Is Shanty on 19th Still Open? 24 Hours to Hell and Back Update

Shanty on 19th was a long-running bar and bistro in Allentown's West End Theatre District, in business since the late 1960s and known locally for live music and karaoke as much as for food. By the time Gordon Ramsay's crew arrived in the fall of 2018, the business had drifted from its original fine-dining concept toward a more casual bar culture, and as the episode disclosed, owners Joe and his wife Melanie were carrying close to two million dollars in restaurant debt while their marriage strained under the pressure. Ramsay, dining undercover, found an overly long menu, slow service, burnt scallops, and food served lukewarm or half-frozen.

Hidden-camera footage later shown to the staff and customers documented kitchen sanitation problems including grease-caked equipment and unclean prep surfaces, along with staff tasting food with their fingers and a family member spitting into dishes, which led Ramsay to press Joe into removing that relative from the restaurant. He also found neglected equipment and heavy grease buildup around the stove that staff were made to clean before the relaunch. To fix the business, Ramsay's team trimmed the sprawling menu into a more focused selection, retrained the kitchen on the new dishes, replaced worn kitchen equipment, and proposed elevating Melanie into a general-manager role to relieve pressure on Joe and improve accountability.

The relaunch dinner drew a positive response from diners and staff, though Joe briefly reverted to old habits before being pulled back in line during service. Since the episode aired in January 2019, the restaurant has continued operating under the same name and at the same Allentown address. Melanie did not remain in the general-manager position long-term, and an account on realitytvupdates.com states the couple added kitchen staff and gave the head chef more authority over the menu, folding some of their own dishes in alongside Ramsay's simplified lineup.

Current business listings for Shanty on 19th show continuously updated hours, an active phone line, and integration with delivery platforms including Grubhub and Postmates, with no closure notice on any listing checked in September 2026. A regional Lehigh Valley tourism directory separately lists the same current hours and menu focus on live music, karaoke, and Sunday brunch.