It’s a slightly different spelling with the same spectacular view.
An iconic venue in Plum affording stunning views of the Allegheny River and surrounding countryside has reopened.
Veltre’s Wedding and Event Centre, formerly Veltri’s Restaurant, opened in 2016 after being shuttered for 12 years.
Only a vowel separates the surnames of former Veltri’s owner Nick Veltri, now deceased, and the new owner. Veltri owned and operated the Coxcomb Hill Road eatery for 30 years before retiring.
“This place was waiting for me,” said new owner Tony Veltre, 69, owner of two pizza establishments in Oakmont and Braddock Hills.
The new Veltre’s is no longer a restaurant, but a full-service wedding, catering and event destination.
Veltre’s booked 38 weddings and 120 regular events (like proms, parties, corporate functions, showers and reunions) in 2019. Only six wedding slots remain available in 2020.
The average wedding package for 150 guests costs about $16,000.
Veltre purchased Veltri’s for $900,000 in 2015 and spent about $500,000 on renovations. He added 27 new chandeliers, removed dated old brick, installed a new heating and cooling system (“no hot weddings” Veltre says) and created a lighter, brighter interior.
“My wife said it looked too Italian,” Veltre says of the need to update the original building that opened in 1972.
For Tony Veltre, the decision to buy Veltri’s was an easy one.
He brings 40 years of catering and restaurant knowledge to the business, even helping to cook alongside his chefs.
Tony and his wife, Donna, had their eyes on the property for years.
“I always wanted a catering hall. Nick (Veltri) would always come into my pizza shop in Oakmont and tell me to buy his place. I told him to lower his price,” Veltre said.
Veltri reduced his asking price of more than $2 million, Veltre said, and Veltri’s became Veltre’s, opening in July 2016.
“My daughter, Courtney, was the first wedding here,” Veltre said.
Courtney Rider serves as general manager and says reaction from the community has been positive.
“It sat empty for years and everyone is happy we’re open,” Rider said. “It’s nostalgic and it’s been amazing.”
Veltre’s offers four choices of venue rooms — the grand ballroom, the fireside and riverview rooms and the sunset lounge. They all feature floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic views for miles.
“The view from up here is spectacular and always changing. The constant change of lighting changes the view,” Veltre says.
Leechburg resident Marion Gibson recalls dinner visits at the former Veltri’s during the 1970s.
“I thought it was still closed,” Gibson says. “I’m happy it’s open again because it’s a local landmark.”
