BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Vineyard di Norma, an Italian restaurant-turned-homage to the owners’ ancestral home in Italy, had the food and drinks dialed in.
There was pasta Gorgonzola made with Calabrian chili, crispy broccoli rabe and shrimp.
A laborious Bolognese — a showcase of their roots — was topped with homemade ricotta, with pork and beef simmered in a hearty red sauce.
The wine list was curated and purposeful, siblings Rachael and Luke Prosseda told LehighValleyNews.com in 2023.
“With Italian wine, when you pair it with food,” Rachael Prosseda said, “It really blooms.”
There was just one problem.
The Vineyard di Norma was not a place that was “pure Prosseda,” the siblings said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
The siblings took over ownership of the Vineyard di Norma in September 2021. The restaurant shut its doors on Christmas Eve but now has a new name and a new focus.
In short, it’s “Something Different.”
‘Fork drop’
“Here’s the truth – while we cherish our Italian roots and our love for a good big dippy, we felt that we were trying to make a shoe fit that just wasn’t for us. (fork drop),” the Facebook post said.
Asked to elaborate on Tuesday, Luke Prosseda went a little bit deeper.
“I'm not sure the best way to say it, but we got in our heads that because we were imitating The Vineyard, we weren't living up to that, and we were letting people down.
“We also realized this was an institution that had been open for decades, and we were driving forward for us instead of working with it. And it just wasn't our thing,” he said.
"This was an institution that had been open for decades, and we were driving forward for us instead of working with it. And it just wasn't our thing,”Luke Prosseda
And so it’s out with the Italian-style modern cuisine — and almost all that came with it. The interior of the restaurant is being revamped, and the concept is completely retooled.
Luke himself will execute the new menu, which he describes as “allergy-friendly" farm-to-table dining.
“A lot of our appetizers are vegetarian. We have a couple of vegan options and most of our stuff can be made gluten-free,” he said.
Offerings will come tapas-style, from “little bites” to “big bites.”
The small plates will include things like disco fries (soy egg, gravy, mozz, kimchi) and cacio y pepe dip (large fried pizza dough with cheese), while entrees will include Branzino (sea bass, romesco, gigante beans) and Bahn Mi (pork belly, pickled veggies, cilantro, kimchi mayo).
“I made a menu, and it was like, that's how I like to eat. Kind of, I want to try a bunch of stuff. So the small plates and the big plate,” Luke said.
“When we go out to eat, it's like, you get these apps, and I'll get these apps, and then we'll share everything, and then that's how you get to try everything. So I wasn't intending to do that, but, but I kind of built it that way.
“I think what we’re trying to do here is something different for the Valley,” Luke said, noting Rachael will curate a drink list with one or two staples and a few things that are “fun and interesting.”
“I think if we took this concept to Philadelphia, everybody has N/A (non-alcoholic) cocktails. Almost everybody has multiple vegan options. You know, it’s not strange. Our thought is we’re just trying to push, just trying to be a little bit different.”
Community support, and supporting the community
What encouraged the siblings to give things another go had a lot to do with positive feedback and support from patrons and the industry.
“It was nice to have that reassurance that, like, ‘Oh you’re actually doing a good job’ and people are happy,” Luke said.
“We’ve had some good relationships with our regulars and we worked really hard. We’re not the only ones, but we tried to make this a safe space for industry people to come to. We did our industry brunches and it was really about that community we’ve been building.
“Everybody in the industry can be pretty friendly, but it’s just having that group of people who are like, ‘Hey, no matter where you go next, let us know because we’re going to follow you. It was just really reassuring.”
The new restaurant will open and operate with the mindset of working based on feedback, and if something is not selling great, moving on. The menu will be seasonally focused and operating hours will be Thursday through Monday, with every day but Sunday being 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday open 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“I have trouble attaching to the Vineyard because it was its own thing. At least with this, I can say this is my thing,” Luke said.
“Whether it fails or succeeds, it’s mine. I did it. And that’s kind of how I rallied. Rachael and I did it to each other, but we sort of decided, 'We have everything here, so let’s just try something, and if it works, great.'
“But it was like, you know, let’s go down to the basics. We’ll keep the tables and chairs but everything else will be us.”
WHAT: The former Vineyard di Norma reopens as 'Something Different'
WHERE: 605 North Fiot Street, Bethlehem
WHEN: Opening Feb. 6
More information/reservations at: https://somethingdifferent.food/
