Aspinwall eatery gets a corner on the comfort food market
An Aspinwall eatery has cornered the market on the neighborhood restaurant concept.
Cornerstone opened in 2009 — commanding the corner of Freeport Road and Eastern Avenue — and celebrated its 10th anniversary in February.
According to 2017 figures from the National Restaurant Association, the average life span of a U.S. restaurant is under five years in a vast industry with more than one million competitors.
But the classy and contemporary Cornerstone has survived and thrived.
Cornerstone’s recipe for success, said owner/general manager Erin Connolly, is an emphasis on food and friendship, hard work, an excellent staff and chef, a comfortable setting and offering the freshest of ingredients for her patrons.
Working in various Shadyside restaurants as a teenager, even managing a busy eatery at age 17, Connolly, now 37, chose Aspinwall after her father purchased the building, deciding that a traditional desk job wasn’t in her future and Cornerstone “just happened.”
“We want to be a place where everyone can find something they want to eat,” said Connolly. “You can make it a place for a burger and a beer during the week or a Saturday night with friends for an upscale meal. While we look at what’s trending in the restaurant scene, we do not want to be trendy. Trends come and go, we want to be here another 20 years.”
Connolly renovated the 1910 historic building that once served as the Aspinwall National Bank and, later, as a post office.
A large, closed bank vault remains in the main dining area, prominent among original brickwork and tin ceilings.
A warm red-brick wall separates the main dining area from a spacious bar area while a back dining room accommodates overflow seating and plays host to private parties.
“The back room was in shambles and not connected to the front,” Connolly said. “There were shop lights covering the ceiling and the tin ceiling was coming down. We put everything back to the original and made some other improvements and recently added the front porch and a window that opens in the bar.”
“Our success is due to our regular guests and others, who have become more like friends. Our friendly staff and Jason’s ability to provide a great seasonal and relevant menu that provides really great food at a comfortable price point — that’s Cornerstone.”
“Jason” is head chef Jason Mooney, the man behind the menu for the last five years.
He creates seasonally classic American menus offering an eclectic mix of comfort food combined with innovative twists, procuring meats from local farms like Bedillion Farms in Harmony, Butler County.
Seafood, pork, beef, chicken and lamb, along with gluten-free, vegetarian options and a kid’s menu, provides “something for everyone” he says.
Look for fancy mac ‘n’ cheese, crab cakes, pork belly pastrami, scallops, brisket sliders, custom burgers, avocado toast, a complete brunch menu, chicken and biscuits — even grits. Mooney has a penchant for Southern cuisine.
Dinner entrée prices range from $19-$25 and reservations are welcomed but not required.
Mooney trained at Johnson & Wales University and brings decades of culinary excellence to Cornerstone.
He began his career at French eatery Le Bernardin in New York City.
A globe-trotting chef fluent in four languages, Mooney is a Pennsylvania native who served as executive chef at Churchill Downs race track, where he managed a $10 million catering division.
“We look to have a little bit of everything for everybody, to be the everyday, every person restaurant, not just a specialty place,” Mooney said. “Consistency is my main focus. There’s a lot to be said about comfort food and why it’s comfort food, so it’s fun for us to put a newer twist on classical food and showcase that.”
Cornerstone Classics like the Stone Burger and Faroe Island Salmon are highlighted with an circular icon notation and weeknight specials include smoked on-site baby back pork ribs on Sundays and Mondays, half a fried chicken on Tuesdays, whole Maine lobster on Wednesdays and a Friday night clam bake featuring mussels, clams, shrimp, linguica (Portuguese pork) sausage with fingerling potatoes and corn on the cob.
“Our emphasis is on fresh food. I find local sourcing to be quite important. I visit all of the farms and plants from where our food comes from,” Mooney said.
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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