Fegley’s Brew Works

At one of the most difficult times in the history of the City of Bethlehem, the Fegleys entered the brewing and restaurant business. The Bethlehem Steel plant had been slowly shutting down for years – a dying industrial giant of a bygone day – and the region was suffering the loss hard. By 1998, the downtown had also been bled by the malls and box stores that promised savings in exchange for genuine local culture and community. That April, at one end of a quiet Main Street, the historic Hotel Bethlehem declared bankruptcy and closed.

That very same day, at the corner of Main and Broad, the Fegley family optimistically threw open the doors of the Bethlehem Brew Works. The Fegleys chose to ignore the public exodus, and instead celebrated the history of ‘the Steel’ and paid tribute to the region’s working class culture in their brewpub’s decor and menu. The Fegleys believed a transformation was possible, and together with the hard work of incredible downtown shop owners change slowly began. Over the next several years stores began to keep longer hours and restaurants began to open one by one.