The owners of the next restaurant to open in Allentown want patrons to get the idea that walking through the doors will give you license to be just a little naughty.

Paying homage to Prohibition-era restaurants, Don and Diane Saylor, the longtime proprietors of The Shanty restaurant in Allentown's West End, have decided to call their new restaurant Roar Social House.

Set to open in early September, the upscale restaurant featuring American cuisine at 732 Hamilton St. will also have a speak-easy called Hush with a separate rear entrance.

"We love Allentown and are so excited to launch Roar and Hush amidst the new roar of PPL Center, the city's construction and the re-energized downtown," Don Saylor said. "We have had so much interest and support in this new venture from former customers and soon-to-be customers alike. We are proud to bring new vitality to this historic building."

Saylor named Chris Noonan as executive chef for Roar and Hush. Noonan was executive chef for the Big Burrito Restaurant Group in Pittsburgh, and was chosen to open and develop the restaurant and banquet programs at the Andy Warhol Museum and Pittsburgh's historic Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden.

"Being born in Arkansas and raised in Texas, Connecticut, Indiana and Pennsylvania gave me a love of American and regional ethnic food," Noonan said. "My philosophy for craft cooking is to bring delicious, simple and classic flavors to life and let the food speak for itself."

The three-story Civil War-era building is being restored by City Center Investment Corp, which is building several downtown office buildings, a hotel, an apartment complex, retail shops and several restaurants costing a total of more than $400 million.

Across the street from the $177 million PPL Center hockey arena due to open Sept. 12 in the city's 127-acre tax incentive district, the restaurant will be in the building that was last occupied by the House of Chen restaurant.

It will feature three-story ceilings, loft dining, brick walls and wood beams highlighted by two light features surrounding the mezzanine. Roar will seat about 100 people for lunch and dinner in a setting that pays homage to the 1920s-era style restaurants during the Prohibition era.

Hush will seat up to 30 people, with an additional entrance on Maple Street. An open kitchen will separate Roar and Hush, Saylor said.

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Former Shanty owners plan Prohibition-influenced eatery in downtown Allentown

Deborah Nickelson, of Antioch, is the new owner of Scends Deux restaurant in Antioch, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2014. Nickelson is taking over the Bases Loaded restaurant at the corner of G street and West 4th street. The original Scends restaurant is located in Emeryville and has been in business for more than 18 years. Nickelson will have a grand opening on Aug. 30th. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

ANTIOCH -- A new restaurant is on deck to open at the former Bases Loaded location in downtown Antioch, with a new operator who believes her family's time-tested menu and experience in the industry will be the recipe for success that has so far eluded this spot.

Debora Nickelson's Cajun-soul food eatery, Scends Deux, is slated for a soft opening on Saturday and a grand opening on Aug. 30.

No stranger to the Bay Area food scene, Nickelson is naming her new venture after her family's successful Emeryville restaurant, Scends, which her grandmother opened in 1957.

"I'm bringing the kitchen with me," she said recently, describing the chicken wings, fried catfish and red beans and rice that have kept diners satisfied for decades.

The Bases Loaded restaurant is under new ownership and will now be called Scends Deux in Antioch, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 4, 2014. Deborah Nickelson, of Antioch, is taking over the Bases Loaded restaurant at the corner of G street and West 4th street. The original Scends restaurant is located in Emeryville and has been in business for more than 18 years. Nickelson will have a grand opening on Aug. 30th. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

The menu is a change from the pub fare and smoked meats that previous operators had served at Bases Loaded, and it's a type of food Nickelson said she has had a tough time finding since moving to Antioch earlier this year.

And apparently she's not the only one: Nickelson said Scends has many loyal patrons who make the trek to Emeryville from Antioch, Pittsburg and Brentwood to dine there, and she is confident that Scends Deux already has a local customer base.

"The reception we've been getting -- this place is going to be busy, busy, busy," she said recently, seated at one of the plush booths that remains in the nearly turnkey building.

Nickelson had already been scouting for a restaurant space in East County when the most recent Bases Loaded operators, John and Penny Hicks, closed their doors in May. It was then that Antioch officials connected her with the property's owner and first occupant, Terry Karp, who was eager to lease to a new tenant.

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New Antioch restaurant tries to find winning recipe

Local regulators have cleared the way for construction of another nationally known franchise restaurant between the two shopping malls along Oakland Avenue.

A final site plan for Chipotle Mexican Grill gained approval Tuesday from the White Township planning commission.

The restaurant will be one of a national chain with dozens of locations in Pennsylvania, where food orders are prepared in assembly-line fashion as diners give their custom orders for burritos, tacos and salads.

The restaurant will be built by Oak Ave Ind LLC, a development group set up by Joe Smiley and several partners.

Smiley, of the Columbus, Ohio, area, said he has built three other restaurants for Chipotle in Ohio and Kentucky, and decided Indiana is suitable for introduction of a Chipotle Mexican Grill after spending time in the community while visiting his daughter, a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Under ideal circumstances, Smiley said, the tentative plan calls for starting construction in September and finishing the building in 90 to 120 days. But the schedule can easily change with the weather, further permitting issues and the Chipotle corporations detailed plans for interior design.

The Chipotle restaurant has been granted exceptions from White Township land regulations to make it a practical project, township officials said.

The planning panel will allow the face of the new building to extend 11 feet closer to Oakland Avenue than rules allow, but keeping it in line with the fronts of other neighboring businesses that were granted the same exceptions.

The plan shows a similar extension beyond the setback requirement at the back of the building along Willis Drive and on the side along Laurel Street.

Assistant Township Manager Chris Anderson said the design provides 26 parking spaces, which is five fewer than required because of the odd shape and size of the lot.

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WHITE TOWNSHIP: Chipotle gets OK for local restaurant

The Denny's sign at the restaurant on 116th Avenue Northeast is loaded into a U-Haul truck. The restaurant closed three weeks ago, and construction of a Chick-fil-A at the site is slated for late September.

image credit: COURTESY PHOTO

The Denny's signs have come down the restaurant on 116th Avenue Northeast closed three weeks ago and construction on what will be one of Chick-fil-A's first three Washington chains is slated to begin there in late September.

Chick-fil-A spokesman Jerry Johnston confirmed Tuesday the Bellevue restaurant and two more in Lynwood and Tacoma are projected to hold grand openings in March 2015. Construction for the Lynwood and Tacoma locations is set to begin in October. According to plans submitted to the city, the Bellevue Chick-fil-A is proposed to be 3,742 gross square feet and includes a drive-through.

Chick-fil-A opens a limited number of restaurants each year, according to its website, "based on corporate goals for expansion in specifically targeted markets and other relevant business factors."

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Chick-fil-A plans late September construction for Bellevue restaurant

Tuesday, August 12, 10:15 AM EDT

By Karen Brune Mathis, Managing Editor

The menu features fish tacos, signature burgers like the Aloha, Diablo and Santa Barbara, Shackatizers and more, including the Malibu and Voodoo fish tacos. The site also lists craft beer and wine.

The city is reviewing a building permit application for D.M. Watson Construction Inc. to renovate space at 13170 Atlantic Blvd., No. 63, which is the closed Blockbuster store. The project cost is listed as $129,000 and plans show it will seat 107 inside and 36 outside, with a fire pit.

The center is anchored by Publix Super Markets Inc.

Geneva Henderson, executive vice president of Lat Purser & Associates Inc., represents the landlord and said the lease is for 3,200 square feet. She expects Jimmy Hulas to open in three to four months.

Four restaurants are open in Winter Park, Lake Mary and two in Orlando one in the University of Central Florida area and another in the Hunters Creek area.

The jimmyhulas.com site says the company has sold out franchises in the Orlando market and had single and multistore opportunities for franchises as it seeks to expand aggressively into the Tampa, Jacksonville, Palm Beach, and other Florida markets.

The website says Jimmy Hulas has developed a cult following in Central Florida primarily due to the freshness of the food, the quirk of our marketing, and the environment created by our locations.

Restaurants on the rise

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Jimmy Hulas to open in Harbour Place near Queen's Harbour

By GREG KENNELTY

Staff Writer

Demolition of the storm-damaged McLoones Rum Runner restaurant was completed July 21. Construction is expected to begin on a new building this month, with a projected spring reopening. SEA BRIGHT Vestiges of the Rum Runner remain on the Ocean Avenue site where Tim McLoone hopes a new restaurant will be ready to open its doors to customers by spring.

We demolished the old building on [July 21] and it will probably take about a month to get the property in shape to actually start building, McLoone said.

We have to yank out the old foundation and then do remediating and inspection and bulkheading, too, since when the old dock came apart, it damaged them.

We anticipate sometime in August is when we will be building the new place and we hope to be ready by next spring.

The Sea Bright Planning and Zoning Board unanimously approved the application for the demolition and reconstruction of the restaurant on April 8.

The new, three-story restaurant, which will retain the Rum Runner name, will seat 298 patrons in indoor and outdoor dining areas including a second-floor mezzanine.

The architecture and ambience will reflect McLoones penchant for classic design as interpreted by architectural firm Anderson Campanella.

I know how to design a restaurant on the inside, but we hired them to do the building because I love that Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket look, and they can do that. I just want it to look like it has always been there, he said.

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McLoone looks to spring reopening for Rum Runner

By GREG KENNELTY

Staff Writer

Demolition of the storm-damaged McLoones Rum Runner restaurant was completed July 21, and construction is expected to begin on a new building in August, with a projected spring reopening. GREG KENNELTY/STAFF SEA BRIGHT Vestiges of the Rum Runner remain on the Ocean Avenue site where Tim McLoone hopes a new restaurant will be ready to open its doors to customers by spring.

We demolished the old building on [July 21] and it will probably take about a month to get the property in shape to actually start building, McLoone said.

We have to yank out the old foundation and then do remediating and inspection and bulkheading, too, since when the old dock came apart, it damaged them.

We anticipate sometime in August is when we will be building the new place and we hope to be ready by next spring.

The Sea Bright Planning and Zoning Board unanimously approved the application for the demolition and reconstruction of the restaurant on April 8.

The new, three-story restaurant, which will retain the Rum Runner name, will seat 298 patrons in indoor and outdoor dining areas including a second-floor mezzanine.

The architecture and ambience will reflect McLoones penchant for classic design as interpreted by architectural firm Anderson Campanella.

I know how to design a restaurant on the inside, but we hired them to do the building because I love that Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket look, and they can do that. I just want it to look like it has always been there, he said.

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Rum Runner set for spring reopening

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- The new M Italianrestaurant will begin construction at 22 W. Orange St. this week.

The building, which has been vacant for six years, will get a complete overhaul, with new beams, exposed brick and soft lighting. Owner Bret Adams also plans to build a covered patio with an outdoor fire pit for the new restaurant, which will seat roughly 100 and is expected to open at the end of October.

"We really wanted to take the opportunity to give back to the village. This will be more a labor of love for us," Adams said. "We think we are going to bring a true Italian restaurant to Chagrin."

Adams, who also owns the Burntwood Tavern restaurants, plans to use the other spaces in the building for offices and a glass-blowing studio. The Glass Asylum,currently located in Bratenahl, will occupy part of the space, behind a glass wall.

The building has roughly 35 parking spots, but residents will be able to use the Step North parking garage on North Main Street for additional valet parking.

M Italian will be the first Italian restaurant to open in Chagrin Falls in nearly three years. The village has been without an Italian restaurant since 2011 when Joey's Restaurant burned down on North Main Street.

Owners of Joey's originally had their sights set on the building and had planned to open a new location there. They signed a five-year lease with developers for the building in 2012, but the restaurant never opened. Owners Michael, William and Joseph Leonetti are currently involved in a lawsuit with the developers over another building in Solon.

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M Italian to start construction this week, restaurant set to open in October

The Four Corners Tavern Group operates 10 high-volume venues in Chicago. Its director, Ryan Indovina, offered examples of mistakes that he's seen new restaurateurs make time and again.

Read MoreHot new trends in the restaurant world

"People typically raise just the amount of funding they need to open a restaurant," he said. "They don't always consider that they need a reservoir of cash to run the restaurant for the first three to six months."

He also said that rookie restaurant owners often create unrealistic timelines for their openings.

"Take into consideration lead time for permits, liquor licenses, construction, marketing build-out and more," he said. "These things never happen on time, so build in lots of extra time for unexpected obstacles."

Read More Taking on Starbucks, one cup at a time

He also had some advice that could be considered fitting for any restaurant opening in his home town of Chicago.

"If you're opening in a colder city, make sure to build in enough time so you're not stuck opening in January and February, when no one leaves their house," he said. He also put a lot of stock in picking the correct location.

Read MoreOne-dish restaurants: Just a fad?

"Don't be swayed by a great deal if it's not in a good location," he said. "The perfect location is worth the higher price tag. The restaurant business is the real estate business."

Continued here:
Mistakes to avoid when opening a restaurant

The Baldounis family will serve up a lesson in Greek with the soft opening of their Athenian Restaurant today in north Midland.

With a menu full of Mediterranean staples such as tzatziki-filled gyros and skewered meats, the fine-dining restaurant hopes to bring something new to the Tall City.

Everything is homemade. Everything is done from scratch, said co-owner Tina Baldounis, who grew up eating the food cooked by her native Greek parents. Just try it.

The family owned a similar eatery in Fairbanks, Alaska, in the early 2000s.

After saving money and buying kitchen equipment for the past two years, Baldounis who also has a full-time job at an oilfield services company committed to opening a restaurant to give back to her parents.

This is for them, she said during a tour last Friday. This is for my parents.

A number of construction and equipment issues delayed the opening of Athenian Restaurant, which is located in the northeastern part of the Colonnade at Polo Park shopping center at 4610 N. Garfield St. Suite B11.

The doors will open today, but just for dinner and with limited hours 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on the weekends she said.

A limited menu will be available as Baldounis hunts down servers and hard-to-find ingredients. Athenian Restaurant is also in the process of obtaining a city beer and wine permit.

I just hope everyone is patient with us, she said, noting theres room for than 100 fine diners in the main room and bar area.

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Athenian Restaurant opens today in north Midland