Local Chef Signs On At The Abraham Lincoln Hotel In Reading

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay most likely had bigger challenges for chef Andrea J. Heinly on Season 5 of Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” but serving 160 French tourists carved top round in her new job as banquet chef at the Abraham Lincoln hotel definitely was top of the list of her new challenges.

“I didn’t know a lick of French,” Heinly said.

The French tour group is just the beginning of what’s in store for the 37-year-old Reading resident.

Heinly’s goal, she said, is to make the Abe the best place in Reading, the top banquet facility.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article/20131214/MONEY/312149985#.UqyRsfRDsxI

Reading Authority Approves 250 Parcels For New Program

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The City of Reading Revitalization and Improvement Zone Authority – working fast to meet a Nov. 30 deadline – on Friday approved 250 parcels spread over 129 acres to be included in the zone.

At its next meeting Monday, the 10-member board will be asked to suggest three or four potential projects on three or four of those sites.

Board members said the projects are realistic but are not set in stone, and will be used as illustrations of how the state’s newest economic development program could help Reading.

That program, aimed at attracting new firms with new jobs, lets cities use the new state and local taxes the zones generate to finance property purchases, infrastructure projects, and even new buildings.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=519968

Reading Visitors Bureau Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In April 1963, a group of forward-looking business and civic leaders organized the Reading-Berks County Pennsylvania Dutch Travel Association.

The region’s rich history and cultural heritage, they believed, could draw tourists whose dollars would strengthen the region’s economy.

The association has undergone several name changes and had several homes, but 50 years, later the founders’ vision still guides the Greater Reading Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“It’s still our history, art, architecture and the sheer beauty of our region that attracts visitors,” association president Crystal A. Seitz said Monday.  “Tourism touches everybody’s life in Berks County.”

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=511449

New Cafe Opens In Downtown Reading

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reading PA – The customers of the cafe on the first floor of the M&T Bank building didn’t have much time to be disappointed when Dessert Dreamz moved to West Reading in June.

That’s because the cafe at 50 N. Fifth St. was vacant for only about a week until it reopened with the name Reggie’s Place.

Reggie McMullen, 54, of Cumru Township said she has worked in the food industry all of her life and served as catering manager for Panera Bread.

Building owner Alan Shuman knew of McMullen’s experience and contacted her when he found out Dessert Dreamz would be moving.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=502219

Abe Lincoln Hotel Sold; $10 Million Renovation Planned

It took more than a year and a half, but Reading entrepreneur Alan Shuman finally got what he wanted: The Abraham Lincoln hotel all to himself.

With settlement completed Tuesday, Shuman’s entity, Lincoln Hotel LP, paid $5.05 million to add the 104-room historic hotel to his downtown real estate portfolio. That figure includes about $2.25 million in real estate and the rest in furnishings, fixtures, equipment, contents and the assumption of debt.

Shuman said he plans a $10 million renovation, of which $300,000 has been spent.

His plans include restoring the hotel and its rooms, adding a pool two-thirds of the size of an Olympic pool and reopening the Abe Saloon.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=470286