ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley’s favorite spooky spot for vegan pizza is one step closer to rising from the ashes.
In the meantime, you can get its pies via a partnership with a beloved Allentown eatery.
After signing a lease to lock down 125 East Third St. in Bethlehem this past August, Paranormal Pizza will soon submit their final drawings for city permits, to begin setting up their shop in the new year.
For the time being, if you’re hankering for one of those much-missed classic pies — or their newer Detroit versions — you can swing by Jay’s Local in Allentown from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays, starting Nov. 17.
“It's definitely been a tough two years for us with everything we've been going through. So it's cool to know that we have people like this in our corner."Paranormal Pizza co-owner Marc Kubushefski
The business owners who partnered on it say it’s a great arrangement, with cooler fall weather and winter weather coming around, as the Paranormal pop-up truck isn’t an ideal setup when it gets brisk out.
Paranormal Pizza co-owner Marc Kubushefski — who works alongside his brother Joey, with Marc's girlfriend, Lauren Strzelecki — said the team at Jay’s Local had offered their space for Paranormal to do pop-ups here and there over the last few months.
The Paranormal team said they took some time to try out Jay’s Local kitchen, which served as a hub for a few pizza pop-ups, which got them plenty of attention.
“So I asked Jay's Local if they had any weekend opportunities, and he said that they had Sundays available. I asked if we could take advantage of the available Sundays through the winter, and they agreed and said that they thought it would be great if we did that,” Kubushefski said.
While the much-missed classic pies are a guarantee on the menu, a few staples might not be available, Kubushefski said, pointing out Jay’s lacks a deep fryer, so wings and fries are a no-go.
“But we might be able to do some cheese steaks and Buffalo steaks and things like that,” Kubushefski said.
Jay’s Local owner Lyell Scherline said the partnership feels natural, as he has worked with the Paranormal team in the past to expose customers to some of the best food in the Lehigh Valley. And since Jay’s is closed on Sundays, Scherline figured it would be a fine opportunity to let some friends make use of the space.
“And being that Paranormal Pizza has a presence in the Bethlehem area, we figured it would be really interesting to introduce their products to our Allentown customer base,” Scherline said.
Scherline said his eatery has played host to several other businesses, including Malaysian, Thai, and barbecue operations.
“And it feels like people are really looking for vegan food and Paranormal does a really nice job, so we definitely wanted them to be able to utilize our space until they’re ready to open up their brick and mortar,” Scherline said.
The partnership could prove even more beneficial for both parties, Scherline said, as Jay’s Local could pick up a few lessons on making vegan food for their menu.
“This guest chef collaboration works out really interestingly, because they get to work hand in hand with my team and with myself. And, you know, I think we're pretty savvy in terms of tech and marketing and coming up with different ideas that customers are looking for. So it's nice that we could work together with these businesses and just kind of piggyback ideas off each other,” Scherline said.
Asked about what he looks forward to enjoying from the Paranormal team, Scherline said the good old-fashioned Mulder — featuring red sauce and cashew mozzarella — is a favorite, though he also really liked their Detroit pies.
Kubushefski said he and his team are “super happy,” and consider themselves lucky for the opportunity to turn out their X-Files themed pizzas starting next week.
“It's definitely been a tough two years for us with everything we've been going through. So it's cool to know that we have people like this in our corner,” Kubushefski said.
