Belgian cafe makes Lancaster City debut: beer, bites, and more!
CITY OF LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) — A new locally-owned Belgian cafe that offers a wide selection of authentic Belgian, Trappist, and American craft beers recently opened its doors in Lancaster.
The new Bert & The Elephant, located on 29 East King Street, recently opened its doors back on Monday, January 15. The new ‘Belgian experience’ is owned and operated by Alberto ‘Bert’ Flores, who has been a Lancaster County resident for the past 51 years.
Before unveiling Bert & The Elephant, Flores previously owned and operated a small bottle shop out of Millersville from 2017, until the shop’s eventual closure in 2022.
“Our location [for Bert’s Bottle Shop] was never going to be busy enough – foot traffic was minimal,” Flores explained. “Then when the state changed the liquor laws it really killed the bottle shop concept since it created a lot more competition.”
Following the closure of Bert’s Bottle Shop, Flores recognized that while operational, his Belgian beer sales were quite significant. According to Flores, during this time he then began to immerse himself in the world of Belgian beer, which eventually lead him to move forward with the concept for Bert & The Elephant.
Outside Bert & The Elephant Inside Bert & The Elephant Owner, Alberto Flores
Flores’s new 3,200-square-foot establishment has 70 seats on the inside, approximately 30 seats on their patio out front, and an additional 80 seats at another patio on the side.
According to Flores, Bert & The Elephant offers ten Belgian beers on draft, along with 30 different Belgian beers in bottles and cans. Furthermore, the new establishment also offers a lunch and dinner menu that is comprised of half Belgian food and half American.
To check out the different Belgian beers that Bert & The Elephant has to offer, you can click here.
Bert & The Elephant’s hours of operation are:
Mondays // 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Wednesdays – Thursdays // 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Fridays – Saturdays // 11:30 a.m. to 11p.m.
Sundays // 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“All I have to say is that after we paid that first deposit into our checking account, I took a sigh of relief,” Flores added. “It was tough [opening] at first, but I knew that we just needed to open the doors. It feels really good!”
Since opening earlier this month, Flores has created about 21 jobs at the new Bert & The Elephant. If you are interested in applying, you can email jobs@bertandtheelephant.com
Moving forward, Flores hopes to eventually expand his hours of operation and also hopes to add more Belgian, Trappist, and American craft beers to his already extensive lineup.
abc27 news will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
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