Bites Nearby: The Newburg Inn

Two-hundred and sixty years ago, there was a stagecoach stop some three miles south of the Moravian community of Nazareth. The inn was owned by tavern-keeper Jonas Hartzell, whose surname remains familiar to most living locally to this day.

Over the years, the building has been home to an inn, a country-western bar, a go-go bar and a restaurant, but it has always been the Newburg Inn.   

Today, the  is owned by Lou Basta, an Italian-born, New York-trained chef of 38 years who has overseen the restaurant's operation since 1999.

“You just don’t see this type of place anymore…this type of ambience,” Basta said.

What Basta is referring to is the fact that nearly the entire building that currently stands at the corner of Route 191 and Newburg Road is original--dating right back to the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Inside, the décor is mostly dark wood paneling and hardwood construction, and the walls are adorned with paraphernalia evocative of the history of Newburg village and environs.

Upon walking in the front door, patrons are greeted with a display of vintage kitchen appliances. Antique chandeliers and lighting fixtures hang from the ceiling.

“Everything in here is antique," Basta joked.

The Newburg Inn has a cozy, country atmosphere and several different dining areas. The upper dining room, with its linens and white-clothed tables, is more elegant, while the lower dining area features more casual dining at tables and booths.

Also part of the former inn are two event rooms: a party room that can accommodate up to 36 people and a private dining room for up to 26 guests.

The inn's menu features a diverse array of mostly Italian and American specialties, including a variety of pasta and seafood dishes. When Basta assumed ownership of the Newburg in 1999, he added roughly 60 items to the menu, while keeping many of the classics customers have enjoyed for generations.

The prime rib, which is a Newburg favorite, was one of the classics that remained on Basta’s menu. The inn has been serving the prime rib for close to 27 years.

Also available is a separate “light fare” menu, for guests who want a more casual meal. The light fare menu consists mostly of burgers, wraps, chicken sandwiches and salads.

Newburg’s soup and salad bar is another popular choice, especially for lunch. Fresh cut veggies and salad toppers like hard-boiled egg, black olives and pickled beets grace the salad bar, as well as the soups du jour and various dessert options.

Perhaps one of the most unusual things about this old-fashioned inn is its purported connection with the paranormal. Voices, shadowy figures, footsteps and even ghost sightings are nothing new for the restaurant’s employees.

“A hostess would hear footsteps--like someone running--and she’ll tell the server, ‘Tell the kids to stop running.’ And the server said, ‘There are no kids here,’” Basta explained. “You can just feel it sometimes,” he said of the paranormal activity that many have reported over the years.

Ten paranormal teams and numerous psychics have visited the Newburg Inn to investigate, and all have reached the same conclusion: there are multiple spirits roaming the rooms.

One psychic was certain that at least one of the spirits belonged to a Native American. Later, Basta learned from a roofer that the inn’s attic once had a feature called “Indian hatches,” which were used as vantage points from which to shoot at hostile natives in the 18th century.

On a lighter note, the Newburg Inn is a popular place for young and old alike. The restaurant has seen hundreds of marriage proposals, and families have kept the business alive by coming back again and again.

“We have generations of family that come in,” Basta said proudly. “We keep the place decorated for every holiday. The kids always like that.”

The Newburg Inn is located at 4357 Newburg Road in Lower Nazareth Township.

The restaurant recently changed over to its summer hours. Lunch hours are Wednesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and dinner hours are seven days a week, 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Newburg Inn accepts all major credit cards, takes reservations, and is group friendly.

Guests can expect lunch to cost around $10 to $18 per person, and dinner to range from $15 to $28, not including drinks.

For more information on the historic Newburg Inn, visit www.newburginn.com.