A mobile IV hydration business is opening June 3 in Stroudsburg which will provide service to Lehigh and Northampton counties.
Premier Infusions & Wellness specializes in providing individually tailored IV vitamin drip solutions on-site, catering to various locations such as homes, offices, gyms, and more, said Lendra James, founder.
James said the company aims to revolutionize the concept of self-care and wellness promotion. She said she has spent more than two decades as a registered nurse, honing her expertise in diverse specialties such as cardiology, neurology, trauma, step-down, and nursing leadership.
However, in 2021, James said she experienced a transformative shift in her purpose. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the pressing need for self-care, wellness promotion, and preventive education within communities.
Witnessing the strain on hospital resources and the lack of attention to staff well-being, James said she chose to redirect her focus to self-care advocacy.
Recognizing her passion for operational management and the business side of healthcare, James embarked on a new chapter as an entrepreneur. In 2022, she launched her own company, leveraging her leadership skills and her certifications as a nurse executive and Doctor of Nursing Practice. By inspiring healthcare professionals and women to follow their entrepreneurial aspirations and prioritize self-care, Lendra discovered profound fulfillment in guiding others towards optimal wellness.
Wild & Free Bakery to open at Slatington Farmers Market March 24 – Photo courtesy of Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce
A full-service bakery is opening in the Slatington Farmers Market in Washington Township, Lehigh County.
Wild & Free Bakery will celebrate its grand opening March 24 with the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce, partner of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce,
Wild & Free Bakery offers cupcakes, breads, cookies, and gourmet pastries, and custom orders. The bakery is owned by Matt and Connie Hoffman of Palmerton.
“The chamber is always excited to shine a spotlight on great new businesses in the area, but this may be guaranteed to be the sweetest new business we have this spring,” said Kylie Adams-Weiss, assistant vice president of Affiliated Chambers for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. “Connie and her team offer up delicious baked goods to the community, including beautifully decorated cakes and cupcakes, savory croissants and breads, and so much more. We’ve been proud to work with them in past events with the chamber and in upcoming events, too!”
Connie Hoffman is founder of the company and has carried a passion for food and pastries from a young age. She is a graduate of Carbon Career & Technical Institute in the Culinary Arts field, studied Pastry Arts at The Restaurant School of Walnut Hill College and finished her education at Lehigh Carbon Community College for Hospitality and Resort Management, the chamber said.
Her husband and business partner, Matthew, handles the behind-the-scenes of the business.
The grand opening and ribbon cutting will take place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Slatington Market Place. The event is open to the public.
“Ribbon cutting ceremonies are some of our favorite events,” said Jessica O’Donnell-Gower, executive vice president of Affiliated Chambers for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. “It’s the perfect opportunity to spotlight the hard work that has gone into the creation of a business, and to bring the community out to celebrate one another’s accomplishments. We could not be more excited to celebrate with Wild & Free Bakery!”
Andy Gildner, owner of Keystone Technology, LLC, and chair of the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce, said, “The Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber is proud to welcome Wild & Free Bakery to our footprint and we look forward to supporting them in their growth for years to come.”
Costas and Deb Hrousis bought a 2.2-acre property at 3986 Township Line Road with plans to turn the former child daycare center into a K-9 Resort – Photo courtesy of LFG LLC –
A Bethlehem Township couple plans to open a luxury doggie daycare and boarding facility in the township this summer.
Costas and Deb Hrousis bought a 2.2-acre property at 3986 Township Line Road with plans to turn the former child daycare center into a K-9 Resort.
Mike Gilbert of Lehigh Financial Group LLC helped arrange the multi-million-dollar SBA 504 loan that the couple used to buy the property and will use to renovate the 9,225-square-foot building on it.
“We are basically gutting the entire inside of the building and we’re transforming it into the luxury boarding and daycare model that is K9 Resort,” Deb said. “Our goal is to open sometime this summer.”
A franchise, K9 Resort is based in New Jersey. K9 Resorts offer sleeping enclosures for one to two dogs and day group play or individual play time with staff. The company said it provides comfort mat bedding and premium meals for the dogs.
When fully operational, the couple will be able to offer overnight boarding for up to 85 dogs and doggie daycare for up to 140.
Like many people, Deb got a dog during the pandemic. Apollo, 4, a black lab, “just loves everybody,” she said. “But he doesn’t necessarily do well in group settings.”
Working in education, Deb was looking for a one-on-one place for Apollo at the same time she was looking for her “do-next” career. K9 came up on her internet search, and she was hooked, she said.
Once they bought the franchise, Costas, owner of Veraxia Commercial Real Estate, found the location.
Deb said Mike Gilbert was instrumental in getting their SBA loan to close. “He walked us through every step of the project and, whenever challenges arose, he took the stress out of it for us,” she said. “Having Mike there to help when starting a business was instrumental.”
Gilbert expects the K9 Resort to be popular with area dog owners who wish to pamper their pets when they can’t.
The buyers were represented by Attorney Paul Harak of Holzinger, Harak & Scomillio Law Offices in Bethlehem and the lender that funded the loan was TD Bank.
A new Indian restaurant will open at 163 W. Main St. Kutztown, this spring – PHOTO/PROVIDED
The owners of two convenience stores in Lehigh Valley plan to open an Indian restaurant in Kutztown in April.
Jasdeep and Rajni Grewal of Center Valley purchased 163 West Main Street near Kutztown University for the restaurant that will feature North and South Indian cuisine.
Jeff Barber of Lehigh Financial Group, LLC, in Allentown, helped arrange the commercial financing for the Grewals to buy the building and open the restaurant. They have not decided on a name.
Rajni Grewal grew up in the restaurant business. Her parents own Indian restaurants in New Jersey and her cousins own Indian restaurants in New Jersey and Easton, near Lafayette College.
The Grewals will hire a chef for their new restaurant, but Jasdeep says he likes to cook and plans to help out. They hope to open the restaurant by the end of April.
The Grewals plan to add some equipment and make some cosmetic changes to the building, which previously housed a restaurant. They also plan to add some seating and remodel the bathroom.
“Before we open, we want to make it a place that people want to come and have food that is wow,” Jasdeep said.
Plans are to open the restaurant at 11 a.m. for lunch, close for dinner prep at 2:30, and reopen at 5. However, the couple said their plans could change depending on traffic and what others in the area do.
The Grewals own two 7-Elevens in the Lehigh Valley area, one on Susquehanna Street in Allentown and one in Richlandtown. Because of Rajni’s family background, they had wanted to add a restaurant to their portfolio.
Barber said he is confident that their restaurant will be popular and a success particularly in this location with Kutztown University students and local residents.
The buyers were represented by Ken Palumbo of Howard Hanna Commercial Real Estate in Allentown.
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, through its new Life Science and Healthcare Technology Fund, will assist in the creation of life science startups.
The $2.5 million fund provides up to $250,000 per company to regional health care providers and specialists, private corporations and academic institutions that create spinoff companies or develop technologies who commit at least $50,000 into the startup, Ben Franklin Northeast said.
“Through this fund, Ben Franklin Northeast will not only support companies that are improving the human condition, but it will also create and refresh, retain, and reimagine highly paid, sustainable jobs in the state of Pennsylvania,” said Angelo Valletta, president and CEO at Ben Franklin Northeast.
Recipients of the investment, which was financed in part from Pennsylvania Small Business Credit Initiative funds from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, can be companies launched by individuals from within the organization or companies attracted to the region by a participating institution.
Investments from the fund can be made for a wide range of life science and healthcare improvements, such as new biologics or pharmaceuticals, medical devices or diagnostics, in-hospital caregiving and patient management tools and software, new caregiving solutions, staff and patient safety solutions, and community health solutions.
The new startup must be in, or relocate to, Ben Franklin Northeast’s 21-county service territory that includes the following counties: Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Pike, Schuylkill, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne, and Wyoming.
The founder must also be full-time with the company.
A Texas-based plant-based soap and body products company has opened a store in Allentown.
Buff City Soap, a retail franchise, opened the store at 942 Airport Center Road Nov. 25.
“We are excited to continue offering new Buff City Soap locations in Pennsylvania” said COO Justin Young. “We can’t wait to begin showing off our wonderfully scented, plant-based products and create new fans of Buff City Soap products in communities like Allentown.”
Founded in 2013, Buff City Soap has created an alternative to commercial soap products full of harsh chemicals, detergents, animal fats, and sulfates. The products, Young said, are made in-store daily giving customers the chance to see the whole making process live.
The store offers more than 30 customizable scents across dozens of handcrafted soap products; including its famous soap bars, bath bombs, foaming hand soap, and even laundry soap. The brand’s products are crafted by local artisans at the in-store makeries, which allow guests to customize the scent and ingredients used in the process to create a unique scent profile.
Buff City Soap, which was recognized in Entrepreneur’s Top 100 “Best of New” franchise rankings, is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
Lauren Dorsey, owner of Sole Wellness Studio – PHOTO/PROVIDED –
Sole Wellness Studio will be joined by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber to celebrate its grand opening at 3606 Nicholas St., Suite E in Palmer Township Thursday.
The studio blends complementary and alternative modalities, including its main features, the Halotherapy Salt Room plus meditation and breathwork, to promote total mind, body, energetic and spiritual wellness, said owner Lauren Dorsey.
The mission of the studio is to create an inclusive healing space for all to retreat and unplug from the external, with gentle guidance and a safe space to turn within, practicing mindfulness and self-care.
After years of online programs and workshops facilitated by owner Lauren Dorsey, Sole Wellness Studio has planted its roots to serve the Lehigh Valley and surrounding communities, the chamber said.
“Lauren created the studio as a place of holistic wellness and healing through a mix of modalities she has personally used and come to love through her own wellness journey – and is continually expanding,” the chamber said.
The studio is 800 square feet with a boho-chic vibe in the front room/reception area. It offers natural plant-based wellness products, healing crystals, sage, incense & herbs, Himalayan Salt bath & body products, Himalayan salt decor, and other unique gifts, personal development books, and journals, including Dorsey’s book, ALIGNED A 90 Day Guided Journey through Self Love and Soul Alignment.
A book signing will be available during the 5:30 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony.
NOMAD Distilling Co. is opening its first satellite location in Jim Thorpe July 6.
The Carbon Chamber & Economic Development Corp. said it is holding an open house for the Williamsport-based company at its new location at 67 Race Street Jim Thorpe from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The company will offer its distilled products along with events and classes.
Owned by Frank and Sarah Kudlack, NOMAD Distilling Co. is a locally run business that makes products that are as locally sourced as possible during the current economy and supports local businesses, the chamber said.
Its products include a four-year blended bourbon, a corn whiskey flavored with pure Pennsylvania maple syrup and a family of shines.
Ma’s Crepes and Cakes is celebrating its grand opening today in Jim Thorpe with the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corp.
The shop at 46 W. Broadway offers organic sweet and savory crepes and baked goods for breakfast, lunch and dinner, said Co-owner Melissa Martinez.
Martinez has had decades of experience building organic beauty salons throughout Eastern Pennsylvania. Her partner, Tony Martinez, who is known for his involvement with the Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival, is an entrepreneur who has more than ten years of success launching and growing multiple businesses. He specializes in marketing, management and film/photo production.
Bowery Farming, a company started by Irving Fain in 2015, is opening an indoor vertical farming operation in Bethlehem in May.
Parsley is being grown at a Bowery Farming indoor vertical farm. PHOTO/PROVIDED –
The farm, opening in a new, state-of-the-art 150,000-square-foot facility on an 8.7-acre former brownfield site, will employ 70 “modern” farmers to run the fully automated commercial farm that will provide lettuce, green leafy vegetables and, in the future, strawberries and other berries to the 49 million people in a 200-mile radius, said Katie Seawell, chief commercial officer for Bowery Farms.
The New York-based company has two operating farms, one in Kearny, New Jersey, and the other in Nottingham, Maryland. Seawell said the Bethlehem farm will be the largest, most technologically advanced commercial farm in the company’s network.
“Controlled environmental agriculture is an emerging category,” she said. “Greenhouses have been around for a long time, but vertical farming takes up less space and produces much more.”
The company created BoweryOS, a proprietary system which integrates software, hardware, sensors, computer vision systems, machine learning models and robotics to orchestrate and automate the entirety of operations, Seawell said.
“We stack crops from floor to ceiling and use LED lighting that mimics sunlight,” she said. The BoweryOS system can change the amount of sunlight needed for each type of plant being grown.
Plants are grown 365 days a year and are rotated so the seedlings are being started as other plants are maturing.
Butterhead lettuce is reaching maturity at Bowery Farming indoor vertical farm. PHOTO/PROVIDED –
“We choose sites in urban areas, so the produce doesn’t have to travel far to get to the markets,” Sewell said. “We started the first seeds two weeks ago [in Bethlehem] and will be ready to go commercial in the next few months.”
The beauty of indoor vertical farming, besides taking up much less room, is that there are no pests, so no pesticide is needed.
“We meet all food safety standards, a core of our operation,” she said.
“The BoweryOS system is the brain of the farm. With the integrated sensors, we can capture data that tells us what the plants need.” She said each crop requires different amounts of light, water, airflow and nutrients.
“We can produce quality, flavor and yield with precision,” she said. “It’s like a game of Tetris.”
The indoor vertical farm structure allows Bowery Farming to use less water than traditional farms because the water is recaptured using a HVAC system. Seawell explained that as plants mature, they give off water that is collected and recycled.
“The United Nations said by 2050 there will be nine to 10 million people to feed,” she said. “That means we will need 50% more food than we do today. In order to meet that demand, we would have to convert our forests into agriculture. That’s not good for the planet.”
The Bowery Farming model, she said, will play an important role in creating enough food safely and more sustainably.
In addition to growing food in smaller spaces, Seawell said the crops mature in 25 to 30 days instead of the two to three months it takes on traditional farms. It takes the company 48 to 72 hours to harvest and deliver the food to the market.
That, she said, is a “stark contrast” to the 90% of leafy greens grown in the U.S., which are transported more than 3,000 miles to consumers on the East Coast.
Since the beginning of 2020, Bowery has expanded from 100 to more than 1,000 major grocery stores in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, including Albertsons Companies (Safeway and Acme), Amazon Fresh, Giant Food, Walmart, Wakefern, Weis, Whole Food Markets, and specialty grocers. It also sells on ecommerce platforms like Amazon and Fresh Direct.
“Pennsylvania welcomes Bowery Farming to our commonwealth’s rich and diverse agriculture industry and looks forward to supporting the company’s growth as it reimagines how farming can be more sustainable and impactful to our communities,” said Gov. Tom Wolf.
“Bowery’s expansion will generate new opportunities by establishing this technologically advanced indoor vertical farm and will create new year-round sustainable jobs and a chance to address food insecurity throughout Eastern and Central Pennsylvania,” he said.
Bowery Farming received a funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) for a $210,000 Pennsylvania First grant and $50,000 in grant funding for workforce training, Wolf said.
The company has been encouraged to apply for a Neighborhood Assistance Enterprise Zone Tax Credit (NAP-EZP).
The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team.
Bowery Farming is also ready to launch new farms in the first quarter of 2023 in the Atlanta, Georgia and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas metro areas.
Crumbl Cookies is holding a grand opening Friday at 2779 Papermill Road, Reading, the franchise’s first location in central Pennsylvania.
The first-week menu at the new store, in Broadcasting Square Shopping Center, will feature six of the 200-plus rotating weekly flavors Crumbl offers, including staple chilled sugar and milk chocolate chip.
“We are so excited to bring Crumbl to Broadcasting Square and hope the local residents love these cookies as much as we do,” Jason McGowan, Crumbl co-founder and CEO, said in a release. “We love the traditional flavors, but also like to surprise our customers with new and fun concepts. My personal favorite is the raspberry cheesecake cookie.”
Among the specialty cookies are Cornbread, Cookies and Cream, S’Mores, Key Lime Pie, Peppermint Bark, Orange Roll, Buttermilk Pancake and Galaxy Brownie.
Crumbl staff members mix, bake and prepare the cookies in an open kitchen, which are then packaged in a pink box.
The company, established in 2017, has expanded to more than 300 locations in dozens of states, with 100 more scheduled to open in the coming year. In Pennsylvania, there are Crumbl Cookies in Bensalem, Jenkintown, Warrington, Newtown, North Huntingdon, Wynnewood and Williamsport.
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Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, through its new Life Science and Healthcare Technology Fund, will assist in the creation of life science startups.
Lifestyle Barber Academy will celebrate its grand opening Wednesday with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.
