Dream always just a block away Sunbury resident reopens Top Hat restaurant
Mar. 7—By Francis Scarcella
SUNBURY — A lifelong dream of owning a restaurant came true for Dan Barnhart on Jan. 29 when he turned on the lights and opened the doors at the Top Hat restaurant.
The business closed in 2019 after being open for five years. Barnhart, 57, who grew up a block away from the restaurant, located at 202 Church St., kept his eye on the site.
"It's always been a dream of mine to own a restaurant and the venue at the Top Hat is the right size I wanted," he said. "I knew this would not overwhelm me and I wanted to be able to do 90-percent of the work myself."
He had plans on opening early last year, but because of COVID-19, his dream was put on hold. He said he took the time to add his own little touch to the establishment.
'We were getting ready and then when the pandemic hit it got hard to get started," he said. "It took a long time to get the permits and get everything we needed to get going."
Then on Jan. 29, the doors opened and he and a staff of six employees hit the ground running.
"We have been doing a lot of takeout orders," he said this past week. With the restrictions still in place we can hold about 30 people right now."
Councilman Josh Brosious, who has been advocating for businesses to move to the city, said he happy Barnhart chose Sunbury.
"It's amazing all these businesses are continuing to choose Sunbury," Brosious said.
"These are the types of things I love seeing because it gives the citizens another great place to go and another reason to brag about greats things happening in Sunbury.
"This also gives me another reason to not cook at night and to continue to go out and support our local businesses."
Barnhart said he and his wife, Sherri, spoke to other business owners and after those conversations, he felt comfortable with his plans.
"We are already seeing return customers and staying busy so I was happy to receive the positive feedback," he said.
Barnhart added his own spice to the inside by adding a collection of ball caps he has acquired throughout the world and naming specialty burgers after Shikellamy High School state champion wrestlers, he said.
"My understanding is we have 12, so I will be able to do these throughout the year and add nicknames to the burgers which will be named after the state champions," he said.
Barnhart plans on donating $1 for every burger sold to the Shikellamy Fifth Grade Camp, which is a week-long camp that the district runs each year at Camp Mount Luther, near Mifflinburg.
The new owner said he is excited for this next year and he hopes that as the COVID-19 pandemic diminishes, he will see more and more people visit the restaurant.
"We hope everyone comes out to see us and check out what we have to offer."
Hours of operation, for now, are Wednesday and Thursday from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m., with the bar area remaining open until 11 p.m.
Restaurant hours on Friday will be from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. The bar will remain open until 11 p.m. on all three weekend nights.
For more information, search for "Top Hat Sunbury" on Facebook.
