Pennsylvania-based hospitality team, Funck’s Restaurant Group, will take over operations of The Parkside Hotel at 3 E. Derry Rd in Hershey on Monday, Mar 6, as first detailed in a Facebook post penned by Fred and Sue Gasper, the restaurant’s owners for the past 47 years who are now retiring.
“It is with a heavy heart that Fred and I are announcing our last day of business will be Sunday March 5, 2023,” wrote the couple. “This is very bittersweet for us but it’s time to retire.”
Meanwhile, Funck’s Restaurant Group owner, Alan Funck, tells What Now Philadelphia, “We’re keeping the name for sure. To start out everything’s going to remain the same, but in time, there’s probably going to be a pretty substantial remodel at some point. It could be a couple years out though.”
Although the Gaspers had owned Parkside Hotel since 1976, its history dates all the way back to 1908 when it originally opened as Rosie’s, according to a recent article in Penn Live which first broke the news of the ownership change.
As such, the restaurant is nothing short of a local institution, and has garnered a devoted following as a “refined dive bar” with its classic comfort food menu spanning burgers, chicken sandwiches, cheese steaks, and signature entrees such as the Broiled Crab Cakes Dinner, Blackened Chicken Breast, and Shrimp Scampi.
“I am excited to be taking over…for Fred and Sue. They were there for 47 years, and it has a long history before that,” says Funck, adding, “we’re excited to be there in Hershey at that location.”
