On the Market: Historic Tavern Outside Quakertown
Not only will you get a lively pub with a 273-year pedigree in a building that’s been around since 1710, but you will also get a nice apartment to live in over it.
This isn’t just any old tavern you see here at 625 Old Bethlehem Rd., Quakertown, PA 18951. It’s a 313-year-old piece of living history that’s been welcoming travelers since 1750. You now have the opportunity to become its next live-in proprietor and write the next chapter in its story. (Ask its owner about some of the colorful history in its current one.) / Photographs by Juan Vidal via Addison Wolfe Real Estate
“You wanna be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
You wanna go where everyone knows your name.”
Buy this Quakertown tavern house for sale and you will become the proud owner of one of those places where everyone knows your name.
This building, built in 1710, is one of the oldest buildings, if not the oldest one, standing in the village of Strawntown, located northeast of Quakertown on Old Bethlehem Road in Haycock Township. Strawntown was one of the stops on the stage line from Philadelphia to Bethlehem, and the tavern in this building has been welcoming travelers since 1750.
Sign welcoming patrons to The Raven’s Nest across Old Bethlehem Road
Fewer travelers pass by it now than in the 19th century, however, because Old Bethlehem Road got bypassed in favor of a new one — PA Route 309, which passes to Quakertown’s west. Thus this pub, known since 1990 as The Raven’s Nest, mainly welcomes locals who know the place well today.
They, and you, will find here a warm and comfortable space that includes a bar on one side of the main floor and a restaurant on the other. They will also find an owner who has lived quite a colorful life — he lived in Woodstock, N.Y., in the late 1960s and 1970s, and counted Upper Darby native Todd Rundgren, “the hermit of Mink Hollow,” among his neighbors — and his dedicated partner, who runs the grill behind the bar. She serves (among other things) a fantastic cheesesteak, one of the best you will find outside Philadelphia.
Bar
Bar
Said owner is ready to retire, and he is now ready to leave this place to you, exactly as you see it here. The bar, the first room you see upon entry, has eight beer taps and a large bay window in the back.
Backyard
Cottages in backyard
That window looks out on a wooded and landscaped rear lot that offers possibilities for outdoor dining on its 5,000 square feet. Already approved plans for a sunroom and rear deck come with the property.
Restaurant, stage end
Restaurant, fireplace end
A stage at one end of the restaurant offers live music, and at the other, there’s a charming stone fireplace. All of the photos and posters adorning the walls are included in the sale, as are the furniture, the liquor license and the entertainment license.
Restaurant kitchen
The restaurant kitchen, recently updated, gets less intense use than the grill in the bar, at least for now. Buy this place and you could amp up its menu with fine fare prepared in this kitchen.
Apartment living room
Apartment bedroom
You also have the option of “living over the store,” for the second floor contains a three-bedroom apartment with a stone fireplace equipped with a Franklin stove in its living room.
Apartment dining room/restaurant office
Apartment dining room/restaurant office
The dining room, however, is downstairs, in a room behind the restaurant stage. It doubles as the restaurant’s business office.
Lot across Old Bethlehem Road
Patrons can park in a small lot next to the tavern or the gravel lot across the road, which occupies part of the second lot included in the sale. The parking lots currently hold 40 cars, and the restaurant and bar seat 70. The second lot also offers opportunities for development, such as rental cabins that could make you a true innkeeper. A nearby lake offers recreational opportunities.
Since this historic Quakertown tavern house for sale now lies off the beaten path, you have the opportunity to turn this gem hiding in plain sight into a destination for diners from far and wide should you so choose. Or you can keep it just as it is and do well off the patronage of the neighbors, who will definitely get to know your name.
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 3
BATHS: 1 full (in the apartment), 2 half (in the restaurant)
SQUARE FEET: 4,600, plus two lots totaling 8.22 acres
SALE PRICE: $1,250,000
625 Old Bethlehem Rd., Quakertown, PA 18951 [Carle Robbins and Evan Walton | Addison Wolfe Real Estate]
