Pittsburgh Business Times
Lidia's Pittsburgh picks The Strip as site of new Italian restaurant
Star of TV show "Lidia's Italian Table" arrives
Tim Schooley
February 4, 2000

STRIP DISTRICT -- After much courting from local developers, Lidia Bastianich has decided to open a restaurant here.

The move will bring to Pittsburgh a celebrity chef, successful restaurateur and host of the nationally syndicated cooking TV show, "Lidia's Italian Table."

David Wagner, Ms. Bastianich's managing partner, confirmed that Lidia's Restaurant Group LP has come to terms with Walnut Capital Partners to open a Lidia's Pittsburgh at 1400 Smallman St., between Wholey's warehouse building and the Sen. John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center.

The new location will give Lidia's more than 9,000 square feet. He expects to sign a lease in a few weeks and open in January 2001.

"The market potential for the location was the strongest of any we saw in the Pittsburgh area," said Mr. Wagner. "The density of the city and the proximity of the location to our principal customer base made it one of the most attractive locations."

Currently, the site is a Jarrell & Rhea wholesale fish location. But Walnut Capital Partners is acquiring the property in order to build a new 27,000-square-foot mixed-use property, which could house as many as five tenants.

Todd Reidbord, principal of Walnut Capital, expects to close on its acquisition of the property soon, with demolition of the present structure and construction of the new building to begin in the next 60 days.

Lidia's will be the first restaurant Walnut Capital will have signed as a developer, with much of its other business coming in residential real estate and through its real estate work for Eckerd Drug stores.

"They'll have the ultimate in flexibility because it's a brand-new space," said Mr. Reidbord. "They'll be able to do whatever they want."

Walnut Capital's architects will work closely with Lidia's designer David Rockwell, who Mr. Wagner described as a top restaurant designer.

The new restaurant's look and feel will borrow somewhat from Lidia's Kansas City, Ms. Bastianich's first foray out of New York, where they've established several successful and critically praised restaurants. Mr. Wagner said Lidia's Strip District location will feature a 17-foot-wide fireplace.

`heritage and ambience'
With a James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurants that generate annual sales between $5 million and $8 million, Lidia's was coveted as a potential marquee tenant in all the city's major retail developments. That includes Urban Retail Properties' Market Place at Fifth and Forbes and Forest City Enterprises' $27 million Bessemer Court project at Station Square. And among the final contenders in the Pittsburgh market for a Lidia's Pittsburgh was the South Side Works development on Carson Street and Continental's Waterfront development just down the river in Homestead.

But, apparently, none of them could compete with Walnut Capital's Strip District location, which is within walking distance of the convention center and Downtown and offered plenty of parking.

"There's just so much going on down there," said Mr. Wagner, noting the new convention center and stadiums as well as the redevelopment plans for Market Place at Fifth and Forbes.

Also important in choosing the Strip District was the neighborhood's historic character and ready supply of fresh foods.

"The Strip District offers precisely the heritage and ambience that Lidia looks for when opening a new restaurant," said Herky Pollock, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, who helped to broker the deal.
"Lidia's really excited because she's right across the street from one of the largest seafood venders in the city," said Mr. Wagner, noting the Wholey's facility.

Mr. Wagner said that when Ms. Bastianich met with Jim Sunseri of Pennsylvania Macaroni Co., they were "just like two peas in a pod" as they talked about fresh food.

On Lidia's table
Lidia's features Italian "border cuisine," which also includes Slavic and German influences from the northern Italian region.

While the menu will change nine times a year, popular items include spaetzle, frico, a montasio cheese crisp and three pastas of the day made on site that are served table side from saute pans by pasta chefs.

Copyright 2000 American City Business Journals Inc

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