Category

Visit Original Article

…

Sangria, the Lehigh Valley’s chic new hot spot, at 9th and Hamilton Streets, Allentown, filled with shakers and movers from across the Lehigh Valley for the first night of the restaurant’s four day opening marathon.

On Thursday night, 300 plus guests hobnobbed at a private opening cocktail party following the official ribbon cutting ceremony with Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski and restaurateur George Meireles.

Located in the slick Alvin Butz Building, Butz construction folks were out in full force, including Wendy Body, a project manager, who by the way, donned a stylish mandarin orange chemise dress for the occasion. Party goers also included the always fashionable Allentown business owner, Linda Krisko, of Krisko Insurance, and Miriam Huertas, of Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, who was proudly showing the new hot spot.

Also on hand, branding gurus, Jane Heft and Lenore Mohr, of Enze, who by the way, branded SANGRIA, in addition to other prominent valley projects such as Steel Stacks, and the new ArtsQuest Center.

From Easton, where Mr. Meireles also owns other hot spots, including River Grille and Valenca, was Easton Mayor Sal Panto, and other Eastonians including advertising director Peter Stevenson, and writer Annette Gray.

Also out enjoying the night of sipping sangria, and plenty of appetizers, from giant fried calamari, to savory lamb meatballs, bite size risotto balls, and artful shrimp appetizers, were Allentown city councilmen Michael Donovan, Julio Guidy, and Mike D’Amore, plus plenty of Lehigh Valley business folk Stay tuned for food and beverage review.

Visit Original Article-Here

…
Allentown officials are on a mission to revive Center City with a cluster of sit-down restaurants.

There have been setbacks to be sure with the closures of Johnny Manana’s, the Federal Grill and others, but officials say their vision is gaining momentum as new eateries open their doors.

The newest is the highly-anticipated Sangria, a Mediterranean restaurant that opens Monday on the first floor of the Alvin H. Butz Corporate Center at Ninth and Hamilton streets.

“There is a lot potential in Allentown and this is a place that the city needed,” said George Meireles, owner of Sangria and other restaurants, including Valenca, a Portuguese restaurant in Easton’s downtown . “This is a place of a different caliber.”

At a preview for invited guests Thursday, Meireles unveiled the restaurant’s 6,000 square-foot space, with its hardwood floors, orange and brown color palate and floor-to-ceiling windows that give diners a view of the hustle and bustle outside. The restaurant offers valet parking and seats 350, which includes outdoor seating for 150 people.

The menu includes calamari fries with roasted tomato coulis and entrees like Mediterranean paella, lamb moussaka, butternut squash ravioli and Mediterranean rubbed rib eye steak. Prices range from $8 for an appetizer to $32 for the most expensive entrée.

Meireles and city officials said Sangria gives a new “buzz” to the downtown landscape, and hope it attracts more customers to neighboring businesses.

Sangria is financed with some public money, including a $350,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program. The restaurant also is benefiting from its location in The Butz building, which is part of a Keystone Opportunity Zone — a designation that allows for state and local tax breaks.

Sangria comes just days after the opening of Island in the Sun, a Jamaican restaurant that replaces the former Spooners Café at 921 W. Hamilton St.

Allentown mayor Ed Pawlowski said Thursday the new businesses give momentum that will spur more to follow.

“This adds a new energy to the city,” he said. “We’re glad Sangria is here, this is another piece to the puzzle in turning things around and these things take time.”

For years, the city has been trying to revitalize the Hamilton Street Corridor into a restaurant row that would mirror those in cities like Easton and Bethlehem. The corridor, defined as Hamilton, Linden and Walnut streets between Fifth and 12th streets, has been hitwith vacancies in recent years. Some businesses moved to the suburbs and others folded amid the downward pressure of the Great Recession. The area has been gradually rebounding with some new businesses in the last year, including a handful of new restaurants.

Upcoming additions include the Center City Diner, replacing Gate 7 Diner, a 24-hour eatery at the corner of Linden and 9^th streets that closed last year.

Also, the long-awaited Cosmopolitan restaurant will be opening in mid-September at the former Sal’s Spaghetti House on N. Sixth Street. The high-profile six-story building – with two balcony levels – has been in the works for several years.

The city recently earned a Main Street Program certification for the Hamilton Street corridor. The state-program helps revitalize aging downtowns, providing funding and resources to retain and attract businesses.

Allentown also was awarded a $400,000 grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Housing and Redevelopment Assistance Program to provide a low-interest loan to the firm redeveloping 809-813 Hamilton St. The vacant two-story glass and concrete structure will house loft apartments and a yet-to-be named restaurant. Repaid money will be loaned to other businesses, officials said.

tyrone.richardson@mcall.com

610-820-6779