BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After roughly seven months of operation, a full-service restaurant offering omelets, sandwiches and other freshly prepared eats has closed in Northampton County.
Bilal’s Breakfast & Sandwiches, featuring a unique blend of American and Turkish flavors, ceased operations on Dec. 21 at 46 W. North St., according to Mike Dartouzos, the restaurant’s landlord.
Bilal’s operates at 46 W. North St. in Bethlehem.
Ryan Kneller
Bilal Bozkoc opened his namesake eatery on May 30 at the site of the former Darto’s restaurant, a 41-year-old breakfast and lunch eatery that Dartouzos and his wife, Stephanie Dartouzos, closed in March in advance of their retirement.
“A majority of the people who came into Bilal’s really loved the food, but business just never really took off for whatever reason and there wasn’t enough foot traffic to continue operating,” Mike told 69 News.
“The good news is that we have a new restaurant tenant lined up, and the tentative plan is for them to open in the space on March 1.”
Bilal’s owner Bilal Bozkoc is pictured in late May outside of his namesake restaurant at 46 W. North St. in Bethlehem.
Ryan Kneller
Bozkoc and his team maintained much of Darto’s decor and continued to offer some of Darto’s staples, including breakfast sandwiches, egg platters, omelettes, French toast, pancakes and home fries, while introducing several new selections such as a Philly cheesesteak, chopped chicken sandwich and beef or chicken doner platter with rice pilaf and house salad.
Bozkoc has a Turkish background and incorporated several Mediterranean offerings into Bilal’s menu, with dishes such as a homemade Turkish meatball sub, Turkish sucuk sandwich (grilled spicy Turkish beef sausage with tomatoes, pickles and lettuce) and kokorec sandwich (finely chopped, grilled lamb intestines seasoned with Turkish spices).
Bilal’s Breakfast & Sandwich Restaurant
Initially, Bilal’s was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily before hours were rolled back to focus on breakfast and lunch after a few months.
The new restaurant that is set to replace Bilal’s is still under development, and its name, menu highlights and other details will be announced in the coming months, Mike said.
The new operators are brothers who have worked as chefs in other Lehigh Valley restaurants for decades, Mike said.
“They have a lot of experience, and I think they’re going to do really well here,” Mike added.
“They’re still deciding on the restaurant’s name, but it’ll definitely offer breakfast and lunch, with possible dinner service as well in the future. So, it’ll be an entirely new restaurant with a new name and menu. I think they’re going to do really well here.”
Darto’s served generations of families before holding its last day of business on March 15 ahead of Mike and Stephanie’s retirement.
Bilal’s operated at 46 W. North St. in Bethlehem.
Ryan Kneller
The couple took over operations in 1990 from Mike’s parents, Michael and Mary Lois, who established the business in 1984.