Liquor license transfer approved for proposed Mt. Lebanon restaurant
Harry Funk / Staff Work is in progress on Block 292 in Mt. Lebanon.
Harry Funk / Staff Work is in progress on Block 292 in Mt. Lebanon.
A proposed restaurant in Mt. Lebanon has received approval for a liquor-license transfer.
Commissioners voted unanimously March 8 to adopt a resolution granting the transfer to GUTBUBS LLC, which plans to open Block 292 at 292 Beverly Road. The restaurant’s owner is Mt. Lebanon resident Brooks Broadhurst, former senior vice president of food and beverage for Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, the entity from which the license was transferred.
Plans also call for a butcher shop specializing in items from Jamison Farm in Westmoreland County, which is “noted for sustainable hormone- and antibiotic-free meats,” Broadhurst’s attorney, Mark Kozar of Flaherty & O’Hara, told commissioners.
Family member Eliza Jamison will be the restaurant’s chef. She has similar experience in New York, Florida and Chile, according to Kozar.
“It’s going to be about the food,” he said about Block 292. “Alcohol will be served as a complement to the food and not as the main attraction.”
The restaurant, which is taking the place of a former garage next to Ace Paints on Beverly, will have seating for approximately 50 patrons, and plans call for 34 part-time employees. Hours are from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
A sample menu presented to commissioners shows such dishes as steak tartar, braised short ribs, pan-roasted trout and navarin, a lamb stew.
Commissioner John Bendel said that the municipal traffic engineer, police and fire departments examined the potential traffic impact and had no objections.
But parking, usually at a premium along Beverly Road, could present some issues.
Resident Barbara Sollenberger of Newburn Drive said vehicles often park illegally, sometimes blocking her driveway, because of the proximity to another restaurant.
“I can see the same kind of thing happening on Beverly Road,” she told commissioners.
While Block 292 will include five parking spots on its property, Bendel acknowledged that the municipal parking facilities advisory board has discussed vehicle placement in the Beverly Road commercial district, an item that was on the board’s February agenda.
“I don’t know what the solution will be,” he said. “It will not be an immediate, quick-fix thing. It was a condition that existed before this use and needs to be addressed, and while we haven’t taken it up as a full commission yet, I suspect that we will in the very near future.”
The Pennsylvania Liquor Code, as amended in 2000, requires that a hearing take place before the governing body of a municipality prior to the approval of an intermunicipal transfer of a liquor license.
“I would not approve this if it weren’t a local family,” Commissioner Dave Brumfield said, attributing his vote to “the fact that it’s someone who you feel has invested in the community.”
Bendel agreed.
“They’ve taken great care to make sure the neighbors were aware and the other merchants on Beverly Road were aware,” he said.