By Kyle O’Donnell, Journal Register News Service. Courtesy of the Daily Local.
UWCHLAN — Bistro 24 unveiled a new sign Tuesday that signaled much larger changes to the restaurant.
The new sign is one of the last steps in a six-month, $500,000 overhaul to the former Exton Family Diner on Route 100 that includes changes to the menu, staff and facilities, said John Hashem, Bistro’s general manager.
The overhaul was largely due to the growing trend that fewer people want to eat dinner at diners, co-owner Mo Maaty said. This news troubled Maaty because he believed that his staff put more effort into each item than popular chain restaurants.
A Before Shot of the Exton Diner.
Hashem described the restaurant’s new focus as an American Bistro with a Mediterranean atmosphere and will include such menu selections as filet mignon
and veal marsala.
The restaurant is also using new food distributors.
An additional 10 burners were added to the kitchen in order to accommodate the new menu.
Nearly all of the restaurant’s dishes are pan-seared, said Maaty, a doctor of pharmacy who strives for nutritious food. A juice bar with more than 30 juices and smoothies has been added to the restaurant.
Maaty has years in the restaurant industry. He flipped burgers to work his way through pharmaceutical school at Rutgers University, where he got his doctorate.
One of the goals of Bistro 24 is to create a family atmosphere, so it neither serves alcohol nor allows BYOB service, Maaty said.
Because alcohol can account for 75 percent of restaurants’ profit margins, the cuisine at Bistro 24 is important.
“I’m hoping people come here for the food,” Maaty said.
Interestingly, a hookah patio for smoking is planned for the restaurant.
Maaty explained why Bistro 24 would feature a hookah patio but not serve alcohol. A hookah is essentially a tarless cigarette while alcohol interferes with a person’s sobriety. The restaurant will check identification for patrons who want to enter the hookah patio.
Maaty co-owns Bistro 24 and Happy Day’s Family Bistro in Caln with Andy Ahmed. Happy Day’s already has a hookah patio in place.
Bistro 24 maintains several diner traditions, Hashem said. It still serves breakfast all day, stays open 24 hours each day and has its breakfast buffet on the weekends.
Bistro 24 has four different menus throughout the day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night, Hashem said. Several dishes are on multiple menus.
The menu is still undergoing a retransformation.
“Everything in the restaurant industry is a work in progress,” Hashem said.
Bistro 24 also features a new salad bar, new granite countertops and new ceramic tile, Hashem said. The interior renovations resulted in 40 tables.
Outdoor seating will also be available during the spring and summer, Maaty said.
The stools at the counters are the only items remaining from the original Exton Diner, Hashem said.
The overhaul increased the restaurant’s staff, Hashem said. The number of employees rose from about 30 to nearly 50, and the restaurant is still in the process of hiring more workers.
Among the additions to the staff, Gary Rhodes took over as executive chef after previously working at Congress Hall in Cape May, N.J., Maaty said.
Hashem, a 20-year veteran of the restaurant industry and former customer, joined the operation as general manager last week.
Bistro 24 will host a benefit on Nov. 6 to raise money for a local EMT and volunteer who has stage four ovarian cancer, Hashem said.
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