Persing, who is the former son-in-law of Heidi and Martin, began full-time at C.E. Roth in 2006 and previously worked as manager. He said he could see the stress of ownership taking its toll on Heidi and figured she could use a break.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe still works here and \u2026 it\u2019s time for her to come to work and not have all of the overhead stuff hanging over top of her head, where she can just come to work and do her job and go home and not worry about it anymore,\u201d Persing said.<\/p>\n
Persing said the new role comes with a lot of responsibility \u2014 he doesn\u2019t want to be \u201cthe one that screws it up\u201d \u2014 but he is also excited to be the new owner and wants to be a steward for the business. He acknowledged that it has great name recognition for people who have lived in the Lehigh Valley for years, but he also wants to strengthen the marketing like on social media for people who aren\u2019t familiar with legacy brands like C.E. Roth.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of responsibility to keep the brand going, keep our customers happy as they have always been, keep our product quality high,\u201d Persing said.<\/p>\n
A big reason for C.E. Roth\u2019s success, he added, is the staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t accomplish the volume of work that we need to on a weekly basis without our tremendous employees, so I would really like to give credit to them as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The store is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, noon to 7 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n
![\"C.E.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/TMC-L-CERoth-0530019.jpg\")
C.E. Roth Formal Wear is seen here Friday, May 30, 2025, in Allentown. Martin Semmel, who co-owned the store with his wife, Heidi, for decades, died Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Oliver Lois Economidis\/The Morning Call)
\nLehigh Valley retail and restaurant news in brief<\/p>\n
China House: The restaurant has apparently closed<\/a> with its space cleared out and signage removed at Towne Center at 4783 Tilghman St. in South Whitehall Township.<\/p>\n Suds Car Wash: The 24\/7 car wash announced its opening<\/a> Monday at 423 Hanover Ave. in Allentown.<\/p>\n Ripper Vintage: The secondhand store announced its opening<\/a> last month at 21 S. Second St. in Easton.<\/p>\n A-peel-ing Treats: The dessert shop announced its opening<\/a> last weekend at the Trolley Barn Public Market in Quakertown, serving acai bowls<\/a>, chocolate fruit cups and chocolate-covered bananas.<\/p>\n Mattie\u2019s Strudel Haus: The strudel maker announced online<\/a> it has left its location at the former Riverbend Community Church at 299 Industrial Drive in Upper Nazareth Township, focusing on delivery until it finds a new address. The Industrial Drive location is the same one where Mattie\u2019s originally opened in 2017 and where it reopened in April<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cStepping away from that space has given us a clean slate to carefully select a new location conducive to all the business needs in a safe place for you to buy the beloved strudels,\u201d the business said in its announcement.<\/p>\n Bethlehem Coffee Co.: The cafe announced it opened Nov. 7 at 9 W. Fourth St. in Bethlehem<\/a>. The online menu<\/a> lists options such as coffee, lattes, hot chocolate and Red Bull refreshers.<\/p>\n Mo Chicken: The Nashville-style hot chicken<\/a> restaurant announced its opening earlier this month at 233 Hamilton St. in Allentown, offering sandwiches, tenders, loaded fries, milkshakes and smoothies.<\/p>\n In other news<\/p>\n