EASTON, Pa. – A restaurant known for its gourmet burgers and sandwiches is beefing up its presence in downtown Easton.
Marcy’s Hamburgers, offering freshly prepared burgers, sandwiches, sides and more, is expected to move in late summer from its nearly year-old spot at 77 N. Fourth St. to a larger location at 125 Northampton St., co-owner Brian Dowling told 69 News.
Marcy’s will continue to operate out of the North Fourth Street space until the move’s complete, likely in late August or early September, and individuals should monitor the business’ Facebook and Instagram pages for the latest updates on the transition, Dowling said.
Marcy’s Hamburgers co-owners Brian Dowling and Marcy Crespo pose outside of their eatery at 77 N. Fourth St. in downtown Easton.
Ryan Kneller
The Northampton Street spot was previously homed to Kabinett, a restaurant and wine bar, which closed in April.
Marcy’s is named after Crespo’s wife and the restaurant’s co-owner, Marcy Crespo.
The Oxford, New Jersey couple opened the eatery last September in an updated North Fourth Street space that was previously home to Downtown Dawgs hot dog shop.
The property also once housed Easton Typewriter Co., and Dowling and Crespo decided to keep part of the former typewriter shop’s original signage after discovering it upon removal of the building’s siding.
“We didn’t know what would be underneath the siding, and when we found it, we thought, ‘Jackpot!’” Dowling said.
“It’s such a cool, retro look that we just had to keep it. We’re also going to keep the typewriter logo at our new location because it’s part of our identity now.”
Over the past 10 months, Marcy’s has seen its popularity soar, garnering a large and loyal following and frequently seeing customer lines wrap outside onto the sidewalk.
The business’ current North Fourth Street spot offers limited seating at an indoor counter and an outdoor bench and table, and Dowling and Crespo saw an opportunity to serve more customers while also expanding overall operations at a larger location in the city.
In addition to taking over the former Kabinett location, the couple also plans to utilize a neighboring space that previously housed Tucker Garage & Grocery, a former cafe and general store, along with an adjacent outdoor dining deck.
The transition will occur in stages, with the tentative plan being for Marcy’s to move into the main restaurant space at the end of summer before later debuting additional dining and private event space in the adjacent former garage and outdoor deck, Dowling said.
Marcy’s Hamburgers
“We’re very excited,” Dowling added.
“On Northampton Street, we’ll have much more dining space, with about 50 seats in the restaurant. We’ll also have a full bar and will likely add another bar in the garage area, so people don’t have to walk into the main restaurant.”
The Northampton Street space is mostly move-in ready, with the couple Dowling and Crespo planning to implement only minor cosmetic updates such as new wall paint.
“We want it to look like a ‘50s hamburger joint, but with a twist,” Dowling said.
“So, it’ll have that ‘50s retro feel with subway tiles on the walls, along with some other fun decor. The previous operators did such a nice job with the renovations, but we obviously just want to make it a little more like Marcy’s.”
In moving to Northampton Street, Marcy’s also will expand its food offerings.
The restaurant’s new menu is still being finalized, but individuals can expect new shareable appetizers/small plates along with a few entrees to supplement its signature burgers and sandwiches, Dowling said.
Marcy’s Hamburgers
“We’ve also been doing a cheesesteak on Fridays only, but it’s become so popular that it’s going to be featured full-time on our menu at the new location,” Dowling added.
The restaurant’s top-seller is “The Marcy,” featuring two brisket-short rib beef patties, caramelized onions, pickles and American cheese, with other staples including the “Bacon & Egg” (two brisket-short rib beef patties, caramelized onions, American cheese, bacon, poached egg, Classic Heinz or Thai chili ketchup) and “WTF Burger” (two brisket-short rib beef patties, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, dark rum-soaked mushrooms and thyme and leek aioli).
Burgers and sandwiches are served on brioche buns, baked locally by Easton Baking Co.
Other menu highlights include a “Booyah Chicken” sandwich (cornflake-crusted or grilled chicken breast, tangy cilantro slaw, Swiss cheese and house-made tartar sauce), pork roll sandwich (thick-cut pork roll, two poached eggs, American cheese, everything bagel spices, salt, pepper and Classic Heinz or thai chili ketchup) and sides such as fries (skin-on fries with Marcy dust and red curry mayo), “Mama’s Empanadas” (ground beef, hard-boiled eggs, olives and chimichurri), “Hoboken Muzz” (house-made mozzarella, balsamic roasted peppers, crusty bread and basil oil) and wings (crispy, butter poached chicken wings with blue cheese hot sauce or Marcy dust dry-rub with lemon).
Various specials are also featured, with recent specials including a chicken salad hoagie (pulled chicken breast, green apple, craisins, honey and thyme garlic aioli) and Mogami wings (crispy confit chicken wings with sweet chili Mogami sauce).
“We’re going to have some new additions at the new location, but nothing that will overshadow our burgers,” Dowling said.
“So, burgers will still be the main focus. However, we’ll also have some more sharing plates as well as a few entrees – nothing too elaborate. Currently, we offer weekly specials, but we’ll have carte blanche to do a lot more at the new spot. So, on any given weekend, you might find something like charred octopus or rigatoni Bolognese. We’re also thinking about doing a great brunch on Sundays.”
On Northampton Street, Marcy’s will continue to operate in a fast-casual format, with customers ordering at a counter, Dowling said.
Takeout and catering also will continue to be offered.
“The only change is that we’ll have food runners,” Dowling added.
“So, because we’ll have a much larger dining room, we’ll have workers deliver the food to guests.”
Dowling is no stranger to the restaurant industry.
Prior to opening Marcy’s Hamburgers with his wife, he owned and operated several restaurants, mainly in Manhattan and Jersey City, for roughly 20 years.
“This is my 10th restaurant,” Dowling said.
“Over the years, I had different kinds of restaurants, including gastropubs and cocktail bars, and we sold all of them before moving out to west Jersey.”
Marcy’s Hamburgers will be temporarily closed July 1-14 for a summer break and will reopen on July 15 with its regular hours: 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sundays.
Marcy’ Hamburgers operates at 77 N. Fourth St. in downtown Easton.
Ryan Kneller
Hours will expand at the restaurant’s forthcoming Northampton Street location, Dowling said.
“We’re still going to operate five days a week for lunch and dinner, but we’ll be staying open a little bit later,” Dowling noted.
“So, we’ll probably be open from 11:30 in the morning until 10 at night Wednesday through Saturday and then abbreviated hours on Sundays – probably 11:30 to 8 or 8:30.”
For the latest Marcy’s Hamburgers updates, including future announcements regarding the move, follow the business’ pages on Facebook and Instagram. Info: marcyshamburgers.com.