Our Story

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Dans Restaurant was opened in 1989 by Dan Gallagher and Dan Smith. The two Dans' shared a goal of providing a contemporary alternative to the traditional Berks County dining scene.

The restaurant atmosphere is open, uncluttered, and inviting. The Dans approach to wines was unintimidating and the service was professional and attractive, yet welcoming and less formal. The food was always of the highest quality and inspired by California cuisine and healthy, contemporary regional cuisines from throughout the world.

The new owners, Bill Woolworth and Monir, were dining at Dans in January of 2005 when they had the idea of purchasing the restaurant. They decided that if the Dans' were to ever to sell the restaurant, they would buy it. Both Bill and Monir were thinking this would be something that would happen years down the road.

As fate would have it, Dans Restaurant closed later on that year in 2005. Bill and Monir knew they had to make their move and the two purchased the restaurant. Bill and Monir reopened Dans Restaurant on Valentine's Day, 2006.

Our Building

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The Dans Restaurant building is located in the Penn’s Common Historic District of Reading Pennsylvania at 1049 Penn Street. Founded in 1910, the structure was originally built for a prison doctor that wanted to be close to his patients. This was during the time when the prison was located in City Park. When the doctor passed away, the building was raised and current structure was built.

Over the years, the four-story brick building has served many purposes. In the 1960’s, the building was home to a popular soda fountain called Thamlers. In 1981, a restaurant called Quishe Me Tonight opened and featured an eclectic menu from around the world.