ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 One of Allentown\u2019s most well-known restaurants is beginning a new chapter under familiar leadership.<\/p>\n
Zonia Sibri, a longtime customer and local entrepreneur, officially purchased Stahley\u2019s, the East Allentown restaurant and bar serving generations of Lehigh Valley residents, on Tuesday, Oct. 28.<\/p>\n
Sibri first visited Stahley\u2019s shortly after arriving in the United States from Ecuador in 1995 \u2014 an experience she remembers vividly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the first American restaurant I ever went to,\u201d Sibri said. \u201cMy brother-in-law said the clams were the best, so we went. The food was great, the service was great, the atmosphere was great. It felt like family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, Sibri has built a career in hospitality and real estate, owning multiple businesses in the region. When she learned Stahley\u2019s might be for sale, she saw an opportunity to preserve a piece of Allentown history while adding her own touch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always said if one day it\u2019s for sale, maybe I\u2019ll try to get this place,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good area, nice people, and I see a lot of possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those possibilities include keeping Stahley\u2019s classic meals \u2014 including the clams, cheesesteaks, cheeseburgers, Black Diamond steak and homemade soups \u2014 while reintroducing breakfast service. Sibri plans to offer paninis, pulled pork Benedict, cream chipped beef and homemade coffee and juice options.<\/p>\n
She also hopes to expand salad and seafood offerings and include soup or fries with sandwiches.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf customers ask for something, we\u2019ll make it,\u201d Sibri said. \u201cI want them to feel like they\u2019re in a family house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sibri said the current staff plans to stay on, and she\u2019ll bring in additional chefs and training specialists to support the expanded menu. Initial renovations will focus on kitchen equipment and fresh paint, with future updates planned for furniture and signage. She said she also hopes to revive the use of the restaurant\u2019s banquet room for private events.<\/p>\n
The sale was financed through Lehigh Financial Group, with Jeff Barber arranging the deal. Barber praised Sibri\u2019s journey from customer to owner.<\/p>\n
\u201cZonia\u2019s story is exactly the kind that reminds us why we do what we do,\u201d Barber said. \u201cShe has the drive, experience and heart to lead this business into its next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stahley\u2019s first opened on Oct. 16, 1968, under founder Donald Stahley Sr. The Stahley family thanked the community for 57 years of support and asked residents to welcome Sibri in continuing the restaurant\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday marks the end of a legacy which began in 1968,\u201d the family wrote in a statement. \u201cPlease welcome Zonia Sibri as the new owner and help make her a huge success.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 One of Allentown\u2019s most well-known restaurants is beginning a new chapter under familiar leadership. Zonia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-20026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}