Do you remember back in the day, when The Juicery was a hot spot healthy dining destination in Delaware Park? Customers would line up to get a smoothie and pita pocket. Picnic benches were placed about and people would flock from miles around to get something to eat and drink. It was a super family friendly restaurant, serving good food in a location that was centrally located smack dab in the center of an Olmsted landscape.
Unfortunately it’s been a long time since this restaurant stand has lived up to its potential. With the closing of The Juicery (it moved to Elmwood), Delaware Park has never quite been the same. Until now that is.
A group of restaurateurs are getting together to create an eating and drinking destination at the corner of Meadow Drive and Meadow Road. The Meadow Café is the brainchild of Mark Goldman (Hardware/BRKB – Allentown/Amherst Street), Angelo Ashker (Ashker’s – Elmwood), Steve Halpern (Allentown foodie back in the day), Dan McCormick (Santora’s Pizza), and architect Charlie Gordon. “It all started when I began asking Angelo about his incredible juices and smoothies,” Mark said. “One thing led to another and we began to talk about a missed opportunity at this location. Then the rest of the crew fell into place and we realized that we had a creative concept on our hands. I used to sling some mean hot dogs with Steve back in the day, and Dan makes awesome sandwiches. We’re modeling it after a Parisian sub shop, or an eatery that you might see in Miami. We got together with Charlie to design something that reflects what we all love about Larkinville, with the pergola. Charlie got the idea to top off the design with a pyramid made from canvas flag material, so we called Ace Flag to make it happen (see rendering). We wanted to create something that was different – something that would make a splash and attract people.”
According to Mark, The Meadow Café will be a place that attracts artists and musicians and lovers of food and drink, who interact with the space and with each other. “This is an exercise in place-making,” Mark added. “That’s what I like to do… make places that inspire people. The Meadow Café will evolve into a hang out, where we pay respect to the legacy of Olmsted and Buffalo.”
