Brian Hagberg
WARREN, Pa. – What has essentially been a 4-year conversion process took the final steps to completion earlier this week as the newly christened Pub 302 opened its doors.
When Phelina Turner bought the establishment, formerly known as RalphE’s, a little over four years ago, she knew she wanted to make it her own.
“For the last four years I’ve just been doing changes, updates and upgrades,” Turner said. “Just making things more my own.”
The name, Pub 302, is derived from the establishment’s address at 302 Pennsylvania Avenue East.
Turner took advantage of the closures during the early stages of the pandemic to make most of the substantial interior changes.
“I made a non-smoking, family dining room, which was the old game room,” Turner said. “I changed the upstairs old banquet room into the game room. I’ve also been tweaking the menu here and there throughout the years. Getting rid of stuff that didn’t sell, getting new stuff in.”
One of those new items is the signature cocktails Pub 302 began offering this week.
“Those have been a hit so far,” Turner said.
With that remodel, Turner removed all the televisions from the family dining room, in order to provide a more “family-friendly” dining experience.
While some of the menu items have changed, Turner did keep the signature sandwich from the previous owner.
“I did keep the RalphE boy,” Turner said. “I did keep that as an homage.”
Pub 302 announced it will accept RalphE’s gift cards until they get a new computer system installed in June.
Turner had an extensive history with the establishment before she purchased it.
“I’d been working here since October 2009, I was bartending, then I got a ‘big girl job’ in between,” Turner said. “I didn’t like being part of the corporate world. I like bartending, I like hearing people’s stories.”
Given that she has been making Pub 302 more “her own,” the specials this week all hold special meaning.
“The names of cocktails this week all have meaning to me, and the food specials are all my favorite foods, just put together in ways people don’t normally put them together,” Turner said.
One of those unique food offerings is the 302 Burger. The burger features peanut butter with crispy French onions, American cheese, bacon, and maple bourbon siracha sauce.
Turner wants the public to know that one of her goals, and that of the entire 5-person staff, is to create a welcoming atmosphere for everyone.
“We want everyone to feel welcome,” Turner said. “Families, kids, people who don’t have families and just want someone to talk to, everyone. It’s homey. There are only five of us, it is a small business. It might take a little longer (for service), but we strive to make everyone happy.”
