Some modest updates and a liquor license transfer are all that are keeping a popular downtown Lebanon bar from reopening this spring under a slightly different, yet familiar, name.
“Meet me at the Lounge” will become “meet me at the Taphouse” when the Downtown Lounge at 734 Cumberland St., dark since an ownership change earlier this year, returns to life as the Downtown Taphouse.
Brothers Jim, Leo, and Pep Osmanollaj bought the tavern and building from owners Pat and Ed Riley in January. The Lounge had been a Cumberland Street fixture since Pat Riley and his original partner, Kathy Hernley, opened it in 1979.
The Osmanollaj brothers are not new to the hospitality business. They own over a dozen restaurants in greater Philadelphia and Delaware, including Toska Restaurant & Brewery. Toska’s craft beers, plus dozens of others – about 25 in all – will be available at the new Taphouse.
Jim Osmanollaj learned that the Lounge might be on the market while scrolling through Facebook posts, some of which speculated that it might close forever after 45 years on Cumberland Street.
That struck a chord. A few years earlier, he and his brothers heard that a popular restaurant and community gathering place in the heart of Philadelphia’s Mount Airy neighborhood was about to permanently close after 13 years. “It couldn’t shut down,” he said. “That space could not be vacant. It had to have something.”
So the Osmanollaj brothers bought Earth – Bread + Brewery and, in June, 2023, reopened it as Toska.
Osmanollaj got the same feeling when he sat down with Pat Riley.
“You could feel the passion and what he built, you could feel the connection this place has with the community. You could feel the whole idea: the identity, the stories, the history behind it. It became more than just making a purchase.”
Osmanollaj says renovations and updates, which will keep the basic look and feel of the old Lounge, are underway while the liquor license transfer grinds through the state Liquor Control Board. He expects the process to be completed by late May or early June.
“We’re going to update it. We want to give a newer feel to some things. You know, simple stuff, painting, redecorating walls, changes of fixtures, freshening it up,” Osmanollaj said. “But we don’t want to change the identity that it carried. We don’t think that’s necessary. We want to keep that downtown feel.”
Osmanollaj is certain the Taphouse will feature live music, but said that he and his brothers haven’t decided on other entertainment, such as trivia or karaoke.
The Taphouse menu, with an exception or two, will look familiar to customers of the old Lounge. “We’re going to feature ribeye cheesesteaks and our special blend of beef in our burgers,” Osmanollaj said. “We’re going to be a very heavy protein spot.”
The roll is as important as the meat and cheese to fans of Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks, and the brothers know that. Osmanollaj said that “our rolls will come from Aversa’s Bakery in South Jersey,” which supplies their other restaurants. “You can’t go with commercial brands and get a really good cheesesteak. You have to go with a local baker.”
Above all, Osmanollaj wants the Taphouse, just as the Lounge was, to be an important part of downtown, an “everyday spot” where everyone will feel at home. It will have a daily happy hour and, possibly, expanded hours. While not committing to a specific schedule, he noted that “I personally don’t like closing days. I’ve never actually had a restaurant open for six days or five days. We’ve always been open seven days.”
From Kosovo to America
The Osmanollaj brothers were born in Kosovo in southeastern Europe. Along with Serbia, it was part of Yugoslavia from the end of World War II until gaining independence in 2008.
Most Kosovans are Albanian-speaking Muslims. Ethnic tension between Kosovans and the majority Serbs simmered throughout the 1980s and ’90s. Fighting broke out in 1998 after Serbians began a campaign to forcibly remove Albanian Kosovans. By some estimates, over 800,000 fled or were driven out of of their homeland.
Facing orders to leave their village under threat of death, the Osmanollaj family escaped through forests to Macedonia. Jim’s grandfather was shot at by Serbs when he would return to check on the family’s abandoned home.
Jim’s father, a baker, contacted the U.S. Embassy, and eventually mother, father, and the brothers ended up in Delaware County. Jim, the youngest sibling, was 7.
When he spoke to LebTown at the Taproom last week – surrounded by tools, renovation supplies, and upturned barstools – Jim Osmanollaj stressed just how grateful he and his family are to Pastor Sarah Hale of St. John’s Tinicum Lutheran Church in Essington and to Jean Goerlach of the Tinicum Township Fire Company for helping the family find housing and support when they arrived in the country. “We’ve invited them to the opening of every one of our restaurants, and we’ll invite them when we open the Taphouse.”
While they miss their homeland and do their best to stay in contact with other Kosovan expatriates, Osmanollaj said his family are happy to be Americans. He and his brothers have never been overly concerned with numbers and financials when deciding whether to buy a restaurant or tavern, he said. “We see a good business that we think can continue to be successful if we work hard, and we buy it.”
“If it doesn’t work out, we’re in America. How bad can that be?”
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.
Build the future of local news.
Cancel anytime.
Monthly Subscription
🌟 Annual Subscription
- Still no paywall!
- Fewer ads
- Exclusive events and emails
- All monthly benefits
- Most popular option
- Make a bigger impact
Already a member? Log in here to hide these messages
Local news is disappearing across America, but not in Lebanon County. Help keep it that way by supporting LebTown’s independent reporting. Your monthly or annual membership directly funds the coverage you value, or make a one-time contribution to power our newsroom. Cancel anytime.
