It’s a tradition that began in Easton in the late 1800’s and continued to Allentown where loyal patrons continued to line up at Youell’s Oyster House’s new location on 23rd and Walnut.  The story of the acclaimed seafood house was in danger of coming to an end when a fire completely demolished the building. But the owner, determined to bring the restaurant back to its former glory (and more), called us.

It was one of the harsher winters on record, so it’s only befitting that we set out to build one of the coolest new restaurants in the region. Our mission: a 6,000 square foot, two-story building that reflects the design elements of the historic neighborhood and can seat up to 120 diners. In short order, we constructed a charming, wood and steel building on a concrete foundation, with fiber cement siding, brick wainscoting on the front elevation and split-face CMU walls on the rear elevation in a residential neighborhood where we were within five feet of the neighboring house.

Youell’s new interior features gorgeous wood floors in the cool, casual public areas, rugged epoxy flooring in the kitchen, decorative trim, exposed ducts, pipes, and conduits on the first floor. Beyond the frigid temperatures, our only real challenge was to continually manage budget goals as opportunities for amazing design enhancements were envisioned throughout the construction process.