BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A destination for beers, burgers and fun times with friends is bidding farewell in Northampton County.
Southside 313 Bar & Grille, a full-service restaurant and bar serving freshly prepared pub fare, hand-crafted cocktails and more, is set to end operations within the next few months at 313 E. Third St. in Bethlehem, co-owner Bill Dech said.
Southside 313 operates at 313 E. Third St. in Bethlehem.Â
Ryan Kneller
An exact closing date has not yet been determined, but the business will likely cease operations in late August or sometime in September, Dech said.
The restaurant and bar will “definitely be open for Musikfest,” Dech added.
Dech and his wife, Sue, opened Southside 313 in 2015 at the site of the former Looper’s Grille and Bar.
The couple decided to close the restaurant this year as “rent became too high,” Bill said.
“I’m absolutely thankful for everyone who’s supported us [at Southside 313],” Bill said.
“That’s my baby. That was our first restaurant, and we’ve had so much fun. We used to host a lot of live music, like Grateful Dead bands, but that mostly dropped off after COVID.”
The Nest Bar & Grille operates at 601 E. Fourth St. in Bethlehem.
Ryan Kneller
With partners Bruce and Kim Campbell, the Dechs also operate two other Lehigh Valley pubs, The Nest Bar & Grille in Bethlehem and Bagpiper’s Pub in Allentown, both of which will continue to operate as normal, Bill said.
The Nest, a two-story sports bar and restaurant offering casual American pub fare, several televisions and a large, partially covered outdoor patio, opened in August 2021 at the former Happy Tap Grille & Pub site at 601 E. Fourth St. in south Bethlehem, a few blocks away from Southside 313.
Bagpiper’s, a roughly 100-seat pub serving authentic Irish and Scottish dishes along with American favorites such as burgers and cheesesteaks, opened last August at the site of the former Stooges Bar & Grille site at 2101 Liberty St. in Allentown’s West End.
Bagpiper’s Pub operates at 2101 Liberty St. in Allentown’s West End.
Ryan Kneller
The Dechs have no plans to open any other dining establishments at this time, and they are looking to sell Southside 313’s restaurant liquor license, with a price tag of $425,000, Bill said.
“We were looking to sell the business and the liquor license over the past couple of years, but now we’re just planning to sell the license,” Bill said.
Running three restaurants is “a ton of work,” and the couple looks forward to focusing their attention on Bagpiper’s and The Nest, Bill added.
“I currently split my time between the three, and I try to do it equally,” Bill said. “My daughter, Abbey, mostly oversees The Nest.”
Southside 313, with a 20-seat bar and additional seating available at booths, tables and an outdoor patio, serves a wide array of freshly prepared eats, including salads, wraps, tacos and small plates such as wings, fried pickles, smoked salmon, cheeseburger egg rolls, “Not Your Mom’s Deviled Eggs” (French onion, bacon ranch or half of each) and “313 Balls” (balls of potato, cheddar, Old Bay and shrimp, panko coated and served with lemon herb aioli).
More than a dozen burgers and sandwiches include a chopped cheese, Rachel, B.A.R. (grilled chicken breast with bacon, avocado, ranch, lettuce, tomato and cheddar cheese) and peppercorn burger (100% angus beef, Swiss cheese, crispy onions, peppercorn aioli and Bill’s pickles).
Bill labels the Southside Dip (sliced roast beef and Swiss cheese with rosemary au jus) and various made-from-scratch soups and burgers as top sellers.
The restaurant also features a full bar, serving beer, wine, hard seltzers and classic and signature cocktails such as a guava gimlet, blackberry lemonade and “HotnHoney Fashioned.”
Southside 313’s signature house cocktail is a pickletini, made with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, dry vermouth and Bill’s pickle juice and pickles.
“People will still be able to get our pickletini at The Nest and Bagpipers,” Bill said.
Southside 313 regulars also will be able to see some of the restaurant’s familiar faces at the Dechs’ other establishments as Southside 313 workers will be given the opportunity to transfer to The Nest or Bagpipers, Bill said.
Southside 313’s exact closing date is unclear at this time, but the Dechs plan to keep individuals updated through the business’ Facebook page.
They’re also planning to host a farewell party for whenever that last day may be.
“We’ll have some sort of goodbye party, for sure,” Bill said. “We’re going to need a lot of people to help us drink all of that beer and alcohol.”
The future is unclear for the south Bethlehem property that Southside 313 has called home for the past decade.
The 313 E. Third St. property went on the market on Wednesday with a listing price of $1.7 million, according to Peter Adams, commercial real estate specialist with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, Realtors.
Located between the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts and the recently constructed, mixed-use Taylor Flats building, the three-story, 3,924-square-foot property is “perfectly situated in an area which has undergone significant development over the past 5 years,” according to the listing.
“The current configuration of the restaurant space includes a bar with seating for 20, table & booth seating for 40, kitchen, restrooms, lower level basement storage and access to the rear patio for customer seating,” the listing continues.
“This property represents an opportunity to either a restaurant owner/operator or investor with the 2nd & 3rd floors ripe for apartment renovation. The first floor is presently being marketed for a new restaurant or retail tenant.”
Parties seeking more information or wishing to schedule a showing can reach out to Adams at 484-357-6924.