April 29, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
The former Rosanna’s Restaurant closed back in February 2022.
There was a plan to turn it into a deli with a full bar. The space seemed big for that, but people who know the restaurant business better than I do (almost everybody) said that was the plan. So far, it hasn’t happened.
I walked by today, and it looked like the outside had some fresh paint on it, so maybe something is finally going to happen at 2 E. Broad St.
It’s a prominent corner downtown, though Broad Street has never had the retail clout of Main Street. That’s just how it is. Foot traffic and tourist dollars flow to Main Street but Broad Street has charm too.
Oldtimers will recall The Pelican Bar at that same corner, back in the 1980s and maybe into the 1990s. The Pelican was a serious bar. It wasn’t a place to go to talk about politics, though that happened. It wasn’t a place to go to talk about sports, though that happened too.
It was a place to go to drink, and that’s what people did. I was there a few times and wish I’d thought to ask why it was called The Pelican Bar. Maybe I did and can’t remember. It was also the Mid-City Restaurant or something like that for awhile.
Billy’s Downtown Diner is near the corner occupied by the former Rosanna’s, and that makes for formidable competition.
I’ll keep checking on the former restaurant at the southeast corner of Broad and New streets. Sooner or later, something has to happen. It’s been shut for more than four years.
The property was last sold in 2022 for $1.05 million according to Northampton County records, see details below.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 