Allentown’s Beerco will close early next year. The Lehigh Street beer distributor has been in business about a half-century, but owner Robert Mickus said he lost his lease and has not been able to find a suitable location at market rates.
The location is becoming a Sheetz, as that stretch of Lehigh Street near Route 78 becomes a convenience-store cluster. Turkey Hill and Wawa already operate near there, and a Royal Farms will take over what is now the Brass Rail.
Mickus said he will retain his beer license and see if a good spot, perhaps with 5,000 square feet, becomes available. Meanwhile, Beerco will close by the end of January.
Lashes by Gab is coming to The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley early next year, across from the movie theater. This will be the second location for Gabriella Edwards, who started in 2017 working with her mother at Gabriella’s Salon. In addition to lash services, Gabriella sell supplies for lash artists, other merchandise and she provides Esthetician certification training.
Pottsville’s first medical marijuana dispensary, Beyond/Hello, will open Monday. The dispensary will open to customers at 10 a.m. at 101 N. Centre St., the former Schuylkill Trust Co. building. Beyond/Hello will be the only outlet for medical marijuana for 30 minutes in any direction, according to owner Jushi Holdings Inc. The company operates 18 dispensaries across Pennsylvania.
The Schuylkill County outlet will sell dry leaf, concentrates, cartridges, tinctures, topicals, capsules, pills and devices for using them. A licensed pharmacist is on the staff, and the store is accessible to handicapped people.
Yum Yum Bake Shop of Quakertown is back. The renovated coffee and doughnut shop on Route 313, near Route 309, reopened Monday. Hours for now are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for walk-in services, and drive-through and online ordering will be available at some point in the future. Yum Yum also has locations in Colmar and Warminster.
Bru Daddy Brewing Co. of Allentown is expanding. The brewer said it has signed a lease for 26,000 square feet at the old Mack Truck plant on South 10th Street. The steam-powered 15-barrel facility will “crank out tons of awesome new Hazy IPAs, Fruity Sours, crisp lager, barrel-aged beers” and traditional brews, according to the brewer.
Bru Daddy has also invested in a reverse-osmosis water treatment system and have a lab on-site. The brewer’ operates a beer garden at 732 Hamilton St. and “blended by Bru Daddy’s” at 27 N. Seventh St., serving beer and food.
The Bath location of Red Tomato on Airport Road has closed but the Orefield restaurant at 3636 Route 309 in Orefield remains open. The Red Tomato Pizzeria serves gourmet pizza, salads, calamari, stromboli, paninis and more. Red Tomato pizzas are available with meat, chicken and vegetarian toppings.
Custom cabinet maker Draper DBS of Perkasie has been acquired by Williams Ohs of Denver, Colorado, for an undisclosed price. The transaction combines two luxury cabinet makers. Bill Draper started his company in 1981 in a basement, later moved to a chicken coop and now operates in a former cigar factory.
Mid Penn Bancorp has completed its acquisition of Riverview Financial Corp. The transaction totaled $124.7 million in stock. Mid Penn now moves into new markets, including the Lehigh Valley and the State College area. The bank is based in Millersburg, Dauphin County, north of Harrisburg.
Mid Penn is traded on the NASDAQ market under ticker symbol MPB. The assets of the combined company total about $4.7 billion.