JUST CHILL
New Emmaus shop serves ice cream, frozen yogurt and Italian ice
Excited about the warmer weather? Craving a cool treat? Just chill.
No, seriously, sit back, relax and enjoy a milkshake, sundae or other tasty refreshment from the Lehigh Valley’s newest ice cream shop, Just Chill Creamery.
The 19-seat shop, opening this week at 1325 Chestnut St. in Emmaus, will offer 32 flavors of hard ice cream, six flavors of soft-serve, 16 flavors of Italian ice and three flavors of frozen yogurt, along with dozens of candy, fruit and other toppings.
Customers will be able to order unique treats like freshly prepared bubble waffles with ice cream; homemade ice cream sandwiches, made with buttery soft brioche rolls; and Dole Whip, a vegan and pineapple-flavored soft-serve dessert.
The shop, run by father and daughter Antonio and Gabriella Mannino, will make its own Italian ice using Philadelphia Water Ice bases and plans to make its own hard ice cream in the near future. It will temporarily serve Nelson’s Ice Cream for its first few weeks of operation.
“We want to perfect our service before we start devoting time to our own ice cream,” said Antonio, who also runs the longstanding Italian restaurant Italiano Delite in Lower Macungie Township. “I’ve been running restaurants for almost 30 years, and in that time, I’ve learned that the quality of food is important, but the quality of service is often even more important. We’re definitely planning some unique ice cream, though, including possibly some CBD-infused ice cream.”
The Manninos overhauled the East Penn Plaza space, which previously housed The Mix Bartending School, to include new Indian-imported stone tile flooring, coolers and refrigerators, wall-mounted digital menus and signage featuring the business’ penguin mascot, Waddley.
Customers will be able to place orders indoors or at a new walk-up window in the storefront’s facade. Outdoor bench seating also will be available.
Just Chill, which also will offer homemade waffle cones and ice cream cakes, will be open daily year-round.
The shop is expected to debut by the end of the week, and individuals eager for a sweet treat should monitor the business’ Facebook page for an official opening announcement or call 610-4216092 for more information.
The business will join other foodie destinations in the East Penn Plaza, including Fuel Nutritional Smoothie Café, Wally’s Deli, True Blue Mediterranean Cafe, Mi Havana Cuban Cafe and the newly opened Lemon Grass Café.
Entertainment spots
In addition to causing ice cream cravings, another result of the rising temperatures is a desire to enjoy outdoor activities.
Fortunately, a popular recreational facility is finding new life in Schnecksville.
Anthony “AJ” McCloskey of Hamburg recently closed on the business and real estate acquisition of the former Spring Hill Golf & Batting Cages at 4565 Spring Hill Drive with a friend and business partner, according to a news release.
The duo plans to renovate and reopen the facility as Rolling Hills Recreation later this spring, with a target grand opening date of May 1.
The facility has been closed for more than a year, and the partners are planning renovations totaling more than $130,000. Improvements to the nearly 2-acre site will include upgrades to the 18-hole miniature golf course, clubhouse and snack bar as well as four baseball and four softball stations.
Rolling Hills will sell artisan ice cream from The Nesting Box Farm Market & Creamery in Albany Township, with exclusive flavors including one that is booze-infused. Info: facebook.com/ rollinghillsrec.
Another new entertainment option: Captured LV Escape Room, a popular escape room facility that opened five years ago in downtown Bethlehem, recently debuted a second location in South Whitehall Township.
The new outpost, dubbed Captured LV Allentown, is located in the former Massage Envy space in the Tilghman Square shopping center at 4640 Broadway.
Thrill seekers familiar with Captured LV Bethlehem’s four themed rooms, “The Haunted Theatre,” The Alchemy Lab,” “Pirate’s Chamber” and “Mayan Temple,” can now enjoy three brand new experiences — and a fourth one coming this summer — at the Tilghman Square, according to a news release. New themed rooms include “The Soul Collector,” “Murder of 89” and “The Island.”
“At Captured LV Allentown, players can board a helicopter as scientists and fly to Tiki Island to recover Dinosaur DNA, become detectives solving a crime in 1989, or try to escape the Soul Collector in a New Orleans style antique shop,” the release states. “All games are full of challenging yet solvable puzzles.”
Hour-long games, $27.50 per player, are currently private experiences at no extra cost to the players once the room minimum is met. Info: capturedlv.com.
New eats and drinks
As my colleague Stephanie Sigafoos recently reported, the Lehigh Valley’s beer scene will grow even bigger when Sherman Street Beer Company opens its doors at 1825 E. Tremont Street on Allentown’s east side later this month.
The brewery, at Tremont and Sherman streets, will be housed in the former Mink’s candies factory. It will feature different kinds of beers, along with mixed drinks, wine and food such as specialty hot dogs and paninis.
The renovation will allow for indoor seating for up to 98 people, a news
release states, along with outdoor seating for about 60 to 70.
The operation will be run by award-winning brewmaster Beau Baden and partner Casey DeCeia, who secured a small business loan from Lehigh Financial LLC to help finance, outfit and equip the brewery and taproom.
Baden is the current brewmaster for Susquehanna Brewery in Pittston, Luzerne County. He previously served as brewmaster for Fegley’s Brew Works, overseeing the build and design of the Allentown location. Info: Sherman Street Beer Company on Facebook.
From craft beer to crabs, Crab Du Jour, offering cajun seafood and a “friendly, welcoming atmosphere,” on Friday opened its first Lehigh Valley location at 1053 Grape
St. (former Joey G’s Italian Kitchen spot) in Whitehall Township, near Army & Navy, according to a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The chain, with more than 90 independently owned and operated locations either open or coming soon in 16 states, offers “delicious home-style seafood with generous portions,” according to the company’s website.
Its specialty is custom seafood boils, where customers pick their catch (clams, crawfish, black mussel, green mussel, shrimp, scallop, Dungeness crab, lobster, snow crab legs, king crab legs, lobster tail or blue crab), seasoning (cajun, garlic butter, Old Bay, lemon pepper, Du Jour special or plain) and spice level (mild, medium or hot). Each pound serving comes with potatoes and corn-on-the-cob.
Other menu highlights include appetizers such as fried calamari, fried pickles and hush puppies; and baskets such as fried flounder, oyster and shrimp. Info: 610-443-8679.
Closing notes
I’ll finish with a couple of closing notes:
First, Slatington Bowling Center, at 8123 Route 873 in Washington Township, Lehigh County, held its last day of business on Wednesday, according to a post on the business’ Facebook page.
Owner Bill Reese first announced plans to close the 60-year-old bowling alley in a Jan. 6 post, noting that small businesses had “taken the brunt” of the recent closures, with the 16-lane bowling alley being forced to close for about five months over the past year.
“We were forced to make many difficult choices in regards to how to keep operating,” Reese wrote. “Over the summer it became obvious that revenues were not going to cover the expenses and leagues were not going to return. In September we entered into a contract to sell the property.”
Daniel L. Puchyr purchased the Route 873 property from LV Bowling Inc. in December for $375,000, according to Lehigh County property records.
Puchyr is president of Bracy Construction, a South Whitehall Township-based company providing construction management, general contracting and design build services, and said he plans to demolish the bowling alley this spring to construct two commercial structures unrelated to his construction services company.
He plans to lease the new buildings to yet-to-be-determined commercial tenants.
Reese, who noted that Slatington Bowling Center’s liquor license also had been sold, operates a handful of other area bowling alleys, including Blue Valley Lanes in Plainfield Township, Spare Time Lanes in Rush Township, Schuylkill County and West Hunterdon Lanes in Frenchtown, N.J.
He also recently took control of Warren Lanes in Phillipsburg, reopening that 40-lane bowling alley after a nearly year-long closure on Feb. 26.
Second, Al Forno Pizza & Pasta, which opened Sept. 7 at 739 Linden St. in Bethlehem, on March 26 announced its permanent closure via the business’ Facebook page.
“After seven months of giving it all we’ve got, we could not make the business profitable,” husband and wife Aaron Kochsmeier and Vivi Christogianni wrote in the post. “It was a really hard decision but it was the best decision for our family.”
Al Forno was known for its specialty pan pizzas, including familiar favorites such as German, Hawaiian and margherita, as well as unique varieties such as mashed potato, pickle and shrimp Mediterranean.
Retail Watch, appearing every weekend, keeps track of retail and restaurant news in the Lehigh Valley. Contact Ryan Kneller at 610-820-6597 or retailwatch@mcall.com.