Lace Works Tap & Grill pays tribute to the area’s history with its decor and dishes.
With a mural of the historic Scranton Lace Co.’s iconic clock tower on the ceiling near the bar plus photos of the factory throughout the city restaurant, diners get a glimpse of the past as they enjoy cuisine influenced by cultures ranging from Latin to Irish. On Chef Robert Barker’s menu, guests will find dishes such as the Gin Gin Mediterranean salad, which incorporates mixed greens topped with red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, roasted chickpeas, bell peppers and feta cheese, as well as the O’Malley Burger, made with ground beef, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing served on rye toast.
Chef’s Table chatted with Tom and Doreen Gilbride, who handle the day-to-day operations at the eatery at 524 Court St., Scranton, which they co-own with Lackawanna County Commissioner Jerry and Sue Notarianni.
Q: When did you open?
A: We purchased the restaurant in May of 2018. After four months of renovations, we opened on Aug. 27, 2018.
Q: What is the history of the restaurant?
A: For many years the restaurant was Kostyk’s. It was a neighborhood restaurant run by the Kostyk family. After that, it was run for years successfully as Jilly’s, and then it had two separate owners. At the time we purchased the restaurant, it was called the Court Street Tavern.
Q: What kind of food do you serve, and what is available for people with special diets?
A: Our food is a mix of American and ethnic food that your mom or grandmother would have made for their kitchen table. Our daily features and menu range from Latin, Italian, Mexican and Eastern European to Irish cuisine. We also serve some vegetarian and gluten-free (items).
Q: What are your most-ordered items on the menu and why?
A: Our most-ordered items are Chicken Wings, Boneless Bites, Burgers, Pretzel Bites with house-made beer cheese, Deep-Fried Pickles and our house-made Sausage Hoagie. All of our products are fresh and made-to-order with recipes going back generations.
Q: How did your menu come to be?
A: Our menu is an ever-evolving project (that) includes our Chef Robert Barker and our customers and us. We pride ourselves on being open-minded about customer requests, and several menu items have been customer requests that are now a part of our menu. These items include the O’Malley Burger, Fried Dill Pickle Chips, Gin Gin Salad, Pretzel Bites with beer cheese and Dill Pickle Wings, just to name a few.
Q: How would you describe your atmosphere?
A: It’s a cozy, comfortable, fun and friendly atmosphere, which pays homage to the neighborhood’s history that includes the Scranton Lace factory. We have pieces of history throughout the bar right down to the lace curtains on the windows. It’s definitely a walk down memory lane. We also have the Scranton Lace clocktower mural painted on the ceiling of the bar area, lace curtains from Scranton Lace, anniversary pins, lace patterns, thread spools, and lots of photos of the inside and outside of the Scranton Lace (Co.).
Q: What kind of seating do you offer?
A: We are taking great measures to stay in compliance with the governor’s regulations and keeping our customers safe because of the pandemic. We have dining room seating and high-top table seating in the bar area (both are socially distant), and outdoor bar and table dining (available in spring, summer and fall). We also have an upstairs room and upper deck seating (with spectacular views) for meetings and special events.
Q: What kinds of promotions do you offer?
A: We offer daily features and promotions with food and drinks. We suggest checking out our Facebook page for updates daily.
Q: Do you offer catering, event space, etc.?
A: We offer a catering menu for onsite or offsite special events, meetings and fundraisers.
Q: Are you currently offering delivery, takeout and curbside pickup?
A: We offer free delivery, takeout and curbside pickup.
Q: Where do you see the restaurant headed in the future?
A: We see a great future for Lace Works once we get through this pandemic.
Lace Works Tap & Grill
Address: 524 Court St., Scranton
Phone: 570-880-7555
Established: May 2018
Owners: Tom and Doreen Gilbride and Lackawanna County Commissioner Jerry and Sue Notarianni
Cuisine: American/ethnic
Hours: Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4 to 9p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 4 to 11p.m.; and Sundays, 2 to 9p.m.
Online: laceworkstapandgrill.com
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.
