BY PETER BORTNER
ADAMSDALE — Christmas is usually a lucrative time for The Nutty Pear Restaurant, and owner Patti Birosik was not about to let the COVID-19 pandemic change that, even if it meant delaying and extending the celebration.
“I had a lot of requests to stay open or keep our Christmas decorations up,” Birosik said Saturday after deciding to reopen her North Manheim Township restaurant on Feb. 5.
As a result, Birosik said, she will keep the decorations in the building, which was constructed in 1792, until the end of March so customers can enjoy Christmas for the next two months.
Lights, snowmen, greens and other holiday reminders festoon the Christmas trees, walls and other areas of the restaurant, and should put any visitor in the spirit of the season, even though the calendar does not show December.
The snowmen are her favorite, according to Birosik.
“I love my snowmen,” she said. “I just started collecting them a long time ago. There are so many different kinds. They never run out of making snowmen.”
Birosik, who has owned the restaurant since 1989, said the pandemic first forced her to close in March 2020 and resulted in another shutdown in December.
“Right before Christmas, they closed us down again,” she said. “I had a lot of Christmas parties (she could not host).”
Birosik persevered, however, and kept up her Christmas decorations as a sign of optimism. Normally, she said, she takes three weeks, starting the week before Thanksgiving, to decorate the restaurant for Christmas.
She said her clientele are eager to come back. To accommodate them, she keeps her restaurant open Thursday through Sunday nights until the last customer leaves.
“I have a lot of regular customers. They didn’t get to go out for Christmas,” Birosik said. “A lot of the parties we had canceled.”
LINDSEY SHUEY / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Nutty Pear in Schuylkill Haven is still decorated Saturday, Jan. 30, for Christmas. The decorations will stay up until the end of March.
The customers are more than just a source of business for Christmas, she said.
“A lot of the decorations are from customers,” Birosik said. “I’ve had a lot of customers give me a lot of things in the last 30 years.”
This year, she said, one holiday will bump into another.
“I’m starting to decorate for Valentine’s Day in the back room,” Birosik said. “I’m already full for Valentine’s Day weekend.”
Those who visit will see familiar items to tempt their palates, including vegetarian and gluten-free selections, according to Birosik, who believes business will come back.
“My menu is an eclectic one. I do a little bit of everything,” Birosik said. “Everything is made from scratch.”
Contact the writer: pbortner@republicanherald.com
