Cork & Fork in Harrisburg changes ownership; former west shore location closer to opening as Mediterranean restaurant

March 16, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Cork & Fork in downtown Harrisburg

One of downtown Harrisburg’s most popular restaurants has new ownership, but patrons shouldn’t see too much change.

Restaurateur Josh Kesler, owner of the Millworks in Midtown, recently purchased Cork & Fork, alongside partners Patrick Garrity and John Laporta.

“It’s a great existing brand and restaurant in downtown Harrisburg,” Kesler said. “It seemed like a really good fit.”

Kesler said that he purchased both the business, from Harrisburg-based Nourish Hospitality Group, and the building, located at State and N. 2nd streets. He explained that, as his management group continues to expand, purchasing Cork & Fork seemed like a natural fit.

While Kesler plans to make small adjustments to the business behind the scenes, he said that nothing on the customer-facing side will change.

He also noted that they will accept gift cards from the former Cork & Fork Osteria, the business’s west shore location that was sold at the end of 2022.

In December, Café Fresco Center City owner Brian Fertenbaugh purchased the Osteria in Hampden Township with plans to make it a Mediterranean-style restaurant.

On Thursday, Fertenbaugh said that he plans to name the new restaurant Aura Modern Mediterranean and is currently renovating the building to fit the new theme.

He plans to open in early May for dinner, possibly rolling out lunch and Sunday brunch menus in the following months. Award-winning chef of the York and Baltimore areas, John Walsh, will also join the team.

Cork & Fork is located at 200 State St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit its website. Aura Modern Mediterranean will be located at 4434 Carlisle Pike, Camp Hill.

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Harrisburg celebrates debt payoff, closing chapter on city’s crippling financial crisis

March 16, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams announced the city’s debt payment at a press conference on Thursday.

Harrisburg officials celebrated a historic day on Thursday, as the city made final payments on a once staggering debt load.

The city officially paid off the last $8.3 million in general obligation bond debt dating back more than a decade to its municipal financial crisis.

“This is a historic moment in our city,” said Mayor Wanda Williams at a press conference. “Harrisburg’s best days are ahead.”

The forbearance liability debt is money that the city owed to bond insurer Ambac Assurance after it defaulted on its Series D&F bond payments in 2011. The original D&F bonds were issued in 1997, under former Mayor Steve Reed. Harrisburg paid off those bonds in September 2022.

Late last year, Harrisburg City Council approved the payoff of $12 million of what was $20 million in remaining in debt, at the time. While city administration officials had originally proposed paying off the total $20 million at once, council members were hesitant to spend down such a large amount of the city’s fund balance.

Last week, council approved the final $8.3 million payment.

“I’m glad we were in a position to finish the task,” said council President Danielle Bowers.

Before the Williams administration made the two large payments, the city, for years, mainly made smaller, routine annual payments, with the exception of a $6 million payment under former Mayor Linda Thompson in 2013 and a $7.2 million payment under former Mayor Eric Papenfuse in 2021.

Harrisburg’s Deputy Controller Bill Leinberger explained the history of the city’s payments on its forbearance liability debt.

Before this week’s payment, Harrisburg’s fund balance, or savings, sat at around $25 million. With this final bond payment, it now is about $17 million, according to Brian McCutcheon, accounting manager for the city.

Officials pointed out that the total debt payoff also saves the city from continuing to accrue interest on the debt. Most recently, the city’s interest rate was set at 5% after a refinancing deal made with Ambac in 2021. That rate would have jumped back up to 6.75% in November 2024.

“This has been a particularly annoying and costly debt,” said City Treasurer Dan Miller. “They [Ambac] have been making a killing off Harrisburg.”

With the freed-up money, Williams said that the city plans to put it towards resident services, possibly street repaving, purchasing public works vehicles and blighted building demolition.

As the city moves closer to being debt free, it also may be closer to exiting Act 47, the state’s program for financially distressed cities, according to Williams.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” she said.

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Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

March 16, 2023 | by Sara Bozich

Plan your weekend with my weekly list of things to do around Harrisburg and central PA!

What you’ll find:

For something new: Grand Opening of Nocturnal tonight! First-time visitors Prototype Brewing & Collusion Tap Works are at sip @ soma Thursday and Friday Worth noting: Friday is 3rd in the Burg; Saturday is Harrisburg’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Things on my agenda this weekend: sip @ soma (x2), HU Presents alt-J (tonight, sold out), r&r (and housecleaning, etc.)

For your weekend planning

View my local Restaurant Directory or Local Brewery, Winery, & Cidery Directory
See what else you missed on the blog

Below are options for your weekend.

A Look Ahead

Camp Hill’s Spring Fling is March 25
HU Presents announces spring 2023 lineup
The Best Farmers Markets around Harrisburg
Submit your events for the Weekend Roundup

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Great Start: HU Center for Innovation cuts ribbon on new home in downtown Harrisburg

March 15, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

CIE Executive Director Jay Jayamohan and HU President Eric Darr, joined by Harrisburg area officials, led the ribbon cutting for the new center today in Strawberry Square.

In Harrisburg, great ideas have a new place to take root.

On Wednesday, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, an affiliate of Harrisburg University, officially opened on the first floor of Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg.

“Everybody who was lucky enough to be born in this country should be starting a company–or at least doing a side hustle,” CIE Executive Director Jay Jayamohan told a large group of supporters and officials before the ribbon-cutting. “So, CIE is here for all of those people.”

The center is home to 11 startup founders enrolled in its business incubator program, with most of the enterprises minority- and women-owned. The new space offers founders—the entrepreneurs who are invited into the incubator—residency to develop their business ideas for up to 18 months, financial assistance, coaching and student interns, according to HU.

“Economic development and support for businesses have always been part of HU’s mission,” said Dr. Eric Darr, HU president. “The center is accessible and for anyone who has an idea. It can be anybody who just has a concept but doesn’t know where to start. We hope, by having founders come to the Entrepreneurship Center, it creates new companies and jobs throughout the Harrisburg region and beyond.”

Jayamohan and a network of entrepreneurs and innovators mentor the incubator’s founders in the center. They help them form corporations and connect them with funding resources, find pro-bono attorneys for their intellectual property, help them flesh out ideas, provide support staff, and connect them with technology and software development partners.

“The multi-faceted goal of CIE is not only flipping the script on what you must ‘look like’ to be an innovator, but to build a replicable model to create a positive economic change in small cities and towns,” Jayamohan said. “This will not happen without the support of the larger community and so we are excited for our new space and have entrepreneurs and innovators from the community continue to be an evangelist for the work we do.”

To learn more about the CIE and the Entrepreneurship Center, please visit https://cie.harrisburgu.edu/. Click here to read our recent feature story about the center.

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A year later, Dauphin County resident’s fundraiser has supported thousands of Ukrainian refugees

March 15, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Agata Czopek (left) and a Ukrainian family

The end of February marked one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, and while the year has been marked by destruction, loss and pain for the country, Agata Czopek has seen a lot of hope, as well.

Czopek, a Dauphin County resident, started a GoFundMe last year, shortly after the invasion, with the desire to support Ukrainian families in need.

As she saw families fleeing to her native country of Poland in search of refuge, she also saw a great opportunity to help, even if from mostly afar. Very quickly, her fundraiser raised over $9,000, TheBurg reported at the time. But a year later, between donations to the GoFundMe and through other sources, Czopek had raised $57,700.

“When I started, it was supposed to be one or two families,” she said. “I couldn’t do any of it if people didn’t respond to my call.”

Czopek’s connections in the community helped her garner over 400 donations. She previously served as the director of international programs at Harrisburg’s International House, which closed during the pandemic.

Czopek explained that the funds have gone directly to Ukrainian refugee families in Poland, mainly in and around the city of Lublin. They’ve been able to fund over 5,000 meals for families, provide school fees, help with money for driver’s licenses and assist with medical needs and housing. They’ve also started a “Bridge of Cultures Club,” which provides educational experiences for young Ukrainian and Polish students.

A dinner for Ukrainian mothers and children, held by Agata Czopeck and partners during her recent trip to Poland

In the past year, Czopek has visited Poland several times, providing support to families in need, connecting with local organizations on the ground and starting new projects, wherever she sees a need.

“Everywhere you went, everyone had a Ukrainian family in their home,” she said. “The needs were being met all over the place.”

The meals and food distribution is one of her main focuses, as she and her network of partners support around 150 families weekly. They’ve also supported a program that brings food to those still living in Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine where much of the war rages currently.

There are also new projects she plans to start, such as a free summer daycare so that mothers in need of childcare can go to work.

“There’s not a minute that I’m not thinking about another project,” Czopek said.

Overall, she estimated that they’ve been able to assist several thousand people.

Throughout her trips, while she’s heard many painful stories from refugees, there have also been so many bright spots, she explained. She recalled the time a Ukrainian man dressed up like Santa Claus and brought gifts to refugee children for Saint Nicholas Day. There was also the shopping trip for 800 pounds of meat that would become dinner for grateful women and children or the 30 pounds of Lego blocks she brought for the children.

“I have those moments to hold onto,” she said. “I have cried so much, but these days I cry with gratitude. I feel that I have found meaning in all of the atrocities and pain.”

To donate to Agata Czopeck and her partners’ efforts to assist Ukrainian refugees in Poland, visit her GoFundMe or the Ukrainian American Initiative, a partner nonprofit.

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The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

March 10, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Gittens

The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade will return to Harrisburg this month. Photo from the 2022 parade, courtesy of the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District.

It’s looking like a dreary, cold weekend ahead in Harrisburg—the perfect time to get cozy and catch up on our March issue of the magazine or tune into our newest episode of the podcast. For now, take a minute to get up to speed on our daily news, listed and linked below.

Bob’s Art Blog takes readers on the road to York’s Hive Art Space for a unique exhibit. The show, “A Fine Cuppa (Coffee, Tea, Or),” features work inspired by hot beverages.

TheBurg Podcast this month expands on magazine stories that showcase resilience. Click here, to hear from our special guests and learn about resilience as it relates to health issues and climate change.

A Burg View editorial by our publisher applauds Harrisburg for paying off its once staggering, decade-old debt load. He recognizes former and current city administrations and the state for their accomplishments.

Candidates for three seats on Harrisburg City Council include eight Democrats, our reporting found. Find out who’s running, here.

Gamut Theatre and Narҫisse Theatre have partnered to present “Thistle & Salt,” a grim tale from Ireland. Our reviewer praises the poetic language, acting skills and boundary-pushing performance.

Hamilton Health Center announced that it has a new president and CEO, Terese Delaplaine, our online story reported. The organization also recently hired several additional new top officials.

Harrisburg City Council discussed the use of its millions of dollars in federal COVID-relief funds on Tuesday, our reporting found. Council also approved the final payment towards debt the city carried for a decade.

Pursuit Coworking is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, our magazine story reported. As work culture continues to change post-pandemic, the company is growing and finding new ways to adapt.

“The Quiet Girl,” a film about a timid girl who just wants to be invisible, is “devastatingly beautiful,” according to our movie reviewer. The film is playing this month at Midtown Cinema.

Sara Bozich has some early St. Patty’s Day activities to get you ready for the holiday, along with plenty of other weekend festivities, here.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade will return to downtown Harrisburg next weekend, our online story reported. The event will include Irish dance and music groups, characters, fire trucks and more.

Trinity High School’s international students have been recognized for their athletic and academic performance. In our magazine story, read about a few of the students, who hail from Ukraine, the Republic of Congo and France, among other countries.

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Support quality local journalism. Join Friends of TheBurg today!

Home sales dipped, prices crept up in February in Harrisburg area

March 10, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

A house for sale in Harrisburg

Home sales slowed but prices ticked higher in the latest report on previously owned houses in the Harrisburg area.

For the three-county region, 368 homes sold in February compared to 456 in the year-ago period, as the median sales price increased to $234,950 from $227,000, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR).

In Dauphin County, 179 homes changed hands last month versus 233 in February 2022, while the median price rose to $205,000 versus $193,550 last year, GHAR said.

Cumberland County had sales of 157 homes compared to 196 in the prior year, as the median sales price was nearly unchanged at about $270,000, according to GHAR.

In Perry County, 23 houses sold, an increase of three, as the median price rose to $215,000 versus $189,900 in February 2022, GHAR said.

The pace of sales was similar year-over-year, as “average days the market” rose to 30 days compared to 29 days the prior February.

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Harrisburg Housing Authority to begin redevelopment process for Hoverter Homes, receives federal grant

March 10, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Hoverter Homes

In a few years, some public housing in Harrisburg may look a lot different.

The Harrisburg Housing Authority, along with the city, recently received a federal grant to begin to redesign and redevelop Hoverter Homes in South Harrisburg.

The $500,000 grant, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), would support plans to renovate the 233 units in the housing complex. According to the city, the project would eliminate the current World War II-era barracks-style homes which have stood since 1941 and create a modern, mixed-income development in its place.

“There’s a lot of improvement we can do for this community, mostly for the kids who are growing up here,” said Johan Soto-Santa, development and revitalization manager for the housing authority, in a statement.

According to city officials, the project would redevelop the current public housing, while also incorporating new development of housing for various income brackets.

Officials stated that Hoverter Homes was chosen first for renovation, over Hall Manor, another of the city’s public housing complexes, because it is older and smaller in size. However, there are plans to include Hall Manor in future projects, according to the city.

Over the next two years, HHA and the city will work with Chicago-based urban planning firm COLLABO to engage with the South Harrisburg community and receive input, while putting together a formal plan.

HHA will hold several public meetings, this year and next, for community members to share their thoughts on changes they’d like to see at Hoverter Homes and Hall Manor. Dates and times for those meetings are to be determined.

“This is huge because it gives the residents of South Harrisburg a say in the homes they deserve,” said Dennise Hill, director of building and housing for the city. “There haven’t been upgrades to public housing in Harrisburg since they were constructed (more than 70 years ago), and I’m excited that HHA is taking the lead to remedy those issues.”

Hoverter Homes is located in the area of Sycamore, S. 13th and Hanover streets in Harrisburg. For more information on the Harrisburg Housing Authority, visit their website.

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Resilience Resurfaces: TheBurg Podcast, March 2023

March 9, 2023 | by Karen Hendricks

Resilience is a muscle many of us flexed, or became aware of, amid the pandemic. And it’s very much still in our vocabulary!

How do we build resilience against health issues and disease, especially among Latinos?
And, in a region where many of us see the Susquehanna River and its creeks and streams every day, how do we build resilience against climate change and Pennsylvania’s number one threat, flooding?

Our guests include:

George Fernandez, CEO, Culture & Culture
Jeff Jumper, Emergency Management Program Manager for Resiliency, with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency
Andrew Dehoff, Executive Director, Susquehanna River Basin Commission

This podcast is sponsored by Fleet Feet Mechanicsburg and their brand-new Fleet Feet Harrisburg location, in the High Pointe Commons shopping plaza.

This episode marks a banner anniversary! It’s been three years since we launched TheBurg Podcast in this magazine-style format. Thanks for listening, sharing and helping the podcast grow!

Backstories that coordinate with this episode include:

Reaching Up, Reaching Back: George Fernandez | A Change in the Weather: Pennsylvania’s emergency management and environmental experts explain climate change | Capital Region Water: Clean Water Plan

And:

April 6 event info: Karen Hendricks hosts Midtown Scholar author chat

TheBurg Podcast is hosted and produced by award-winning Harrisburg-area journalist Karen Hendricks. Visit her website and subscribe to her free monthly writer’s newsletter at WriterKarenHendricks.com.

Every month, TheBurg Podcast expands stories from the pages of TheBurg magazine because “there’s always more to the story.” TheBurg is a monthly community magazine based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Lawrance Binda, publisher/editor.

TheBurg Podcast has received three prestigious podcast journalism awards over the past two years, including First place, Excellence in Journalism, Society of Professional Journalists, Keystone Chapter, 2021.

Interested in sharing your advertising message with TheBurg Podcast’s dedicated audience? Research shows that podcast sponsorships are one of the most effective forms of advertising! Contact Lauren ([email protected]) or contact Karen directly at [email protected].

Burg View: A Debt Paid

March 9, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg city hall (file photo)

A decade ago, Harrisburg, Pa., became a national poster child for financial disaster.

By next week, the city will be, essentially, debt-free.

On Tuesday, City Council passed a resolution authorizing the payment of $8.3 million to its bond insurer, Ambac Assurance, freeing Harrisburg from the stranglehold of debt that led it, back in 2011, to the brink of municipal bankruptcy.

I feel that this occasion should not pass without some recognition of just how remarkable an accomplishment this is.

I won’t bore readers with the ins and outs of how Harrisburg got into this mess, except to say that the city went on a reckless spending spree spanning decades under the longtime administration of former Mayor Steve Reed. By 2010, the city, with some 50,000 residents, had a debt load north of half-a-billion dollars.

The city paid a huge price to dig itself out. That price included state receivership, the sale of the troubled city incinerator (just as it finally got fixed) and, the unkindest cut of all, the long-term lease of the city’s valuable parking assets.

Despite these measures, Harrisburg was left with a massive debt load that many doubted it could ever repay. Now, it has, retiring the final piece of $26.5 million in forbearance liabilities it incurred after defaulting on bond obligations during the financial crisis.

The Papenfuse administration deserves a share of credit for this accomplishment, as, in 2021, it reached a critical deal with Ambac that lessened the burden. Successive city councils and the city controller also watched the bottom line, and the Williams administration, upon taking office in January 2022, made paying off the remaining debt a high priority.

Credit also should go to an entity I often criticize—the commonwealth. Indeed, the state should have looked more carefully and critically as Reed-era spending ran amok in the 1990s and early 2000s. But, in the end, it facilitated a financial recovery plan, played a key role in monetizing city assets, and, later, led by state Rep. Patty Kim and Sen. John DiSanto, extended the city’s extra taxing authority to provide a longer-term financial solution.

So, where to now? Unfortunately, Harrisburg’s hangover from its fiscal crisis isn’t quite over. It still has to exit Act 47 (the state’s program for financially distressed cities), settle litigation over the ill-advised, reckless incinerator financing and regain access to the credit markets, to name a few priorities. And, unless something is done to slap Park Harrisburg (and its out-of-state asset manager) into reality, the skyrocketing cost of parking remains a real threat to the long-term viability of downtown.

Having said that—we should pause for a moment to relish this accomplishment. I vividly recall the long, difficult nights, a dozen years ago, that I spent in city council chambers, wondering if Harrisburg had any future at all. I’m now confident that that future, while challenging, is a bright one.

Lawrance Binda is publisher/editor of TheBurg.

This editorial has been updated.

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What you’ll find:

For your weekend planning

A Look Ahead

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

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