After much anticipation, the Buckeye Tavern, 3741 Brookside Road, Macungie, has been raised from the ashes and will open its doors to customers May 22.

The original Buckeye Tavern, built in 1735, was destroyed in a fire May 12, 2015.

Buckeye Tavern owners Hope and Terry Bender are ready to reopen.

“It won’t be the same as before; it will be the new Buckeye,” Terry Bender said in an interview with The Press Dec. 7, 2016.

There is no second floor on the building due to zoning changes and existing wires which were not there 300 years ago. Instead, the dining room is bigger and the horseshoe shaped bar is bigger with over 20 taps and 100 different kinds of beer.

“Everybody wants a community bar,” Bender said recently.

Bender said the stone was saved from the fire but was covered in soot. It took three months to restore it.

Customers will see some of the memorabilia from the original Buckeye Tavern – the front door, a lantern, a shutter and an original picture of The Buckeye Tavern which was saved from the fire.

The fence from the back of the Buckeye Tavern was saved and turned into beer signs behind the new bar.

“All furniture is custom,” Bender said. He said the front entrance is double in size, enclosed and has heating and air conditioning. The bathrooms were redone and are compliant with the Americans with Disability Act.

The Buckeye Tavern is surrounded with stone from the original structure.

“The township has been great to work with,” Bender said. “I also worked with John Hayes at New Tripoli Bank who has also been great.”

Bender said the total cost to reopen the Buckeye Tavern is somewhere around $1.5 million without the liquor license.

He has a full staff ready to go with eight bartenders, eight servers, one manager, one bar manager, one general manager and a full kitchen staff.

Customers will be glad to know the Black Diamond steak will be on the menu; however, there will be new items and lots of surprises.

“We are very excited. The Buckeye has touched everyone’s life in some way for 300 years,” Bender said.