Sewickley Tavern officially open after covid-19 closure

Chris DeRose summed up his thoughts on the Sewickley Tavern opening for customers on Friday.

“Finally.”

As in finally, Allegheny County was moved into the green phase of the state’s economic reopening plan, which allows inside dining at restaurants.

“It’s been a roller coaster of emotion, from preparing and being ready (to open) to getting it pulled out from underneath you,” said DeRose, former Army combat engineer and the tavern’s manager. “Having to adjust to reopen for carryout and delivery, which wasn’t even part of our thing, and now here we are again. The excitement’s real. We’re ready and can’t wait to serve our guests. We’ve got people knocking on our door every day.”

The tavern at 409 Beaver St. was expected to open March 17.

Owner and Sewickley resident Courtney Yates said they had a “soft opening” March 13-14 with a tremendous community response.

However, the grand opening was postponed due to the covid-19 pandemic. Gov. Tom Wolf ordered Allegheny County bars and restaurants to stop dine-in service in mid-March to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The tavern opened for about two weeks in May for takeout and delivery before it closed again in preparation for dine-in customers.

The 1,500-square-foot facility was thoroughly cleaned this past week and some tables and chairs were removed to cut occupancy in half as per state guidelines.

Yates said they were able to pay their 15 employees throughout the closure, and everyone’s eager to serve customers.

“We’re all really happy to actually open since we were never able to do that in March,” she said.

Capacity was cut from about 50 to 25 seats. Masks are optional for customers, but mandatory for servers.

“You’ve still got that layer of protection and the customers can be more comfortable,” Yates said. “If a customer prefers to wear a mask, they’re more than welcome to.”

The tavern is located at the former Bruneaux. It was redesigned and renovated.

“The whole reason of opening this place up is for the town,” DeRose said. “We deliver five-star service and food to everyone. Now we can do it in a more relaxed atmosphere.”

Chef Dave DeVoss said the full drink and food menu is available, including scotch duck eggs - hard boiled eggs incorporated with chorizo sausage, mole and hollandaise sauce and cilantro.

Other specialty dishes include crab cake sliders with cilantro, lime, tarter sauce with pickled jalapenos on a challah bun, burgers with beef from nearby Barberry Farm, hush puppies with house-made beer cheese sauce and moist meatballs with veal, pork and ground beef slathered in the tavern’s own marinara sauce.

Seasonal dishes include salmon with creamed vegetables, roasted yams and mole sauce as well as prosciutto and melon.

The tavern offers handcrafted cocktails, an extensive wine list, eight beers on tap including craft brews and ciders among other beverages. Specialty drinks like watermelon paloma and pina loca will be offered when the patio opens later this month.

DeVoss said the food and service are of the highest quality, much like the facility itself.

Customers can enjoy the comfort of a high-performance, sustainable building designed to meet RESET Air certification standards, the highest internationally recognized standard for indoor air quality.

The standard sets limits for carbon dioxide, particulate matter and temperature. Sensors monitor data and stream it to the cloud, allowing for real-time adjustments via the filtration and ventilation systems.

Other building features include rooftop solar panels, an acoustic ceiling system to reduce indoor noise levels, antibacterial bathroom stalls and smart building infrastructure.

Hours of operation are 4-10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Happy hour is 4-6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.

More information about the tavern including its full menu is available at sewickleytavern.com.