The Shelby: Exceptional Food, Drink and Hospitality, Neighborhood-Style

The hum was unmistakable. I heard it the minute I opened the door to The Shelby’s outer vestibule. It was the sound of a restaurant full of diners’ conversation and laughter, a sustained low-pitched hum, like the background vocals of a pop song. It was 2 p.m. on a midweek afternoon.

The Shelby has been busy since the day it opened in 2017 in Lower Macungie Township’s Hamilton Crossings outdoor mall. Owner Donny Petridis says he set out to create a neighborhood eatery with good food and drink that’s “a place for everyone.” It’s a “girl next door” concept—a restaurant that’s beautiful, yet comfortable and approachable, like the girl down the street you remember from childhood. That girl’s name? Shelby, of course.

Beautiful is easily an adjective that fits this restaurant. Large pots of palms and other tropical plants throughout the dining space impart the sense of thick and lush greenery. There’s wainscoting and beadboard paneling along the lower wall, which keep the tone casual, but the plants predominate, making The Shelby feel fresh and alive.

Photos on the back wall tell the restaurant’s story well: cheerleaders from the 1950s; a group of women at the beach in ’60s-style swim caps; girls in prom-style gowns sitting on the back of a red convertible. In these nostalgic pictures, people are having fun, and that’s The Shelby’s MO. This is not a white tablecloth restaurant, and it doesn’t pretend to be. It’s that neighborhood place, you know the one … the kind that’s cozy and warm, where everyone knows your name. Petridis says he hopes that when people come to The Shelby, they’re sharing “their happiest moments.”

The restaurant’s New American cuisine is “a little bit of everything from everywhere,” says executive chef Cristian Gonzalez, a graduate of Northampton Community College’s culinary arts program. Just a glance at the starter menu proves his point. There’s poutine (Canadian), hummus (Middle Eastern), bao buns (Chinese) and quesadillas (Mexican).

The food is freshly made in-house daily, so Gonzalez and his team spend long hours in the kitchen. That’s okay, though, he says, because his coworkers are like family: “More times than not, we’re all having a good time.” It’s a culture that’s reflected in the quality of the food, Gonzalez believes, and I’ll vouch for that. From start to finish, I found the food top-notch.

Kirchenberg cheese curds, locally sourced from Fleetwood’s Kirchenberg Dairy Farm, are a super starter. A thin coating of breadcrumbs on these deep-fried curds creates a micro-thin crispiness yielding to creamy, warm cheese, served with sweet grape sauce—freshly made each morning—and crunchy toasted peanuts, along with crispy bacon. Eating these curds is like striking the mother lode of flavor: sweet and smoky, crunchy and creamy.

It’s no wonder The Shelby Burger is the number-one-selling item week after week. This burger is really two: two four-ounce locally sourced beef patties with American cheese, Shelby sauce and lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles. With the optional addition of bacon on the brioche-style bun, this is one of those sandwiches that makes you thankful for the steak knife that comes with it. How you get this into one solitary mouth is a $64,000 question. But, however you eat it, it’s worth it. Tender burger, melty cheese, smoky bacon, secret sauce—what’s not to love? 

The beef Cubano sandwich isn’t quite as vertical as the burger, but its flavor profile is every bit as big. Featuring tender braised short rib with Swiss cheese, the flavor intensified with horseradish mayo, this savory sandwich is brightened with briny pickled red onions. It’s built on a perfect Portuguese roll, dense enough to hold its own against the juicy meat. 

From the “Mains” menu, the smoked bone-in Kurobuta pork chops are stellar. The artisan-crafted pork, which hails from the English countryside’s Berkshire pigs, has exceptional marbling and a deeper, reddish hue than grocery store pork. Two tender chops are served in a pool of mushroom marsala sauce that glistens with such depth you can see the flavor. Creamy garlic mashed potatoes are tabula rasa balance; broccoli finishes off the plate with bright antioxidant freshness. 

Melt-in-your-mouth tofu is, of course, the main actor in the coconut tofu curry (also available with salmon). Coconut broth with peppers, onions, ginger and flecks of spinach has just enough spice to awaken taste buds. With mushrooms and potatoes, the curry is served over jasmine rice, dusted with peanuts. Broccoli adds color and al dente crunch.

An all-American selection, chicken and waffles—from the brunch menu—is a wake-up weekend dish. Crispy, crispy chicken and its sweet vanilla-scented waffle, soft inside, are a beautiful textural combination. The chicken is zippy with spice; the cream cheese sauce with candied bacon bits just rich enough to tame the zing. 

Shelby Benedict is a fine execution of a brunch favorite. The restaurant’s rendition features brioche topped with pork roll and two poached eggs, dressed in rich hollandaise. Crisped tater tots add tasty texture.

In the dessert category, the caramel, burnt sugar notes of flan are offset by the fruity sweetness of summer-flavor strawberries. Vanilla bean cheesecake is a dreamy supple creaminess delectably partnered with house-crafted berry compote, so intense with flavor you’d swear you’ve been transported to a July garden. Topped with whipped cream and crushed graham crackers, it’s cheesecake turned upside down.

Like the food, The Shelby’s cocktails are individually handcrafted with the freshest ingredients, says bar manager Simon Woolbert. All juices are freshly squeezed. Even the espresso martini, the number-two-selling item each week (of both food and drink), features freshly made espresso, along with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Maggie’s Farm Coffee Liqueur and vanilla gomme syrup.

The margarita’s refreshing citrus notes play well with the heat of its lime-and-chili-spice-dusted rim, and The Full House Bloody Mary’s jolt of pointed spicy flavor will get any day going. With Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Ancho Reyes Verde poblano chili liqueur, pickle juice and house-made Bloody Mary mix, this impressive drink is finished with a loaded shrimp cocktail garnish: two shrimp, a celery stalk and a piece of cheese. Now that’s worth getting up for.

As impressive as the Bloody Mary is, however, “May I Call You Rose?” might just be the most beautiful cocktail I’ve laid my eyes on. Dehydrated rose petals float at the top of this blush-hued drink, like confetti lingering in the air after a ticker-tape parade. Created for a regular customer who requested a cocktail featuring his favorite flavors, the drink includes Bombay Sapphire gin, Ramazzotti Aperitivo Rosato, lemon juice, agave and rose water. 

Chai Dream, from the mocktail menu, leads the nose with the aroma of its cinnamon garnish, even though it’s made with Seedlip Spice 94, a nonalcoholic spirit featuring an aromatic blend of cardamom and allspice. Chai agave syrup adds another layer of spice; the almond milk base contributes snowy color. 

Late last summer, The Shelby opened an adjacent pavilion that expands seating by 75 for regular dining and 90 when adding outside space. Now there’s capacity to host private gatherings of 20–100 people, says Bridget Corcoran, the restaurant’s event coordinator. Garage doors open in warm weather to create an alfresco space; hurricane-proof shades keep out wind, rain and hot sun.

The new pavilion expands the restaurant’s opportunities for hospitality. “We pride ourselves on hospitality,” says Petridis, adding, “We enjoy taking care of customers.” For Woolbert, that translates to regular customers sometimes finding a drink in their hands before they find a seat at the bar. When it comes to service and hospitality, says Tony Burgio, director of operations, the restaurant has high expectations: “We have to remain razor-sharp.”

Clearly, what The Shelby offers works. When I opened the door to the restaurant’s vestibule at 6:30 p.m. on a Thursday, the hum was dialed up to the max. Every table was full; and when I left at 8:30 p.m., every table was still full. 

During dinner that night, I looked around at all the people at tables and the crowded bar, deeply engaged in conversations over good food and drink, and it struck me that this restaurant is, as Petridis hopes, a very happy place.

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WHAT TO ORDER

Kirchenberg cheese curds: Decadent? Oh, who cares? Savor the moment! Kurobuta pork chops: grocery store pork will never be the same. The Cubano: so skillfully accented by pickled onion. Chicken and waffles: would you ever make this for yourself? And as for “May I Call You Rose”?—how often do you get to sip on rose petals? Enough said.

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Published as “Inside Dish” in the April 2025 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.