Coopersburg's Route 309 Kitchens Are Back, and the Station Avenue Corner Has a New Tenant

"The wait is over!" That was La Cocina de la Abuela's announcement this fall, as The Morning Call reported, after more than half a year with its doors closed on South Third Street.

That reopening finishes a recovery that began the night of March 16. Since then Coopersburg has had kitchens close at two downtown addresses, one because of the weather and one because of a business decision. By Thanksgiving week all of them are cooking again. The Station Avenue corner is back to Mexican food, which is what it served before the bagel shop moved in.

One Roof, Two Restaurants, One Night in March

The New Santiago's Restaurant and La Cocina de la Abuela share a single building in the 120 block of South Third Street, the stretch of Route 309 that runs through the borough. On Monday night, March 16, 2026, strong winds moved across the Lehigh Valley. They brought down trees, knocked out power and tore roofs off buildings. The Morning Call reported that wind lifted the roof off this building and left it hanging over the side.

Both restaurants closed. A shared roof means one repair job, but the two businesses came back on different schedules.

The two kitchens also share a family history. WFMZ reported that Octavio Nunez Zavaleta and Maria Cerezo opened Santiago's in 2018, and family members took it over a few years later. Zavaleta and Cerezo now run La Cocina next door.

Santiago's Came Back First, in July

The New Santiago's reopened first. The Morning Call reported in July that the restaurant planned to reopen July 27 with a new menu. By then it had been closed for more than four months and had gone through months of remodeling.

Santiago's is the diner of the pair. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner from a long menu that includes all-day breakfast, sandwiches, platters and seafood. It's the address on this block where eggs at 4 p.m. are normal.

La Cocina de la Abuela Followed in Mid-October

La Cocina took longer. It held its grand reopening in mid-October at 127 S. Third St., about six months after the storm, according to WFMZ. The restaurant first opened in January 2024, so the storm closure took up a big share of its first two and a half years.

The name means "grandma's kitchen" in Spanish. Zavaleta and Cerezo were born and raised in Puebla, Mexico. Shortly after the original opening, Zavaleta told 69 News, "Everything is made from scratch, and we make fresh corn tortillas every day." The menu as WFMZ describes it:

• Carnitas, tamales and tortas
• Tacos with chicken, steak or pork
• Four kinds of salsa made in-house
• Mexican soups, including the traditional pozole with tostadas that the reopening announcement highlighted
• Aguas frescas made with fresh pineapple and other fruit
• Sweet and savory Mexican breads baked locally

"We also have Mexican soups that people are really loving," Cerezo said in the same report. Cold weather is a good time to try them. La Cocina is a full-service restaurant with dine-in and takeout, and the phone number is 610-214-2225.

Meanwhile, at Station and Main

While the South Third Street building was under repair, the storefront at 565 E. Station Ave., on the corner of Main Street, went through its own change. This corner has had a lot of tenants. WFMZ lists AD's Kitchen, La Catrina Mexican restaurant and Coopersburg Bagels & Deli as recent occupants.

The bagel shop opened on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, Saucon Source reported. It brought New York-style bagels, breakfast and lunch to downtown. A little over a year later, its owners announced a temporary closure starting Oct. 1, 2026. Saucon Source's October report noted that residents in the Coopersburg Living Group on Facebook were upset to lose a place that had built a loyal following. The same Facebook thread asked why this location has changed hands so often in recent years.

Signs for the next tenant went up before that discussion ended.

Brothers Tacos Brings a Phillipsburg Following Across the River

Brothers Tacos is now open at 565 E. Station Ave. It's the second location for brothers Wilson and Marvin Gomez, who opened the first one at 105 Heckman St. in Phillipsburg in March 2024. Their sister, Patricia Gomez, helps run the business. The family renovated the corner space before opening.

The Coopersburg room is bigger than the original. WFMZ reported that it seats about 45, compared with 36 in Phillipsburg. It also has seasonal outdoor dining and the same menu. "People love everything, but our birria tacos are the most popular," Wilson Gomez told 69 News.

Tacos come on corn tortillas with cilantro and onions. Fillings include chicken, chorizo, carnitas, al pastor, barbacoa, steak, shrimp and veggies, and there are also birria and quesabirria tacos. The menu has more than two dozen entrees. One is the molcajete Azteca, a hot volcanic stone bowl with ribeye, chicken breast, grilled shrimp, poblanos, nopales, onions and pineapple in a honey pasilla sauce. Desserts include flan, churros, sopapilla and fried ice cream.

Brothers Tacos is BYOB, like the Phillipsburg location.

How the Hours Fit Together

These kitchens work best when you use them together, and their hours make that easy. Brothers Tacos opens at 9 a.m. every day, the earliest of the Mexican options. La Cocina's posted hours skip some weekdays. Santiago's fills the breakfast-at-any-hour slot.

These are the hours WFMZ reported when each place reopened or opened. A restaurant that just rebuilt or just moved in often adjusts hours in its first winter, so check each one's Facebook page before going out on a holiday weekend. Brothers Tacos posts updates on Facebook and Instagram.

With La Cocina's schedule, Brothers Tacos is the Mexican option on Wednesdays and Sundays. If one person wants pancakes and another wants tacos, the South Third Street building covers both with one parking spot.

What the Storm Showed About This Block

Rebuilding a roof on an occupied commercial building is slow. The order matters: first the structure is made safe, then the roof is rebuilt, then the interior is checked for water damage, and inspections come in between. Two businesses under one roof can't fully reopen until the shared work is finished, and each still has its own interior work after that. That helps explain the timeline here, with Santiago's back in late July and La Cocina in mid-October.

If you own a storefront, a mixed-use building or a rental on Route 309 or anywhere downtown, this year's timeline gives you real numbers to plan with. Jeff Adams spent more than 30 years in construction and renovation before becoming a broker. If you want a builder's look at your building's roof, its condition or its value, start with a free valuation from Jeff Adams.