Whitehall Archives

Grand opening at Whitehall Dunkin’

A grand reopening is planned for Saturday at the Dunkin’ on MacArthur Road in Whitehall.

The Dunkin’ located at 3670 MacArthur Rd will be celebrating its remodeling to become one of the chain’s “next generation” stores from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Starting at 11 a.m., the restaurant will surprise the first 100 guests in line with free coffee for a year.

At noon, Dunkin’ franchisee Mihir Vyas will host an official ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening.

Following the ribbon cutting ceremony Vyas will present a check for $500 to United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.

Dunkin’, founded in 1950, is the largest coffee and donuts brand in the United States, with more than 13,200 restaurants in nearly 40 global markets.

Members 1st Federal Credit Union opens first of five new branches in Lehigh Valley

Members 1st Federal Credit Union President & CEO George Nahodil, Trexlertown Branch Manager ChristyLee Kuchack and other credit union representatives commemorate the opening of its first branch in the Lehigh Valley – PHOTO/PROVIDED

Cumberland County-based Members 1st Federal Credit Union opened the first of five branches planned for Lehigh Valley in Allentown today.

The credit union’s Trexlertown branch is located at 5605 Hamilton Blvd.

“Establishing a presence in the Lehigh Valley reinforces our commitment and dedication to strengthening and investing in the communities we serve,” President and CEO George Nahodil said. “This multi-branch opening has been planned for quite some time. We are grateful for the opportunity to grow in a new region and are confident that our offerings meet the personal and financial needs of the Lehigh Valley.”

Three additional branch locations will open this summer, including the Macungie branch, 201 West Main St., Macungie, on June 27, Whitehall branch, 2693 MacArthur Road, Whitehall, on July 5, and Emrick Boulevard branch, 2200 Emrick Blvd, Bethlehem on July 11. A fifth Lehigh Valley branch is scheduled to open this fall in Fogelsville.

The addition of five Lehigh Valley branches expands the credit union’s total branch locations to 61 in central Pennsylvania.

Each branch will offer a drive-thru, drive-up ATM, lobby service, coin counter and drop box. In addition, Members 1st offers financial and investment services and products including mortgages, credit cards, and a personal concierge as part of Members 1st’s MyConcierge service and more.

“Whether members are in one of our branches or using our digital banking tools, we pride ourselves in continuing to provide the same, great personalized member service across all channels,” Chief Experience Officer Mike Wilson said. “For years, we have perfected the in-person service in our branches, and we are excited to continue that tradition in Lehigh Valley while simultaneously enhancing our digital tools. This is a really exciting time to become a member.”

A multi-branch grand opening celebration for its Trexlertown, Macungie, Whitehall and Emrick Boulevard branches will be held Saturday, July 16.

Since its start in 1950, Members 1st Federal Credit Union has grown to a full-service financial institution with more than half a million members and over $6.5 billion in assets.

New Jersey-based packaging manufacturer leases space in Riverside Business Center

Riverside Business Center, Whitehall – PHOTO/PROVIDED

Pianca Packaging, LLC has signed a lease with Buligo Capital Partners for more than 28,000-square-feet of industrial space within the Riverside Business Center in Whitehall.

Headquartered in New Jersey, Pianca Packaging manufactures and provides custom-designed containers for end-users such as Applebee’s, Costco, Starbucks Coffee, Publix Super Markets and Wegmans Food Markets.

Newly released products feature tamper evident and resistant technology. The group intends to utilize the space to open and operate a new facility serving companies throughout the surrounding region.

Located at 1139 Lehigh Ave. and constructed in 1910, the 423,900 square foot single-story light industrial building was acquired by Buligo this spring.

Brian Knowles and Eric Zahniser, principals with Lee & Associates of Eastern Pennsylvania arranged the lease transaction.

Riverside Business Center features average ceiling heights of 20 feet, heavy power, and ample automobile and truck parking.

The center is located adjacent to US Route 22, with immediate access to Interstate 78 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

“Pianca Packaging was searching for a new location that could satisfy several important criteria including the availability of heavy power to fuel its manufacturing operations, access to major highways including US Route 22 and a strong labor pool,” said Brian Knowles of Lee & Associates of Eastern Pennsylvania. “Riverside Business Center emerged as the winner based on the immediate availability of space and its core location within a region with a recognized industrial user base.”

New Dunkin’ opens in Whitehall

The new Whitehall Dunkin’ features the chain’s new, next-generation premium pours tap system. PHOTO/SUBMITTED –

Whitehall has a new Dunkin’. The coffee and doughnut chain recently opened a new location at 1174 MacArthur Road.

The new Dunkin’ is one of the chain’s next generation store design, which features a more modern look, a faster drive-thru experience and “premium pours,” which is a new tap system for cold beverages such as iced tea and nitro-infused cold brew.

Owned by Dunkin’ franchisee Mihir Vyas, who currently owns and operates four Dunkin’ locations throughout Pennsylvania, the location will have an official grand opening on June 18.

Features of the new Dunkin’ include a faster drive-thru experience, featuring an exclusive On-the-Go drive-thru lane, which lets DDPerks members who order ahead via Dunkin’s Mobile App to bypass the ordering lane and head straight into the line for the pickup window.

The company said that it is the first national restaurant brand to offer this type of drive-thru service.

The location was also designed with increased energy efficiency in mind to help meet DD Green Achievement specifications.

Stores that achieve DD Green Achievement status are built with sustainable and efficient elements like LED lighting, high-efficiency mechanical equipment, low-flow faucets, and more.

On average, they are 33% more energy efficient compared to conventional Dunkin’ restaurants, the company said.

It also features Dunkin’ on Demand, which offers digital kiosks where guests order with or without the help of a crew member. Dunkin’ has also introduced an area dedicated to mobile pickups so that members of the DD Perks Rewards program who order ahead via Dunkin’s Mobile App can get in and out of the restaurant faster.

The 2,000-square-foot restaurant will employ approximately 15 crew members and is open daily from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

A Conversation With: Mary McMahon, president and CEO of Fellowship Community in Whitehall

LVB: Fellowship Community has a few different residential options. Tell me more about them and how they work together.

McMahon: We offer a continuum of care including independent living, personal care, memory support, short-term rehabilitation, and skilled nursing.

Our independent living residents have the option of enjoying a spacious townhome or a well-appointed apartment with the ability to create their own lifestyle. They may choose to join in campus activities, work out in our wellness center, create in our woodshop, participate in activities by our pastoral care department or learn something new in our lifelong learning programs.

Personal care is designed for people who need assistance with medication management or other activities of daily living. They can still come and go as they please with the comfort of knowing there is someone available 24/7 if they need help.

Our memory care unit focuses on keeping our residents safe and happy, and every staff member has been certified in dementia care.

Skilled nursing is designed for people who have advanced care needs and short-term rehab provides excellent physical and occupational therapy to bring people back to their personal best.

The advantage of living on a continuing care campus is that all of the services are right here. If you’re an independent living resident and have a knee replaced, short-term rehab is on campus. If you have a spouse with dementia, they can reside in our memory care unit and you can spend every day with them knowing that they are well cared for by trained staff.

LVB: There have been many changes in the care industry since the pandemic. How has Fellowship adapted?

McMahon: We developed a special COVID unit for our positive residents staffed by a team who volunteered to care for them during isolation to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

We improved our indoor air quality, installed automated visitor check-in kiosks, and increased our supply of PPE and testing supplies.

Vaccines and boosters were offered on campus for our residents, employees and their families and continue to be available today.

Using varied technologies really helped us stay in constant communication with our families, residents and employees through videos, social media, virtual platforms, and automatic phone calls.

Most importantly, we never lost sight of the need to take care of our employees and residents so that they felt safe here and acknowledged for the physical and psychological hardships they endured.

LVB: Do you still have ongoing challenges? What are they?

McMahon: We continue to face workforce recruitment challenges. Maintaining competitive salary and benefit packages for staff retention is also a priority. We focus on our workplace culture which is rooted in our mission and values. We want to always be a place where people feel valued and respected. We strive to attract and retain staff who understand and will advance our caring and compassionate culture. We are also closely watching the proposed changes to the pending skilled nursing regulations related to staffing minimums. As we currently staff much higher than the Federal and State requirements, the workforce shortage may make compliance difficult depending on what level is set as the new standard.

We must adhere to continued compliance with vaccination, masking and reporting mandates for skilled nursing and personal care that are ever-changing considering the decreasing restrictions for the public and declining case counts in the Lehigh County.

Lastly, we are facing a challenge related to funding skilled nursing care for residents who have exhausted their savings. Reimbursement for this care through the Medicaid program is significantly lacking. We need support from our legislators on this critical issue.

LVB: What do you want for the future of Fellowship Community?

McMahon: My goal is to have Fellowship Community be the first place seniors come to when they want a wonderful retirement place to live. I would like to continue to have a happy and committed workforce that understands our mission and fits our value-driven culture. I would love to be able to expand our campus to serve more people in the future.

Saquon Barkley’s foundation brings opportunities to Whitehall area youth

Saquon Barkley and his parents PHOTO/PROVIDED –

St. Luke’s University Health Network and the Michael Ann & Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation are partnering to bring opportunities to underserved youth in the Whitehall area.

The St. Luke’s Sports Rink/Saquon Barkley Center of Excellence on 7th Street in Whitehall will focus on physical activity, academics and life choices.

“It is an honor to partner my foundation with such a great staff dedicated to providing the best service possible to a community that will always feel like home to me,” Saquon Barkley said. “It was very important when making this decision to choose a team truly dedicated to their community, and with St. Luke’s, that dedication is clear.”

“This is really exciting. It is something positive and will provide good momentum moving forward,” said Barkley’s mother, Tonya Johnson-Barkley. “Everyone who is part of the Michael Ann & Saquon Barkley Foundation, and especially Saquon, is excited about this. I think partnering with an industry leader like St. Luke’s is a win-win situation for both parties.”

Barkley, the former Whitehall High School and Penn State University running back, was drafted No. 2 overall in the NFL Draft by the New York Giants and is entering his fifth NFL season. Whitehall retired his jersey number last fall.

This new partnership is designed to address the whole student, from athletics to academics, personal care and life choices, utilizing the combined resources and name recognition of the Michael Ann & Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation and St. Luke’s.

“This is the first opportunity for Saquon to have a building named after him. Now he has the opportunity to fulfill the philanthropy he has been so looking forward to doing in the community by starting in his hometown of Whitehall, and that makes it extra special,” said George Makhoul, foundation board member and one of his former coaches at Whitehall.

“The importance of the naming is not just about athletic excellence,” said John Hauth, St. Luke’s senior network administrator for Sports Medicine Relationships. “Saquon is a superior athlete, but one of the goals that clearly came through while talking with Saquon, his mother Tonya, and other members of the foundation is that they want this to be about the whole person.”

In addition to providing St. Luke’s exceptional sports performance and fitness services, the goal is to provide services that include nutritional education as well as homework and after-school tutoring opportunities to address the whole child, so children become better athletes, better students and better human beings engaged with their community in a positive way, the foundation said.

While the initial relationship will include the naming of the Whitehall facility, the goal is to spread some of the key initiatives to other St. Luke’s facilities that can reach into underserved communities including, but not limited to, the underserved areas of Allentown.

Riverside Business Center sold for $34.65 million

Aerial view of Riverside Business Center. PHOTO/PROVIDED –

Riverside Business Center, Whitehall, has been sold for $34.65 million.

1788/Riverside Business Center LLC sold the complex, a 423,900-square-foot, single story light industrial building to Buligo Capital Partners, an international investment firm, for $34.65 million.

1788/Riverside Business Center, an affiliate of 1788 Holdings LLC, a Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment company, acquired the property, located at 1139 Lehigh Avenue, in 2018 for $11.65 million and increased the occupancy of the warehouse portion from 87% to its current 100% during its four-year hold period, the company said in a press release.

Michael Hines of CBRE’s Radnor/Philadelphia office represented the seller in this transaction.

“We were initially attracted to Riverside Business Center based on the unique opportunity to acquire a high-quality Class B light industrial property that was substantially leased with in-place rents significantly below market, as well as the compelling opportunity to build significant value with a strategic capital investment program, aggressive leasing effort and cost-efficient property management strategy,” said Larry Goodwin, principal, 1788 Holdings.

“The property contained every fundamental necessary to achieve this objective, led by an irreplaceable location, a strong tenant base and the extreme acceleration in demand for industrial, light manufacturing and warehouse space throughout the Lehigh Valley corridor,” he said.

Constructed in 1910, Riverside Business Center has been improved and renovated on numerous occasions, including the investment of more than $9 million by the previous owner in 2006 to convert the property from a single-user manufacturing facility into a multi-tenanted warehouse and light manufacturing facility, the press release said.

The conversion included the installation of 31 dock doors and 23 drive-in doors, the installment of modernized HVAC and lighting and plumbing systems, substantial improvement to all tenant suites, a complete exterior brick and concrete makeover and parking lot upgrades.

Abutting the Lehigh River, the center is located adjacent to US Route 22 with access to Interstate 78 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Lehigh Valley International Airport is less than three miles from the site. It is within a one-day truck drive to approximately one-third of all consumers in the United States, the release said.

Warby Parker store opening at Lehigh Valley Mall

Rendering of the interior of the new Warby Parker store in the Lehigh Valley Mall. –

The Lehigh Valley is getting its first Warby Parker. The fashion eyeglass retailer is opening a store at the Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall. The grand opening will be held Saturday.

The retailer was founded in New York City in 2010 and has approximately 160 retail stores in North America but is known for selling glasses online.

According to a press release the company expects the new location to be a one-stop-shop for customers’ eye needs. The location will offer eye exams and carry Warby Parker’s full line of sun and optical eyewear offerings.

It will also have the company’s first brand of daily contact lenses Scout by Warby Parker, as well as third-party contacts.

The company said it has also teamed up with local artist Marian Bailey to create a custom mural for the store, which will be available as a limited-edition gift-with-purchase print to celebrate the store’s opening.

Fellowship Community names new VP/COO

Fellowship Community in Whitehall has named Tracy Roman as its new senior vice president and chief operating officer.

Roman had previously served as executive director of regional operations for Allentown-based Phoebe Ministries.

She is replacing Donna Conley who retired after 24 years with the community.

In the role, Roman will provide leadership, vision and administrative oversight for skilled nursing and personal care.

She will oversee all clinical and support departments such as quality, compliance, nursing, admissions and rehabilitation.

She will also serve as the nursing home administrator for Fellowship Manor.

Roman was named a 2021 Health Care Hero by Lehigh Valley Business and serves on the Lehigh County Aging and Adult Services Advisory Council.

She has held leadership positions as education chair and treasurer of the Northeast Chapter of LeadingAge PA and organized the Upper Bucks Forum on Aging.

Roman received her nursing diploma from St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Kutztown University and a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Health Care System Management from DeSales University.

She is a licensed registered nurse and nursing home administrator.

Harvest Health & Recreation opens marijuana dispensary in Whitehall

Harvest of Whitehall is located at 1809 MacArthur Rd. PHOTO / PROVIDED

Phoenix, Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. has opened a new medical marijuana dispensary in Whitehall.

Harvest of Whitehall, 1809 MacArthur Rd,, is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The cannabis company has a number of Pennsylvania dispensaries, including two in Reading and one each in Harrisburg, Camp Hill, Cranberry Township, King of Prussia, Scranton and Johnstown.

This is the company’s first dispensary in the Lehigh Valley.

“We are pleased to open our ninth Harvest-affiliated location in Pennsylvania, one of the fastest growing medical markets in the U.S.,” said CEO Steve White. “We look forward to serving patients and providing quality products at this new location in one of our core markets.”

Founded in 2011, Harvest Health & Recreation has grown a retail and wholesale presence throughout the U.S., acquiring, manufacturing, and selling cannabis products for patients and consumers in addition to providing services to retail dispensaries.

Electronics recycler opens Lehigh Valley facility

ATR’s new facility in Whitehall Township. PHOTO/SUBMITTED

Advanced Technology Recycling, a certified woman-owned national recycling company, opened a new facility in the Lehigh Valley.

Brody Ehresman, director of marketing for ATR, said the new 30,000-square-foot facility in Whitehall Township is part of its growing network of R2 Certified facilities and is one of the largest independent sites to date.

“We work in a hub and spoke model, this would be one of the spokes,” he said.

The company specializes in the secure recycling of computer and electronic equipment and has federal contracts to dispose of such devices for the U.S. Military and Aerospace customers.

The new site will help expand its portfolio of IT Asset Disposition and electronics recycling to the Northeast U.S.

The location will give ATR a better opportunity to work with new regional clients in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Baltimore.

Brody said ATR will be the first company in the region to have U.S. State Department authorized ITAR (International Traffic and Arms Regulations) compliant destruction programs and, GSA (General Service Administration) approved pricing discounts for all levels of governmental agencies that seek responsible and sustainable recycling and ITAD services.

ATR also has business to business recycling programs.

Work that will be conducted at the new Whitehall facility will include processing loads of IT and other electronic scrap, metal and plastics recovery and electronics recovery including the resale of tech assets.

“We’ll have everything from server equipment to laptops and touch pads,” Ehresman said.

ATR is currently hiring at the site. It will initially need five to 10 people and expects to have a staff of 20 in the long term.

Smoothie King adds Whitehall to its kingdom

The Lehigh Valley is getting its first Smoothie King.

Billing itself as the country’s first smoothie franchise, a location was opened at 2701 MacArthur Commons Road in Whitehall last week.

The franchise is owned by Humza Tanvir, who has four other locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Originally a consultant with a computer software company, Tanvir has been a Smoothie King franchise owner since 2017.

Focused on promoting healthy and active lifestyles, Smoothie King has a menu that features 70 smoothies under the categories: Fitness, Slim, Wellness and Break Time.

“As the first Smoothie King in the Lehigh Valley, I’m very excited to show locals the healthy and delicious menu items Smoothie King offers,” said Tanvir in a release. “Each Smoothie King location matches their community, so I know the Whitehall location will be a great success.

With the COVID-19 pandemic the shop will be taking extra precautions for safe and contactless service.

The new Whitehall location will use its drive-thru window, and during particularly crowded times of the day it will send team members out to take orders on tablets for faster pickup.

Hours of operation will be Monday through Friday 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. – 9 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

A Dallas-based franchise company, Smoothie King has more than 1,000 locations worldwide. It was founded in 1973.

Select Region or Brand

Upcoming Event

Tag: Whitehall