Countryside Fire Helps Give Birth to Creamery on Main

Popular new restaurant on Emmaus Triangle is nearly one year old.

Editor's Note: This story is Part II of a two-part feature on the blaze that gutted Countryside Restaurant one year ago. That fire preceded the birth of Creamery on Main. The fire that gutted the Countryside Restaurant in Upper Milford Township one year ago, wasn't Countryside proprietor Bill Kao's reason for opening Creamery on Main on the Emmaus Triangle. But, the fire surely sped up the Creamery's birth. Besides having to think and act quickly after the fire, Kao also said he learned a few things. "The community support was phenomenal," he said. What do you like best about Creamery on Main? Tell us in the comments. Following the fire, patrons came from Upper Milford and beyond to Kao's new venture, Creamery on Main on The Triangle in …

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Lyle Richardson

9:55 pm on Friday, July 27, 2012

I saw someone looking at the building on the hill today. Anyone know if anything is going on up there ???? I talked to Bill before the fire and we talked about putting in a miniature golf course up there would have been a great spot for a nice course.   more ›

Blaze at Upper Milford's Countryside Melted Dreams

Countryside "ice cream stand" -- a regional tradition for decades -- burned one year ago today.

Editor's Note: This story is Part I of a two-part feature on the blaze that gutted Countryside Restaurant one year ago today. Look for Part II tomorrow. The approach of Memorial Day and end to another school year traditionally have signaled the start of "Ice Cream Season" at Countryside Restaurant. For decades, a landmark overlooking Emmaus and Macungie where Routes 29 and 100 meet in Upper Milford Township, Countryside -- first known as Kressley's Cree-Mee-Freez -- was the quintessential roadside ice cream stand in our very midst. What's your favorite memory of Countryside Restaurant? Tell us in the comments. Patrons sat on benches or in the grass of the hillside overlooking the valley below as they licked at twirled soft ice cream and …

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What Are You Looking Forward to at School?

Here's what one second grader is most excited about in the coming school year.

Occasionally Patch likes to get out of HQ to learn what your friends and neighbors thinks about a particular aspect of the place we all call home. When we do, we'll ask a different resident a different question each week (we may repeat some of the more popular ones) and share his or her answer, along with a photograph, on Lower Macungie Patch. We'll also invite you to share your thoughts on the question in the comments and to make suggestions of future "Talk of the Town" questions. This week, we're talking with Macungie resident Jenna Cannon. We caught up with her and her family at the Creamery on Main, and here's what we asked her: What are you most looking forward to about going back to school this year? “Learning new things like …

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Countryside Owner Speaks About Fire, Burglary and Future Plans

Despite weekend fire at Countryside, Bill Kao says he plans to push forward and “fast track” the opening of his new Emmaus restaurant, Creamery on Main.

With police and fire crews still investigating the weekend fire that resulted in major damage to the landmark ice cream hangout, Countryside Restaurant owner Bill Kao spoke about the fire and his immediate plans. Kao emphasized that he is NOT the owner of the building in which Countryside resided. He simply leased the space. Jim Hilston has been the property owner for the past three years, Kao says, and will be working with police officials and insurance agents as the investigation continues. At this time, the location is considered a crime scene, Kao says. According to Kao, two cash registers were displaced and $200 was missing. Interestingly, he added, the T.V., laptop and other valuables, which were stored inside the restaurant, …

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