There’s a new face on the team as the Pittsburgh Penguins line up their first tenant for the Lower Hill Redevelopment Project.
Last week, the restaurant and entertainment company Punch Bowl Social announced that they’ve signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pittsburgh Penguins to bring one of their locations to the project.
The plan includes two stories of dining and social spaces, with an outdoor patio and a bar with 360-degree views of Downtown. The restaurant will serve food from a scratch kitchen with craft beer on tap.
Spread throughout the complex will be entertainments such as “ping pong, darts, board games, classic video games, bowling, private karaoke rooms and more,” according to a press release.
“Pittsburgh boasts thriving arts and cultural opportunities, a booming culinary scene and a roster of national sporting teams,” said Punch Bowl Social founder Robert Thompson. “It’s also a hotspot for millennials, something we look for when choosing new locations.”
The restaurant has locations in more than a dozen cities throughout the U.S., including Cleveland, Denver, San Diego, Miami and Portland, Oregon.
According to the master plan released last Friday, the new complex will include 200,000 square feet of offices with 50,000 square feet of retail and entertainment options. Nearly half of that retail and entertainment space — 23,000 square feet — will be occupied by Punch Bowl Social.
The Delaware-based Buccini/Pollin Group will begin construction on the office and retail portion of the complex this winter. Punch Bowl Social is aiming for a grand opening sometime in 2020.
“Location really is everything, and our proximity to the PPG Paints Arena certainly delivers,” said Thompson. “We’ve had great luck in other cities locating close to major sporting arenas and stadiums and look forward to building upon the elevated experience and high-energy the entire neighborhood delivers.”
