Ed Hanna and his wife, Shahnaz, didn't start out in the restaurant industry. “I worked in the music industry and Shahnaz was a paralegal in New York City,” he says. Still, they both grew up in families where the door was always open to all, so they knew they wanted to do something in hospitality, but they also knew New York was a very tough market. In 2011, as their family was growing, the couple decided to move back to the Lehigh Valley, where Hanna is from. Hanna had been a very big fan of JP O'Malley's Pub, which, upon his return to the region, would soon become Union and Finch. “The location and space reminded us of the neighborhood restaurants we were accustomed to in New York City,” he says. “We bought the building in 2010 and opened our doors in 2016.”
The restaurant offers a menu that's different yet relatable, and at an accessible price point. Hanna says they love the community of being in Allentown. “People are passionate about this city, as they should be. We feel there's so much untapped potential being only 90 miles away from New York City and 60 miles from Philadelphia.”
Hanna strives to give back to the community that he and his wife love so much. “We try to do quite a bit with the schools in the city,” he says. “There are a lot of homeless and underprivileged kids that need our help, so we try to give back as much as we can during the year to different areas in the Allentown School District. We also work with other organizations like Camelot for Children.”
He's proud that Union and Finch has made it into year five of business, despite not having any experience starting out. “It certainly wasn't easy,” he says, “especially after the last two years.” But Hanna says coming back to the Valley, raising a family and contributing to the community is one of the proudest personal successes for him and his wife. While he isn't sure that another restaurant location is in the cards for them right now, he says never say never, and shares that they're in the very early stages of a new project. “We're thinking about another business that is tied to the city of Allentown.”
Published as "Voices of the Valley" in the April 2022 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
