Capt. Gus's Steak Shop is for sale, a cider taproom opens in Strasburg, and your Halloween week guide

The Digest

A 58-year-old Lancaster steak shop is for sale

Capt. Gus's Steak Shop at 600 W. Orange St. is on the market, and the children of its founder are selling the business and the building together. The asking price is $775,000 for the 2,700-square-foot shop, an attached laundromat and a basement for storage. Gus Karpouzis, a Greek immigrant and World War II veteran who graduated from McCaskey in 1943, opened the shop in 1968 and named it for his love of boating. His kids Phyllis Rothweiler and Nick Karpouzis have run it since 2012, and for the last six years Nick has run the grill with a crew of three.

"Our wish is for it to carry on, but we 100% understand that it could be something different," said Rothweiler, who is a real estate agent. Nick started working there at 12, turns 60 in February and has never filled out a job application. He says he'll stay on to train a new owner, and he has one piece of advice for whoever buys it: don't replace the grill. "It's 58 years of seasoning," he said. If you've been meaning to get a cheesesteak there, this would be the fall to do it.

Read more at LancasterOnline →

A hard cider taproom opens off the square in Strasburg

Shady Rooster Craft Cidery opened its taproom Friday at 15 W. Main St. in Strasburg, in the building next to the Strasburg Creamery that used to house Smokestack BBQ. Along with traditional hard apple cider, it pours peach, pear and berry ciders, plus a selection of locally brewed beers and a light snack menu. There's seating for about 20 in the first-floor dining room, room for 30 more upstairs and outdoor seating.

Owners Bailey Groff and Jonathan Brenneman have been making cider commercially for about two years, and until now they sold it from a stand at Cherry Crest Adventure Farm. So if you went through the corn maze this fall and had a cider, you've probably already tried it. Between this and Helm Distilling, Strasburg picked up two new places to get a drink in the same week.

Read more at LancasterOnline →

Halloween Week

Halloween is Saturday, and nearly every town in Lancaster County does trick-or-treat that night from 6 to 8 PM. The one exception we found is Elizabeth Township, which goes Friday, Oct. 30, from 6 to 8 PM.

The parades start tonight in Lititz at 7 PM. Ephrata's Jack Frost Children's Costume Parade is Wednesday at 7 PM, and Strasburg, Akron and West Earl all march Thursday at 7 PM. On Saturday, Park City Center does in-mall trick-or-treating from 5 to 7 PM, and Hands-on House holds a Make-Believe Masquerade Ball for kids in the morning.

We put every Halloween event we could find in one place: 75 parades, trunk-or-treats, haunts, ghost tours and costume parties, plus trick-or-treat hours for 34 towns.

See the full Lancaster County Halloween guide →

What's happening

Monday

Lititz Lions Halloween Parade | The Lions Club's evening Halloween parade steps off at Locust and Main and heads west to the square | 7 PM to 9 PM | Main Street, Lititz | Free

Pumpkin Guts Toddler Activity | Sensory play with real pumpkins for toddlers, with an adult along | 9 AM to 11 AM | Adamstown Area Library, 110 W. Main St, Adamstown | No admission listed

The Treachery of Botany: Poisonous Garden Plants | Penn State Master Gardeners on spotting the poisonous plants already in your yard, for adults | 6 PM to 7:45 PM | Manheim Township Public Library, Morgan Center B, 595 Granite Run Drive, Lancaster | Free, registration required

Lancaster Compost Co-op Orientation | An hour on how hot composting works and how to join the co-op, required before you can drop off food scraps | 6 PM to 7 PM | Lancaster Compost Co-Ops bins behind Culliton Park, 317 E. Filbert St, Lancaster | No admission listed

Open Studio at Horst Arts | Bring your own project and work alongside other local makers around an 11-foot scrap-wood table | 6:30 PM | Horst Arts Center, 17 N. Main St, Manheim | Free, registration required

Vocal Harmonix Chorus Open Rehearsal | Singers of any level can sit in on the chorus's weekly rehearsal | 7 PM to 9:30 PM | Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1905 Broad St, East Petersburg | No admission listed

MA Zig's Lunch Ride | A 21-mile no-drop group ride at about 12 mph, helmets required | 10 AM to 1 PM | Manheim Township Athletic Complex, 2883 Weaver Rd, Lancaster | No admission listed

Tuesday

Tuesday Matinee: Ghostbusters | The last film in the library's October run of spooky movies on the big screen | 1 PM to 3:15 PM | Manheim Township Public Library, Morgan Center B, 595 Granite Run Drive, Lancaster | No admission listed

Survive the Outbreak: Zombie Emergency Preparedness | Fire Chief Scott Little uses a zombie apocalypse to teach real go-bag and off-grid skills, for adults | 6 PM to 7:45 PM | Manheim Township Public Library, Morgan Center B, 595 Granite Run Drive, Lancaster | No admission listed, registration encouraged

Lancaster Story Slam: Open Theme | Anyone can take the mic and tell a true, personal story, and it often sells out ahead | 7 PM | Zoetropolis Cinema, 112 N. Water St, Lancaster | No price listed

Tarot Tuesday | Aaron's Books' monthly tarot night with a guided meditation and a themed group reading, bring a deck | 6 PM to 9 PM | Aaron's Books, 35 E. Main St, Lititz | $5

Read Philosophy with Me | A lunchtime reading group, no philosophy background needed, finishing Simone Weil's The Need for Roots | Noon to 1 PM | Prince Street Cafe, 15 N. Prince St, Lancaster | Free

Lancaster Bicycle Club Tuesday Training Ride | A fast 25-mile ride at 20 to 22 mph, rain or shine | 5:30 PM to 7 PM | Calvary Church parking lot, 1051 Landis Valley Rd, Lancaster | No admission listed

Now Playing

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical | Carole King's story from Brooklyn songwriter to Tapestry | Tue through Sun, dark Monday | Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, 510 Centerville Rd., Lancaster | $55 show only, $78 to $83 with dinner

JOSHUA | Sight & Sound's original production, from the Jordan River to the walls of Jericho, through Dec. 31 | Tue through Thu, 11 AM and 3 PM | Sight & Sound Theatres, 300 Hartman Bridge Road, Ronks | $82 to $104 adults, $44 children

Murder at Ackerton Manor | An Agatha Christie send-up where three actors play seven suspects, closes Nov. 8 | Wed through Sun, no Monday or Tuesday shows | Fulton Theatre, Tell Studio Theatre, 12 North Prince Street, Lancaster | Prices vary by performance, $10 student rush at the box office

Live music

Monday

Tom Pontz Trio | Live music with dinner at the Southern Italian spot on Main Street | 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM | Beccafico, 27-31 E. Main St., Lititz | No cover listed

Open Mic Artist Sessions with Henry Devorick | Weekly open mic in the pub, covers and originals welcome, sign up early, 21+ | 7 PM | Tellus360, 24 E. King St., Lancaster | Free

Tuesday

The Hootin' Annie's at the Lancaster Square Dance | A live string band while JW Neilsen calls the square dance, no experience needed | 6:30 PM to 9 PM | West Art, 816 Buchanan Ave., Lancaster | $10 to $20 suggested donation