Tambellini's acquisition planned
Ed Dunlap may soon add the well-known Louis Tambellini's Restaurant on Rt. 51, in Bon Air, outside the Liberty Tunnels, to his portfolio of local restaurants.
"I am currently involved in due diligence on the restaurant, and should know by the first week of August if the deal will go through," said Dunlap, chairman of Centimark Corp., a Canonsburg, Washington County-based commercial roofing company.
The sales agreement -- he declined to disclose the price -- must be finalized by Aug. 31, he said.
One of the first moves he plans, once the sale goes through, is to tweak the name of the restaurant to "Tambellini's on Rt. 51," dropping the Louis name.
"I will make some gradual changes; they will be very slow and be in concert with the wishes of the many people who have been Tambellini customers since the Rt. 51 facility opened in 1981," he said.
Dunlap said the entire restaurant staff of about 100 would be retained and four employees added.
Meanwhile, Dunlap is moving ahead on opening in September Roscoe's, a restaurant in the former Dingbat site at One Oxford Centre, Downtown.
On Monday, he opened Jake's at the Galleria in Mt. Lebanon. He described Jake's as a southern and southwestern style barbecue restaurant, featuring sauces made locally but typical of those made in Kansas City, Memphis, the Tidewater area of Virginia and North Carolina, and Texas.
On the housing front, he plans to seek Pittsburgh City Planning Commission approval to convert the former Cliffside Restaurant on Grandview Avenue, Mt. Washington, into six one-bedroom apartments, called Cityview Apartments, with parking provided.
Long-term plans call for demolishing the existing parking garage on Grandview, opposite his LeMont Restaurant, and constructing a six-story building.
The first level would contain retail facilities, such as a coffee shop, dry cleaner or a convenience store. The second and perhaps third levels would be for parking, with the top three levels would feature condominiums.
He said the building's height is permitted under current zoning.
Dunlap and his wife, Anne, also jointly own Cafe Euro in the U.S. Steel Tower, Downtown; Cafe Euro South in the former Colony Restaurant building, Scott Township; and the Park Schenley restaurant name, although that restaurant has not opened.
