Customers know the Bar at the Patch for its wings but also for much more.
The bar opened under owner Angelo Naro at 110 W. Grove St., Dunmore, in May 2001. The Patch serves wings and wing bites that come in a variety of sauces but also flatbread pizzas, sausage sandwiches and other favorites.
Chef’s Table chatted with Naro about the relationships he has forged through the years and the bar that’s been a mainstay in the community for two decades.
Q: What is the history of the restaurant?
A: The bar has been here since the early 1900s; I bought it in 2001. I enjoyed cooking and took a chance. In May, we will be coming up on our 20th anniversary. I met my wife, Jennifer, and some of my best friends because I opened up the bar. The clientele is amazing, and the support from family and friends is incredible.
Q: What kind of food do you serve, and what is available for people with special diets?
A: American cuisine/bar food — I started with a small, quick menu, and I’ve added things to it over the years. We’re known for our wing sauces for (our) wings and boneless wing bites and our homemade Sausage Sandwich. We’ve added a Steak and Cheese special (it’s a steak and cheese with Italian dressing and Texas wiener sauce), flatbread pizzas, pierogies and many other items we make now and then, such as Migsey sauce — a Dunmore thing from the ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s. Back in the day, there was a little corner restaurant/house called Migsey’s, and they put a Migsey sauce on their burger, which was a wet, spicy, onion-flavored sauce put in between the burger and the cheese and also on grilled cheese and the wieners. Now and then, I’ll do a throwback Migsey day at the bar. It’s incredible how many people want and miss that sauce.
Q: What are your most-ordered menu items and why?
A: (Our) most popular item is the homemade Sausage Sandwich and (our) mild or hot Caesar Garlic Parmesan Wings and Boneless Bites. We also have a few salads (we call them “Doc’s salads”) on the menu for the customers that don’t want bar food.
Q: How did your menu come to be?
A: I ran a diner at my family’s truck stop years ago and just took some popular items off that menu and kept on adding things that customers asked for or I thought would go over well. When it was slow, I would make different food items and bring them out for the customers to try and to get their opinion on whether it’s good or bad.
Q: How would you describe the restaurant’s atmosphere?
A: We are a sports bar with 18 TVs. We had a pool table, dartboard, golf machine and shuffleboard table, but with COVID-19 restrictions we had to remove all of them to make room for more tables.
Q: What type of seating do you offer?
A: We have seating around the bar area and in the back room, and when the weather is nice, we also have a small patio.
Q: What kinds of promotions do you offer?
A: For the Super Bowl this year, we are raffling off a 50-inch television. For every pan of boneless wing bites ordered and paid for by Feb. 1, participants will receive an entry into the TV raffle, which will be held on Feb. 5. I also told my son Angelo (he’s 16) to make sure he has a day off because he’ll be helping out all day. Pans of bites and wings also are available daily.
Q: Do you offer catering, event space, etc.?
A: We have a back room for birthdays and group parties that holds around 20 people. But with COVID restrictions, we’re very limited on that right now.
Q: Are you offering delivery, takeout, or curbside pickup?
A: Takeout and dine-in seating.
Q: Where do you see the restaurant headed in the future?
A: We would like to do an outside area and patio to set up games for the patrons.
Laura Rysz is the features copy editor and calendar editor at The Times-Tribune and runs the Talk of the Times column, which focuses on local fundraisers and other events. She also writes Chef’s Table that profiles restaurants around the region. Additionally, Laura curates events online on AccessNEPA.com. Laura is involved in the special Mother’s Day edition and curates occasional features Marry Memories and Times Travelers. She is a graduate of Haddonfield Memorial High School, New Jersey, and earned an English professional writing degree with a minor in mass communications from King’s College, Wilkes-Barre. She also earned a certificate in Social Media Marketing from Rutgers Business School. Contact: lrysz@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5228.