Tarentum Station Grille delays reopening amid coronavirus surge

The owner of JG’s Tarentum Station Grille said Monday he made the difficult decision to postpone the restaurant’s reopening, which had been set for Dec. 1.

The restaurant, in a historic train station in the heart of Tarentum’s business district, has remained closed since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“When Allegheny County came out with the stay-at-home advisory, it really caught my attention,” restaurant owner John Greco said.

Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen issued the countywide advisory Nov. 18 because of a spike in virus cases. She warned the advisory could become an order if cases continued to rise.

There were 620 newly reported cases in the county the day Bogen issued the advisory. On Monday, the county reported a two-day total of 962 new cases.

The restaurant saw five Christmas parties cancel since the county announcement, Greco said. Also, several employees were afraid to return to work at this time.

“I just think people are afraid right now, and I have the responsibility to place my customers and employees’ safety above the reopening,” he said.

While other restaurants previously reopened, Greco said it wasn’t economically feasible for him, even when the state allowed indoor dining capacity to increase from 25% to 50% in September.

Greco said his new goal is to reopen sometime the week of Jan. 4.

“I must say I am leery to say anything for sure due to the unpredictability of the situation,” he said. “I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to me to protect our customers and employees. This is way more important than reopening or profits.”