As the saying goes: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
Of course, this general view also applies to women and children.
“This is something we’ve been hearing from our community for a long time: restaurants are an important part of what they want to see in our business offerings here,” Amanda Lukas said. “And I think the first step to that is making sure people know what restaurants we have and making sure we’re doing everything we can to help them succeed.”
She serves as the city staff liaison to the Hampton Economic Advisory Board, which is launching its first initiative to promote local businesses.
During Hampton Restaurant Week, Sept. 8-14, customers have the opportunity to save money on certain menu items while trying out different restaurants and bars and spending less time in the kitchen. The date coincides with the start of the new school year, “when many people are back from summer vacation but may be busy with new routines and activities,” Lukas said.
The Business Advisory Council was established in 2023 at the direction of the Town Council to promote a vibrant, active and supported business community. Volunteer members include business owners, commercial landlords, attorneys and elected officials.
As the municipality’s Director of Community Development and Land Use Manager, Lukas studies the impact of municipal policies on achieving council goals.
“We’re going to update our zoning ordinance next year,” she said, “and then we’ll look at some ways we can maybe make it easier for new businesses to locate and set up shop in Hampton.”
She took the initiative to get a head start around the time the Advisory Board was founded.
“Last year, I focused primarily on preparing guides and checklists for land use applications,” she said. “Usually, when a new business wants to open, it has to go through a land development process, and the idea behind it was to simplify that process.”
Another goal of the advisory board is to improve the aesthetics along Route 8, Hampton’s main commercial district.
“It’s an older, built-up corridor, so the buildings there are older than a lot of the modern things, and we need to try to improve the appearance,” Lukas explained, referring to the municipality’s current rules and regulations.
Since Hampton Restaurant Week is on the agenda, further activities of the Economic Advisory Council may also be planned.
“In the future, we may try to organize some events to promote other types of retail businesses, like a health and beauty day,” Lukas said, echoing comments from community members: “They would like to see a little more retail and restaurants, so we’re focusing on that first.”
For more information, visit hampton-pa.org/423/Economic-Advisory-Board.
Harry Funk is a news editor at TribLive, serving as editor of the Hampton, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine Creek and Bethel Park magazines. He has been a professional journalist since 1985 and joined TribLive in 2022. You can contact Harry at [email protected].
