Microbrewery, Cigar Lounge To Make Pittsburgh's North Shore Home
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – More businesses are coming to Pittsburgh's North Shore, including an upscale cigar bar, and microbrewery.
KDKA has confirmed that Burn by Rocky Patel, which is an upscale cigar lounge based in Florida is one of two new establishments headed to the North Shore.
The other should sound familiar, it's Southern Tier Brewing Co., a microbrewery headquartered in New York.
Beyond its home in Lakewood, NY Southern Tier's largest market is Pittsburgh.
Southern Tier President Phin DeMink says it was logical to look to Pittsburgh for its first location and the North Shore was like a magnet. "We just felt like that was a good fit, with close relationship to the baseball and football stadiums. We were particularly attracted to the space for the outdoor beer garden."
Southern Tier will go into the space previously tapped to be the North Park Lounge.
DeMink says they'll offer their entire range of brews and include a microbrewery, "that will make some things that are indigenous to Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh specific brands." Southern Tier hopes to open during football season.
Like Southern Tier, Burn by Rocky Patel will also be venturing beyond its original location for the first time.
Mark Ganter is developing the site for Patel and says they looked at several locations in Pittsburgh before settling on the space next to Burgatory. "We really like the energy we saw here, we love the neighbors, we love what the plan is for the North Shore, and the proximity of the sports teams was a big plus for us."
So what can you expect at Burn? Ganter expects it will be very similar to the first Burn by Rocky Patel in Naples, "It's a very high end cigar lounge with a wonderful display of cocktails, beautiful finishes, impeccable design, with a cigar theme," says Ganter.
Featuring music, dancing, and it will be built with a sophisticated air filtration system to remove smoke.
It hopes to open by the end of the year.
The arrivals of Burn and Southern Tier are proving to be a further selling point for the final location available on the north side of North Shore Drive.
Developer Herky Pollock says they hope to have a tenant named for the former Toby Keith location within the next two to three weeks. "The level of prospects that we have looking at the north shore right now far exceeds anything we've had in the past," Pollock says.
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While Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his business partner have been looking for a restaurant location and shown some interest in the North Shore, there is no word on whether they are in the running for the Keith location.