Business & Tech
Creamery on Main Kitchen to Open Tomorrow
As of Dec. 15, the Creamery on Main will add 35 varieties of burgers to its well-known array of ice cream treats.
“Never too cold for ice cream,” said the sign outside the in early December.
Pretty soon, restaurant owner Bill Kao will likely be replacing the sign with: “35 HOT burgers inside.”
It's not that Kao’s changing his attitude about the cold stuff, it’s just that he’s opening a kitchen in his Creamery at 332 Main Street on Dec. 15, where he'll be serving 35 different varieties of hamburgers.
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That means hot breakfasts, hot lunches and hot dinners at the place once known as a coffee shop, .
“We were planning to open a kitchen in February or March, but we’re speeded everything up,“ said Kao, a Penn State grad with a degree in hotel management and a former employee at the Marriott Hotels.
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This time a year ago, Kao and wife Karin, an teacher, were celebrating the end of their first year of ownership of the Countryside business in Upper Milford Township by selling ice cream at 1958 prices.
Hundreds of people headed up there for the deal.
But then the Kaos were hit with a raw deal, just as they were expanding their business to downtown Emmaus, moving in at the faltering Perk on Main.
, just as the Kaos moved into the Perk on Main building.
Both sites were leased.
“The idea was to open a second Countryside here in Emmaus,’’ he said. “Our opening here was on June 1.
“The Countryside fire in Upper Milford was on Memorial Day weekend. It was a robbery and arson case.
“We had to We had just enough insurance to cover our losses.
“We took a huge hit and we’re still in a huge hole right now.”
With the kitchen running, the Creamery will offer different kinds of burgers; fresh French fries, 12-ounce cheese steaks; turkey, hamburger and pork barbeque; dollar tacos; bagel sandwiches and more.
“Right now do about 30-40 bagels per day,” Kao said. “As we get a full kitchen, we will expand.
“People drive in. Breakfast bagels are easy, fast. We fry our eggs. Everything is fresh, nothing in microwaves.”
The restaurant employs about five people, but the dining room can accommodate 45 customers.
While those customers still can find cool ice cream and hot coffee, as of tomorrow they can also enjoy something hot from the kitchen.