BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Bethlehem City Council on Tuesday night passed a resolution approving an intermunicipal transfer of a liquor license, allowing a planned bar and restaurant on West Broad Street to move forward.
Council’s action allows the transfer of a liquor license previously issued to Green Pond Golf Course in Bethlehem Township to Moyer Entertainment & Hospitality Co., which plans to open a bar and restaurant at 20-24 W. Broad St. next to the Boyd Theatre property.
Attorney Anthony Brichta, representing Moyer, told council that the company is renovating the property and plans to open a high quality, community-oriented restaurant with a full commercial kitchen, offering entertainment and a bar in the basement and on the roof.
The rooftop will be designed to accommodate about 60 guests and the basement will accommodate about 100 guests, Brichta said. Live music from small bands will be offered, security cameras will be installed and staff will be trained to follow strict Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board regulations, he noted, adding that two units of the property will be leased to third-party tenants.
It will be about a year before the restaurant and bar opens, with an initial Wednesday through Sunday schedule, said Brichta, adding that the use will be similar to other businesses in the area.
Seeking assurance that the liquor license would be in safe hands, council member Hillary Kwiatek asked Brichta if a misdemeanor connected to one of the project partners was related to alcohol. Brichta said he was confident that everyone who is involved in the project would be approved by the PLCB.
When asked by council President Michael Colon if the restaurant-bar would offer alcohol to go, Brichta said that is still undecided.
Drew Moyer of Moyer Entertainment & Hospitality said guests will enter through the left side of the building where an elevator and vestibule will lead to the rooftop deck and basement.
Bethlehem has reached its quota for liquor licenses and Moyer could not find one in the city, said Brichta, adding that the company worked out an arrangement with the golf course, which is seeking a different license. Pennsylvania’s Liquor Code allows for the transfer of liquor licenses across municipal boundaries within the same county, under certain conditions, council’s resolution noted.
