The article about Hooks Seafood restaurant closing states that this type of failure isn't unusual in an urban renewal area, according to experts. So says the Morning Call. The article also states that The $6 million renovation of the long-closed Sal's Spaghetti House included a crystal chandelier from Hess's department store.... As you can see from my photograph above, Sal's wasn't renovated. The long closed former spaghetti house was demolished, and a new building was constructed in its place. Now, I can understand the paper not knowing this, after all, the building is over a quarter block away from the newspaper building. Assuming that people at the Morning Call read the paper, apparently nobody caught the error, twice. This was the second time in about a week that this misinformation was printed. However, this post is about the important part of the story, not covered by the paper.
The restaurant was built pre-NIZ. Save for a $50,000 city grant, the entire cost was borne by the owner. It happens that the owner and his wife were retired from a very lucrative business, and always wanted to own a high end restaurant. Opened as the Cosmopolitan, it was high end indeed. When that failed to attract enough well heeled, it was transformed into the more price friendly Hook Seafood. However, with the NIZ and Reilly's hospitality group of eateries, the market was now over-saturated.
The owner of the restaurant when asked about lack of foot traffic downtown stated, "I'm not going to get judgmental or say anything negative." Those are traits that nobody accuses this blogger of having.
photocredit:molovinsky- site of the former Sal's Spaghetti House being prepared for new foundation
reprinted from March of 2017
According to movie, Field of Dreams, "Build it and they will come".
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's the difference between having to travel through corn fields in Iowa, or war zone minefields here in Allentown.
"Now, I can understand the paper not knowing this, after all, the building is over a quarter block away from the newspaper building."
ReplyDeleteI realize the post is a reprint, but I'm hearing that the Call's Allentown reporter (Emily Opilo) has been reassigned because she dared to present (not advocate) an opposing viewpoint from City Hall in some of her articles.
Apparently that rankled some in City Hall, who are used to having the party line repeated without question.
Of course the Call capitulated, and we now have a new cub reporter to regurgitate City Hall press releases.
If true, it's further evidence that little has changed in Allentown City Hall, other than the name on the Mayor's office door.
Please. Opilo was the typical Leftist propaganda hack The Morning Call adores so much. I offer that ridiculous puff piece about newly elected Mayor Ray O'Connell having to buy an ice cream truck as Exhibit A.
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