Community, Family, and Good Food

When my husband and I moved back to Bethlehem in 2005, one of the first things we did was scope out the restaurants in the area with cheesesteaks on the menu. While a cheesesteak sandwich isn’t an unknown in New England, it’s not quite the same as having one in Pennsylvania to make it seem so much more authentic.

My husband, a PA native, had been a J’s Steaks & Subs fan since he was a kid, so we went there first. Great subs, just like he remembered, but then we heard of a place that was within walking distance of our new house. Considering I was still finding my way around town, that was a temptation I couldn’t resist.

Carl’s Corner is on the corner of Elizabeth Avenue and New Street in Bethlehem. It ended up becoming the first place I could find without consulting a map and made a convert out of my husband. Funny enough, current owner Cindy Weintraub said that “in 1991 [previous owners] Carl and Betsy Souders purchased an existing J’s Steaks & Subs in that same space. After owning it for 5 years, Carl decided to drop the franchise and do it ‘his way’.”

Carl’s Corner Steaks & Subs was born.

Over the next 20 years, Carl’s became a staple of Bethlehem life, and a big part of Cindy’s life when she began working in the area in 1997. “Soon enough, everyone knew my name and even my order!” In 2011, she married Matt Weintraub and their blended families had a common love: Carl’s Corner.

“We have 4 kids combined. Molly is 16, Alexa is 15, and Lauren and David are 19 year old twins. My husband is presently a registered flight nurse for LVHN MedEvac. Years ago, he was a firefighter and paramedic in Bethlehem and frequented Carl’s Corner too! The kids all enjoy Carl’s, especially David.

“Every year, we write a Christmas newsletter and [the kids] help us write their personal paragraph. For Christmas 2017, David wanted to write about Carl’s Corner. I thought Carl and Betsy would enjoy a copy of our letter referencing Carl’s Corner. When I hand delivered it while picking up an order, I said to Betsy, “I hope you never close…we love Carl’s Corner!”

Unfortunately, the response was not what she had expected. Carl and Betsy were looking forward to retirement and Carl’s would be closing over the summer of 2018.

Shocked, Cindy returned home to tell her husband.

“He and I decided this might be a wonderful opportunity to offer to buy the restaurant, not only to keep something we love going, but to garner an opportunity to secure future meaningful employment for David (who is autistic). There is a severe deficit in employment opportunities for those with special needs and ‘different abilities.’

“In August 2018, I began working at Carl’s Corner [to learn] everything I could from Carl, Betsy, and the staff. On November 5, 2018 the sale was finalized. Carl and Betsy retired knowing that a family bought it having loved it and appreciated all they built since 1996. We kept the staff and kept everything the same, except for some personal touches here and there. Our goal is to make Carl and Betsy proud, and our David is truly happy with every task he is a part of!”

Like with any restaurant you frequent, favorites are quickly found and become part of the regular order. My family always calls for a pick-up order. My husband’s go-to is the regular cheesesteak, my step-son bounces between the Italian if he’s working when we order and the cheeseburger sub when he is able to eat it hot. I tried the chicken cheesesteak (no onions) and have never looked back.

The sauce is sweet and tangy, coating the shredded chicken from above, seeping down to the melted cheese below. The bun will be slightly soggy at the top by the time I begin to eat it, but while this usually bothers me it never has with a Carl’s sub – that’s how delicious it is.

“Many of our ingredients are locally sourced,” said Cindy. “We make our marinara sauce homemade using the same recipe from 1996. Our lunch meat is a Pennsylvania Brand, Berks.  Our Bread arrives daily from Philadelphia. We use Amoroso Bread as always. We sell Goods Chips (a PA brand) and A-treat sodas, as well.”

The Top 3 best sellers? Cheesesteaks, Italian Hoagies, and Cheeseburger Subs. My family was not surprised to hear about that.             

You can order by phone or in-person for take away or eating-in. The order counter is at the back of the restaurant, which is the ground floor of a three-story house, making the layout longer than it is wide. The menu board takes up the majority of the upper back wall and boasts of hot and cold subs, gourmet hamburgers, side orders, and meal deals. You pay at the register up front, and if you’re waiting in line will most likely be tempted by the chips display or refrigerators stocked with A-Treat sodas and Snapple drinks.

I’ve only once ordered at the counter, but I can say that when I call for a pick-up order, our ‘3 sub and a jumbo fry’, it takes roughly 20 minutes, usually less, and that’s even when they are busy. The staff maneuver around each other behind the long counter with familiarity and ease, despite the heat of the fryers and grill top lining the wall.

With little room to work with, Carl’s still makes the best of it with booth-seating against one wall and a smaller section with two-seat booths that people tend to use when waiting for their take away order. On the walls are a variety of framed photos taken by Betsy Souders of the “meaningful and unbelievable moments in Bethlehem,” such as the flooding, movies filmed at Bethlehem Steel, and bands that have some beloved teachers in them. “There are some tribute photos on the back wall,” Cindy added. “There are 3 Marines pictured. One being [Betsy’s] son, Michael, and another her nephew, Kyle Grimes who was a graduate of Liberty and sadly perished in 2005 while on active duty. Also, a card of Billy Guth, a beloved deceased resident/first responder who actually mentored my husband years ago.”

When you walk in, there’s a corkboard for locals to pin their business cards or flyers for anyone entering or waiting for their order to see. It’s a comfortable space, even when busy. Maybe it’s the fact that the restaurant is inside of what could be a living room, maybe it’s the staff that even at a glance seem to be more like family than co-workers, or maybe it’s the customers who more often than not are regulars, even if that means for only four years while a student at Moravian College. Everyone smiles at you, there are no raised voices (except for laughter), and the smell of onions, fries, and grilled meat turns each inhale into a moment of hunger-zen.

Cindy gave a special place on the wall to a framed print by Jamie Morath, an artist out of Ohio, that commemorates the purchase of the restaurant. “I placed it where I can see it from the register and it’s a constant reminder WHY we bought our favorite place,” said Cindy when I asked her about it.

“She [Morath] does art to help support her son with special needs. I sent her photos of all of us (including our dog, Daisy), Carl’s red truck, and a picture of Carl’s Corner. She did an amazing job capturing us and if you read the menu board it says Giant Cheesesteak. That’s David’s favorite meal to order and the price is the date the sale became official: $11.05. November 5th.”

Carl’s is located one block from the Moravian College main campus. According to Cindy, Carl’s and Moravian have been working together since the beginning. “We love to support our local colleges and schools,” she said. “We fundraise with them, donate to their causes, place ads in their programs, etc. They’ve been amazing calling in orders to feed their players and staff as well. We always appreciate when other teams place orders when in Bethlehem for a game and they say ‘Moravian recommended you!’ We feel the love and we are so grateful!”

Cindy is also proud to sell Duke’s Delites, homemade dog treats “made with love by people with different abilities.” They come in three flavors: Peanut Butter, Chicken, and Sweet Potato, and you can purchase an 8 oz. bag for $6. Duke’s Delites is a non-profit company from Allentown, PA and every purchase made helps to employ young adults with Autism and Developmental Disabilities, according to their website www.dukesdelites.org.

As have many restaurants at this time, Carl’s has moved to take-out only, and is offering curbside pick-up (they are accepting payment over the phone) for those customers who do not want to go inside. Cindy and her staff are dealing with the changes but “we miss our customers sitting inside and chatting with us! That has been the saddest part for us.”

The first visit to pick up my order after the change was very strange. The staff was their usual upbeat selves, but each table had a reserved sign and I was the only customer. At first. I was chatting with the young woman at the register when a couple came in and the phone rang at the same time. I was more than happy to move to the side and wait for my order because I could see that despite the upheaval in everyone’s daily lives Carl’s was still going. Maybe not business as usual, but close enough.

And the “new normal” has forced Carl’s to adapt. They are adding a new Point of Sale system and creating a new website that will allow for online ordering. It’s a move for the future, but Cindy and her family are also proud of the restaurant’s past. “We appreciate all the history, great food and reasonable prices Carl’s Corner has been known for and we will keep all of that going and more!”

If you’re a Bethlehem local and you’re looking for a great sub shop that makes delicious cheesesteaks I highly recommend trying out Carl’s. And when the time comes that Bethlehem can welcome visitors again, a trip to Carl’s should be a top choice for lunch or supper. It’s an experience you won’t want to miss.