Category:The Paddock, Allentown, Pennsylvania

English: The Paddock, now called "Hopps at The Paddock" at 1945 Columbia Street, is a local Allentown, Pennsylvania restaurant. It offers a wide variety of cuisine, however, it is best known as one of the oldest pizzerias in the area.

The resurant dates to May, 1933, when its origional owner, Ralph V. Kuhns applied for a resraurant permit for his new building at 2231 Walbert Avenue. Kuhns's Barbecuse offered barbecue beef and pork, along with seafood. It was one of the first restraunts to have a liquor licence with the repeal of Prohibition earlier that year. In 1943 Kuhns entered the Armed Forces during World War II and operation of the restaurant was taken over by Rae Rehrig.

In 1945, the first reference to the name "The Paddock" was found when the property was again sold to Otto Pieper, who purchased the restaurant upon his return from the war. Pieper introduced television to the bar part of the restaurant, a staple of the Paddock for years. People saw their first baseball game on TV there, boxing, and other sports at the Paddock. Later, the first color television was installed in the late 1950s. The name came about due to the restaurants decor, which was in a racetrack motif. This included booths that looked like stables and stools shaped like saddles.

In September 1948, the property changed hands again, this time purchased by O. John "Jack" Kloiber, and his wife Natalie. The Kloibers and later his son, Gregory, owned and operated "The Paddock" until 2010. With the ownership change, Kloiber introduced a new menu item, Pizza Pie. Although it is frequently claimed that The Paddock introduced pizza to the Allentown Area, it was actually the third restaurant to sell pizza, although it was the first non-Italian restaurant to do so. Pizza, or "Italian Pizza Cake" was first sold by a restaurant in the Mountainside suburb called the "Naples Garden" in April 1940. Volpe's Restaurant, at 19th and Tilghman streets in Allentown began selling pizza when it opened in August 1942. The Paddock began by bringing in a pizza chef, Joseph Caccese, from New York City in September 1948 to prepare it. According to Gregory Kloiber, they sold two pizzas the first night, and two the second. After a few weeks Caccese, who disliked Allentown, returned to New York City. However, he left his recipe, one which the Paddock has used ever since.

By 1950, several restaurants in Allentown were selling picca, primarily clubs and taverns. Its popularity grew in the early 1950s when it was ordered by Muhlenburg College Students, also from Cedar Crest and also from Lehigh in Bethlehem. Pizzas were also popular at Western Electric and other factories that didn't have a lunch room. By 1955, over a dozen restaurants, clubs and taverns sold pizza and it was well on it's way to becoming a part of many people's diet. People have dined on Paddock Pizza in Allentown ever since, becoming one of their most popular items on the menu, and it is often stated that there is not a bad pizza to be found anywhere in Allentown.

Over the decades, Jack Kloiber ran the bar section of the restaurant, and his wife Natalie, ran the restaurant. In 1957, the Kloibers built a new restaurant at the corner of Helen Avenue and Columbia Street (1901 Helen Avenue), and it prospered for decades. A large parking lot was filled on weekends, and it was a place for family gatherings and other occasions with a large banquet room.

Jack Kloiber passed away in in December 1992 and ownership was passed to his son, Gregory. Gregory passed in 2010 and the restaurant was put up for sale by the Kloiber family. In 2011, the Hoppy family purchased the property, and with the sale the restaurant was subsequently renamed.