Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional information provided by Fountain Hill Police Chief Ed Bachert.
A three-year-old sports bar and restaurant in Fountain Hill has closed its doors.
Gametime Sports Bar & Grille in Fountain Hill has closed, its owner announced on Facebook Monday.
Gametime Sports Bar & Grille at 1028 Broadway was closed as of Monday, according to a post by owner Wendy Lorrah which was shared on the business’s Facebook page.
“I have waited to post to find the right words,” Lorrah wrote. “Yes Gametime is closed. Everyone has a story apparently but here are the facts. The town in which Gametime was located did not want the bar there because the clientele was not to their liking. They were not shy about that at all.”
“We were prepared to fight for our rights but the landlord was not,” Lorrah continued. “The Gametime family both employees and regulars knew what was happening and we had an amazing intimate party the night we closed the door. I appreciate all of the customers that have supported Gametime throughout the past two years. This is not goodbye though it is definitely see you soon!”
Many of the hundreds of people who had commented on Lorrah’s post by Tuesday morning expressed support for the business and hope that it would reopen somewhere else.
In an interview Thursday, Fountain Hill Police Chief Ed Bachert said that some of the information in the post may have created a false impression for social media users of what happened before the business closed.
Bachert said police were called to Gametime “hundreds of times” for alcohol, drug and gun-related incidents involving patrons. He added that littering and public urination were regular issues that occurred and were connected to Gametime.
“We want to see every business that comes here succeed,” he said. “It wasn’t Fountain Hill that was involved in trying to get rid of them.”
Bachert said numerous borough residents complained about Gametime to borough police and the state police’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement (LCE) due to how the bar was being run.
“It was a nuisance bar. They brought the problems on themselves,” he said, adding that an LCE hearing that could have jeopardized the establishment’s liquor license is scheduled.
Gametime opened in 2021. It was located in a building that has housed dining establishments for decades, including the former Saranda’s on Broadway and the former Benner Street Restaurant.
Prior to Gametime’s opening, the building was extensively renovated, with the addition of outdoor seating areas on two levels and the installation of flatscreen televisions for viewing games.
Over the past few years, the business hosted various regular and other events to draw in business, including karaoke and trivia nights. Gametime also participated in the inaugural Fountain Hill Restaurant Week in February 2023.
Gametime was one of a handful of restaurants and bars in the borough, which borders Southside Bethlehem and lacks a distinct downtown business district. Instead, most businesses are concentrated along Fountain Hill’s Broadway corridor.
