Alan Funck broke some of his own news in a wide-ranging interview with the Lebanon Daily News for an article in the paper’s Sunday edition.
The article coincided with the opening of the new patio area at the Rising Sun in Campbelltown.
In April, South Londonderry Township supervisors had given approval for part of a historic structure adjacent to the Rising Sun to be demolished to make way for an outdoor bar/patio and additional parking at the longtime local watering hole.
Read More: South Londonderry supervisors approve Rising Sun request for partial demolition
The construction makes use of local brownstone bricks for a fence between the dining area and Horseshoe Pike/Route 322, and incorporates a third of the historic structure into the design. Early reviews of the patio project, which adds seating for about 100 additional patrons, were overwhelmingly positive, with a Facebook post by the Rising Sun announcing the patio’s opening going viral over the weekend.
“I understand some of the concerns that, you know, some of the residents had,” Funck told Daily News reporter Daniel Larlham Jr. “It’s just not always possible to make everything work. If I didn’t do this project, I don’t know who was going to invest in the rest of that building and do something.”
LebTown caught up with Funck on Monday afternoon to talk more about the Rising Sun expansion.
Funck said that so far, he’s heard very positive comments about everything. Still, not quite everything is complete yet – although about a quarter of the patio was used this past weekend, about half of the parking lot still needs to be paved, and a few other odds and ends like installing a granite bar top and having power & water turned back on in the building. The new annex building will contain a small dining area as well as a bar and bathrooms. Funck said he’s not sure how exactly it will end up being used in off-season – with food needing to still come from the main kitchen area, winter dining might be limited.
(Video by the Lebanon Daily News)
Funck, through the Funck’s Restaurant Group, currently operates nearly a dozen restaurants in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, and Lebanon counties – the Palmyra and Leola locations of Funck’s Restaurant; the original Snitz Creek Brewery in Lebanon and a satellite location by Fort Indiantown Gap (formerly a Funck’s Restaurant); two T.J. Rockwell’s, one in Elizabethtown and a second in Mechanicsburg (acquired in February 2022); the Quentin Tavern; the Mount Gretna Hideaway; the Rising Sun; the Parkside Hotel in Hershey; and the Fredericksburg Eagle Hotel.
Read More:
- Welcomely, Funcks take Fredericksburg Eagle Hotel under their wing
- With acquisition of Quentin Tavern, Funck’s restaurants continue to expand
- T.J. Rockwell’s joins Funck family of restaurants; no major changes expected
Funck confirmed to the Daily News that a 12th location is currently in the works.
The former Mount Gretna Craft Brewery site, located at Leed’s Corner in Campbelltown, will become the third location of Snitz Creek Brewery. PLCB records show that a brewery license is currently pending for the site. (The brewery license owned by Mount Gretna Craft Brewery is currently in safekeeping status.)
Funck told the Daily News that Snitz Creek plans to brew at both its Lebanon and Campbelltown locations once it opens. (The Snitz Creek Brewery in North Annville Township has a different type of permit, a brewery storage license, which would not have allowed beer to be brewed at the Campbelltown site.)
Mount Gretna Craft Brewery closed in February 2022, a much-loved local business felled by brutal macroeconomic conditions including inflation, labor shortages, and cost increases.
Read More: Mount Gretna Craft Brewery abruptly closes its doors after nearly 6 years
Leed’s Corner, a longtime Campbelltown community hub that sits at the northwest corner of the intersection of routes 322 and 117, has been owned by Mount Gretna Craft Brewery cofounder Todd Holsopple and medical device entrepreneur/Palmyra native Seth Anderson since 2016, when it was purchased for $520,000, according to county real estate records.
The property is currently listed for sale through NAI CIR at $1.65 million. NAI CIR listing agent Ryan Murray said that the property is under agreement, and expected to close within 4-6 weeks. Funck said the closing date is dependent on when PLCB approval for the license is granted.
Funck told the Daily News that he aims to have the location reopened as Snitz Creek Brewery by this fall.
In an interview Monday, he told LebTown that the new Campbelltown location will get its own menu, and he plans to update the dining areas. He said that conversations began about expansion into the space shortly after it was listed earlier this year. To start, Funck said that the existing Snitz Creek brew crew will alternate brewing days between the two locations, with maybe an additional rotation to handle cleaning the brew site not currently being used. He said that the location will be open seven days a week.
With production from the Lebanon brewery pretty much at its max serving the two previously existing Snitz Creek locations, the Snitz Creek brand will now have a high-traffic, high-visibility base to expand its production, and hopefully increase its outside selling, too. Funck said the location was desirable for being “right in the heart of our operations,” not to mention just down the street from the Rising Sun.
Funck said that both Leeds Bikes and Ancestor Coffeehouse & Crêperie will continue on as tenants.
Funck also told the Daily News that he plans a complete remodel of the Parkside Hotel in Hershey, which was purchased last fall.
A recent LebTown stop into the Hershey neighborhood bar, which was operated by the Gasper family for more than four decades, showed that not much at all has changed so far in the establishment since joining Funck’s Restaurant Group. Although Funck didn’t describe his plans for the Parkside in-depth to the Daily News, he hinted that the Hershey area was of particular interest to him as a place with potential.
Funck previously told PennLive that he might consider dropping the “Hotel” from the name, as it can cause confusion to the omnipresent tourists in Hershey seeking overnight lodging. (Ironically, since its opening in 1908 as Rosie’s, the Parkside has actually never operated as a hotel.)
Part of that interest in Hershey might be the canvas he has at his disposal – a LebTown search of Dauphin County real estate records shows that the LLC used by Funck to purchase the Parkside owns more than a half-dozen parcels at the corner of Park Avenue & Derry Road, including a few residences, which together total about eight-tenths of an acre.
Funck said that although Parkside might get some more parking later this year, there hasn’t been much effort put into thinking through a design or concept for the site yet – he said that probably by next year, the company would be able to focus a little more on developing the plan.
Funck said he is still focused for the time being on getting the new dining area at the Rising Sun fully operational so it can make the most of the in-season weather. “That ‘s our focus right now,” said Funck. “It ended up being a pretty big project but it’s almost complete.”
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.
Editor’s note: This article was updated after publication with additional information from NAI CIR listing agent Ryan Murray as well as from Alan Funck.
