New restaurants opening in Greensburg
James Albert wanted to bring the feel of the New Jersey shore to Greensburg, but he needed to find the right location.
He believes he has, at the corner of West Otterman Street and North Harrison Avenue, in the heart of the new construction that involves the state office building, Seton Hill University's art center and the addition to the Westmoreland County Courthouse Annex.
Albert has opened "Doe's East Coast Dogs," named after his late mother, Dolores "Doe" Lauffer Albert.
Albert, also Greensburg's district judge, said the potential foot travel was a factor in his decision to open a restaurant, which offers large hot dogs on specially made buns. His dogs include one containing his mother's secret sauce and others named after him, his siblings and Greensburg fire Chief Ed Hutchinson.
"Everything is coming to fruition," Albert said. "I'm right in the center of what I think should be a busy pedestrian walkway."
Albert is one of at least three new owners who believe their restaurants can succeed in Greensburg's downtown, where others have failed.
The construction projects are partly responsible for the optimism. Both the annex addition and the state office building will be finished soon. The office building is expected to bring 265 employees and their clients downtown from four state Labor and Industry offices that were scattered throughout the city.
Work on the $21 million art center, across Harrison Avenue from the hot dog shop, is slated to begin this summer and be completed in 2009.
Initially, at least 100 students from the university's theater and music programs are expected to be enrolled, with the possibility of that number more than doubling in five years, according to university officials. The community music program, also to be at the center, will enroll another 250 people, and others will come to the center for performances.
Mark Caringola, of Connellsville, owner of Mark C's Diner in the former Derby's International building along South Pennsylvania Avenue, said he talked with Greensburg business owners before opening in late April.
"I like the location," said Caringola, who with his brother/manager has a combined 50 years in the food-service business. "I've been told by other business owners this is the busiest street in Greensburg."
He's been watching employees of downtown businesses and the courthouse.
"A lot of them, most of them, walk to get lunch," Caringola said.
He said he believes there is enough foot traffic to keep his and other restaurants afloat.
Leslie Perry said she hopes the downtown construction will give Greensburg the hustle-and-bustle atmosphere it had in the 1950s and 1960s. The construction inspired her to try to open Perry's Pub and Grille this summer in the former Baggy Knee restaurant along East Pittsburgh Street.
"There's so much happening in Greensburg with the courthouse building, the state building, Seton Hill," she said. "We're hoping they can bring it back to the way the city used to be, and we want to be part of that."
Her husband had been considering opening the business under the name Lee's Bar and Grille, but other job duties forced him to turn over the main task to her, Perry said. Someone more familiar with the restaurant business, Rodney Yemc, who owns the building and Rodney's Restaurant in Hempfield Township, will be helping.
But while new restaurants are popping up, others that were waiting for the construction to be completed closed or relocated. Among them in the past three years were the Mean Bean Cafe, Derby's International and the Baggy Knee.
"I think it's normal ebb and flow," Steven Gifford, executive director of the Greensburg Community Development Corp., said of the restaurant changes. "It's unrealistic to believe that every business that opens is going to remain a vibrant business. I think that's the challenge of being a small business."
Gifford said the reasons why the restaurants closed included disagreements between landlords and tenants and cash-flow problems. Competition from new eateries along Route 30 in nearby Hempfield Township was another factor, he said.
"Just because you provide a quality product isn't enough anymore," Gifford said, adding that sometimes a business must have a gimmick, its own way of attracting customers.
Patrick Conway, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, said operating a restaurant, especially a small, independent one, can be demanding.
"It's very rewarding, but very challenging from a business aspect," he said.
Conway said many restaurants operate on a 4 percent or 5 percent profit margin.
City Planner Barb Ciampini said she remains optimistic that the projects will bolster business downtown.
"(This summer) 265 more state employees will be in town, and they have to eat," she said of the completion of the state office building. "That's one of the purposes for bringing them into town -- to dispose of their disposable income. They have to eat."
