Bettis adding restaurant to roster
Art Rooney II of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kevin McClatchy of the Pittsburgh Pirates welcomed Jerome Bettis' announcement Friday that he is opening a restaurant at the Del Monte Foods Co. building on the North Shore.
They say they are looking forward to other "exciting" developments planned between Heinz Field and PNC Park.
Developments include the expected start later this year of a North Shore Live Entertainment District complex -- which will include an amphitheater -- and the construction of a 150-room hotel.
"The concept is to provide both indoor and outdoor entertainment," Rooney said of North Shore Live to be built by Continental Real Estate Cos. of Columbus, Ohio, in conjunction with Cordish Co. of Baltimore.
"Live!" districts are trademark Cordish developments, which generally include a mix of night clubs, restaurants and stores.
North Shore Live will be located at a current "Gold" parking lot site east of Heinz Field, said Rooney and Frank Kass, chairman of Continental Real Estate.
The amphitheater -- topped by an open, glass roof -- will be ringed by night clubs and other entertainment-themed outlets, said Kass, whose company is developing land between the stadiums on behalf of the sports teams.
"We hope to have year-round entertainment because the amphitheater will also have heat," said Rooney.
Kass said he hopes to announce plans for the hotel by March or April. The hotel would be located in a parking lot across North Shore Drive from the site of a possible new office building planned just west of Equitable Resources Inc.'s existing headquarters building.
Plans for Jerome Bettis Grille 36 were described yesterday by Bettis and his partner in the project, Celebrity Ventures Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The eatery will be the fourth restaurant on the North Shore -- joining Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, which already is open; and two scheduled to open this year: McFadden Restaurant and Saloon, and Calico Jack's Cantina.
"I'm very proud to have a restaurant bearing my name," said the former Steelers star, who retired last year. "I wanted a first-class restaurant and didn't want a sports bar, but a restaurant with a sports theme."
Howard Shiller, president of Celebrity Ventures, said the "affordably priced" Jerome Bettis Grille 36 will be located on the Heinz Field side of the Del Monte Building. The eatery will cost about $3 million to build and will feature $350,000 worth of audio visual equipment and 40 to 50 high-definition plasma televisions, he said.
Expected to open by the end of May, the restaurant will seat up to 250 people inside, with additional warmer weather seating available in a patio area overlooking the Allegheny River. The restaurant will employ about 125.
Plans are to serve lunch and dinner seven days a week -- perhaps all year, although it may be closed for such holidays as Christmas, said Shiller.
The menu will feature some of Bettis' favorites, said his mother, Gladys.
"Included are salads, macaroni and cheese, a 36-ounce 'Jerome' signature steak, burgers and pecan-encrusted pork chops," she said.
"And I'm going to suggest he add spaghetti," Gladys Bettis said.
Shiller said additional locations in the Pittsburgh region are a possibility, depending on the success of the concept.
Jerome Bettis Grille 36 is the third restaurant to be developed by Celebrity Ventures in conjunction with a sports personality. Celebrity Ventures has opened Eddie George's Grille 27 in Columbus, Ohio, and Jeff Conine's Clubhouse Grille in Hollywood, Fla.
