BETHLEHEM, Pa. — It was a dreary Saturday, cloudy with drizzle and a bit of a chill in the air.
Yet dozens of people were lined up at ArtsQuest, waiting for the Paranormal Pizza pop-up location to open the shutters and begin dishing out vegan sandwiches and sides to those who were starving for the return of their favorite plant-based eatery.
- Vegan pizzeria Paranormal Pizza, once a fixture of the Bethlehem dining scene, is returning via pop-up events in the Lehigh Valley
- Famous for their spooky style, sourdough crust, and homemade vegan cheese, Paranormal has made a mark on the area
- For now, pizza is off the menu, but customers can enjoy their stellar sandwiches and sides
Marc Kubushefski — who co-owns the business with his brother Joey, and which is managed by Marc's girlfriend, Lauren Strzelecki — didn’t even have to come out of the kitchen to see the crowd who had come to get tasty sandwiches and champion the return of the hometown pizza place.
“We opened the door and there was, like, 40 people standing out there, screaming and cheering,” Kubushefski said.
Thankfully, such pop-ups by Paranormal Pizza will continue. In fact, one is scheduled to take place from 3 to 8 p.m. — or until everything is gone — today, May 6.
Ever since Paranormal’s New Street parlor was damaged by fire in February, vegans and omnivores alike have been hankering for Kubushefski’s dishes.
By and large, the pies — all named after characters from the TV show "X-Files" — were the big draw. But a foray into sandwiches, including cruelty-free cheesesteaks, Buffalo and BBQ chicken sandwiches, and sausage, peppers and onions have hit the spot for those who sorely miss the hallmark restaurant.
Here's a look at how the premier vegan pizzeria became a fixture of the Lehigh Valley dining scene.
In the beginning…
It all started when Kubushefski, who was working at Mack Trucks at the time, went to a gym and found one person outperforming everyone.
That individual just so happened to be vegan, and it inspired Kubushefski to look into the movement. Simultaneously, he was getting into cycling, going out on trips in the countryside where he would see cows in a field.
Eventually, Kubushefski said, something clicked. He thought about how the cows were being exploited for milk and meat while alternatives were readily available.
“And once I started putting all that stuff together, it just kind of made sense," he said "Like, you don't need any of this stuff to survive. You can do it with just plants."
Fast forward to the heyday of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kubushefski had a problem: He couldn’t find a good vegan pizza.
Some shops could accommodate patrons with vegan cheeses such as Daiya or Violife, though there always was an upcharge, and Kubushefski just wasn’t satisfied with the quality.
He said that inspired him to take a chance and create his own recipe for vegan cheese.
Around the same time, homemade sourdough bread was exploding in popularity, and Kubushefski figured he could make a good sourdough pizza crust.
“So I came up with a recipe that, to me, it seems pretty good, and I started just making pizzas, taking pictures of them and posting them on Instagram,” Kubushefski said.
“And some friends had reached out and they were, like, ‘Hey, it's impossible to get pizza right now, you know, could we buy some pizzas from you?’
"So I was like, ‘Yeah, I guess… I don't know, I'll freeze them and like, put them on my porch for you and you can pick them up.' And they tried it. And they said it was really good, to my surprise.”
Friends suggested Kubushefski start an Instagram page for his pizzas and start selling them. He said that for his first round of 20 pies, he was receiving orders from people he didn’t even know, and quickly sold out.
Over the next year, Kubushefski’s kitchen turned into a pizza shop, complete with two freezers stocked with pizza and a large mixer.
Somebody really did put it into perspective with a simple comment. They said, ‘You know, you've done so much… This was like, right after the fire. And when people were like, you know, trying to donate money and stuff. And this person said, ‘You know, you've done so much for us, let the community do something for you now.’ And you know, that hit home for us.Marc Kubushefski, Paranormal Pizza co-owner
He said there came a point where he just couldn’t keep up with demand, and decided it was time for a change.
“I started doing hot pizzas; I bought a big pizza oven and had it in my garage,” Kubushefski said. “And I was just making pizzas out of my garage once a week.
"And every week, same thing — that would sell out, I would sell out in two hours every Monday night. And I would do like two people every 15 minutes, like up to four pizzas.”
A move, then tragedy
Finally, it came time to open a dedicated physical location — 554 N. New St. in Bethlehem.
Business was booming. Vegans, vegetarians and just about everyone else in the Lehigh Valley was singing the praises of Paranormal Pizza — the quaint little shop with a spooky theme and game-changing pies.
Instagram, already in love with the business, became the place to go for Paranormal fans. Shots of the weekly specials and sides drew even more attention, with fans flocking to pick up a Mulder (red sauce and cashew mozzarella), a Scully (the same base, but with seitan pepperoni and spicy agave) or, for those with an insatiable hunger, the Alien Bounty Hunter (featuring a garlic knot crust, seitan pepperoni, Beyond sausage, green peppers, onions and mushrooms.)
The atmosphere of the pizzeria was a mashup of "X-Files" photos, creepy hand sculptures brandishing candles and all sorts of art from the world of the paranormal.
Without question, it spoke to the customer base, who were all for the little vegan pizza shop that could.
But on Feb. 9, 2023, the business was hit by tragedy.
A blaze broke out early in the morning, leading to fire, water and smoke damage.
While the damage was contained to the building, the shop and the upstairs apartments were condemned, leaving Paranormal without a home.
“So as of now, we still don't have a cause and origin," Kubushefski said.
"I'm not 100% sure what happened. Everything's still up in the air. I just spoke to insurance last week, and they still really didn't have an answer for me.”
Community support
Since that time, fans have flocked to Paranormal’s social media pages to offer up assistance — a move the team says touched the team profoundly.
While they appreciate the offers, Kubushefski said they aren’t in need of donations at the moment, and would prefer if people just shared their support online, spreading the word about pop-up events and spreading awareness of the vegan movement.
“If anything, just support us at pop-ups and do what you can to share all our stuff on Instagram,” Kubushefski said.
“That's got to be one of the biggest things I realized with doing this business, is we don't do any kind of marketing or anything like that. Everything is just like from the beginning, it's all strictly done through Instagram.
"So the biggest way for us to grow is just getting people to share, add us, like our posts comment on stuff. I mean, that's, that's worked for us so far.”
Fans have been eager to see the return of their favorite vegan food in the Valley, but unfortunately, the Paranormal crew was without kitchen space or equipment, so even frozen pizzas were out of the question.
But then, the community support came out again.
“ArtsQuest came out of nowhere and was, like, ‘Hey, we've got this concession stand across the street from our building. We're not going to use it until Mother's Day, so if you're interested, you know, it's here for you,’” Kubushefski said.
The turnout at last weekend’s event proved the public still was in love with Paranormal, so it will hold another event today.
Going forward, Kubushefski said he might explore other options, because the concession stand at ArtsQuest is booked up until the fall.
“We might do more pop-ups in the fall," he said. "But we have some ideas to maybe do some breweries and possibly some Veg Fests and stuff like that if we can find location space to work out.'"
However, Paranormal Pizza isn't disappearing any time soon, so keep your eyes on their Instagram account and be sure to hit up those pop-ups when you can.
And get there early, because chances are, they’ll sell out quick.
Nonetheless, the Kubushefskis and Strzelecki say they value the support from the community they love so much, and can’t wait to get back to cooking up the best vegan pies you could ever try.
“The community's been crazy," Kubushefski said. "I mean, almost every day, I'm getting messages: ‘Hey, when are you reopening? We missed you guys.’
"And yeah, it’s pretty overwhelming. We really didn't realize how much we meant to the community.
“Somebody really did put it into perspective with a simple comment. They said, ‘You know, you've done so much…' This was like, right after the fire.
"And when people were, like, you know, trying to donate money and stuff. And this person said, ‘You know, you've done so much for us, let the community do something for you now.’ And you know, that hit home for us.”
