LOWER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. — After 13 1/2 years of being the owner and driving force behind Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem, developer Jeff Trainer still is hungry for music.
And for food.
So next month, Trainer plans to open The Broken Record, a restaurant that will combine a broad range of food offerings with a music theme — and perhaps more.
The eatery will be at 6776 Hamilton Blvd., the third space in a new strip center next to ABE Doors & Windows.
Inside, music — much of it chosen by customers and played on an upscale sound system — will fill the air, and memorabilia the walls.
Records, pictures, posters and more cover the walls — even inside the restrooms. Even the food and drinks will have music-related names.
"I think it's just cool," Trainer said during a recent tour of the largely completed full-service restaurant.
"I live here. I grew up in the area. We don't have enough good-type eateries — we're missing a lot, with all this growth," he said, referring to explosive growth that has made the township the Lehigh Valley's third-largest municipality.
At the helm of The Broken Record — and in charge of its kitchen — will be Taylor Eisenhard, who for about the same time the event center has operated has owned and run Griddle 145 on MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township.
"It will be a good product at a fair price, but just a cool atmosphere," Trainer said.
And perhaps even more.
Trainer said he's had the idea for the restaurant for some time, and after the strip center filled its two other spaces, thought the location would be perfect.
Andrea Kenney, Trainer's partner in the restaurant, said its design came from what she felt "was what was happening in Jeff Trainer’s mind, in his music world."
“We were looking at putting a restaurant in there and looking around the area and what was needed and what is missing," Kenney said.
“And I think when we started initially designing it, it was just kind of feeling like every other restaurant. And I’m just, like, it needs to be more his personality than anything.
“And so it was just instantly music oriented, like the event center.
“And we just went for it and were, like, ‘We’re just gonna roll with this and be different from everybody else and just stand out and set ourselves apart.’”
The main feature of The Broken Record is a large bar with 36 seats — but built so that its sides are relatively close together so everyone can interact.
"Everybody loves to sit at the bar and communicate," Trainer said. "It's close enough so you can talk to the person on the other side."
There's an additional line of tables along padded seats against one wall, and the other side will feature tables — with a glass wall that will be open to spill out onto a patio during warm weather.
Music theme is evident
The music theme is immediately evident in the restaurant's decor: The walls are covered by music memorabilia — and so is the interior of the five individual, unisex restrooms.
Kenney said that for the design, she worked with an interior design company, Swine Design of Emmaus, that had done a few restaurants in the Lehigh Valley, including The Wilbur Mansion in Bethlehem.
"And it was just beautiful, Kenney said. “And we just collaborate very, very well together, and so they’ve been my partner along the way in helping this get off the ground.”
But even more than the decor, The Broken Record's atmosphere will be music-oriented.
The sound system will carry music being played on an actual turntable, with records largely chosen by customers from about 1,000 records when they arrive — or from iPads, Trainer said.
There will be no live performers, Trainer said.
"We want this to be a great restaurant just to hang at," he said.
'The food and the vibe should match'
The most important element of any restaurant is its food, and the partners in The Broken Record said they hope to appeal to a broad audience.
“The concept is it’s going to be small plates, shareables, bringing people together to enjoy these foods together," Eisenhard said.
“And it’s going to be friendly across the board, where the younger members of the party, the kids, they’ll gravitate toward these items and we’re trying to make a menu that’s fun for everybody ... Trying to get things for the whole family.
"Then also make great business lunches, great appetizers or happy hour time. And also late night, too.
“We’re trying to cover a lot of bases here in that space. And there’s going to be a lot going on.”
Kenney said the menu perhaps can be best described as "modern American," but like Eisenhard, she said it will include "a little bit of everything" — as diverse as "Tuna Tartare and pizza, sandwiches, salads and a lot of small plates."
But she said it's "not a steakhouse."
Trainer showed a wood-burning oven in the kitchen for pizza and wings, and a special steamer he had brought in especially for seafood appetizers — large shrimp with Vidalia onions sprinkled with old bay seasoning and steamed, then served with cocktail sauce, old bay seasoning and garlic butter.
“I’m a big believer that the aesthetics and the food and the vibe should all match,” Kenney said.
One possible experience at The Broken Record is performers from the more-than-100 concerts and shows Wind Creek Event Center offers a year showing up there.
Trainer is non-committal, but said, "we'll offer it to them."
"We could easily do it — it's an opportunity. It's in my mind."
Trainer said the experience of opening The Broken Record reminds him of the process he went through in 2011 to open the event center.
The night the concert hall opened with alternative rock group Incubus, “it was a nice evening of seeing us getting that done and open. We were proud,” he said.
Eisenhard said his "passion is for the food and the customer and the staff."
He said his expectation is to “eventually move ourselves out here" from Griddle 145.
"I take all those things and running the business makes me feel good, when I can get my team on board with the vision," he said. "I can meet and exceed the guests’ expectations.
“And then just having a good time doing it — create a place that has a good culture, a good environment for staff and guests.
"The best experience for the staff and the best experience for the guests. That’s what I really have pleasure doing."
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