A Whitehall Township couple is experiencing a "full circle" with the opening of a new restaurant in Lehigh County.
Co-owner Juanita Mejia announced that the family-run Maraschino Diner, located at 1162 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, will open at 6 a.m. on Monday. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and supper every day.\
The Lehigh Valley Diner had been housed in the property for a long time. Mejia and her husband, Cesar Mejia, would frequently visit for late-night meals there after working shifts at the nearby City View Diner. At City View, where Juanita worked as a manager and Cesar as a line cook, the pair first met in 2004.
They have each worked in different capacities at other Lehigh Valley eateries for more than 20 years, but Juanita stated that their dream is to own their own business. Juanita remarked, "We had dreamed of starting our own restaurant for many years."
He held several positions as a chef, and I have managed other eateries. The more we had assisted others in starting restaurants, the more we desired to open our own. Over the years, there were a few opportunities, but the time was not ideal. We instantly realized this position was ideal as soon as we noticed it was open. We are extremely thrilled to be bringing all of our experience to our own diner at last. The Mejias have recently renovated the MacArthur Road building, which has housed a number of eateries since the Lehigh Valley Diner closed approximately 15 years ago, including Salt & Pepper Family Restaurant, Mayuri Indian Cuisine, and Jordan Parkway Diner.
With almost 100 seats available, Maraschino will have new counters, bar stools, wall paint, kitchen appliances, and other improvements. Red accents such as illuminated signage, vibrant wall tiles, and reupholstered booths will go well with the diner's cherry theme. "My two oldest pals and I have always adored cherries," Juanita remarked. Growing up, we used to gather everything that had cherries on it. We even have tattoos of cherries.
A wide range of made-to-order dishes will be available at the full-service Maraschino, including appetizers like cheesesteak egg rolls, sausage rolls, and pierogies; club sandwiches like turkey, tuna salad, chicken salad, and roast beef and Swiss; and specialty char-grilled burgers like the "Mauch Chunk," which consists of two mozzarella sticks topped with marinara sauce; "Mickley Road," which consists of carnitas, pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, and chipotle mayo; and "Schadt Avenue," which consists of bleu cheese crumbles, bacon, and sauteed onions. Eight-ounce black diamond steaks, 12-ounce prime ribs, 12- or 16-ounce Delmonico steaks, broiled crab-stuffed flounder, Cajun salmon, scallops, and shrimp are just a few of the options available from the assortment of steak and seafood meals.
Juanita stated, "We want to make sure that we have some really fantastic seafood dishes, therefore one of our greatest investments was our broiler." We will therefore provide a range of fish options, both fried and broiled, in addition to a number of excellent salads, one of which is the caprese salad, which is one of my favorite foods. We will be alternating between soups like seafood bisque, halupki, and pepper pot because my spouse makes amazing soups.
Numerous types of quesadillas, French fries baskets, gyros, wraps, sizzling fajitas, and Italian delicacies will be among the additional options. The couple's three children intend to assist as well. Juanita declared, "It will truly be a family-run restaurant." "My spouse will resume his duties in the kitchen, but I will take a more active role as the owner, mostly supervising the front of the house activities. We can hardly wait to help the community.
Maraschino will open everyday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and serve handcrafted cakes, pies, and other treats from bakeries in the Lehigh Valley, according to Juanita. The restaurant will launch late-night weekend hours in less than a month, she continued, remaining open until three or four a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. People are constantly pounding on our door, asking when we are opening, so we know the community is as eager as we are, Juanita said.
"We also have an amazing team in place, and I can not wait for them to succeed."
See Homes for Sale Near Maraschino Dinner in Whitehall Township, PA