Bayou owners to open restaurant at former Federal Grill in Allentown

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City Center Investment Corp., owners of the Federal Grill space, made the announcement Thursday, noting that the new restaurant at 536 Hamilton St. will have a different concept than the Federal Grill or The Bayou.

Morris Taylor and Cristian Duarte, owners of The Bayou, will operate the restaurant, and Tyler Baxter will serve as executive chef.

Taylor said this morning he is not ready to announce the concept for the restaurant, including the type of food. However, Baxter will be the executive chef for both restaurants, he said.

“The space will be completely remodeled from what people remember it as,” Taylor said. “We are still in the process of determining the fit-out. It was always a mystery to me why it did stay vacant for so long.”

The Federal Grill closed in 2008.

Taylor is looking to hire about 30 people when the restaurant opens in August, a number that can vary according to the seasons.

“We like what we’ve seen happening in Allentown, and we looked at some locations in Allentown,” he said. “We just felt the time was right.”

At 53,000 square feet, the former Federal Grill is part of a group of storefronts along the 500 block of Hamilton Street that comprise a multimillion mixed-use project led by City Center Lehigh Valley to transform the area into retail and restaurant sites, with new office space on the upper floors. These properties include 530, 532, 534, 536 and 538 Hamilton St.

Last August, Allentown welcomed a group of companies to Velocity, a new co-working space for young technology firms on the upper floors of the renovated historic site at 532 Hamilton St.

These restorations are mirrored by new construction occurring throughout the downtown. Across the street sits Three City Center, a new office building that’s nearly complete. The 60,000-square-foot office building next to Lehigh County Courthouse should bring about 500 to 600 office workers to the city when it opens.

A prior plan introduced by City Center Lehigh Valley showed the interior of the space redesigned as The Federal Grill at City Center.

“In general what we were looking for is we are looking to expand the nightlife in the downtown,” said Brett Kemmerer, director of restaurant development for City Center Lehigh Valley. “Bringing in The Bayou operators allows us to push the nightlife into the later hours and we are looking to broaden the spectrum of the consumer.”

Kemmerer said the type of food would be eclectic and reasonably priced, with entrees costing less than $20. He said he has not seen any menus and does not know the exact type of cuisine that would be offered.