ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A popular craft brewery and restaurant is welcoming beer buffs and foodies to its newest location in Lehigh County.
McCall Collective Brewing Co., a family-run craft brewery and restaurant, on Sept. 10 held a soft opening of its third brick-and-mortar location – dubbed McCall’s Downtown – at 732 Hamilton St. in downtown Allentown.
The site was previously home to Bru Daddy’s Brewing Co., which ceased brick-and-mortar operations in late summer to focus on the business’ rapidly growing distribution aspect.
McCall Collective Brewing Co. recently opened its third brick-and-mortar location at 732 Hamilton St. in downtown Allentown.
Ryan Kneller
McCall Collective originally opened in August 2020 at 102 E. Susquehanna St. in Allentown.
In 2022, the brewery opened a second location, dubbed the TapHouse, at 7743 Hamilton Blvd. in the Breinigsville section of Upper Macungie Township.
“This is really amazing for us,” said Chris McCall, McCall Collective’s co-founder and CFO.
“We have a chance to expand in Allentown, which we’re super excited about because Allentown has always treated us well. We’re also excited to work with City Center as they’ve been a great partner to us.”
McCall Collective is a family-run operation led by McCall’s wife, Kaitlin McCall, who serves as CEO.
Also playing key roles in the operation are Chris’ brother, Matt McCall, who serves as head brewer, and the business’s kitchen managers, Anthony Yannuzzi and Tara Rodriguez.
McCall Collective Brewing Co.’s kitchen managers, Anthony Yannuzzi and Tara Rodriguez, are pictured inside the business’ recently opened third location – dubbed McCall’s Downtown – at 732 Hamilton St. in downtown Allentown.
Ryan Kneller
In downtown Allentown, Yannuzzi and Rodriguez collaborated on a new menu, featuring a unique mix of fresh eats alongside staple dishes from the Susquehanna Street and Taphouse locations.
Among the new offerings are house-made mac and cheese bites, chicken and waffles (beer-battered chicken, Liege waffles and spicy maple jalapeno relish) and a wide array of wood-fired pizzas.
A dozen pizza selections, made-to-order in an open kitchen near the bar, include margherita, meat lovers, veggie, Hawaiian, pesto and “The Egg” (ricotta, garlic confit, mushroom, prosciutto, egg and balsamic glaze), among others.
McCall Collective Brewing Co.
“The pizzas are 14-inch, personal sizes,” Yannuzzi said. “So, they’re great for one person, or you could share one as an appetizer.”
Other menu highlights include appetizers such as bang bang chicken bites, cheesesteak eggrolls, Bavarian pretzels and street corn dip; salads (with optional grilled chicken, breaded chicken or coconut shrimp) such as apple walnut, caprese, Cobb and Greek; and main options such as a cheesesteak, BBQ bacon burger, black bean burger and beer brat (braised in McCall Collective beer, with sauerkraut, beer cheese and mustard on a pretzel roll).
There’s also a lunch menu, available 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, featuring various handhelds ($10-$14) such as an Italian hoagie, pastrami and sauerkraut hoagie, chicken Caesar wrap and BLT wrap.
“Some of our big staples that we brought here include our cheesesteak, which we take a lot of pride in; our house smash burger, which people rave about; and our house-cut fries, which are available at all three locations,” Yannuzzi said.
Yannuzzi, who studied culinary arts at Keystone College in La Plume, Lackawanna County, was McCall Collective’s first-ever kitchen manager when the Susquehanna Street location opened in 2020. He now oversees kitchen operations at all three locations.
Rodriguez, who studied culinary arts at Northampton Community College, has worked at McCall Collective’s Susquehanna Street and Taphouse locations over the years, and the McCall’s Downtown spot is her new primary location.
McCall Collective Brewing Co.
The downtown Allentown location is still in a soft-opening phase, but the team has already noticed some top-sellers.
“It’s still early, but we’ve been getting some really great feedback so far,” Yannuzzi said.
“We’ve gotten great reviews – online and in person. A lot of people are really loving the apple butter grilled cheese, as well as our shrimp street tacos with coconut shrimp.”
In downtown Allentown, the McCall Collective team added new digital menu boards along with new signage and other cosmetic updates.
Exposed brick walls, wood and metallic accents, and vibrant string lights evoke an industrial-chic feel.
Indoor seating for around 100 guests is available at the bar and surrounding low- and high-top tables, with accommodations for more than 100 additional guests available in an outdoor beer garden, featuring German beer garden tables, Adirondack chairs, overhead heaters, retractable awnings and potted plants.
The new location features McCall Collective’s full lineup of craft beers, including staple selections such as Lehigh IPA (hazy IPA), Constitution Drive (stout), and Hittin’ Dingers Raspberry (Berliner Weisse sour).
McCall Collective Brewing Co. recently opened its third brick-and-mortar location – dubbed McCall’s Downtown – at 732 Hamilton St. in downtown Allentown.
Ryan Kneller
Guests can choose from around a dozen rotating draft beers, including other popular picks such as Orange Sun (witbier) and Roast (coffee amber ale) and seasonal options such as Better Call Fall (German-style Märzen lager) and For the Birds (hazy IPA).
A wide array of wine and cocktails, including an espresso martini, Moscow mule, and Old Fashioned, are also available.
The Susquehanna Street location remains McCall Collective’s main production facility, but there are plans to expand brewing operations in the rear portion of McCall’s Downtown within the next few months, Kaitlin said.
The downtown Allentown location can also host private events on an upper mezzanine level as well as in the beer garden.
McCall Collective Brewing Co. recently opened its third brick-and-mortar location – dubbed McCall’s Downtown – at 732 Hamilton St. in downtown Allentown.
Ryan Kneller
Hours vary during the soft opening period, but starting Tuesday, Sept. 29, the downtown Allentown location will kick off its regular hours: 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sundays, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Kaitlin said.
Grand opening festivities, including live music performances, will be held Oct. 2-4.
McCall’s Downtown location fills the space previously occupied by Bru Daddy’s, which closed its brewpub earlier this summer after nearly seven years of operation.
The primary reason for the transition was Bru Daddy’s rapidly growing distribution aspect, Bru Daddy’s CEO and president Rich Ryan told 69 News.
McCall Collective Brewing Co. recently opened its third brick-and-mortar location – dubbed McCall’s Downtown – at 732 Hamilton St. in downtown Allentown.
Ryan Kneller
The Bru Daddy’s team built a production brewery in 2022 on South 10th Street in Allentown, and distribution has steadily grown over the past few years.
“We started distributing our beer locally in the Lehigh Valley, and then a year later, we expanded to Philadelphia, and then again, we expanded out to south-central Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, Lancaster and York,” Ryan explained.
Bru Daddy’s has wholesale distributors in the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and south central Pennsylvania, and it’s looking to expand even further in the state, Ryan said.
Currently, Bru Daddy’s beers can be found at prominent Philadelphia locations such as Lincoln Financial Field, Parx Casino and Helium Comedy Club, along with popular Lehigh Valley spots such as Shangy’s, F&A Grog House, Union & Finch, The Wooden March and Ringer’s Roost.
“We’re also in Giant, Wegmans, Weis, Acme, and package stores,” Ryan said.
“So, we’ve got a super big footprint right now, and we’re looking to support and build on that. In order to do that, though, we had to shed the restaurant to really focus on distribution.”
Ryan Kneller
The Bru Daddy’s and McCall Collective teams have a positive relationship dating back to McCall Collective’s first craft beer, which was a collaboration with Bru Daddy’s.
Earlier this year, the McCalls congratulated the Bru Daddy’s team on its distribution growth and thanked Ryan and his team for thinking of them as Bru Daddy’s looked to transition out of the restaurant.
“The timing could not be better for us, as we have been looking to expand our beer production and our restaurant business to new locations,” Kaitlin said.
For the latest McCall Collective updates, follow the business’s pages on Facebook and Instagram. Info: mccallcollectivebrewing.com.