Upon retiring from Bethlehem Steel in 1984, Bill Hanna Sr. (“The Boss”) took the ultimate gamble and invested his lump sum pension in a restaurant. As Bill would like to quip, if it hadn’t proved successful, he would have been standing in the cheese line. Along with his son Mark, whose years of experience in the industry proved invaluable, Mark and Bill opened Rodney’s in December of 1985. 

The building itself was purchased from the Rooth family, who had operated it as a successful bar for many years. Interestingly, in their later years of business, the space that is now Rodney’s dining room housed son Michael Rooth’s law practice. After several months of hard work and thousands of dollars in improvements, a restaurant was born. Rodney’s continued to thrive under Mark’s direction along with help from Bill Jr. and the entire staff.

As an interesting side note, the name “Rodney’s” was chosen by Mark, as he was a big fan of Rodney Dangerfield.