From wines to beer, it has something for everyone.

Perhaps that explains why there’s so much buzz for Lehighton’s first “Tasting Room” to open to the public.

Wine & More on 1st will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Owner Tina Henninger said the event is the perfect occasion to help usher in her business at 165 S. First St.

“There will be a lot of wines, beers, hard seltzers and hard ciders for sampling,” Henninger said. “Mix, mingle, come meet other people.”

On the move

Henninger said that she previously had the Palmerton Tasting Room on Delaware Avenue in Palmerton since November 2019.

“It just wasn’t sustainable by May 2020 (pandemic),” she said. “Up here in Lehighton, businesses make concerted effort to work with each other.”

Henninger said her business participated in the recent Wine on the River event held earlier this month in Lehighton.

“It went very well,” Henninger said. “We are going to do the one (in July/August) in the Walnutport/Slatington area.”

Henninger explained the experience customers will encounter upon their visit to her new business.

“Come in, try before you buy,” she said. “Samples of wines, beers; anything we have here, you can drink here.”

Henninger added, “I can always find something for them.”

“We greet you, ask what are you here for, to sit and relax, try some tastings,” she said. “If they’re interested in wines and beers, we give them samples, educate them.”

“Wine slushies tend to be a favorite,” she said, adding that she bought slushy to-go bags. “We also have farm-made cheeses.”

Henninger said her business currently has hours from 2-7 p.m. Thursday, noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, though she added people should check on social media for current hours.

“We’re expanding much more quicker than I expected,” she said, adding that the plan is to be open five days a week from mid/late June up through fall foliage, and then likely six days a week from then on.

Henninger said customers should BYOF (bring your own food).

“We will have some individualized snacks, but they can bring food from home, order out from a restaurant,” she said. “We are pet-friendly.”

An eye toward the future

Henninger said the business consists of herself, husband Michael and their son Owen.

“We’re looking to have one or two more people likely by midsummer,” she said. “I’d like to make this a social area, have business meetings here (they have an upstairs as well).”

Henninger said the sky’s the limit for not only her business, but the area in general.

“I see huge potential in downtown Lehighton due to LDI (Lehighton Downtown Initiative), First Street Business Initiative, working with the (Carbon) Chamber of Commerce,” she said. “The businesses try to bring people downtown.

“It’s mutually beneficial, and there is a growing contingent of people trying to revitalize the town.”

Henninger said that as part of its grand opening, the business will give out gift certificates on Thursday; hold the release of hard cider that’s been aged in bourbon barrels on Friday; a special release of a taste of a blackberry wine on Saturday; and Cave Brewing Co. (the business’s brewery) will be releasing special IPA beer “Presumed Guilty” made specifically for this site and opening.

To preregister for the event, visit the Carbon Chamber’s Event Calendar at https://business.carboncountychamber.org/events.

For more information, visit the Wine & More on 1st Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/PalmertonTastingRoom), or Instagram at @wine_and_more_tasting_room.