INSIDE DISH
BY CARRIE HAVR ANEK | PHOTOGR APHY BY ALISON CONKLIN
GAME DAY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AT
Sports AND Social
The restaurant has elevated the concept of a sports bar with scratch-made food that’s approachable and affordable.
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AUGUST 2022 : LEHIGHVALLE YST YLE.COM
There’s something very different about the latest sports bar and restaurant to hit the Lehigh Valley. Sports and Social Allentown is sprawling and a little classy; it still bears some design elements of its previous incarnation as The Hamilton Kitchen. The technology running the entertainment is state-of-theart, the hospitality is friendly and the scratch-made fare on the menu caters to all different kinds of clientele. There are ample gaming opportunities, and you can watch the game or listen to live entertainment from anywhere in the restaurant, whether it’s one of the three bar areas or the outdoor dog-friendly patio complete with a fire pit. In short, your every sportwatching dream can come true at Sports and Social. This restaurant concept is part of a larger company, but it’s not a chain per se. Its parent company is Live! Dining and Entertainment, and it opens restaurants and entertainment venues in urban locations that are undergoing revitalization. (They also operate Xfinity Live! at the Philadelphia Sports Complex, among other sports and entertainment spots.) Allentown is the second spot for this restaurant concept, and the city fits squarely into the company’s profile, as Allentown is an unbelievable 10 years into its urban renewal efforts. (Manager Clint Malek says that by the end of 2022, the city will have added 2,000 residents downtown in the past 10 years.) The menu isn’t necessarily universal; instead, the company understands that catering to the local scene makes the most sense for so many reasons. The menus can be