{"id":75504,"date":"2026-01-01T11:46:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T11:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/75504\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T11:46:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T11:46:35","slug":"national-chain-to-open-1st-lehigh-valley-location-in-former-ruby-tuesday-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/75504\/","title":{"rendered":"National chain to open 1st Lehigh Valley location in former Ruby Tuesday spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

The former Ruby Tuesday space<\/a> that has sat idle since the coronavirus pandemic is finally getting a new tenant next year at Lehigh Valley Mall.<\/a><\/p>\n

Texas de Brazil<\/a> plans to soon move into the site on the main level, according to the Whitehall shopping destination\u2019s directory map.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dallas, Texas-based Brazilian-American steakhouse chain has over 50 restaurants in over 20 states nationally, as well as other international sites. The Whitehall<\/a> location marks its first Lehigh Valley eatery with the next closest statewide site in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

At Texas de Brazil, chefs prepare slow-cooked beef, lamb, pork, chicken and Brazilian sausage the \u201cgaucho way.\u201d Everything is carved tableside. If you want the chef to serve you some of the meat, you turn your card to green. If you want a break, you turn your card to red.<\/p>\n

The technique comes from southern Brazil, where employees dressed as \u201cgauchos\u201d bring meats individually to tables. Think barbecued pork ribs, filet mignon, spicy sirloin, leg of lamb, parmesan drumettes and chicken breast wrapped in bacon.<\/p>\n

Entrees are paired with complimentary house-baked cheese bread, garlic mashed potatoes and fried bananas. Other a la carte side selections for an additional cost include potatoes au gratin, french fries, sauteed mushrooms and jasmine rice.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a vast salad bar, complete with roughly 50 fresh topping choices. <\/p>\n

In addition to the grilled meats, the chain also offers a wide variety of desserts and a full bar menu.<\/p>\n

The restaurant prohibits take-home containers for entrees or salads. <\/p>\n

The new Texas de Brazil site could become some competition for the Rios Brazilian Steakhouse.<\/a><\/p>\n

That longtime eatery also offers up an all-you-can-eat, Brazilian-style meats served at your table when you flip your card to green. The steakhouse moved in the fall from its Nazareth location to a larger, downtown Easton space that formerly occupied the Bayou eatery.<\/p>\n

\"Chick-fil-AThe mall is set to bid farewell at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2025 to Chick-Fil-A. It opened in the late 1990s near the mall\u2019s main entrance. APChanging dining scene<\/p>\n

The addition of Texas de Brazil is just one of many dining changeups planned for the mall at MacArthur Road and Grape Street.<\/p>\n

The mall is set to bid farewell at 2 p.m. Wednesday to Chick-fil-A. It opened in the late 1990s near the mall\u2019s main entrance. <\/p>\n

The chicken chain still operates a nearby site on MacArthur Road in Whitehall, as well as in Pohatcong Township; Lower Nazareth Township; and Lower Macungie Township<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dunderbak\u2019s Market Cafe<\/a> owner Bill Baker recently announced on Facebook <\/a>he\u2019s talking with interested parties over buying the eatery. Baker said over the summer he would close permanently<\/a> if he couldn\u2019t find a new owner by February 2026. <\/p>\n

However, Baker\u2019s recent post suggests he could stay open a little longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is likely that should any of these inquiries lead to the sale of the restaurant, that the transition to new ownership will be after our target date of February 28, 2026,\u201d Baker posted on the business\u2019 Facebook page. <\/a>\u201cTherefore, we intend to operate afterwards on a month-to-month basis until a settlement date is determined.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cafe remains the longest continuously-operated, independently-owned business at the mall.<\/p>\n

Dino Sweets was no longer operating early last month<\/a> on the mall\u2019s upper level and has since been removed from the online directory.<\/a> The kiosk operated for five years at the mall.<\/p>\n

Prior to that closure, Indian Bite shuttered for good on Oct. 6 and Tasty Bitez, a restaurant serving up Mediterranean-style cuisine, shuttered sometime in the fall, both on the main level.<\/p>\n

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in September closed <\/a>in the former Bravo! Cucina Italiana space at the Lifestyle Center. A message on the chain\u2019s website<\/a> later indicated all locations have since shuttered.<\/p>\n

Pocono Brewing Company, next to the Apple store, abruptly closed in February<\/a> at the Lifestyle Center.<\/p>\n

\"Dunkin'The long-awaited Dunkin\u2019 kiosk opened on Dec. 29, 2025 in the kiosk space that formerly operated Starbucks on the main level, across from LUSH and Francesca\u2019s. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.comComing up<\/p>\n

Simon representatives have done a good job in recent months attempting to fill holes in the mall\u2019s dining tenant roster.<\/p>\n

The long-awaited Dunkin\u2019 kiosk opened on Dec. 29 in the kiosk space that formerly operated Starbucks on the main level, across from LUSH and Francesca\u2019s. <\/p>\n

Starbucks abruptly shuttered in late August<\/a> 2024. The space has sat idle ever since with the exception of The Tea Lady temporarily operating a pop-up location from November through the end of December 2024. Dunkin\u2019 in March announced plans to use the space<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Drink Fresh by Djurdjura recently opened on the mall\u2019s upper level. The business serves fresh fruit smoothies.<\/p>\n

Blue Ridge Estate Vineyard & Winery<\/a> has filled the 2,200-square-foot anchor space previously occupied by Pocono Brewing Company at the mall\u2019s Lifestyle Center. D\u2019Colombia Restaurant & Bakery<\/a> opened in the summer at the site previously occupied by Indian Bite.<\/p>\n

Nori Japan<\/a> plans sometime next year to move into the former Tasty Bitez space on the mall\u2019s main level, beside the Chick-fil-A space. An opening date is yet to be announced by mall representatives.<\/p>\n

That eatery plans to serve up Japanese-style selections prepared with fresh ingredients. Such dishes as teriyaki beef and chicken will be prepared by chefs on a teppanyaki grill in front of patrons. Other menu items may include Tempura; sesame chicken; Kushiyaki and assorted sushi rolls.<\/p>\n

Other vacancies have been filled on the retail side, with the mall recently welcoming women\u2019s fashion retailer, Dry Goods<\/a>; Star Park Indoor Playground & Party; and Sugar Bear Candy Store<\/a>, all on the main level, as well as Waikiki, a women\u2019s boutique, on the upper level.<\/p>\n

There were also openings for Address For Him; Miniso; and Carter\u2019s\/OshKosh B\u2019gosh. Address For Him opened in the former spot of Jennifer\u2019s Unique Boutique<\/a> on the upper level. The boutique has since moved to the mall\u2019s outdoor Lifestyle Center.<\/p>\n

Few empty storefronts remain, including the former Chick-fil-A space. There\u2019s the former Face Foundrie space at the Lifestyle Center and some empty spots next to the Pink store on the main level, as well as a handful of other empty storefronts on the mall\u2019s upper level, according to mall directory maps.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The former Ruby Tuesday space that has sat idle since the coronavirus pandemic is finally getting a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-75504","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75504","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=75504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}