NEW HOPE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A new restaurant has opened in one of the most historic buildings in New Hope.
Oldstone is housed in the former Marsha Brown restaurant, based in a historic church on Main Street, which was originally built in 1872.
“It became a restaurant in 2003 with Marsha Brown’s when she opened. She was here for 18 years,” said Michael Sklar, who owns Oldstone with his business partner Wilfer Naranjo.
Sklar said Brown didn’t plan on selling. The two simply built a relationship with her — and then the pandemic happened.
“She always said that she is in the hospitality industry, not the enforcement industry,” he recalled.
Naranjo was persistent about buying this restaurant because of his personal connection to the space.
“My first job was here back in 2003. I was hired as a food runner. I met my wife here actually, and we came back around full circle,” he said.
The new owners kept the original design of the place, including a mural on the main wall, the stained-glass windows, some of the pews and other historic touches.
Oldstone is a steak and seafood restaurant, specializing in meals like a 45-day dry-aged cowboy ribeye and a bone-in 10-ounce filet. Fortunately, most of Brown’s old dishes made the cut, too.
“It’s a giant binder,” Sklar said. “We actually ended up buying all [the recipes].”
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