A new cafe is on the way at the former Darto’s property in Bethlehem, less than a month after the previous restaurant’s closure.
Rogelio Lazaro and his brother Rodrigo have signed a lease to open North Street Cafe at 46 W. North St. in Bethlehem, where they’ll serve dishes like pancakes, omelets, burgers, wraps, soups, salads and weekly specials.
The cafe replaces Bilal’s Breakfast & Sandwiches, which opened in May and closed December.
“It feels nice, yeah,” Rogelio Lazaro said of opening the cafe, a dream for him and his brother. “I know it’s a lot of work that we need to do but we are excited and we’re happy to see what we can do here for the community, and share back with food and do our best for the town.”
Rogelio said they tentatively plan to open in early March, and that they’ll operate 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. all week.
The brothers are leasing from Mike and Stephanie Dartouzos, who own the property and operated Darto’s before it closed in March.
Mike said he knew the Lazaros as customers when Darto’s was still open, and noted their experience with breakfast and lunch — “that’s what we thrived on for 40 years.”
“We’re very optimistic that they’re going to do well,” he said.