By: Holly Riddle
When Flour & Stone, a new upscale restaurant from the creative minds and culinary talents behind Pine Grove Hall, opens its doors in late August, the hope is to capture all the senses.
The team wants to invigorate customers with the space, which harmonizes the beauty of an old building with airy, updated sleekness, and, of course, delight them with atypical menu items like Moussaka Lasagna made with local beef ragu and shareable dishes that invite more adventurous eating, like Stone Fruit Pizzetta, a grilled stone fruit pizzetta with pistachio and stracciatella cheese.
And that’s not all.
Shortly after the opening of Flour & Stone, the street-side window in the building will be offering a selection of grab & go breakfast and lunch sandwiches and espresso coffees.
Meanwhile, Pine Grove Hall’s menu has been reimagined as a more casual offering, while maintaining the high quality, and overall excellence guests have come to love. The menu will include Pine Grove favorites, like Ricotta Gnocchi — creamy ricotta tossed with spinach, artichokes and melted cheese — and fried Chicken “Salad,” served with roasted sweet potato, buttermilk dressing, herbs, hot sauce and red onion. The much-loved Cubano sandwich will become a menu staple, as will, of course, the much-anticipated pizzas, from classic pepperoni with house sauce to a local mushroom pizza with fresh miso ricotta and arugula.
The elevated cocktail program, led by head bartender Sc’Eric Horner, will remain at Pine Grove Hall. In contrast, Flour & Stone’s bar program will emphasize wine, while offering a selection of cocktails and beer to complement the new menu.
Photo: Pine Grove Hall Facebook
Angela Harshbarger, Front of House Manager, explained that the forthcoming changes are all about opportunity and relationships.
“We will now have casual dining with delicious options at Pine Grove Hall, and more upscale dining with shareable dishes at Flour & Stone,” said Harshbarger. Her goal, she said, is to curate guests’ experience from food to wine to entertainment. A new wine list has been developed that will pair with the Mediterranean-influenced menu. “We want to create relationships with all of our guests.”
Owner Liz Grove and her team worked with their internal data and feedback from guests in making these strategic changes.
“As we moved through the design and building of Flour & Stone, it became clear that the new space, which has four small dining rooms, is better suited for intimate dining,” explained Grove. Pine Grove Hall, with two floors of dining, is suited for bigger groups and events. By shifting the menus, Grove believes they will have an even wider appeal by utilizing each space for its best use.
Pine Grove Hall will focus its growth as a live music venue as it continues to attract both local and national artists. These artists are reaching out to Pine Grove Hall for bookings, which is a testament to its growing reputation and commitment to professional standards. The venue offers an intimate listening room experience in its upstairs room and a full-on show on its downstairs stage, complete with top-notch lighting, sound and livestream system.
“We’re honored to host legendary American blues guitarist, singer-songwriter and educator Roy Book Binder on Friday, Aug. 9 in our upstairs listening room,” said Grove. Pittsburgh native Billy Price and his band will also be back on Sunday, Sept. 9.
“The touring artists appreciate the support they received from our local community,” said Grove. “Billy’s show sold out quickly last year.”
Besides national acts, you can also come listen to the house band Lord Forest, made up of Grove, her partner, Steve Christensen, Sam Christensen and John Lynch. They play a free show twice a month in the upstairs listening room.
“We also want to remind people that on evenings we have live music, we also always have the second dining room available for just dinner. Come for dinner and a show, or just come for dinner,” said Grove.
“The two places will be separate but connected,” explained Executive Chef Tory Glossner. He went on to explain that, as the two establishments converge physically, the entire space will be transformed into a campus-like feel that utilizes indoor and outdoor spaces efficiently.
“Food brings people together and both of us pride really ourselves on making people happy,” added Sous Chef Brittany Pereda. “We’re very excited for what’s coming.”
Pine Grove Hall’s new casual menu starts Wednesday, Aug. 7 and the revised days and hours will be Wednesday through Sunday, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The full Pine Grove Hall menu, including pizza, will be offered for curbside pickup by the end of August.
Flour & Stone will open later in August, Thursday through Sunday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Visit pinegrovehall.com for the latest updates and event schedule
