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Downtown Allentown Market on Tuesday changed its hours to a breakfast- and lunch-focused spot, in a significant departure from the market’s original purpose of attracting happy hour and dinner customers and boosting the downtown Allentown economy. announced that it would change.
This change reflects long-standing customer and vendor patterns and suggests that the market’s core business is local office workers.
“As downtown continues to grow and evolve, we have more locations available for dinner and events,” said Downtown Allentown Market Manager Bre Bradley. “At the same time, we have seen an increase in lunch traffic as nearby businesses return to their offices. Taking these factors into account, we have reorganized our business hours to focus on weekday breakfast and lunch, our busiest times. I made it.”
The food hall’s new operating hours will be from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, starting April 1. As a result of this change, two restaurants, Casa Criola and Bar 1838, announced their closure.
The market, 27 N. Seventh St., is currently open Mondays from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. , opens at 9:30am. until midnight Saturday. The market is closed on Sundays.
This is “a long time coming,” said Megan Colon, business development manager for City Center Investment Corporation, the real estate and management company that operates the Downtown Allentown Market. “Honestly, this was the result of years of trying to bring back the dinnertime buzz after it disappeared due to COVID-19.”
The effort included contracting with individuals to promote nighttime business and nighttime events to encourage traffic after dark. Those efforts appear to have been unsuccessful.
Colon said management began reconsidering how the market operates in late February based on feedback from vendors.
“They said they weren’t going to make money for dinner and it wasn’t very profitable because we needed their time,” she said. “They are [vendors] They say they can make a lot of money on lunch, but they can make more money by keeping their staff up all night. ”
With the upcoming closures of Casa Criolla and Bar 1838, only six stores remain in the space, which can accommodate up to nine stores. Chez’s Delicatessen, Johnny’s ArtsWalk Diner, La Kang Thai Eatery, Pasta & Pies, Randevoo and Zahra are the only original tenants. It has remained since the market opened in 2019.
When Downtown Allentown Market opened in September 2019, timing wasn’t on its side. Just six months later, the coronavirus pandemic struck, shutting down not only the market but also the surrounding businesses, which are frequented by office workers who would otherwise frequent the market.
Foot traffic returned to the market as pandemic restrictions eased, but with many people still working from home, it will be difficult to return to pre-pandemic numbers.
“Many businesses in urban centers rely on office crowding during the day,” JB Riley, president and CEO of City Center Investment Corporation, told Morning News last year. told Cole. “There is no question that office traffic during the day is lower than before COVID-19.”
A decline in daytime foot traffic, combined with the market’s consolidation within its own tax zone meant to encourage development, has made the Downtown Allentown Market particularly vulnerable to job losses from the area, as the city had been seeking. This resulted in a strong push for customers to stop by on their way home or travel to hang out. to create a more vibrant downtown economy.
Even though most pandemic restrictions have now been lifted, the dream of a vibrant downtown Allentown remains intact. Nighttime traffic to the market remains low, and vendors The Morning Call spoke to said that despite the market’s efforts to host nighttime events such as trivia and happy hour, opening hours do slow down business. He said it helps maintain it.
In fact, stores these days are taking advantage of offering quick and varied lunches to office workers. In December, Chez Delicatessen opened, featuring classic Italian-style hoagies. In January, Bethlehem-based Asian finger food purveyor Randevoo opened in the former location of Khanisa’s Pudding.
Colon said vendors will have more freedom to determine their business hours within the new period, a change from the previous management structure. For example, Shez Her delicatessen and Italian restaurant Pasta & Pies are considering opening earlier, she said.
“We’re going to be doing breakfast pizza, breakfast stromboli and breakfast bowls,” said Alex Vasquez, owner of Pasta & Pies. “I hope to have it up by April 1st.” [the day the market’s hours change]”
Vasquez, who opened in August, said she is excited about the new menu offerings but is motivated by revenue.
“We have to try to level this out,” he said. “We have limited hours and lunch is from 11am to 3pm. We have to try to generate other income to keep the business afloat.”
Vázquez agrees that lunch is the best time to do business, but why would market managers change business hours during the spring and summer, when customers outside of the core office demographic stop by for a meal? He added that he did not know if it had been announced.
“I feel like the decision should have been made during the winter,” he said. “But in the summer? There are people out there day and night. I understand that decisions were made to benefit both customers and vendors, but I’m not ready for it. All I can do is go with the flow.”
Colon said the market will continue to be selective about the diversity of products on the market. She acknowledged that having breakfast and lunch-only hours on weekdays could limit the type of shops in the market, but the city center could, for example, have three deli sandwich shops in the market. He said he is working to avoid opening consecutive stores.
“We are focused on finding operators with good menus and quick-service options,” she said.
The new breakfast and lunch focus didn’t make sense for some vendors, like Bar 1838. Bar 1838’s business is the antithesis of office crowds and a space that’s only open until 3 p.m., and Casa Criola also has beer and cocktails on its menu.
Colon said he’s optimistic that the future fortunes of the Downtown Allentown Market may change.
“People started showing up at lunchtime,” she says. “We’ve tried very hard to get nighttime traffic, but it’s just spades.”
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