Qdoba Mexican Grill opens Friday on MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, officials said Tuesday. 

The restaurant in MacArthur Towne Center at 2669 MacArthur Road marks the first Lehigh Valley location for the fast and casual chain known for its burritos, tacos, quesadillas, Mexican gumbo and taco salads.

Qdoba comes just months after competitor Chipotle opened at the nearby Lehigh Valley Mall.

Coveted names like Chipotle and Qdoba were rumored to be coming to the retail-rich Lehigh County township for more than a year. Good to see those rumors come true.

(Photo: Qdoba.com)

The usual peek at SOME news I'm looking into for Sunday's column.

The Stand -- Local restaurateur has purchased the vacant fast food building on Allentown's Hanover Avenue.

Old Navy -- Checking for opening date for store in Airport Center. 

Mex-Tex Trio -- New restaurateur taking over the shuttered Easton restaurant.  

Leftovers from last week: 

Grille 3501 -- Popular South Whitehall Township eatery has submitted plans to expand its current location.

Cozze Cakes -- New cake shop coming to Nazareth.

Frozen yogurt shops continue to gobble up retail space in the Lehigh Valley. 

The latest frozen yogurt shop is a Menchie's planned for Airport Center shopping plaza in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, according to Jody King of CBRE, the real estate firm involved in the deal. 

The shop is one of the first tenants in the recent additions completed next to Golf Galaxy.  

This marks the second local Menchie's franchise for Richard Ryan, of Coopersburg.  He also owns the Menchie's in the The Shops at Cedar Point, 3101 Hamilton Blvd., South Whitehall Township.

Earlier this year, Ryan outlined plans to open as many as three shops in the Valley.  

Menchie's is a chain with more than 100 locations nationwide, including shops in Florida, California, Utah and Texas.

The Airport Center addition comes just weeks after Bliss Yogurt Bar opened next to Panera Bread at 6379 Hamilton Blvd., Lower Macungie Township.

Bliss hit the market just weeks after Razzleberry Frozen Yogurt opened in Lehigh Valley Mall.

The local roster of frozen yogurt eateries is now at more than a dozen with names like So Fun! Frozen Yogurt, YoFresh Yogurt, EuroYogurt and Just a Dream Frozen Yogurt.

This is part of a national frozen yogurt trend. Industry experts have said frozen yogurt's popularity is heightened by the self-serve concept that some shops employ, allowing customers options galore, from lots of flavors to toppings bars stocked with granola, blueberries, cookie dough and cereals.

The usual peek at SOME things I'm looking into for Sunday's Retail Watch column.

Grille 3501 -- Popular South Whitehall Township eatery has submitted plans to expand its current location.

Cozze Cakes -- New cake shop coming to Nazareth.

Old Navy -- Checking for opening date for store in Airport Center. 

Menu Genie -- New online meal ordering service in the Lehigh Valley. 

Fast food chain Taco Bell recently submitted plans to build a restaurant on Airport Road in Allentown. 

The 2,790-square-foot restaurant and drive thru are planned for 1102-1122 Airport Road, according to the legal notice.  

It was not immediately known if Taco Bell is relocating its existing location on nearby Union Boulevard.

Records show the planned Taco Bell is owned by franchisee Airport Road Investors, LP of Conshohocken, Montgomery County.

The Union Boulevard location is Taco Bell's only restaurant in Allentown, according to its website.  The chain has at least seven restaurants in the Lehigh Valley. 

Rougly two years after opening on Route 309 in Quakertown, Sonic Drive-in has abruptly shuttered.

It was not immediately known why the fast food restaurant closed.

Efforts to reach a spokeswoman at Sonic's headquarters in Oklahoma were unsuccessful early Tuesday morning. 

The local  Facebook  page, which offers no explanation, is peppered with consumers seeking answers about the abrupt closure.  The Quakertown location, at 139 North West End Boulevard, has also been removed from Sonic's website. 

The closure shows some local retrenching by the popular chain known for its quirky television commercials, happy hour (nonalcoholic) drink specials and waiters sporting roller-skates as they bring the food to your car.

Last year, Sonic pulled out of plans to build a location at the former Hamburger Stand on Allentown's Fourth Street.

The Quakertown Sonic opened in April 2010, one of several locations that popped up in the region in recent years.

Sonic opened its inaugural Lehigh Valley spot on Route 248 in 2008.  That was followed with locations on Airport Road in Hanover Township, Lehigh County and Route 22 in Phillipsburg.

The usual peek at SOME things I'm looking into for Sunday's Retail Watch column. 

Amigo Mio Cafe -- Popular Mexican restaurant has gone out of busines, according to its Facebook. 

Qdoba -- Fast and casual Mexican restaurant chain coming to Whitehall. 

Ginger -- New Asian restaurant opening at former Starbucks space in Lower Macungie Township. 

Lena's Cafe -- restaurant and tea lounge opening in September at former Bread Box Bakery Cafe in S. Whitehall. 

My Weekend Kitchen -- New soul food restaurant in south Bethlehem. 

First Chipotle, now Qdoba Mexican Grill. 

Yes, Qdoba is finally coming to Whitehall Township. 

The fast and casual restaurant chain is taking the former Sleepy's space, next to Panera Bread, in theWalmart shopping center. 

Some signage is already in place at the space, which is under construction.  A spokeswoman for the Colorado-based chain expects the location to open in late September. 

This marks the first Lehigh Valley space for Qdoba, a chain known for its burritos, tacos, quesadillas, Mexican gumbo and taco salads.  

Qdoba comes just months after competitor Chipotle opened at the nearby Lehigh Valley Mall. 

Coveted names like Chipotle and Qdoba were rumored to be coming to the retail-rich Lehigh County township for more than a year.  Good to see there's been some truth. 

(Photo: Qdoba.com)

Mealey's Furniture has opened at the former Raymour & Flanigan space on MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township. 

The storefront at 2180 MacArthur Road in the first Lehigh Valley space for the Philadelphia-area furniture chain.

The 65,000-square-foot space houses everything from living room to dining sets, in addition to mattresses.  The store also houses a kids play area and an in-store café, filled with complimentary snacks and refreshments.

Raymour & Flanigan vacated the space months ago to open an even bigger store by gobbling up the former Tweeter, Famous Footwear and Borders spaces at the Whitehall Mall.

Whitehall's MacArthur Road is already home to several other furniture peddlers.  That includes American Signature Furniture, La-Z-Boy, Thomasville Home Furnishings, and Room & Home Furniture Gallery, which recently opened at the former Valley Furniture & Mattress at 2028 MacArthur Road. 

LongHorn steakhouse opens in Lower Nazareth Township next week. 

The chain opens Monday near Buffalo Wild Wings in the Lower Nazareth Commons shopping center off Route 248, officials said Wednesday. 

The 6,270-square-foot restaurant seats 240, according to LongHorn spokeswoman Erica Jaeger.

This is the second LongHorn in the Lehigh Valley. 

The chain opened its inaugural Valley restaurant in 2010 at the former Ground Round space on Grape Street in Whitehall Township.

LongHorn is part of the Darden restaurant group, Atlanta-based owner of Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze. Palmer Township has an Olive Garden and several readers have said that area could use a Red Lobster.

The usual peek at some items I'm looking into for Sunday's Retail Watch column. 

Ginger -- New Asian restaurant opening at former Starbucks space in Lower Macungie Township. 

Bliss Yogurt Bar -- New frozen yogurt shop in Trexlertown.

Fratzola's Pizzeria Cafe -- New Bethlehem Township Italian restaurant has a Scranton theme. 

Amigo Mio Cafe -- Allentown eatery has closed once again.  

Damascus -- Syrian restaurant reopens in Allentown.

The Lehigh Valley's frozen yogurt scene is growing with so many new peddlers added in recent months. 

The latest is Bliss Yogurt Bar near Panera Bread at 6379 Hamilton Blvd., Lower Macungie Township. 

Bliss comes just weeks after Razzleberry Frozen Yogurt opened in Lehigh Valley Mall.

The local roster of frozen yogurt eateries is at more than a dozen with names like Menchie's, So Fun! Frozen Yogurt, YoFresh Yogurt, EuroYogurt and Just a Dream Frozen Yogurt.

These yogurt shops are among a national frozen yogurt trend. Industry experts have said frozen yogurt's popularity is heightened by the self-serve concept that some shops employ, allowing customers options galore, from lots of flavors to toppings bars stocked with granola, blueberries, cookie dough and cereals. 

Bread Box Bakery Cafe in South Whitehall Township has closed. 

The eatery and bakery in the Tilghman Square Shopping Center shuttered days ago and will be replaced by a cafe, its owner said in a voicemail.

Owner Jason Guo opened the bakery in June 2011, peddling a large selection of artisan breads that he learned how to bake in his native China.

The cafe also served paninis, salads, coffee, gourmet tea, iced espresso and Italian creamosa. 

(Photo: The Morning Call)

Burgeoning discount chain Family Dollar is opening a store soon at the former CVS Pharmacy building on Broad Street in west Bethlehem. 

It was not immediately known when the store would open, but the North Carolina-based chain and similar discounters have been swelling their footprint in the Lehigh Valley in recent years. 

Such discounters are growing from the lethargic economy and cheap real estate prices. 

Family Dollar has 11 stores in the Lehigh Valley.

An April report by ChainLinks Retail Advisors, a real estate brokerage organization that focuses on retail property, suggests that discount chains are among the most active retailers opening new stores.

The report said Dollar General plans to add 650 stores this year, Dollar Tree plans 300 new stores and Family Dollar wants to open 500 stores.

Dollar General recently submitted plans to open a 9,000-square-foot store at 2811 W. Emmaus Ave., Allentown.

(Photo: Reuters)

The usual peek at SOME things I'm looking into for Sunday's Retail Watch column. 

Deli -- New eatery opened at former Cafe Central space in downtown Allentown. 

Taste of Soul -- New soul food restaurant in downtown Allentown. 

Cottage Spice Co. -- Allentown purveyor of spices and oils has shifted to an online-only operation. 

CVS -- New merchant moving into former CVS pharmacy space on Broad Street in Bethlehem. 

The staple Bethlehem anglers spot Mac's Hobby Hall is going out of business, owners said Thursday.

The peddler of fishing equipment and model sets is going out of business due to January's passing of longtime owner Elva L. Shucks, according to her daughter Lisa Ebner.

Liquidation sales start this weekend, she added. 

Shucks, 68, owned and operated the shop at 721 Linden Street for 21 years.  Mac's dates back to at least the 1940s, Ebner said. 

The weekly peek at SOME news i'm looking into for Sunday's column. 

The Caring Place -- New soul food cafe in Allentown. 

Orchard Knoll -- The Bethlehem institution for fresh seafood is resuming operations after abruptly closing due to short supplies. 

Bargain Book Warehouse -- The East Stroudsburg discount bookstore seeks to fill the void created by the exit of numerous book peddlers.

Cuddles' Cupcake Bar -- A Bethlehem-based online cupcakery.

The weekly peek at some things I'm looking into for Sunday's Retail Watch column. 

Scoobies -- Gentlemen's club opening at former Bada-Bing Bada-Boom Goodfellas in Allentown.

AAMCO -- Don Saylor, former owner of the popular Shanty Restaurant, is now a franchisee of a few AAMCO locations. 

Impulse Boutique -- Merchant adding to Emmaus' retail scene in September. 

Now & Them Books -- Used books store relocated from Emmaus Avenue storefront in the borough. 

leftovers:

Mother of Cakes -- A cake academy has opened on Trexlertown Road. (held for feature)

Women's accessory boutique Charming Charlie opens Tuesday in The Shoppes at the Sands, one among the latest wave of new merchants for the high-end Bethlehem outlet. 

This marks the first Lehigh Valley space for Charming Charlie, a Texas-based merchant with more than 200 stores peddling a sea of accessories like jewelry, headwear and handbags.

I got a sneak peek of the new space Monday afternoon with Sands President Robert DeSalvio.  The 7,700-square-foot store is dubbed a "women's candystore" with its sea of colorful sections complete with everything from necklaces to blouses.  Prices are pretty modest since nothing is higher than $50, workers said. 

Charming Charlie is among some new merchants descending on the 200,000-square-foot luxury outlet mall at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. Officials already announced that Coach Factory Men's and Art of Bread by George Perrier are coming soon.

There's more on the horizon since DeSalvio said Monday that Cardinal Camera will be opening a store in the mall's lower level this fall, relocating from Lehigh Valley Mall.  He added that the Sands' store will house the regional chain's traditional sea of camera and accessories, in addition to an electronics section with high definition televisions and video games.

This marks the latest piece of good news for the outlet mall that held its grand opening earlier this year with a sea of empty storefronts.  

Recent months have proved better times since the space now houses more than 20 merchants, including Nine West, Chico's Outlet, DKNY, Coach Factory, Guess Factory Store, Under Armour and Van Heusen.

The mall can house up to 30 merchants, so there's still work to be done.  

DeSalvio said they're planning to announce more merchants soon.  Prospects include another shoe store and maybe some temporary merchants for the coming holiday season.  

The usual peek at SOME things I'm looking into for Sunday's Retail Watch column. 

Mother of Cakes -- A cake academy has opened on Trexlertown Road.

AlphaGraphics -- Allentown franchisee acquires Valley Instant Printing in South Whitehall.

Razzleberry Frozen Yogurt -- Frozen yogurt merchant opening in coming days at Lehigh Valley Mall. 

Leftovers: 

Fillman and Sons Floors and More -- New business coming to Emmaus. 

Concrete Decor Studio -- New business in Bethlehem. 

Wonderland Castle -- New entertainment venue coming to the former Montana West space on Route 309 in Richland Twp. (Waiting on return call from owners)

White Castle opens its second Lehigh Valley location next week, officials said Wednesday. 

The popular hamburger chain opens its restaurant Sunday at the new Pohatcong Plaza II shopping center on Route 22 just outside Phillipsburg, according to spokeswoman Christiana Dziak.

The 2,242-square-foot fast-food restaurant is the chain's last block castle structure because all other new stores will be made with steel frames, Dziak added.

The Ohio-based chain is known for its castle-like buildings and small burgers, called sliders.

White Castle joins Wawa and a Walmart Supercenter at the former Laneco property.

White Castle enterted the Lehigh Valley late last year when it opened a restaurant on MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, its only location in Pennsylvania. 

(Photo: White Castle handout)

The usual peek at SOME things I'm looking into for Sunday's Retail Watch column. 

Sands outlet -- Three new merchants added to the "coming soon" list. 

Fillman and Sons Floors and More -- New business coming to Emmaus. 

Concrete Decor Studio -- New business in Bethlehem. 

Wonderland Castle -- New entertainment venue coming to the former Montana West space on Route 309 in Richland Twp.

Roey's Paintbox Parties -- New business coming to downtown Bethlehem. 

Indian Creek Golf Course reopened its driving range and pub months ago, the first signs of rebirth to the shuttered property that straddles the borders of Emmaus and Upper Milford Township.

Now, part of the 18-hole golf course returned to service, owner Art Schmidt told colleague Patrick Lester.

Schmidt said nine holes are open, but it's walking only until they get golf carts. 

Indian Creek shuttered two years ago and owners David and Barbara Bollinger put it up for sale.  The course did not sell at auction years ago.  

The Bollingers, majority owners of the golf course land, previously leased their land to Arthur Schmidt, who owns some of the course land.

Earlier this year, developer Richard Koze presented a plan to Lower Macungie officials for a 55-and-older development that would retain nine holes of the course.  There's been no movement on that plan since.

Schmidt has said he is hoping to reopen the 18-hole course and keep it running until work begins on the development.

Breakfast and lunch eatery Griddle 145 plans to open next month at the former Musashi Japanese Restaurant space at 1146 MacArthur Road, Whitehall Township. 

The new eatery is awaiting permits and should open in early August, according to co-owner Taylor Eisenhard.

Eisenhard, who owns the eatery with wife Sherry, said the menu will include dishes like stuffed French toast, speciality pancakes and eggs Benedict. 

New owners made extensive improvements to the interior and exterior of the single-story building known for its large chimney, which was previously painted bright yellow. 

Griddle 145 gives new life to a space that has seen a lot churn after about a decade of stability when it housed the popular Musashi until the owner decided to not renew the lease.

Noodle-inspired Chinese restaurant Dragon Noodle shuttered just weeks after opening at the space late last year.  Dragon Noodle was preceeded by Hana Japanese Cuisine, which shuttered in less than a year, in addition to a few buffets that lasted months before going dark.  

MacArthur Road has added a lot sushi restaurants in recent years, including Sakura Japanese Steak House in the Whitehall Square Shopping Center and East Supreme Buffet in the former Don Pablo's space.

The usual peek at SOME things I'm looking into for Sunday's column.

Cigar lounge -- a mobile version recently began rolling around the Lehigh Valley. 

Rivals Sports Bar -- New sports bar coming to downtown Easton.

Paws to Tail -- merchant closed in the Promenade Shops.

Cesy's Cupcakery -- Allentown-based online cupcakery recently launched.