New Bar and Restaurant Coming to SouthSide

Bethlehem City Council approved the transfer of a state liquor license from Easton on Tuesday night, clearing the way for a new bar and grill to open on the SouthSide this summer.

The Steel Pub will open in a section of building at 320 E. First St., offering standard pub fair – burgers, sandwiches, fries and adult beverages. Located a few blocks west of the campus, the bar’s owners plan to have a grand opening on the first night of Musikfest, August 3, said Tom Schantz, an owner.

A “soft opening” is planned on July 28 to get the bar and restaurant up and operational before Musikfest begins, Schantz said.

The liquor license is being transferred from the former Fuglee’s Pub, which was located at 13th and Jackson streets in Easton. Under Pennsylvania’s liquor laws, licenses can be transferred between municipalities provided that the accepting municipality approves the transfer.

The Steel Pub will have an outdoor deck with tables to augment the 3,000 square feet of space on the inside of the restaurant, which will have the feel of a sports bar, complete with televisions. There will be between 15 and 20 employees to start, Schantz said.

One unique feature of The Steel Pub will be a 40-foot long window that will provide a view of one of two ice rinks at the Steel Ice Center where various amateur hockey league games and practices are held. Closed circuit cameras connected to restaurant televisions will provide a view of the action of the other rink, Schantz said.

The Ice Center is visited annually by between 250,000 and 300,000 people, who have only been able to buy snacks and drinks from a small concession stand, Schantz said.

With the new pub, “you can watch a game or little Johnny practice while you have a beverage of your choice or a hamburger,” Schantz told council.

Schantz said he might have tried to do this sooner, but his father, the locally famous plant salesman Dan Schantz, resisted. It took him and partner Jeff Trainer eight years to convince him this was a good idea.

The Schantzes and Trainer were among the first investors when parcels of former Bethlehem Steel land became available for redevelopment, building the Ice Center eight years ago.

City Council enthusiastically supported the liquor license transfer, voting 6-0 in favor of it. Only Councilman J. William Reynolds was absent from the meeting, but he left behind a letter of support to be read into the record in his absence.