Former Bella Luna space to reopen as The Coxcomb

Patrick Varine, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
Updated ·2 min read

Apr. 18—As he stood behind what will soon be a finished bar top, Will Patterson of Monroeville heard someone driving past the open door of the former Bella Luna restaurant at the Murrysville/Monroeville border.

"Are you open?" the woman asked through her passenger side window.

"Early June, hopefully!" Patterson shouted before turning back inside.

"That happens, like, 30 times a day," he said.

Patterson, his brother, John, and Joe Robl — owners of The Beerhive in Pittsburgh's Strip District and Pittsburgh Pickle Co. in Verona — made an offer on the former Bella Luna space in the fall and are transforming it into what will become The Coxcomb.

"My passion has always been in this industry," Patterson said. "We'd been talking about opening a new place for about a year, and when I saw this place come available, it was kind of a no-brainer."

Co-owner John Patterson of Penn Hills agreed.

"This place has a history of doing a lot of business," he said. "It's a good location."

Will Patterson said the new space offers things all three owners have talked about, but never had the space to realize.

"The kitchen is very big, and so our capabilities will be very different and we want to explore the catering side of the business," he said. "Even going back to the Beerhive and Pittsburgh Pickle Co., the MO has always been to make things from scratch. This being much larger, now we have the ability to do something like a brick oven and a big smoker."

The trio also said running a restaurant has changed.

"In terms of labor, it's drastically different," Will Patterson said. "Everyone is fighting for employees, so we've already instituted retirement plans, profit sharing, health care, things a lot of places our size probably aren't offering."

The concept for The Coxcomb will be "elevated American fare."

"You want to make pizza, but we don't want to just be an Italian restaurant," Will Patterson said.

"You want wings and burgers, but not to be 'bar food,' " said Robl of Plum. "We want to take the simple things and make them the best."

Will Patterson said several former Bella Luna employees will return when the space reopens, which he expects will be early summer.

"When we worked in restaurants, the cooks were in their 40s, they were paid well and they were passionate," he said. "Now it seems like it's a revolving door, and our goal is to get people who want to learn a trade, stay with us, build a retirement and have health care. And it's literally in our neighborhood."

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .