Easton Zoners OK Rivals Sports Bar Expansion

Easton's Zoning Hearing Board has given a new Downtown sports bar permission to expand its seating.

The board on Monday night approved a request to the owners of Rivals who want to add seating for 120 people at their space at 5 Lehns Court.

The bar is due to open in the next few weeks. The space was last occupied by Club Beyond, which closed in 2009.

"We have some opportunity to have some vitality back into the area," argued Ted Lewis, an attorney representing owners David Madochick and Matthew Cochran. "Fortunately, we don't have pie in the sky type people who have a nice wish list but don’t have any experience."

Madochick and Cochran say they plan to turn the building from a nightclub space into something more focused on food service, with peak hours starting at dinnertime.

"There's no way we could operate this building with 36 seats," Madochick said.

The board also heard from Roshni Desai, whose family owns property in downtown Easton, and who had concerns about parking and safety issues.

She noted that the downtown was the scene of a that spilled from Mother's, another Lehn's Court bar.