The Imperial Restaurant

What The Imperial Restaurant does

The Imperial Restaurant is a privately-held, single-location fine dining establishment operating at 26 East Chestnut Street in historic downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2018 with 32 employees, the restaurant offers artful American cuisine with seasonal, plant-based, and gluten-sensitive options, led by Chef Kile Zercher, whose culinary background includes over a decade training in French restaurants. The venue features indoor dining, seasonal patio seating, and a 20-seat solid wood bar, and is affiliated with The Imperial Event Center, which adds ballrooms, terrace, conference rooms, and Holiday Inn hotel accommodations for large private gatherings up to 200 guests.

The business operates across five distinct revenue streams: dine-in restaurant service, bar sales (with a daily Monday-Friday 4-7 pm happy hour), private dinner parties (up to 30 guests), to-go ordering, and digital eGift cards. The technology stack is composed of third-party SaaS tools rather than proprietary platforms. Tripleseat powers private event booking and management, SilverPay enables the to-go ordering system and the eGift card program, and menus are served as PDFs hosted on Google Drive. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-consumer in a single domestic market, with marketing driven by organic social media (Facebook and Instagram) and the happy hour promotion.

The go-to-market is a direct-to-consumer hospitality model serving fine dining patrons, private event hosts, bar patrons, and to-go customers in the Lancaster market. There is no disclosed pricing on the public website, no investor relations presence, no parent company, and no institutional investment. The operational footprint is constrained to one physical location with multi-format venue flexibility, and customer acquisition is local and organic.

Name

The Imperial Restaurant

Legal name

The Imperial Restaurant

Website

https://theimperialrestaurant.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Imperial Restaurant is a privately-held fine dining restaurant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, offering artful American cuisine, a craft cocktail bar, private events, and to-go ordering serving local diners, event hosts, and bar patrons.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Dining Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (7224)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Fine Dining Restaurants (THAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK), Bars & Pubs (Non-Music) (MPAGAIAC)

Keywords

• Fine dining restaurant
• American cuisine
• Craft cocktails
• Private event venue
• Event center

Headquarters

HQ city

Lancaster

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Sales: Revenue from full-service dinner service featuring artful American cuisine with seasonal, plant-based, and gluten-sensitive options. Covers indoor dining and seasonal patio seating.
2. Bar Sales: Craft beer, wine, signature and seasonal cocktails, and mocktails served at a 20-seat solid wood bar. Happy hour promotions drive sales Monday-Friday 4-7 pm.
3. Private Events: Revenue from hosting private dinner parties and special events. Accommodates small gatherings up to 30 guests at the restaurant, and larger groups up to 200 at The Imperial Event Center including ballrooms, terrace, and conference rooms.
4. To-Go Orders: Fine dining dishes prepared for pickup. Customers order online for fast pickup.
5. eGift Cards: Digital gift cards sold for gifting purposes, powered by SilverPay platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Imperial Restaurant is a fine dining establishment in historic downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania offering artful American cuisine with seasonal, plant-based, vegetarian, and gluten-sensitive menu options. Beyond its full-service dinner restaurant and 20-seat craft cocktail bar (with daily happy hour), the business hosts private dinner parties for small groups up to 30 guests and provides access to The Imperial Event Center for larger gatherings up to 200 people, supplemented by to-go ordering and digital eGift cards.

Product overview

The Imperial Restaurant is a single-location fine dining establishment offering a unified hospitality experience centered around its dinner restaurant and bar service. The core product is the restaurant itself, with supplementary offerings including a craft cocktail bar with Happy Hours, private dinner party hosting for small groups, to-go order pickup, table reservations, an affiliated large-scale event center (Imperial Event Center), and digital eGift cards. All services are offered at one physical location in Lancaster, PA, with bar food, dinner, and drink menus available via Google Drive-hosted PDFs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Imperial Restaurant (Fine Dining Dinner Service) Full-service fine dining restaurant offering artful American cuisine with seasonal ingredients, featuring vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-sensitive options. Located in historic downtown Lancaster with indoor and seasonal patio seating. Open Sun-Thu 4-9 pm, Fri-Sat 4-10 pm.
• The Imperial Bar 20-seat solid wood bar offering craft beers, signature and seasonal cocktails, mocktails, and bar bites. Features Happy Hours Monday-Friday 4-7 pm. Open daily from 4 pm.
• Private Dinner Parties Customized private dining experiences for small gatherings up to 30 guests in an intimate setting with history-inspired décor and genuine hospitality. Includes artful infusion of American and international cuisine.
• Imperial Event Center Large group venue with The Imperial Ballrooms, The Imperial Terrace, conference and meeting rooms, and hotel accommodations at the Holiday Inn Lancaster for gatherings up to 200 people.
• To-Go Orders Fine dining pickup service allowing customers to order signature dishes for fast pickup via SilverPay platform.
• eGift Cards Digital gift cards for The Imperial Restaurant that can be purchased and sent instantly via SilverPay platform.
• Reservations Table booking service for dining at The Imperial Restaurant, with options for private party bookings.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Holiday Inn LancasterminorOthersNearby hotel accommodations recommended for guests attending private events or dining at The Imperial. The Imperial Event Center includes hotel accommodations at Holiday Inn Lancaster for large group events.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Maggiano's Little Italy: National upscale-casual Italian restaurant chain with large-format private and semi-private event/banquet spaces (frequently used for corporate and social events). Comparable to The Imperial on event-hosting and full-service dining model, but with chain scale.
• Eddie V's Prime Seafood: Upscale national chain pairing a fine dining menu with an extensive cocktail/wine program and private dining. Comparable to The Imperial on fine-dining-plus-craft-bar positioning, though at significantly larger scale.
• The Capital Grille: National upscale steakhouse chain with private dining, wine program, and event services. Comparable to The Imperial on premium full-service dining, craft bar, and private event hosting, but with national scale.
• Ruth's Chris Steak House: National chain of upscale fine dining steak restaurants with private dining rooms, full bar programs, and event capabilities. Broad incumbent in the same premium full-service dining category as The Imperial, operating at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• The Pressroom Restaurant: Upscale American farm-to-table restaurant located in a restored historic building in downtown Lancaster, PA, with a craft bar and private dining. Directly comparable on historic-venue fine dining and Lancaster market positioning.
• The Belvedere Inn: Historic fine dining restaurant and event venue in Lancaster, PA, offering upscale American cuisine, private dining, and wedding/event hosting. Direct comparable to The Imperial on cuisine style, market, and event-center business model.
• John Jeffrey's Restaurant at The Lancaster Arts Hotel: Farm-to-table fine dining restaurant in downtown Lancaster, PA, with a full bar and private event space. Comparable to The Imperial on full-service dining, downtown Lancaster market, and adjacent hotel/event business.
• Triple Crown (Trio / Tellus360): Multi-concept hospitality venue in downtown Lancaster, PA, combining a restaurant, bar, and live entertainment/event space. Comparable to The Imperial on downtown Lancaster location, event-driven revenue, and bar-as-destination model.

Regional players

• The 401 Tavern: Upscale tavern in Lancaster County, PA, with a craft cocktail bar, seasonal American menu, and private events. Comparable to The Imperial on craft bar + elevated American cuisine, with a similar suburban Lancaster County trade area.
• Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant (Lancaster): Full-service brewpub in Lancaster, PA, offering a full bar, craft beer, and casual American menu with private event space. Comparable to The Imperial on bar+food service, Lancaster market, and event offerings, but at a more casual price point.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/theimperialrestaurantlancaster
• Instagraminstagram.com/theimperialrestaurantlancaster
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-imperial-restaurant

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Imperial Restaurant