Food & Drink

The International Cultural Festival will he held at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22.

The foodie festival is now in its ninth year and will occur from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, showcasing "diverse options" of food, drinks and concerts.

The 2024-25 Pennsylvania State Budget introduced updates to the state's complex liquor laws, including extended happy hours and ready-to-drink cocktails. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board already received over a thousand RTDC applications and has begun permitting with the law effective Sept. 16.

Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 in Forks Township celebrated the grand opening of Colonial Cafe 71, a coffee shop which helps teach employment and life skills.

The Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market officially added The Brass Rail to its list of merchants Thursday morning — the first time the eatery has been in operation since it shuttered on Lehigh Street in June 2022.

South Whitehall Board of Commissioners on Wednesday heard a proposal for a new PJ Whelihan’s in Ridge Farms, a mixed use housing development at the intersection of Cedar Crest Boulevard and Walbert Avenue.

Organizers of the beer festival have teamed up with Allentown Mural Arts for a day of craft beer tasting, mural unveilings, live music and local eats on Saturday, Sept. 7.

Chef Ryan Lukow of the Savory Grille unseated reigning champion Chef Courtney Davenport on Sunday to win the Allentown Fair’s annual Iron Chef cooking competition.

The scrapple contest was held on Saturday, Aug. 31 at the Great Allentown Fair.

Baseball, food and fun family offerings are out there if firing up the grill is not your thing.

Turkish candy company Kervan celebrated a groundbreaking for a new warehouse, manufacturing, and office space off Commerce Park Drive at the border of Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth townships.

Bethlehem Barrel and Drafthouse, a restaurant set to be operated by Aramark Sports + Entertainment, is slated to open in summer 2025 at The Outlets at Wind Creek, it was announced Thursday.

Stahley's, a family restaurant and sports bar established in Allentown in 1968 by Don Stahley, has been for sale for years. For the past two months, the family has begun navigating a change in hands as the restaurant nears being "99.9 percent sold."

The survey aims to capture opinions from local restaurants and eateries about single-use plastics.

Sister started colorectal cancer awareness fundraiser last year for her brother, who loved cars and cookies and died too young from the disease.

Weyerbacher Brewing, which has been in Easton since its founding in 1995, will open a tap room in the former Pines Dinner Theater space adjacent to Fairgrounds Hotel in Allentown, the building's owner said.

A "team of experienced food entrepreneurs" purchased the former Buca di Beppo restaurant at 714 Grape St. for $1.15 million, Sultan Property Group LLC, which completed the acquisition.

The fast-growing, Philadelphia-based chain honeygrow opened May 23 in Airport Shopping Center at 1872 Airport Road, Hanover Township, Lehigh County.

With support from Unity Bank and organizers Greater Easton Development Partnership and the Easton Tea Dance, Easton will host its first-ever Pride celebration on June 1, 2025.

The area's first Insomnia Cookies store will plant its roots in Bethlehem, becoming an anchor store to the Six10 Flats apartment building on East Third Street. A spokesperson confirmed in an email to LehighValleyNews.com that the store is expected to open this summer.

The fifth location in Pennsylvania, on West Broad Street, is owned by a longtime business owner and mom of four. The eatery’s menu includes coffee, cakes, tarts, donuts, and sandwiches.

ArtsQuest’s Ginvitational: A Celebration of Cocktails will return to SteelStacks for a fourth year on June 8 in Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center, it was announced.