Summer update: The Sweet Spot Remains the Best restaurant in downtown Johnstown Pennsylania

Good morning everyone. I hope your summer is going well and starting off smoothly.

A new sign at 145 Franklin Street welcomes patrons.

Back in March I dined at The Sweet Spot in downtown Johnstown Pennsylvania. Located at 145 Franklin Street, the Sweet Spot replaces the series of pizzerias that tried and failed to thrive in the space. Specializing in burgers, bubble tea, and now milkshakes, the Sweet Spot offers very high quality food at a middle range price. On 7 June 2024 I stopped by to take some photos and find out what has changed now that they have finished setting up shop officially.

Games! The Sweet Spot now has a Pac Man video game and two claw machine games to play with.

Improved signage above the counter makes it easier than ever to find your perfect meal.

This was one of the areas I specifically asked the owners to improve upon back in March. Being excellent small business people, they were happy for the feedback (along with the feedback from any patron) and have made great improvements in this area.

The bubble tea and milkshakes finally have menus.

When I was dining there in March I saw dozens of people getting these to go but couldn’t see any information about them. These signs help you a lot if you aren’t a regular customer.

The tables now have more condiments on them.

When I was there in March there was ketchup and some sugar on the tables, but really nothing more. You had to ask them for mustard, coffee creamers, etc. On 7 June 2024 they had shelf-stable coffee creamers: plain, vanilla, and hazelnut. This fluctuates a bit, so if your favorite is not on the table when you sit down, it helps to ask. They may have refrigerated choices you can’t see.

In addition I saw Tabasco sauce and ketchup on every table. Aspartame and sugar as well.

They also have more beverage options than before if you want a traditional soft drink.

Outside the hours are much clearer than before. Monday through Thursday they open at 10 am and close at 9 pm. Friday and Saturday they are open from 10 am to 11 pm except on specific nights with special programming either in house or downtown – then they are sometimes open as late as 1 am. On Sundays they are open from 11 am to 6 pm.

On June 22nd I noticed they added a green neon sign in the front window that says “The Sweet Spot” and faces Central Park.

The staff at The Sweet Spot remain very friendly and helpful. If you are a dine-in customer they bring your order to you. Tips for this service are not mandatory, but appreciated and can be offered at the front counter.

Overall the Sweet Spot remains the best restaurant in Johnstown for a quality burger. They recently were nominated for awards which are well deserve. Whether you live in Johnstown or are visiting town, make a point to get a snack or a meal at the Sweet Spot. You will be very happy you did.

Main Street Pizzeria is Johnstown Pennsylvania’s Worst Pizzeria

I love to support small businesses. As an independent author it makes sense to support others whose businesses, like mine, need a bit of a lift.

Sadly, I cannot recommend Main Street Pizzeria. Located at 502 Main Street in downtown Johnstown Pennsylvania in the space formerly occupied by Capri Pizza, they are only open from 10am to 4pm Monday through Thursdays and on Fridays from 10am to 8pm. Closed weekends. This alone tells you that Main Street Pizzeria has one core clientele: downtown business employees and downtown residents from primarily the three buildings owned by the Johnstown Housing Authority. They are not really set up for tourists or people who live outside of walking distance.

The food here is expensive, especially for what you are getting. When I came to dine there on 7 June 2024 I went for the facebook advertised special of 2 slices of pepperoni pizza for $6.00. But this is not what the chalk board signage near the entrance promoted. That offered the same 2 slices of pepperoni plus a drink for $9.

The only menus available in store are these tiny framed pages next to the front counter.

The font on these is equally tiny and hard to read, even for those with 20/20 vision.

The signage at this place is ridiculously minimal, depending on their facebook page to provide even the most basic information about what they have to offer. Despite having indoor seating, there are no menus for patrons to look at – just a couple of framed pages on the wall next to their very small cooler with about three or four 20 oz bottled sodas, plus bottled water. This is also where they have their grated parm cheese. Tap water is not available here: you are expected to pay the $3 for a bottle of water if you want some.

Seating is, as expected, rather minimal. Just these four tables.

My two pizzas arrived in about 5 minutes, being cut from large pizzas baked several minutes before. That’s fine; many restaurants do that. The lady there brought them to my table, hiding the single napkin she offered under the metal plate so well I didn’t know she gave me even one until I asked her about it 10 minutes later.

Meanwhile my neighbor sat down with me after ordering his food: a bacon cheeseburger and fries. Price: $19.50.

Patiently I waited to eat my pizzas until his burger arrived. 10 minutes passed. 15. 20. 30 minutes before his food arrived.

Finally it came and we were both able to eat.

What we got was absolutely not worth the price.

I paid $6.36 for these two slices of pizza. Just 1 mm thick, there is no sauce on this at all. None. It’s a heavily salted bit of very thin crust with a tiny amount of cheese and about 1/3rd of the pepperoni you usually find at competitors.

My neighbor’s order was a bit better in quality. It’s a fancy bun with romaine lettuce. The fries are fine – my neighbor gave me one to taste. But this is little better than what you can find at your favorite fast food place – for more than double the cost. $19 plus tax for something I could get at McDonalds half that. As my neighbor put it: the most expensive burger and fries he’s ever eaten.

It took getting his burger after a wait of 30 minutes for the lady there to realize that me and my neighbor were paying separate but dining together. The lady there gave me a replacement set of pizza slices to compensate me. On each slice: just two pieces of pepperoni.

This visit was, in essence, a disaster in the making. My food was the worst pizza I’ve ever bought at a restaurant (frozen from the supermarket is actually better). No tap water. High prices. Not even napkins at table or offered, let alone a fork or knife. When I tried microwaving a slice for 30 seconds it proved the horrible quality. This is not food I would ever pay money for given the choice. Absolutely the worst tasting pizza I can ever remember trying. The value for the money is way in the negative. Main Street Pizzeria in Johnstown is simply a horrible place to get pizza and an horrifically expensive place to get a burger and whatever else they serve at those crazy prices.

One of the oddest things about this terrible experience: I informed Main Street Pizzeria a couple days in advance that I was coming to eat and then post this review. In every other restaurant, the team makes a point to give writers explicitly there to write up reviews for/about them the best possible experience. They want positive reviews and need them to generate business. That they didn’t try to court a good review tells me what everything else about this visit tells me: these are not professionals looking for happy customers. Not from me. Not from you.

Next time you are in downtown Johnstown Pennsylvania, don’t waste your time or money with this place. After all, the excellent restaurant The Sweet Spot is just across the street. You will definitely get a better experience at the Sweet Spot.

Review: The Sweet Spot Becomes Downtown Johnstown’s Favorite Diner Cafe

Downtown Johnstown Pennsylvania is changing. Not only in the loss of Rite-Aid, Ideal Market, and the Cambria County Assistance office — three anchor businesses for downtown — but in the coming major renovations to Central Park (never to be confused with Manhattan’s Central Park) and the massive closings of established businesses bringing in new businesses.

The entire time I’ve lived in Johnstown, there has been some sort of restaurant at 145 Franklin street – that’s the business next door to the original downtown location for Rite Aid pharmacy before they moved to Vine/Market street. Over the years, that space was usually occupied by some sort of pizzeria. No longer. The Sweet Spot is now open there and from what I can see, has become the hottest and most popular place to eat downtown, especially if you are not looking for a formal, three to six course meal such as you get elsewhere downtown.

On 16 March 2024 I went with a neighbor to the Sweet Spot for lunch, arriving around 1045 – 1100 am. In the past (but not that day) they posted what must be an abridged menu in their window – information central to our decision to check them out.

I came for the swiss cheese mushroom burger, a comfort food of sorts because I ate them regularly back in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Runza locations across the city. Key to my assessment: are their swiss cheese mushroom burgers as good as the ones at Runza?

The menu above the ordering counter is minimal — both in listing what they offer and the prices. I had to ask a lot of questions and did not know they offered what is apparently their specialty selection of drinks, let alone the prices. For example, I was interested in ice cream and desserts with my burger – but none were on the board above me and there were no take out menus I could see. Only three or four side dishes were listed, all of them over $3.00. Next to the main counter is a refrigerator with some bottled/boxed beverages like 20 oz Pepsi, Mug root beer, boxed single serving tea and lemonade. No prices listed of course. Very minimal setup as far as I could see.

Fortunately the seating area and staff are many times better. Despite the small space, there are ample tables and sturdy chairs with ketchup and napkins on each table. Around half a dozen in total. On the opposite wall from where we were sitting is a framed t-shirt with a note that we can buy our own for around $25.00. Minimal, but at least comfortable – unlike the famous “Our Sons” restaurant on Broad street in Cambria City with its booths so tight and tightly packed you almost have to be a fashion model or a child to sit in them.

After a few questions i placed my order. The swiss cheese mushroom burger normally has onions; I informed them about my allergy which was very helpful to them. They said it was good that I came so early because mine was the first burger of the day and nothing in the kitchen had touched onions yet. A very positive quality about The Sweet Spot is precisely how much they care about food allergies. There’s a sign right in front of the cash register with allergy information. Top marks to them for caring.

In addition to the burger – which is very high quality meat – the swiss cheese mushroom burger is served on a quality, mid-sized bun. I wasn’t measuring it, but it’s roughly the size of a standard McDonalds burger. But the bread is much higher quality than McDonalds. Fresh mushrooms – not canned like most places – are cooked and layered over the swiss cheese. Upon that is a special sauce they make with their own blend of spices. “Smash sauce” I think they call it, but don’t quote me on that. If you want just one beef patty, the price is $6.99 plus tax and tip.

Yes tip, because after you place the order at the counter, they bring the food to you and offer exceptional table service. Most people I saw receive this table service are not tipping – but I did. This is not some hurried chain restaurant where they want to get you out the door fast, but a small business that is eager to please. I had at least 3 of the 5 staff members I saw come to my table to provide the best possible experience – much better service than at Eat’n Park and really any other formal restaurants where tips are more obviously expected. And no, they didn’t know I’m a writer! Let alone a writer who regularly leaves reviews online. There was genuine concern for both my health (food allergies!) and satisfaction. When I asked about some ketchup and mustard (the Smash Sauce doesn’t satisfy my taste) they were happy to oblige. If anything they served too much mustard and would do better to offer it in a squeeze bottle like the ketchup. 90% of what they served went into the trash – against my environmental sensibilities.

Meanwhile, as I ate, I found the place very busy, especially with takeout orders for custom made drinks. Drinks seem to be what The Sweet Spot is known for, despite the lack of signage about them. In the 30 minutes or so it took for me and my neighbor to eat our meals – he got the breakfast platter of ham, fried eggs, and toast – there were at least a dozen people coming in and out for custom drinks. Bubble tea? I couldn’t tell beyond looking up their website that they are known for them.

The Sweet Spot is a very busy little diner-cafe! A neighbor who works as a dog walker was also there and they were absolutely fine with the dog sitting there while she ate her meal. Count them a dog-friendly restaurant!

Overall, the quality of my burger was very high. After tip, it cost me over $8 – compared to the $2-$3 with McDonalds. Hence the value for the money has to be weighed according to your personal values. I wanted fries too – but at $4 for a serving of unknown size, I simply could not afford the money. Excluding the whole carb considerations that go with any level of diabetes.

This is definitely a quality establishment. The staff are friendly and eager to please. They want your business and will do anything to make you a regular customer.

Now if only they would post their full menu – somewhere! The full menu is not online, not displayed in the restaurant, and there’s no take away menus either to browse. In this they most need to improve. I’m not a regular and I don’t know what they have to offer, let alone how much each item costs. For me, as a patron, that information is essential. Likewise, they do not post their business hours – critical information.

For all of that, The Sweet Spot really is the hottest eating establishment in Johnstown, especially downtown. If you are coming to the area and want a great dining experience – especially if you are willing to spend extra for quality food – definitely come and give them a try! They are less posh than the Harrigan’s restaurant attached to the Holiday Inn Express and really do aim to please you when you walk in the door.

Come visit them at 145 Franklin street, across the street from Johnstown’s Central Park and close to Franklin/Main street.

Related restaurant reviews:

Sweet Spot update

Eat’n Park

Main Street Pizzeria

Review: Long John Silver’s Grilled Offerings Exceed Expectations

(originally posted September 5th, 2020)

Long John Silver’s is the USA’s classic fast food chain restaurant for seafood. With numerous locations in nearly every US state, LJS offers battered and fried fish (pollack), chicken, shrimp, and a fried savory bread called hushpuppies all as its go-to staple menu. For me growing up in Nebraska, it was my first real taste of fried fish beyond frozen fish sticks from the supermarket. As fast-food restaurants go, it’s also been a perpetual favourite, right behind Taco Bell and McDonalds. It’s fish and chips for American tastes and while it is easy to snub any fast food, by virtue of being comfort food offerings from LJS is always welcome in my home.

Unlike McDonalds and Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s locations are less abundant. For me that’s meant infrequent opportunities to dine there as I’ve lived and travelled across the USA. It is therefore not surprising that it has taken the pandemic and the explosion of delivery services for both restaurant and grocery foods to bring back my access to LJS, a welcome restoration after nearly ten years since my last meal at one of their restaurants.

Thanks to Doordash, I was able to order Long John Silver’s on 4 September 2020 to find that the classic

menu I grew up with has greatly expanded to not only include family-portioned “sea shares” and platters, but also crab cakes (unavailable to me before) and now grilled salmon, and grilled shrimp supplemented with healthier sides like fresh corn, green beans, and rice.

Availing myself of the new option to buy half-portion, add-on sides, I decided to order a classic fish (pollack) and fried shrimp platter with an add-on of the grilled shrimp. Probably by accident, a tiny piece of the grilled salmon was in the cup with the three pieces of grilled shrimp too, allowing me to sample it.

Tasting both made me strongly reject my traditional, comfort food entree choice. Both the grilled salmon and the grilled shrimp are delicious! They far exceed expectations, especially for fast food.

Probably the best way to describe the grilled shrimp is as a budget-priced shrimp scampi not unlike what you might find at Red Lobster — but without all the butter, calories, and gourmet presentation. There’s nothing fancy about your plate — or rather to-go cup — but the taste is just as good as the shrimp scampi at Red Lobster. The grilled salmon is seasoned the same. It is light, flaky, and tastes much better than the grilled salmon I’ve had a sit-down restaurants. In fact the Long John Silver’s salmon is so good I might actually start eating cooked salmon — something I haven’t done because, outside of salmon sushi, I’ve never really liked salmon.

In conclusion: the grilled choices at Long John Silvers are DELICIOUS and absolutely worth making part of your next meal. Next time I order LJS from Doordash I will most certainly make the grilled choices the center of my meal and switch the fried stuff to add-on status.