Jeffrey Widmer:
A Crafton restaurateur is seriously considering purchasing Wright’s Seafood Inn in Heidelberg, property which has laid dormant since the flood in September 2004. And he says he wants to bring back the best of what was considered one of the premier seafood restaurants in the area. He wants to combine this with menu items from the Old Main restaurant in Carnegie, which will soon become a drug store.
Bob Marshall leases The Bellevue Diner and was the original owner of Bob’s at the Noble Manor Shopping Center in Pittsburgh. He is hoping to purchase the property at 1837 Washington St., which has been renovated to about 80% capacity since the remnants of Hurricane Ivan tore through the area nearly 2 years ago.
The 10,000-square-foot restaurant seats about 285 people and has had about 3 or 4 prospective buyers since the Davis family decided to close the restaurant. Marshall was once a prospective investor for The Main, but those plans fell apart. Now, he wants to bring the best of Wright’s, The Main and DeMartino’s, once located near the old Scott High School across from Pizza Hut.
A dinner buffet and a ’spectacularly affordable’ breakfast buffet would be at the restaurant. A happy hour would be located near the bar and live music would be there every weekend, Marshall said. He says he wants to do this at affordable pricing. ‘The key would be good food at affordable pricing.’
That food would basically be American cuisine. Pastas, chops, steaks, sandwiches, seafood dishes and salads would be on the menu. The restaurant probably would be closed on Mondays.
The old Wright’s was opened in 1898 by William Wright as The William C. Wright Valley Hotel. Eventually, it became a restaurant and it was one of the 1st to serve shrimp in Allegheny County.
Right now, Marshall has a couple of people that will invest with him, but he is looking for a couple more, he said. ‘One thing people have to remember is that this would not be an upscale restaurant. It would be a good restaurant at affordable prices.’
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