While the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has left its mark on many restaurants across Pennsylvania, the Leather Corner Post Bar & Grille, 6855 Horseshoe Road, Lowhill Township, continues to serve the local community with a steady supply of takeout meals and cold drinks.

Manager Lauren Anderson and her father, owner Al Anderson, spoke with The Press June 2 at the restaurant about how business has been fairing since the pandemic began, and what the plans are moving forward into the yellow phase of reopening.

Al Anderson said Leather Corner Post has been doing pickup and takeout-only service since mid-March when Gov. Tom Wolf ordered restaurants to halt dining-in and he closed nonessential businesses to curb the coronavirus spread.

“I’ve been in this for a long time and I never saw anything like this happen, where they shut you down, but then we didn’t know what we were going to do,” Al Anderson said.

Lauren Anderson said initially hopes were for a two-week closure.

“We were trying to baby step, and then we were getting into the month span and then it’s like, this is our business; how long is it going to last?” she asked.

Both noted that while Leather Corner Post did offer takeout food before the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of in-house dining has noticeably affected the business.

“It’s day-by-day, week-to-week,” Al Anderson said.

He said the restaurant is running with a small number of staff - usually just four to five people - and due to the shortened hours of operation, they are working part time.

Al Anderson also said the payment agreements Leather Corner Post has with its food purveyors has helped with the day-to-day operational costs.

“You get deliveries every week but we don’t pay for those until next month, so that helps with week-to-week, and it’s a nice help,” he explained.

Lauren Anderson said the local community has helped Leather Corner Post stay open during these uncertain times.

She also said many new customers have been stopping by after seeing pictures posted on Leather Corner Post’s Facebook page of the different menu options and specials.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of new faces, people who come because I’ve been posting on the Facebook page and word-of-mouth. For us, we just take it day by day, we’re just trying to stay afloat,” she said.

“I probably would get more orders that day just from the picture being online. I’ve noted that for certain items when I do post, they sell better, so it is helping.”

With Lehigh County’s movement into the yellow phase of reopening on June 5, Lauren Anderson said Leather Corner Post would gain new opportunities to bring in more customers.

“We’re in transition mode right now,” she said. “The yellow phase means people can sit outside, so hopefully we’ll start getting increasing sales and everything.”

While they will continue offering takeout orders, Lauren Anderson said the restaurant will open up its porch and backyard for outdoor seating, as well as bring in some activities to keep guests entertained while still following social distancing and other safety measures.

“We’re thinking of keeping two of the horseshoe pits open, to put cornhole or another outside game there, and rearranging the tables,” she said. “It’s something to do while you’re drinking a couple beers.”

She also said Leather Corner Post has recently begun offering takeout drinks to accompany meals and has also set up a growler refill program to sell more beer.

Lauren Anderson also noted with the slow reopening, there will be some added stress of rehiring or finding new staff.

“They’re still waiting. They’re still cautious,” she said. “People are going to come in here.

“We’re going to get back to normal at some point. Our sales are going to increase but now it’s just about finding workers.”

In addition to takeout orders and outdoor seating, Lauren Anderson said Leather Corner Post has also been helping keep another local business afloat, as the restaurant has been operating for a month in partnership with the newly-opened Seven Sirens Brewing Company in Bethlehem.

She reached out to the brewery’s head of operations, Jordan Serulneck, to ask about carrying some of Seven Siren’s beers on tap.

Leather Corner Post is the first location in the Lehigh Valley to carry the drinks.

“I was like, hey, why don’t I reach out to him,” Lauren Anderson explained. “If you have inventory or beer let me help you because I’m still open. I’ll buy some of your beers and hopefully get more people in and try to sell them, so it was just brainstorming.

“It’s neat because people come in, get a burger and say, ‘do you still have Jordan’s beer?’ They’re supporting us, and we’re supporting him.”

“It’s just trying to help the community; a little bit here, a little bit there,” Al Anderson said about working with Seven Sirens.

Built of brick in 1861, the Leather Corner Post Hotel is one of the oldest standing hotels in the Lehigh Valley.

The building was originally used as a store and rest stop for farmers and stagecoaches traveling from Allentown to New Tripoli.

In 1956, Leather Corner Post Hotel became the bar and restaurant it is today. Al Anderson took over as owner in 2007.

The restaurant is well-known for its boomba percussion instruments which are rooted in Pennsylvania Dutch culture.

Lauren Anderson said while the instrument was more popular in the 1970s and 1980s, visitors still like to ask about the boombas, and musicians sometimes use them during live musical performances.

“We have them on the walls. You can take them down and play them. There’s a couple people who still know how to play them,” she said, adding one of her family’s boombas hangs over the bar.

The Andersons thanked the community for continuing to support Leather Corner Post, and said they remain optimistic about safely reopening more into the yellow phase and beyond to welcome back customers old and new.

“It’s hard, and finally I hope we’re getting back to being open. It wasn’t easy but we’re trying to stay positive,” Lauren Anderson said.

“We’re holding on because of the locals, because they love this place. They hang out here, listen to live music, a social place,” Al Anderson said. “Thank you so much for supporting us through these hard times.”

As of June 8, Leather Corner Post is open from 3-8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; from 3-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and from 3-8 p.m. Sundays for takeout orders and first-come, first-serve outdoor seating.

To order, customers should call 610-395-1782. Cash or credit card payment is available.

Menus, specials and additional information is available on the restaurant’s Facebook page and on the web atleathercornerpost.com.