The abrupt departure of iconic and nomadic chef Kevin Sousa just two just months after Mount Oliver Bodega restaurant opened left the eatery in a lurch.
But its owner said the restaurant will probably reopen in about 30 days as it regroups.
“What we’re trying to do is make sure that we don’t make any of the mistakes that we had made when we opened M.O.B (in early October) with Kevin Sousa’s concept,” said owner Joe Calloway, of RE 360 real estate company.
“I let Mount Oliver down. I grew up in Mount Oliver and I brought a concept there that was geared towards a high-end clientele, which Kevin Sousa serves – it was geared towards something that I don’t think represents Mount Oliver,” he said.
Calloway said that he wants to make sure that when the restaurant reopens, it gives the community what he believes it wants.
“We just wanted to take some time to make sure in this retooling, in this shakeup, that we don’t walk into something that commits the same sins that we did when we opened with someone like Kevin Sousa,” he said.
Calloway said in the meantime there will be some pop-up events, including one on New Year’s Eve featuring food from nearby pasta restaurant Forma Pasta and the creations of chef Becca Romagnoli.
“The space is going to be active as we reconcept,” Calloway said.
And once Mount Oliver Bodega fully reopens, Calloway said it will be much more “approachable.”
“We had so many people, including my friends and family, say we went into (Mount Oliver Bodega) and I didn’t feel I was welcome. I had people say, ‘I ordered a glass of wine and I was made to feel like I was inferior.’ That really ripped my soul out,” Calloway said.
So, what can people expect when the restaurant reopens?
“The new partners are molding something that is approachable, not only from the food standpoint, (but) the price point. When Kevin put that $40 pizza on the menu, that was the tipping-off point of some of my contentions with him and his concepts,” Calloway said.
“It’s going to be approachable from a price standpoint so all of Pittsburgh can afford it and enjoy it.”
Sousa could not immediately be reached for comment.
