New restaurant still in works for McKeesport
McKeesport city officials expect there will be a new restaurant at the former Stratwood/Cavanaugh's and Lemon Tree location along Long Run Road.
Restaurateur Prasad Bandhu plans to open Savory Steel Bar & Grille at 623 Long Run Road, Route 48, across from Olympia Shopping Center.
It has been described as a family restaurant and sports bar that may accommodate banquets.
“He has done a lot of work there but he still needs the funding,” Mayor Michael Cherepko said.
“The last we heard he is in the process of obtaining (a Pennsylvania) Enterprise Zone loan,” city Administrator Matt Gergely said. “Once he secures that, he would have the funds needed to finish the work. We are watching his progress very closely.”
Gergely expects action on the loan this month.
Bandhu could not be reached for comment.
On Jan. 14, Bandhu predicted it would be three to four weeks until the restaurant's opening day.
“The building has been closed for several years,” Bandhu said. “A lot of the copper linings were open and frozen. We had to totally renovate the whole building. All the old carpet was removed.”
Gergely said there were roofing issues, too.
“They've been doing a ton of work on it,” Mon Yough Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Maury Burgwin said. “They were spending a considerable amount of money fixing it up.”
Bandhu's Maya Restaurants Inc. of Murrysville purchased the 1.07-acre property in June 2014 for $100,000 from Festival Fun Parks, a holding company owned by Parques Reunidos, whose California subsidiary Palace Entertainment runs Kennywood, and its Stratwood Catering subsidiary once ran Cavanaugh's.
According to the Allegheny County real estate website, the properties along Long Run Road owned by Maya Restaurants Inc. have a total assessed value of $169,700, including $51,100 for the restaurant and $15,300 for an adjacent building.
The Long Run Road properties owe a combined county tax of $953.80, including interest and penalties due if the bill is paid by Aug. 31.
Maya Restaurants includes the Winghart's Burgers, Beer and Whiskey establishments in Greensburg, and Pittsburgh's Market Square and the South Side.
There was an outlet in Monroeville Mall, but it closed at the end of April after an incident with gunshots fired and fights outside.
The Market Square outlet was closed twice by fires in just over two years, in September 2012 and Oct. 4, 2014.
Events in Monroeville and Market Square “greatly impacted his revenues,” Gergely said.
The McKeesport outlet is not supposed to be a Winghart's, but reportedly a staff was being trained at Monroeville for the Long Run Road location. Cherepko reiterated on Thursday that Bandhu wanted to use McKeesport as a prep kitchen for other outlets.
“It will be more family friendly,” Bandhu said in January. “The food is going to be fresh made, like Winghart's, but a more customized menu so people can make their own type of burger, make their own type of fries, make their own type of pizza and make their own type of salad.”
The McKeesport location had a liquor license but it was transferred to Kennywood for beer sales.
Another license was transferred to 623 Long Run Road by a handful of surviving members of a Polish Catholic social club in Pittsburgh's South Oakland section, doing business as St. Michael Arch Angel Beneficial and Protective Association.
The association moved the license with the intention of selling it to Maya Restaurants.
Patrick Cloonan is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-664-9161 ext. 1967, or pcloonan@tribweb.com.
