Workers at Reading’s Marvel Ranch are mum, but reports of a Gordon Ramsay-led makeover of the downtown restaurant abound.
City Council President Donna Reed confirmed the popular corner restaurant at Fourth and Penn streets was recently visited by a camera crew for the British celebrity chef and television personality.
“They (restaurant staff) are under a nondisclosure agreement,” Reed said Monday at council’s committee of the whole meeting. “So you can ask them questions, but it’s not going to be answered.”
Councilman Jaime Baez Jr. congratulated owner Cheryl Burton and the staff on the restaurant’s new look, calling the Marvel a staple of the community.
The cozy restaurant has been a fixture downtown since its founding in 1959 by Gus Thomas, who named it after his wife, Marvella.
It was later operated by Ken Sugars, who sold it to Roger Bermel in 1979.
Bermel turned the ownership over to his daughter, Burton, about 15 years ago.
Burton was busy on the kitchen’s short-order line Tuesday morning as regulars and the curious filled the booths and tables and queued up for takeout.
Staff scurried around the slammed eatery, preparing orders and waiting on hungry customers, who willingly waited 45 minutes to an hour for their food.
When asked about the renovations, a staffer said she was under contract and could not talk. She went back and relayed the request to Burton, returning to say Burton couldn’t leave the line and also could not comment.
Regulars Margarita Negron and her niece Leslie Negron arrived shortly before the prenoon lunch rush.
The women, both of Reading, sat in a booth and ordered breakfast from the newly simplified menu.
“The remodeling is amazing,” Margarita Negron said, waving toward the freshly papered wall beside the booth.
The warm shades of red and gold throughout enhance the welcoming atmosphere, she said.
While the new ceiling fans with their sparkling mini chandeliers give the place a slightly upscale feel, it is still the same homey go-to place for comfort food.
As for the revamped menu, Negron was enthusiastic.
“Everything is even better,” she said. “The new menu is really good.”
Frequent customers will be relieved to know the renowned Marvel Ranch cheeseburger and signature Mini Mess breakfast dish have not changed.
As a reporter and editor for the Reading Eagle from 1976 to 1999, Reed said she practically lived on the restaurant’s fare.
In those years, the newsroom in the 400 block of Penn Street was just steps from the Marvel, and someone was always willing to run over with the office’s large order for cheeseburgers, fries and Reed’s favorite, chicken Caesar salad.
On early shift weekends, it was the Mini Mess all around, she said.
Reed is quick to point out that Ramsay is not the first celebrity to visit the restaurant.
Future president Barack Obama dropped in for about a half-hour while on the campaign trail in 2008.
As for when an episode show featuring the Marvel might run on one of Ramsay’s shows, Reed offered some insight.
“We are looking at a nine-month to one-year timeframe until that filming is developed into a TV program,” she said.
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment