{"id":8182,"date":"2025-10-19T16:34:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T16:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/8182\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T16:34:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T16:34:34","slug":"former-corporate-exec-transforms-historic-nazareth-building-into-european-inspired-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/8182\/","title":{"rendered":"Former corporate exec transforms historic Nazareth building into European-inspired cafe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jennifer O\u2019Neill is trading her corporate software sales career for something more personal: opening Circle Cafe on Main <\/a>in a historic stone building at the heart of Nazareth\u2019s<\/a> Center Square.<\/p>\n

The longtime Nazareth resident purchased the property at 2 N. Main St. and is converting the former salon into a cozy cafe inspired by European establishments.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill hopes to open by Christmas with what she calls a soft launch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was everything I never knew I always wanted,\u201d O\u2019Neill said about discovering the historic building. \u201cThe windows, the views, the aesthetics of the building just spoke to me. I knew this was the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The career change came after more than 20 years in corporate software sales and was sparked by a family trip to Europe and O\u2019Neill\u2019s desire for more meaningful work. The building\u2019s location across from the Moravian Church and near community landmarks like the post office and farmers\u2019 market made it ideal for a cafe.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill secured financing through an SBA loan arranged by Lehigh Financial Group LLC, with Jeff Barber guiding her through the process.<\/p>\n

The cafe will feature what O\u2019Neill describes as a \u201cboho, historic vibe\u201d with deep peacock walls, a velvet couch, and natural lighting. She plans minimal structural changes while adding new flooring, fresh paint, and a fully equipped kitchen with a convection oven, commercial refrigerator, and other professional-grade appliances.<\/p>\n

Circle Cafe on Main will serve homemade quiches, soups, flatbreads, and pastries, plus convenient take-home dinners. The menu will exclude deep-fried items and include deli-style pasta and potato salads inspired by O\u2019Neill\u2019s New Jersey roots. Beverages will feature seasonal homemade iced teas, lemonade, and coffee brewed from Electric City Roasting beans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about high-quality, convenient food that brings people together,\u201d O\u2019Neill said. \u201cI want it to be a place where people feel at home, whether they\u2019re stopping in for a quick lunch or spending an afternoon with friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Renovation began last week, with A&E Drafting overseeing the buildout and managing subcontractors. O\u2019Neill hopes to complete construction in time for the town\u2019s holiday celebrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpening by Christmas is the dream,\u201d she said. \u201cIt would be amazing to open our doors when the town lights the tree and welcome people in for coffee and warmth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Updates on the cafe\u2019s progress will be available through the Circle Cafe on Main Facebook page.<\/a><\/p>\n

Generative AI was used to structure and organize information for this story, based on data provided by Lehigh Financial Group LLC. It was reviewed and edited by lehighvalleylive.com staff. <\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jennifer O\u2019Neill is trading her corporate software sales career for something more personal: opening Circle Cafe on Main…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-8182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182","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=8182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}