The Brass Rail owners planning landmark restaurant’s move
The Brass Rail, an iconic Allentown restaurant where generations of families have gathered for cheesesteaks, spaghetti, pot roast sandwiches and more, is moving, co-owner Mark Sorrentino said.
It likely won’t be for a couple of years and the new location has not yet been pinned down, Sorrentino said.
Sorrentino and his sister, Pam Ray, recently signed an agreement of sale for the 3015 Lehigh St. property with a developer, and are planning to move the 90-year-old business to a yet-to-be-determined location, preferably still in Allentown, Sorrentino said.
Out of respect for the developer’s privacy, Sorrentino would not disclose their name or possible plans for the south Allentown property. The closing date is tentatively scheduled for summer 2022.
“Within the next two years, we are looking to relocate,”
Sorrentino said. “We’d definitely like to stay as close as possible to where we’re at. We’re keeping all of our options open as far as size, scope, the whole nine yards.”
Sorrentino and Ray were considering moving the establishment before the coronavirus pandemic, but “COVID kind of drove that home a little bit,” Sorrentino said.
The Lehigh Street restaurant, featuring a full bar, daily
food specials and a lower level banquet room, is a lot to maintain, Sorrentino said.
It employs around 80 full- and part-time employees and can accommodate more than 150 customers in its dining room and bar area under normal circumstances.
During the pandemic, each of those numbers have been cut in half, with indoor dining recently being suspended until early January per Gov. Tom Wolf’s orders.
“In order to make sure the tradition continues, we had to explore a number of different options,” Sorrentino said.
Wherever the beloved restaurant ends up, its popular menu offerings — including hot dogs and “Phil’s Original” steak sandwich, featuring sauce, onions, pickles and hot peppers — “are not going anywhere,” Sorrentino promised.
Also, the business’ welcoming atmosphere, highlighted by friendly, longtime staff members such as Rosi Muhl, a server for 48 years, will follow the restaurant to its future home.
“There’s just so much history with this place that I incredibly respect,” Sorrentino said. “When I talk about the employees here as family, it’s because there are so many of them that have been here 20 years, 30 years or even longer. I also kind of view the customers that way — those that come in every day or four days a week. They’re like family, too.”
Sorrentino and Ray grew up in the business and took ownership of it following the death of their father, Richard Sorrentino, in 1996.
Today, Mark Sorrentino and
his wife, Leigh, oversee daily operations; Ray lives in Virginia.
“I remember my sister and I at the Allentown Fair,” Sorrentino said while recalling the business’ long tradition of serving up eats at the annual fair. “We were probably around 12 or 13 years old and our job was to peel the onions in the back of the stand for them to chop for the steak sandwiches.”
The Brass Rail, which continues to offer food and drinks for takeout and curbside pickup during the indoor dining suspension, was founded in 1931 by Mark’s grandfather, Philip Sorrentino.
The business began as an Allentown hamburger and hot dog stand before increasing success led to its expansion at 1137 Hamilton St. in 1933.
The downtown Allentown spot, which closed in 2001, featured a bar room, dining room and a hot dog shop in the front window. It introduced its now-famous steak sandwich to the Lehigh Valley in 1937, Mark
Sorrentino said.
The Lehigh Street location, which also serves pizza, omelets and entrees such as black diamond steak, grilled seafood cakes and veal Parmesan, opened in 1961 at the building that previously housed Three Roses Restaurant.
“The slogan in our logo is ‘The tradition continues,’ and it will continue,” Sorrentino said. “We want to go back to our roots, but still kind of evolve.”
Like most restaurants during the pandemic, The Brass Rail had to adapt its business model multiple times over the last nine months.
In addition to pivoting to takeout-only operations twice, it condensed its menu and staff.
“We had to find a way during COVID to survive,” Sorrentino said. “We had to limit staff, which meant limiting how much we could do as far as our menu. Breakfast, for example, has a lot of overhead. You have to do high volume to be profitable. And obviously, at 50% capacity, you
can’t do that.”
Sorrentino, who has taken on more kitchen responsibilities over the last several months, said that while the pandemic forced the restaurant to scale back its menu, it also allowed for more creativity.
“For instance, at the start of COVID, we introduced a Brassy chicken cheesesteak, which is toasted in the oven with Colby Monterey Jack cheese, bacon and ranch,” Mark said. “So, we’re looking at different kinds of flavor combinations.”
While Sorrentino can’t comment on details of the business’ future location, including whether or not a bar would be featured, he noted that the family-friendly atmosphere conducive to new and old traditions will remain.
“Brass Rail may relocate, but the tradition’s going to continue,” Sorrentino said. “There are so many families that have traditions with us, and I love that. They celebrate birthdays here, anniversaries here and so on. We
have one couple who normally celebrates their anniversary here because this is where they met. This is where they had their first date.”
Morning Call features reporter and Retail Watch columnist Ryan Kneller can be reached at 610-820-6597 or retailwatch@ mcall.com.