New shopping center welcomes 6 tenants
Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop and Wayback Burgers among businesses opening in the center
One of the Lehigh Valley’s busiest retail corridors will gain another shopping center later this spring.
Shepherd’s Corner, a newly constructed, six-unit strip mall featuring new and wellknown retailers and restaurants, is set to welcome its first tenants beginning next month at Hamilton Boulevard and Krocks Court in Lower Macungie Township.
The corner site, just south of the Hamilton Crossings shopping center, previously housed a shuttered Early American Candle Shop as well as a chiropractor’s office, which relocated.
Shepherd’s Corner, which also will feature a stand-alone credit union, was initially approved by Lower Macungie officials in June 2020. However, work on the project started more than two years prior in January 2018, according to Derek Zerfass, a senior vice president at Colliers, the real estate company that facilitated the property’s sale and also handled the strip’s pre-leasing.
The development encountered several pandemic-related hurdles, including construction delays and supply shortages, over the past few years, Zerfass said.
“During negotiations, COVID hit, and amazingly, we didn’t lose one tenant,” Zerfass said. “So, even while everything’s shut down, the tenants continued to negotiate those deals and sign leases because it’s rare for a site like that to become available. I think it’s a really great testament to how great of a location this is.”
The 9,600-square-foot center, featuring outdoor dining patios on both ends and a nearby parklet plaza with benches, will house (from left to right): Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, Supercuts, Not Just Bagels, The UPS Store, Prose Nails and Wayback Burgers.
Capriotti’s, a fast-casual dining concept known for its hand-crafted cheesesteaks, turkey subs and more, will debut its first Lehigh Valley location June 13.
The chain was founded in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1976 by siblings Alan and Lois Margolet and has grown to include more than 110 company-owned and franchise locations nationwide.
“Capriotti’s brings the Allentown community its 45-year tradition of slow-roasting whole, all-natural turkeys in-house and hand-pulling them every morning and other favorites like the madefrom-scratch meatballs using premium, fresh ingredients,” a news release states.
Popular sandwiches include The Bobbie, made with ovenroasted turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mayonnaise; and the Capastrami, made with hot pastrami, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing and homemade coleslaw. The Allentown area Capriotti’s will be owned by Michael Seibert and operated by his son, Ryan Seibert, and brother, Billy Seibert. The family spent time in restaurant management prior to opening a Capriotti’s, and they plan to run the eatery in honor of Michael’s late mother and sister.
Supercuts, a hair salon franchise with more than 2,700 no-appointment-required salons across the country, is expected to open in mid-May, according to co-owner Gary Robins.
The chain, with more than a dozen locations throughout the Lehigh Valley, offers high-quality haircuts for the whole family, along with color services, waxing and hair care products from Paul Mitchell, American Crew, Redken and other top brands.
Robins, who resides in Chester County, operates more than 60 Supercuts locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware with his wife, Chris. The couple’s children, Lauren and Evan, are also involved in the business.
“Our employees who come to us know that that they’re working for a family company, and we treat them like family,” Gary said. “It may be a big-name brand on the door, but it’s really a family that owns and operates it.”
Not Just Bagels, a family-owned eatery offering handrolled, kettle-boiled bagels along with other fresh eats such as breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads, wraps and sides, is expected to open in mid-May or early June, co-owner Costas Paxos said.
Paxos will operate the 15-seat shop with his sisters, Maria and
Barbara Paxos. The siblings are third-generation food operators, with both of their grandfathers immigrating from Greece to the United States to become chefs, and their parents previously operating a diner in New Jersey for more than 30 years.
“We thought we were going to go down different career paths, but we couldn’t keep away from the food business,” Maria said
Sixteen varieties of bagels, including everything, vegetable and super cinnamon raisin, will be made fresh daily, along with 15 flavors of cream cheese, including bacon scallion, garlic herb and Rocky Road.
Other menu highlights include made-to-order breakfast sandwiches, omelettes, salads, fried foods such as pierogies and cheddar cheese balls and lunch sandwiches such as chicken salad and reubens. The siblings also plan to offer Greek specialties such as gyros, spanakopita and tiropita. Tentative hours are 6 a.m. to 3 pm daily.
Like Capriotti’s, Prose Nails also will be a first in the Lehigh Valley.
The membership-based nail salon chain, with about two dozen locations nationwide, is expected to open its first area salon in late May or early June, according to franchisee Bob Kneeshaw.
“We’re offering nail services — manicures, pedicures — and then also some esthetician services — facials, eyebrows and eyelashes,” said Kneeshaw, who’s operating the Lehigh Valley salon with his partner, Tina Disco.
Prose Nails, based in Phoenix, Arizona, prioritizes cleanliness. Tools are sanitized in a Clean Room before and after each use, and artists use fresh water and natural moisturizers.
“It’s very health conscious,” Kneeshaw explained. “There’s increased ventilation, with a vent right next to each of the manicure stations and at the pedicure stands. So, you don’t have that heavy chemical smell. We also use products that are free of harmful toxins.”
The UPS Store, Inc., the nation’s largest franchisor of retail shipping, postal, print and business service centers, is expected to open its newest area location in mid-June, according to owner Krunal Patel.
The Lower Macungie location, part of a network of roughly 5,000 locations across North America, will offer shipping, shredding, printing, fax, passport photos and notary services. The store also will feature personal and business mailboxes, with nighttime dropoff.
“I’m very excited to open in the Allentown area as it’s a growing area,” Patel said. “Also, COVID’s really changed things, and people are doing a lot more online — more Amazon purchases, online orders and so on.”
The last tenant is Wayback Burgers, which has a target opening of Aug. 1, franchisee Shivang Shelat said.
Founded in 1991 in Newark, Delaware, the fast-casual restaurant chain is a Connecticut-based franchise with a reputation for cooked-to-order burgers, available as a single patty or classic double patties, along with thick, hand-dipped milkshakes, served in an environment that hearkens back to a simpler place and time — “when customer service meant something and everyone felt the warmth of the community,” according to a company description.
The “Cheeeesy” is a fan favorite and comes with four slices of melted American cheese and two beef patties cooked-to-order, sandwiched between an inverted, grilled and buttered bun
Other menu highlights include cheesesteaks, crispy and grilled chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers, Impossible Burgers, chicken tenders, fresh salads, and various sides, including fries, onion rings and mac and cheese bites.
The Lower Macungie eatery, with seating for 25-30 customers, will supplement two other area locations in Bethlehem Township and North Whitehall Township.
It will be operated by Shivat, his sister, Anjali Shelat, and brother-in-law, Sanket Mehta. Tentative hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
“We are really excited to open,” said Shelat, who previously managed Dunkin’ eateries for eight years. “It’s finally a dream come true for us because getting into the restaurant industry was always our dream.”
Foodie finds
Also in the East Penn area, Macungie Diner, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, is expected to open in mid-June at 202 E. Main St., according to co-owner Will Perez.
The building previously housed Bear Swamp Diner, a popular eatery known for its French toast, omelettes and other breakfast fare that closed in 2020 after more than 30 years of business.
Macungie Diner, with seating for around 110 customers, will be operated by Perez and his parents, Manuel and Sully Perez, who also operate The New Schnecksville Diner in North Whitehall Township.
The Kutztown family is renovating the Macungie building to include new carpeting, kitchen equipment, façade improvements and more.
Macungie Diner’s menu will be “99% the same” as The New Schnecksville Diner’s menu, Will said, with breakfast favorites such as Belgian waffles and eggs Benedict; and broiled or fried seafood platters such as flounder and crab cakes.
Other menu highlights will include 6-ounce steak burgers, paninis, wraps, triple-decker sandwiches, stir-fry dishes, hot open-face sandwiches, Italian dishes such as eggplant parmigiana and other entrees such as baked meatloaf and roast turkey.
From Macungie to the Slate Belt, Good Azz Eats, a 50-seat restaurant offering “comfort cuisine for the heart and soul,” opened April 9 at 492 E. Main St. in Pen Argyl, according to co-owner Mike “Chef Blak” Nixon. The renovated space previously housed Emmy Lou’s restaurant.
Nixon and his brother, Jeremy “Captain Cookbook” Murcelo, are crafting creative comfort dishes like smoked brisket grilled cheese, mac-n-cheese squares, “Donkey Ballz” (golden balls of deep-fried yellow rice and chicken served with cilantro) and a “Donkey Dog” (Nathan’s biggest beef dog topped with onions, peppers, potatoes and cheese).
Other menu highlights include chicken wings, deep-fried pickles, fried chicken and waffles, empanadas, half-pound pastrami and cheese sandwiches, Hershey’s ice cream and milkshakes. Info: 610-881-4007.
I’ll finish with some sad news from Easton: The State Cafe and Grill is closed indefinitely after a fire ripped through the restaurant’s roof Wednesday afternoon, my colleague Jennifer Sheehan reported.
The restaurant — which is at 14-16 S. 5th S., just around the block from the State Theatre — will keep customers up to date on progress towards reopening on its Facebook page.