Oaklander Hotel to welcome new Italian restaurant, Cork & Crust

Led by an award-winning chef, a new Italian restaurant is expected to open in the Oakland area by the end of the year.

On Thursday, The Oaklander Hotel, located on Bigelow Boulevard, announced that the new restaurant — Cork & Crust — will have three-time James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist and featured chef at the prestigious James Beard House, Kristin Butterworth.

“Cork & Crust is an opportunity to bring that same sense of warmth and authenticity to Pittsburgh while creating memorable and flavorful dishes for locals and travelers alike,” Butterworth said.

Construction on the inside of the building has been underway since June.

Perry Ivery, general manager of the Oaklander Hotel, said that once Cork & Crust’s interior is completed, diners can expect the space to have a sleek and modern look with lots of soft lighting, exposed brick, ivory and ceramic tile.

Cork & Crust will be able to seat 115 people, including outdoor patio seating and bar seating, he said.

Butterworth grew up in Cambria County and attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania before kicking off her culinary career.

She studied in Italy and worked in restaurants across the states, including Atlanta and Louisiana, she said.

Butterworth is a three-time James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist and featured chef at the prestigious James Beard House, who is best known in the Pittsburgh region for transforming Laurel Highland’s restaurant Lautrec at Nemacolin into a Forbes Five-Star restaurant, according to Cork & Crust’s news release.

Butterworth told TribLive on Thursday that while she is not Italian herself, she grew up with her mother cooking Italian cuisine, which inspired her.

“As a kid learning to cook and then going to school in Italy and kind of having that experience Italian cooking — pasta, making pizza — has always been a … big part of my repertoire in the kitchen,” she said.

While the menu and prices are still being finalized, both Butterworth and Ivery said customers can expect recipes made with fresh and handmade ingredients.

Butterworth said she has been reaching out to local farms and plans on educating the kitchen staff on how to can, preserve and ferment fresh produce so that it can be used out of season.

“The sauces will be cooked for six hours and everything will be made from scratch,” she said.

Cork & Crust’s dishes will be simple and within the Italian tradition, but have unique plating designs to keep up with trends, Butterworth said.

Ivery said the restaurant will have a test run where they will invite influencers to come try the food before officially opening to the public in the second or third week of December.