{"id":81554,"date":"2026-01-08T18:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T18:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/81554\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T18:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T18:52:10","slug":"bethlehem-ice-cream-shop-twisted-dipped-shutters-after-nearly-18-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/81554\/","title":{"rendered":"Bethlehem ice cream shop Twisted & Dipped shutters after nearly 18 months"},"content":{"rendered":"

After about a year and a half in business, an ice cream shop that had its patrons \u201ctwisting and dipping\u201d is no longer operating in downtown Bethlehem.<\/a><\/p>\n

Twisted & Dipped<\/a>, 446 Main St., was shuttered this week with window coverings. The shop opened in space that previously occupied The Chocolate Lab <\/a>in July 2024.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear what led up to the closure. There was no mention of it on the front door or the business\u2019s Facebook page<\/a>. Co-owners Manny Rodriguez of Upper Macungie <\/a>and Rick Pongracz of Bethlehem<\/a> didn\u2019t immediately return requests for more information Thursday.<\/p>\n

Twisted & Dipped initially began as the vision of four entrepreneurs with a track record of bringing tasty desserts to the region. <\/p>\n

Rodriguez and Pongracz, who own the Batch Microcreamery sites, in summer 2024 teamed up with Ryan and Brooke Dietrick of Upper Macungie, married co-owners of Truffle Bar, also in Upper Macungie.<\/a><\/p>\n

The foursome decided to serve homemade ice cream sourced from a regional dairy farm in just three soft-serve flavors. Guests then chose from one of eight chocolate \u201cdippers\u201d being crafted by the Dietricks. The chocolate then hardened, creating a chocolate-covered shell around the ice cream just seconds after being dipped.<\/p>\n

Next, patrons were able to add a \u201cflavor infusion\u201d to the treat. The process included puncturing the center of a cone to drip such selections as hot fudge, peanut butter, marshmallow or caramel into the center. Guests then added such toppings as candy pieces, nuts, sprinkles, or cookie crumbles.<\/p>\n

Truffle Bar left Twisted & Dipped in January 2025, stating on the business\u2019 Facebook page they wished Rodriguez and Pongracz continued success in the business venture.<\/p>\n

Truffle Bar continues to serve customers its chocolate-covered sweets at its West Tilghman Street site.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"WondaffleWondaffle opened in winter 2024 at the Peron Development\u2019s five-story mixed-use building, Third and Taylor Apartments. It sits at 307 E. Third St., next to Southside 313 Bar & Grille.Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

When it opened, Twisted & Dipped was Pongracz and Rodriguez\u2019s second Bethlehem location.<\/p>\n

The pair also launched Wondaffle<\/a>,<\/a> 307-311 E. Third St., in Southside Bethlehem<\/a> in the winter of 2024. The space was constructed on the main level of Peron Development\u2019s five-story mixed-use building<\/a>, Third and Taylor Apartments.<\/p>\n

The concept pairs ice cream flavors with signature liege waffles, bubble waffles, gluten-free waffles, waffle cones and waffle bowls.<\/p>\n

Wondaffle was Pongracz and Rodriguez\u2019s fifth overall ice cream venture, with Twisted & Dipped then being the sixth. Wondaffle remains in operation.<\/p>\n

The pair launched their first Batch Microcreamery in 2019 at the Downtown Allentown Market<\/a>, before shuttering that space three years later in an expansion effort. They then opened their first brick-and-mortar store<\/a> at The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley in Upper Saucon Township<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez and Pongracz additionally operate a seasonal scoop shop during the warmer months at Shepherd Hills Golf Club in Lower Macungie Township;<\/a> and two mobile food trucks for private events. The owners have since shuttered a stand at the Trolley Barn Public Market in Quakertown.<\/p>\n

The men are childhood friends who grew up in the same South Allentown<\/a> neighborhood. Pongracz often talked about someday opening his own ice cream shop. His great uncle patented an ice-cream scoop innovation<\/a> back in 1876.<\/p>\n

Pongracz worked in the corporate world but couldn\u2019t resist the pull of ice cream making. Rodriguez spent about a decade working for Coopersburg-based Lutron Electronics before Pongracz convinced him to join the ice cream business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After about a year and a half in business, an ice cream shop that had its patrons \u201ctwisting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-81554","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\/81554","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=81554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}