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Southern Tier Brewing Breaks Ground On North Shore, Other New Restaurants Set To Open Too

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- In the changing landscape of Pittsburgh nightlife there are the old standards like the South Side, the up and comers like Lawrenceville, and the new kid on the block – The North Shore.

The long running North Shore establishments are finally getting the company they have been promised for so long. So here are the newcomers and when they'll be opening their doors:

Pittsburgh native Michelle Bugg, her brother and her husband are in the midst of renovating the space next to Jerome Bettis Grille 36 for The Foundry.

"It will be a gastro pub," Bugg says.

What do you find in a gastro pub?

"We going to have elevated pub fare," she says. "Casual American fare, craft cocktails, and microbrews."

To make the inside of The Foundry unique they brought in the wood from two Murrysville barns that date back to the 1880s. Wait till you see the result, and you won't have to wait long.

The workers are hitting it at a fever pitch, and Bugg says if all goes well, "We're hoping to do a friends and family event and open to the public on Aug. 16."

That will put The Foundry about a month ahead of Tequila Cowboy across the street adjacent to Stage AE. John Field says they have been able to use a lot of what was originally built for Toby Keith's I Love This Bar, which hit the economic rocks and bailed.

Tequila Cowboy will feature what Field describes as, "a country music bar, a lot of live bands, Nashville bands, great food, great atmosphere, dancing and a DJ."

A replica of a Fender guitar the size of a pickup truck will be the centerpiece of the décor and the selections coming out of the kitchen Field says will be, "sandwiches, great burgers, salads, wings, great appetizers, wings, stuff like that."

The heat is on to get the doors open at Tequila Cowboy by the Pittsburgh Steelers home opener at Heinz field on Sept. 18 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

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At the opposite end from Tequila Cowboy, the folks at Southern Tier Brewing plan to be a presence for the home opener as well, but not with a finished facility.

Using a mobile beer truck complete with taps on the side, Southern Tier will say hello to Pirates and Steelers fans with tailgating type events in its beer garden while construction on the restaurant rolls on inside.

This is the first venture for Southern Tier outside its home base in Lakewood, New York.

CEO John Coleman says they take a lot of pride in their craft brews and will be making specialty brews on site that will only be offered in Pittsburgh.

"Our brew house is being custom made in Germany as we speak, so that should be here at the end of September," he says.

Like their place in Lakewood, Southern Tier's North Shore home will have a rustic feel with a Pittsburgh twist.

"A lot of wood, a lot of steel, to marry up with the Steel City," Coleman says.

Coleman adds they're ready to start construction with a push to have the full facility open for business by mid-October.

That will leave only one tenant still under construction, Rocky Patel's Pittsburgh Burn cigar and wine bar.

Between Tequila Cowboy and Burgatory, construction should begin soon with an opening sometime between the first of the year and the beginning of baseball season.

All the new places in addition to Bettis's place, The Tilted Kilt, and Rivertowne will make the North Shore the destination Southern Tier's Coleman envisioned when they chose the site for their first satellite location.

"That is part of what drew us here," he said. "That we can be part of that, to give folks a choice and another place for a night out."

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