Happy New Year, Retail Watchers!
As we kick off another decade, many of us have resolved to improve our physical fitness. But what about our spiritual growth?
For people looking to enhance their overall well-being, a new metaphysical shop in Bethlehem offers items and services designed to broaden your beliefs, heal personal hardships and provide strength and clarity during your spiritual journey.
Enchanted Wonders, which opened Dec. 17 at 719 W. Broad St., sells religious and spiritual books, incense, essential oils, pendulums, figurines, sun catchers, dream catchers, salt lamps, jewelry, crystals, banners, wands and runes.
You also can shop religious pieces such as Buddha statues and Christian prayer candles, locally made items such as body lotions and Native American-style wooden flutes and stones and ritual candles meant to attract forces and qualities such as good luck, patience, romance and psychic abilities.
The store is operated by husband and wife Allen and Kelly Grossman of Wind Gap.
“We try to incorporate a variety of cultures and beliefs because even though we are all headed in the same direction, we each have a different path,” Kelly said. “In many instances, people are seeking help because they were raised or conditioned through the beliefs of their parents, only to question down the road if what they grew up thinking is truly what they believe. So, we aim to broaden your beliefs by opening your eyes to other ideas that may resonate with you.”
Enchanted Wonders, open Tuesday through Saturday, also offers a variety of services, including reiki; spiritual counseling; integrated massage therapy; oracle messages, connecting you to meaningful and direct messages from spirits through cards; and cord cutting, severing energetic cords that tie you to an individual, place, feeling or thought. Info: 610-419-4765; enchanted-wonders.com.
About a mile east of Enchanted Wonders, the status of D’William, a Spanish restaurant that moved in 2018 from 838 Linden St. in Bethlehem to the former Hometown Heroes building next door at 310 E. Goepp St., has been the subject of several messages in recent weeks.
Fear not, mofongo fans: The Goepp Street building recently became available for rent or purchase, but D’William has not disappeared. Instead, the business has merged with William’s Spanish Restaurant, the 1½-year-old tenant of its original Linden Street space.
As of Dec. 1, chefs from D’William and William’s are working alongside each other, offering a mixture of both restaurants’ dishes at William’s, according to Crisaliz De La Cruz, who is heading operations at the blended eatery with her husband, Willian.
“My aunt was running D’William and looking to retire, while the owner of William’s was looking for someone else to take control of his restaurant,” Crisaliz said. “My husband and I saw an opportunity and decided to merge the businesses.”
Popular William’s dishes include beef stew, fried chicken, roasted pork, sweet plantains and stuffed potatoes, with daily specials including cod on Tuesdays, pork chops on Wednesdays and baked ribs on Thursdays and Fridays. Info: 610-419-1309.
Also in Bethlehem, The Clubhouse Grille, a restaurant located at the Bethlehem Municipal Golf Course, has made a strategic operational transition.
As of Jan. 1, restaurant owner Todd Donnelly is partnering with a local group to co-own and manage the restaurant, according to a news release.
Billy and Holly Gruenewald, owners of breakfast and lunch spot The People’s Kitchen in Bethlehem, along with their business partners at the Tavern at the Sun Inn and Christmas City Spirits — Seth Cornish, Noel Cornish and Brett Biggs — have assumed operations at the Clubhouse.
Ryan Blawn, the Clubhouse’s manager of five years, is bringing his managerial experience to Donnelly’s other restaurant venture, Randall’s in Orefield.
“With the beautiful new golf course revamp, we look forward to working with course management to make the customer experience more integrated and rewarding,” Seth Cornish said.
“With the changes in the neighborhood and the Martin Tower redevelopment, we want this to continue to be the place you’ve come to know,” Biggs echoed. “Like we did at the Sun Inn, we’re taking that notion of local history and place and adapting to modern tastes.”
The Gruenewalds will take over the culinary direction and day-to-day operation of the 400 Illick’s Mill Road restaurant.
“We’ll likely take a more focused approach to the menu as we do at our other locations but still have all your favorites prepared with fresh, quality ingredients,” Billy said. Info: theclubhousegrille.com.
The new year will bring two new dining options to a Forks Township shopping center.
Family Chicken and Waffles Seafood and Soul Food, offering crawfish, fried chicken and other seafood and soul food, is expected to open in late January or early February at the Park Plaza, 1800 Sullivan Trail, chef and co-owner David Thompson said. The space previously housed J’s Steaks & Subs.
About a month later, Surv — a dual-concept restaurant offering new American cuisine and wood-fired pizza — is expected to open in early March near the back of the shopping center, co-owner Spencer Cobb said.
Cobb, along with his wife, Carissa, and business partners Timothy and Karen Widrick, also operate the 17-year-old Edge Restaurant, serving classic and modern cuisine with French and Asian influences, at 74 W. Broad St. in downtown Bethlehem.
“Surv will be two restaurants in one,” Cobb said. “One side will be more casual, with TVs and a wood-burning pizza oven that we brought over from Italy. The other side will serve new American cuisine with French and Asian influences. It will be similar to Edge — upscale food, but a casual, chic atmosphere.”
Surv, occupying a 9,000-square-foot space with seating for about 250 people, will feature a mix of popular dishes from Edge and new culinary creations, Cobb said.
The menu is still being finalized, but Cobb expects Executive Chef Timothy Widrick to carry over Edge’s tuna tartare, twin filet mignon and triple truffle house-ground black Angus burger.
Surv will feature two full bars — one inside and another on a covered patio.
Family Chicken and Waffles Seafood and Soul Food, offering seating for about 25 guests, will be an extension of Thompson’s catering business of the same name that he began two years ago.
“We make some of the best Louisianna-style seafood pots, which come with shrimp, mussels, corn, potatoes, turkey kielbasa sausage and crab clusters,” Thompson said. “We also offer crawfish, lobster, king crab, Dungeness crab and chicken and waffles. Our specialty waffle is a red velvet waffle that we serve with fried chicken wings.”
Both restaurants’ debut will follow another new dining option at Park Plaza.
Green Vida Co., a 28-seat eatery offering healthful salads, sandwiches, smoothie bowls and more, moved to Forks in October from the Talero Pit Stop convenience store on Route 191 in Washington Township, Northampton County, owner Jackie Rueda said.
Popular menu items include avocado toast, hummus veggie wraps, chipotle chicken sandwiches, quinoa bowls and Devocion coffee. Info: greenvidacompany.com.
Last weekend, I reported on the newly opened Refinery Fitness studio, offering personal and small group training, in Coopersburg.
Now, I bring you news of another new fitness facility: Eights Gym + Fitness, which opened Dec. 26 at 200 Franklin St. in Alburtis.
The gym, open 24 hours a day, offers a variety of cardio equipment including a Stairmaster on the main floor and a wide array of free weights, strength-training equipment and an eight-stack jungle gym/cable crossover machine on the lower level. Info: facebook.com/eightsgym.
Lastly, as I previously mentioned, Family Chicken and Waffles Seafood and Soul Food will be opening soon at the former J’s Steaks & Subs restaurant in Forks. Unfortunately, that is not the only J’s location to recently close.
The 1½-year-old J’s at 124 S. Walnut St. in Bath closed Nov. 27, according to the regional chain’s website. Six other locations remain open throughout the Lehigh Valley.
Retail Watch, appearing every weekend, keeps track of retail and restaurant news in the Lehigh Valley. Contact Ryan Kneller at 610-820-6597 or [email protected].

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