shops in Point Pleasant and North Brunswick, New Jersey.
In Bethlehem, customers can sit at a few
high-top counter seats or an outdoor picnic table, but the eatery mostly handles takeout and delivery orders.
Wright’s Pizza, which has a slogan of “where you can’t go wrong,” also offers salads; strombolis; hot and cold subs (also available as wraps) such as California cheesesteaks and chicken parm; appetizers and sides such as Buffalo wings and pepperoni bites; and desserts such as cannolis and cheesecake.
Other specialty pies, priced at $13.99 for a small and $17.99 for a large, include pickle, sweet and spicy chicken and The Greek (gyro meat, red onion, tzatziki sauce and mozzarella). Info: 610-419-0581.
From specialty pizzas to specialty kebabs, Lasheen’s Mediterranean Kitchen, a 20-seat restaurant offering Mediterranean favorites such as hummus and lamb and chicken shawarma, is expected to open in early April at 1300 Northampton St. in Easton, co-owner Samar Elsout said. The building previously housed a Dunkin’ eatery, which closed in 2020.
Elsout and her husband, Mohamed Elsayed, are planning to offer a menu of sandwiches (available as gyros, wraps or pita sandwiches) such as falafel and beef kabab; along with platters (rice and side salad included) such as kufta kebab, fried fish and combo platter (lamb gyro and chicken shawarma). Platters will start at $9.49, and all meat is halal.
Other menu highlights will include burgers; salads; grilled and crispy chicken sandwiches; and sides such as fries, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.
There also will be a section devoted to fried chicken, including wings, thighs, breasts and meal deals, with the latter coming with sides and biscuits.
The Easton couple has an Egyptian background, and they decided to name the restaurant Lasheen’s after Elsayed’s late father. Info: 610-438-0511.
A final bit of foodie news: NYC Gyros, offering a fusion of American and international cuisines, is expected to open in early April in the former Frites space on the Lehigh Valley Mall’s lower level, next to Chick-fil-A, owner Veronica Santana said.
Santana, who grew up in the Bronx before moving to New York’s Orange County as a teenager, said that she is aiming to serve “a variety of food from a variety of cultures.”
Menu highlights will include American staples such as burgers, hot dogs and chicken fingers; Italian specialties such as ziti, stuffed shells and chicken parmesan; Latin American favorites such as rice and beans and steak and onions; and Greek
options such as NYC Gyros’ namesake dish, available in chicken or lamb.
The 24-seat eatery, with additional communal seating nearby, also will serve boardwalk fries, roast beef sandwiches, braised barbecue brisket and desserts such as fried Oreos and apple and Nutella empanadas.
Other new Lehigh Valley Mall eateries include quick-service burger chain Shake Shack and fast-casual eatery Almost Vegan, serving pescatarian, vegan and plant-based dishes along with organic smoothies.
Odds and ends
Just in time for Pennsylvania’s opening day of trout season on April 2, a beloved Lehigh Valley hobby shop has returned with fishing tackle and live bait.
Mac’s Hobby Hall, a store where generations of families shopped for hobby supplies, reopened Wednesday after a roughly 10-year hiatus at 721 Linden St. in Bethlehem, co-owner Lisa Ebner said.
In its newest incarnation, Mac’s is carrying only fishing tackle such as rods, lures and nets, along with live bait such as minnows and mealworms.
In the coming weeks, there also will be an outdoor vending machine, accessible 24 hours a day, selling live bait and tackle.
Ebner, of Lower Macungie Township, grew up near the Linden Street store, and her mother, Elva Shuck, previously ran the business for 21 years until her death in 2012.
Not wanting to close the shop, Ebner and her brother continued operating it for a brief time after their mother’s passing, but the responsibility became too much to handle with both siblings working other full-time jobs.
After recently retiring from her job as a labor relations specialist with the United States Postal Service, however, Ebner decided to team up with her brother once again to relaunch the hobby shop.
“The shop’s closure was devastating to a lot of people in the community because there just aren’t many bait and tackle shops around anymore,” Ebner said. “So, since I’ve retired and we own the building, I thought, ‘Why not open it back up instead of finding another part-time job to keep me busy?’ ”
Mac’s was founded in 1946 by the late Gertrude Goodman Makagon, known to many friends and customers as “Mrs. Mac,” who originally operated the business on West Fourth Street in south Bethlehem before moving it to the city’s North Side in the early 1970s.
A couple of other owners operated the business in the 1980s before Shuck and her husband, Robert J. Shuck, took over in 1991. Info: 610-866-8465.
I’ll finish with some sad news from the Slate Belt: Comunale’s Italian Market ,a family-owned butcher shop, eatery, catering facility and gun shop, closed earlier this year at 1 Mt. Bethel Plaza in Upper Mount Bethel Township.
A two-day public auction of its contents will be held at 10 a.m. April 2 and 3 at the market, located in the Mt. Bethel Plaza, according to an announcement by Hartzell’s Auction Gallery, which is organizing the auction.
Day one will feature more than 150 firearms, ammunition, scopes and optics, swords, bayonets, gun safes, antique toys, collectibles, a 24-foot-long pontoon boat and more.
Day two will feature restaurant and deli equipment, including a walk-in cooler and freezer, commercial refrigerators, a smoker, grinder and slicer, banquet tables and chairs and more.
The market, offering a wide array of imported and made-on-site Italian specialties, was established in 2015 by husband and wife Jim and Desiree Comunale. Jim, a 1985 graduate of Bangor High School,
passed away in January.
The business, which offered dine-in and takeout service, was known for its madeon-premise meats, including sausages and meatballs, along with other freshly prepared items such as mozzarella, soups, salads and sandwiches.
The business, which had a tagline of “where you get the cannoli and the gun,” also featured a firearms department, carrying pistols, rifles, shotguns, BB guns, stun guns, ammunition and more.