Home Care In Hellertown, PA

HELLERTOWN, Pa. — A new full-service restaurant is set to spice up Hellertown’s dining scene.

La Maya Mexican Comfort, offering made-from-scratch Mexican-American cuisine, is expected to open in the spring at 650 Main St., according to co-owner Rogelio Romero.

The restaurant, with seating for approximately 50 diners, will occupy a renovated space that previously housed The Vibe Nutrition, a business offering nutritional shakes, clean-energy drinks, smoothie bowls and more, which closed in July.

Romero has been in the restaurant industry for several years, opening a Mexican restaurant, El Charro del Rio, in Milford, New Jersey, about four years ago. He was also previously a partner at downtown Bethlehem’s LU Taqueria.

At La Maya, Romero is partnering with his friend, CJ Moyer, who also operates the two-year-old Presley’s Cocktail Bar, a mobile cocktail bar featuring professional mixologists and tailored experiences for events.

The owners are still finalizing La Maya’s menu, but they’re working with a Washington, D.C. chef to create original recipes that will showcase high-quality ingredients and unique flavors.

“When we say Mexican comfort, we’re looking to offer Mexican-American-style food with a little more influence from the Pacific Coast of Mexico,” Moyer said.

“Our menu will be seasonal, with a lot of fish dishes, hanger steaks, skirt steaks and so forth. We’ll be taking bits and pieces from Mexican cuisine and American cuisine. So, people can expect tacos, burritos, quesadillas, mac and cheeses and all of that good stuff.”

Renovations are planned for the space, which will feature a mix of high- and low-top tables.

Romero and Moyer are also thinking of knocking out a wall in the back of the space to create more of an open-concept dining area.

An existing long counter is remaining, and La Maya will be partnering with Lehigh Valley-based County Seat Spirits to offer cocktails made with County Seat products along with Pennsylvania-made beer and wine at a full bar.

“We’re extremely excited to be working with the team at La Maya,” said Anthony Brichta, CEO of County Seats Spirits.

“Everybody knows Rogelio for his amazing food and restaurant work, including his time at LU Taqueria, and everybody knows Presley’s Mobile Cocktail Bar as one of the premier cocktail experiences in the region. So, we’re extremely excited to be working with them and getting County Seat products out to new customers in a new location and collaborating with their team on some interesting spirits and concepts.”

An exact opening date for La Maya has not yet been determined, but Moyer and Romero are targeting late March or early April for a soft launch.

The partners would then host a grand opening celebration in May for Cinco de Mayo, Moyer said.

“We're super excited," Moyer said. "Rogelio and I will actually be working to open a food truck as well. So, we’ll have the dine-in location, and we’ll also be able to provide catering for off-premise events as well.”

This year’s Hellertown Halloween Parade will be held Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m., and the volunteers who organize it are busy working to ensure that it’s the best parade the borough has ever seen.

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This year’s Hellertown Halloween Parade will be held Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m., and the volunteers who organize it are busy working to ensure that it’s the best parade the borough has ever seen.

Part of the planning that goes into the parade involves seeking sponsors, as the event is entirely funded through donations and other forms of community support.

In addition to marching band and other sponsors, this year the parade committee chaired by Mayor David Heintzelman is seeking businesses and others willing to donate $100 to purchase 100 hot dogs. The $100 donations will be used to purchase a total of 1,500 hot dogs that will be handed out free of charge to participants and spectators at a 4 p.m. parade after-party in Dimmick Park.

Another new addition to this year’s parade will be Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee and Beverage truck, which will be at the park and at the parade registration area at the Saucon Valley School District campus. Other food trucks will also be at the post-parade celebration in the park.

“We are expanding to meet the needs of participants and parents alike,” a recent post on the Hellertown Halloween Parade Facebook page said. “Come thirsty, enjoy the parade and live band after the parade at Dimmick Park!”

The theme for this year’s six-division Hellertown Halloween Parade is “Celebrating Hometown Heroes” and prizes will be awarded in a number of categories, such as best float.

Among the bands that have committed to participatet in it is Bethlehem’s famous Liberty High School Grenadier Marching Band.

Typically each division is led by a different band.

For parade sponsors who wish to participate in it, there will be a Sponsorship Division to provide them with recognition.

“Show your work truck, banner or just walk in the parade to tell the community that you have helped,” a donation appeal from Heintzelman said.

Donations in the form of checks should be made payable to Hellertown Halloween Parade and mailed to: Hellertown Halloween Parade, 326 Main St., Hellertown, PA 18055.

The route of the parade is circular. It begins at the school district campus and proceeds from there down Walnut Street to Main Street; Main Street to Water Street; Water Street to Rentzheimer Drive; Rentzheimer Drive to Durham Street; Durham Street to Constitution Avenue; and then down Constitution to return to where it began. Main Street traffic is typically detoured onto Front Street.

Spectators are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes to the parade, which has been a Saucon Valley community tradition for decades.

There is no rain date for the parade.

For more information about becoming a parade sponsor or to register to participate in this year’s parade, email Heintzelman at da***@HF***.com. More information is also available on the Facebook page, where updates about this year’s parade are being shared.

In addition to the parade, residents may also want to put the date for Trick-or-Treat in Hellertown borough on their calendars.

This year’s Trick-or-Treat will be held Tuesday, Oct. 31 from 6 to 8 p.m. Residents who plan to hand out candy should leave their porch lights on during that time.

Along with higher snowfall totals, there has been an increase in the number of snow removal warnings and citations issued by the Borough of Hellertown’s Department of Code Enforcement this winter.

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Compared to the past couple of years the winter of 2024 has been relatively snowy so far, with several storms dumping as much as a foot of snow on the area.

Hellertown Borough Hall is visible at Main and Water streets as heavy snow falls around it. (FILE PHOTO)

Along with the increase in snow, there has also been an increase in the number of snow removal warnings and citations issued by the Borough of Hellertown’s Department of Code Enforcement.

According to zoning and codes officer Kris Russo’s monthly report submitted in advance of Tuesday’s borough council meeting, since Jan. 8 fourteen Hellertown property owners have received citations and three have been issued written warnings. Warning notices are issued at the borough’s discretion, and require owners to remove snow within 24 hours of receipt.

“There was a lot of enforcement with snow,” Russo told council during the meeting.

Nine of the property addresses on Russo’s citation list were on Main Street. Others were on E. Saucon Street, Maple Road, Easton Road, Juniper Road and Wagner Avenue.

Under the Hellertown borough code, it is “the duty of owners of property abutting on sidewalks and walkways in the Borough to remove there-from all snow, sleet or ice within 24 hours after the same has ceased to fall or accumulate thereon.”

Exceptions are granted only under limited circumstances outlined in the ordinance, including when snow or ice is so hard that removing it could damage a sidewalk and/or injure someone.

Fines for violating the snow removal ordinance start at $25 for a first offense and increase to $1,000 for a fourth or subsequent citation.

Recipients of citations can also be charged what it cost the borough to remove the snow from their property, plus administrative costs.

Additional information about the snow removal ordinance and how it is enforced may be found on the borough website.

The new Wawa on Rt. 412 in South Bethlehem opened Thursday with giveaways and special promotions, some of which will be available to customers through the weekend.

The new Wawa at Commerce Center Boulevard and Rt. 412 (Hellertown Road) in Bethlehem opened Thursday. The store was already doing a brisk business Thursday afternoon, perhaps in part because of grand opening promotions it is offering guests.

The new Wawa on Rt. 412 in South Bethlehem opened Thursday with giveaways and special promotions, some of which will be available to customers through the weekend.

The convenience store and its attached gas station are located on the site of the former Chris’s diner, across from the Commerce Center Boulevard entranced to Majestic Bethlehem Center, which is part of Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII. Each day thousands of vehicles pass by the intersection, which is about a mile north of the I-78 interchange along the Bethlehem-Hellertown border.

In addition to typical Wawa amenities such as self-serve coffee, public restrooms, fee-free ATMs, lottery, a deli counter, frozen foods and a baked goods case, the store features self-checkout registers and a beer section. There are also full-service registers and a seating area, which is required under Pennsylvania law in convenience stores and grocery stores that sell alcoholic beverages.

In celebration of the store’s opening, guests can enjoy free coffee (any size) along with $4 Shorti hoagies and 99-cent fountain sodas (any size) until Sunday, Dec. 17.

As of Thursday, the price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas was $3.25, which is about 10 cents below the current average price for the area, according to AAA data.

The new Wawa will be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and is the fifth store operated in the Bethlehem area by the Delaware County-based company.

A gallon of regular unleaded gas was just $3.25 Thursday at the new Wawa on Rt. 412.

A customer peruses the chilled beverage options in the new Wawa store near Hellertown.

The store features a typical Wawa store layout, with the deli and prepared foods area located at the center along the back wall. Customers can place their orders on self-service kiosks located in front of the deli counter.

After a construction period that lasted approximately six months, the new Wawa was ready to welcome its first customers just 10 days before Christmas.

Wawa purchased a liquor license to be able to sell beer and wine in the new store.

In celebration of the store’s grand opening, customers at the new Wawa are being treated to free coffee until Sunday.

A Pennsylvania Lottery kiosk, ATMs and an ice chest are located at the rear of the new store, near the restrooms.

Another special being offered for the grand opening is a deal on Wawa Shorti hoagies.

The baked goods case is located near the coffee area.

Customers can choose their favorite flavor of Wawa coffee and customize it to their liking in the store’s coffee bar area.

HELLERTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh Valley Health Network is looking to expand again, with a proposal to construct a “micro-hospital” and medical offices on the former Champion spark plug factory property, at the borough’s border with Bethlehem.

A sketch plan and other renderings available for public view at the Hellertown Borough offices indicate intentions to place a three-story building on a 7.5-acre lot at 1770 Main St. — an old Superfund site.

Property features, uses

The first floor would feature a so-called "micro-hospital," while the upper two floors would involve medical office uses. The inside would offer about 90,000 square feet of total floor area.

“The hospital will be a licensed and accredited acute-care hospital, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, housed in a state-of-the-art facility,” according to LVHN. “Patients requiring surgery or higher levels of care will be stabilized and transferred to other, larger LVHN hospitals as needed.”

Saucon Source was the first to report the plans.

Main Street and Hellertown Road run to the east of the property, with Interstate 78 running perpendicular to its north.

“The hospital will be a licensed and accredited acute care hospital, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, housed in a state-of-the-art facility. Patients requiring surgery or higher levels of care will be stabilized and transferred to other, larger LVHN hospitals as needed.”

Lehigh Valley Health Network

The property sits within the Highway Commercial and Flexible Redevelopment Overlay zoning districts, although FRO was “not utilized,” according to project documents. The proposed medical uses would be permitted on the property as a matter of right.

Hospital visitors and doctors would make use of the proposed 359 parking spaces, along with eight Americans With Disabilities spots.

The borough has approved a variance related to building height. Zoning ordinances call for a maximum medical office height of 40 feet, while the proposed building would stand at 45 feet.

The facility is planned to take up just over 9% of the property and would propose a maximum of 73% of impervious coverage.

Other features of the proposed property would involve the following:

The Hellertown Planning Commission heard more on the sketch plans at its July 11 meeting.At the meeting, Rob de Beer — representing one of the developing groups with the project, Peron Development — said his company has been in contact with the lot’s current owners for over a year, with an acquisition agreement underway.

Looking ahead

According to LVHN, if approved, construction would depend on the timing of approvals from Hellertown Borough as well as PennDOT regarding affects on traffic. But developers are looking to share formal development plans with officials next month.

Borough officials said that they and developers would work to streamline traffic flow and minimize light pollution affecting neighbors near the potential new development.

LVHN also houses a family medicine facility further down Main Street, just across from the Hellertown Borough offices.

“These hospitals will provide closer access to emergency and inpatient care for residents where they live and work, when and where they need it."

Lehigh Valley Health Network

If the second Main Street facility is approved, it would make for the third LVHN neighborhood hospital, as construction has begun on two other facilities in Lower Macungie and Gilbertsville, Montgomery County.

“These hospitals will provide closer access to emergency and inpatient care for residents where they live and work, when and where they need it,” LVHN said in an email.

Developer Peron Development brought all the plans to the attention of the borough, filing on June 28 for a municipal sketch plan review. Officials discussed the project at its July 11 planning commission meeting.

Bohler Engineering, of Bethlehem, completed the project’s sketch plan. Cerminara Architect of Hillsborough, New Jersey, along with Petrucci Development and McMahon Associates of Exton, Chester County, have all been involved with producing the initial plans and other required documents for the project.

A Superfund site

The lot was a Superfund site, one where hazardous materials have been dumped or mismanaged. The Superfund designation allows federal agencies to begin cleanup efforts.

Paikes Enterprises Inc, of Quakertown, bought the Champion spark plug plant property for $800,000 in 1988, according to Northampton County tax parcel records.

For 45 years until 1975, the Hellertown Manufacturing Co. produced spark plugs on the site. As a result, the disposal of manufacturing wastes — such as zinc plating waste and trichloroethylene, a chemical component of solvents — into “unlined lagoons” caused soil and groundwater to become contaminated, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Officials placed the site on a national priority list in 1989.

EPA began designing and making moves to remedy the property, and in 1994 completed the installation of an impermeable cover over the lagoon. The groundwater treatment system was completed in 1996.

The treatment system operated with some setbacks over the years, but was stopped in 2012 “to evaluate contaminant levels under static groundwater conditions.”

The groundwater system, when operating, treats the groundwater and pumps it to nearby Saucon Creek. That process is warranted under a state permit.

EPA over the years also completed a soil-gas survey, spring-seep study, soil sampling and vapor intrusion study on nearby properties.

The lot will see its next five-year review in 2025. The last one in 2020 concluded "that the remedy continues to be protective of human health and the environment in the short-term.”