A Lehigh Valley strudel maker has announced a new location and reopening day after closing its physical spot last year.
Mattie’s Strudel Haus will hold a soft reopening Wednesday at the former Riverbend Community Church at 299 Industrial Drive in Upper Nazareth Township, owner and founder Kelly Vlasics said, where it will serve homemade strudel varieties such as apple, cheesesteak and spinach-artichoke for customers to heat up at home. Vlasics also hopes to eventually host classes where she can teach people how to stretch dough for strudels.
Vlasics considers herself a third-generation “strudel artist” after learning from her mother Bonnie and grandmother Matilda (for whom she named the business).
The Industrial Drive address, which she will share with Stehly’s Bakery and Eatery, is the same one where Mattie’s originally opened in 2017.
Vlasics said she left that address in 2019 due to the increase in rent, which is now more manageable by sharing the space with Stehly’s.
After leaving Industrial Drive in 2019 and plans for a Bushkill Township spot fell through, she moved in 2021 to 126 W. Main St. in Bath.
She operated there until last August, leaving due to issues such as a lack of parking for customers and traffic safety issues for crossing the street, and operated through delivery and temporary kitchens before returning to Industrial Drive.
With how chaotic and stressful she felt things became after leaving that address, she said, “I needed to come back to where I felt like I was just … Nazareth, the community, is the most accepting and they followed me nine years through all of this. Nazareth has been amazing and going back there is … it feels right again. Like I said, I should have never left. So I call it my root. I was rooted in Nazareth, I’ve got uprooted, and now I’m stabilized back in.”
A grand opening is planned for either late April or early May.
Vlasics said the hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
Mattie’s offers delivery in the Lehigh Valley, but Vlasics said customers should call to check for available times and locations at 215-301-1881.
The exact offerings will also vary month to month but will be available on the website alongside its schedule for appearing at local farmers markets.