New proprietors say century-old Gin Mill traditions, hospitality will continue

A change in ownership is coming to the nearly 100-year-old Gin Mill Restaurant & Tavern in Lebanon. 

Liz and Chad Wertz of North Lebanon Township are buying the restaurant from Mark Arnold IV of Lebanon, who has owned it for 13 years. The new owners say the plan is to keep the restaurant’s ambiance and vibe the way it’s been for nearly a century.  

“Why ruin a good thing?” Liz said. “Everything’s the way it is for a reason. And that’s because everyone loves it. There’s no reason to change anything. We plan to keep it as a family-oriented restaurant. Everyone is pretty much a family there.”

“I want to keep the industrial complex out of it,” said Chad, Liz’s husband. “I don’t like the whole non-family-oriented ownership. The Gin Mill is a family-owned business, and it should stay that way.”

The continuation of the family atmosphere includes the Gin Mill’s 10 full-time and 30 part-time employees. Liz said she has worked in the restaurant industry for about 30 years and is bar manager at Quentin Tavern, her employer since 2003.

“The place is already perfect as is. It runs great. Everything about it is great. There’s no reason for change. We are customers there ourselves and we love everything about it. So why change something that’s already established and already good?” she said. “Obviously, we’re gonna put in some twists of our own, but it’s really good now. As far as staff, there’s no reason to change anything. We’re going in with the understanding that, you know, they have a great staff.”

The last major step to complete before closing the sale is the transfer of the liquor license, which is a process that takes a minimum of 30 days as part of a vetting process. An orange placard providing official notification of the pending transfer from Arnold to Wertz Entertainment LLC was posted on April 16. 

Both sides in the transaction hope for a tentative closing date in the first week in June. The state’s vetting process is part of a mandatory background check on all new owners of a Pennsylvania liquor license, according to both parties involved.

“I loved the PLCB guy who I asked what the (license) stipulations are, and he said to me, ‘Did you ever drive a truck through a liquor store?’ said Chad, who owns a general contractor business. “I thought that’s kind of weird to ask but that was a ‘no.’ The other PLCB guy I talked to, first and foremost, was very dry and went by the book.”

As might be expected, Liz is entering into this new chapter in her life with mixed emotions – sad to be leaving her Quentin Tavern family after 20-plus years but excited for this new opportunity at the corner of Cumberland Street and 4th Avenue. 

“It’s just something I’ve always wanted to continue doing. I didn’t see myself doing anything else. I feel like I’m good at it, and I’ve always just wanted just stability and having a career where I’m not just behind a bar until I’m 60,” she said. “But I love it (the restaurant industry). It has its purpose, it has its days, but everything does.”

Part of that new beginning for Liz is pride in ownership, a concept she previously believed was only a dream.

“Really weird,” Liz replied when asked her feelings about being a future restaurant owner. “It’s just because I’ve never thought I really was gonna be in this position. That’s why I thought I was always gonna have a boss. I am going to be the boss. So it’s very weird and I’m kind of anxious, nervous, but it’ll be fine.”

Chad said while Liz will run the restaurant, he’ll provide the financial expertise he’s gained over the past two decades operating his contractor business.

“I don’t wanna do this at 65, framing up concrete, crawling around on the floors, putting floors together, just after a while, the body just doesn’t wanna do it anymore,” Chad said. “I’d rather use the knowledge I’ve gained in business over the last 20 years to turn it into something a little bit better, you know, bigger.”

Arnold said he will be available following the sale to assist the Wertzes with any questions they may have and to ensure the transition goes smoothly. 

One long-established tradition that will remain is the diverse alcohol options, including the restaurant’s 24 beer taps, hard liquors, wine menu, and vast bottled beer selections. Arnold said he has five distributors that he’s cultivated over the years.

Another tradition is participation in the Pennsylvania Preferred program that encourages restaurants to locally source the products they serve. 

The Gin Mill has worked with at least a half-dozen local or regional companies, including Seltzer’s in Palmyra, Bouchette Vineyards and Street Sweets in Berks County, Clemens Food Group in Chester County, and Sauder’s Eggs in Lancaster County. 

“It’s important, obviously, because it’s nice to keep the money and the relationships in your community. I mean, we can get eggs and fruit from California. We can get products from anywhere, but it’s a lot better to support our own local economy and our own local producers. PA has a lot of nice things to offer. You don’t really have to go outside the state to find them,“ Arnold said.

Liz piggybacked on Arnold’s comment about local sourcing.

“That was one of the big selling points for us and about loving this place is that they use local people. They bring in local produce and we have farmland all around us,” she said. “I know farmers, and when you can buy from Lebanon, when it’s right here in our backyard, then it’s fresh. … I think a lot of customers appreciate that.”

The Gin Mill’s history

The Gin Mill Restaurant & Tavern was founded in the 1930s when it was known as the 4th Avenue Cafe and served local Bethlehem Steel workers as “a place to relax after a day’s work.” The name morphed into the 4th Avenue Gin Mill in the 1950s, according to research conducted by the Arnold family. 

In the 1960s it was known at Pushnik’s Gin Mill, and a small advertisement in the Lebanon Daily News on Oct. 19, 1960, noted a special of three dozen clams for $1. (The Pushnik family also owned Pushnik’s Cocktail Lounge at 1352 Cumberland St., Lebanon.)

The restaurant came into the Arnold family in the early 2000s, according to Mark, who said he’s not retiring but taking time off to figure out what comes next in his life and to take care of his parents. 

Arnold said he bought the restaurant from his father Mark Arnold III and uncle John Arnold more than a decade ago.

“It’s been owned by families the whole time, but our dad and our uncle bought it in 2004, and then I bought it from them. When I took over, I basically ran it the same for a month or two, and then I made my own changes and kind of took it to where it is now,” he said. 

Those changes involved some renovations and new construction of the outdoor patio, which showcases musical acts in season.  

“We made some modern updates and changed a lot of things on the walls, repainted, added the outside area and the band options for outside too,” Arnold said. “So we definitely have made a lot of changes over the years, but we’ve always kept that town corner-bar feel to the place, and that’s what people really like.”