Goodbye, Andora. Hello, Brick & Barrel.
Andora Restaurant is closing its Fox Chapel location at the end of the year, but plans are for the historic landmark to reopen as Brick & Barrel, an eatery focused on wood-fired food and a large selection of bourbons.
Business partners Jeff Brungo and Chris Hildebrandt have been toying with the concept for years. A visit to The Stock & Barrel, a famed Nashville burger joint, finally convinced them to run with the idea in Pittsburgh.
“Brick ovens are very popular right now and bourbons are really hot, so it was just a natural evolution,” Brungo says.
The North Hills native has spent 30 years in the local culinary scene, starting at Rico’s Restaurant in 1983. For more than a decade, Brungo ran The Library in the South Side, dishing out casual American pub fare. His former partners will continue to run the bookish bar on East Carson Street, while he starts the next chapter of his life.
Located on Dorseyville Road, the original structure was built in 1850. It served as a stagecoach stop, giving weary travelers a much-needed respite from the road. Before it housed Andora, it was known as Cross Keys Inn.
Brungo remembers eating there as a kid and hopes to carry on the culinary tradition with Brick & Barrel.
Over the winter, his team will work to finish minor upgrades to the interior and install a wood-fired brick oven, which will serve as the centerpiece of the restaurant. The menu will feature burgers, Neapolitan pizza, entrée salads, hand-crafted soups and desserts. The bar will feature more than 100 bourbons as well as a wide variety of craft beers.
The building — which includes a newer addition — can accommodate about 180 customers and there is a patio for al fresco dining.
Brungo hopes to open by March.
When Andora closes, fans can head to its sister location on Mt. Nebo Road in Sewickley.
