Chef’s Kitchen owners to open second restaurant – Cecil Whig

NORTH EAST The owners behind the popular Chefs Kitchen restaurant are planning to open a second restaurant at the site of the former Paradise Grill in North East.

The restaurant, which will be called Snatchers Creekside Grill, will serve food similar to that of Chefs Kitchen, though an exact menu has not yet been decided. Snatchers will be managed by Lynn Bollinger, a 15-year veteran of the restaurant industry who currently serves as the front of house manager at Chefs Kitchen and is a part-owner of the business.

Bollinger told the Whig that Chefs Kitchen decided to open up a second restaurant after the owners of the property at 510 W. Main St. approached them. Eric Polansky, who owns the property as part of EJP LLC and also operates B&H Auto Parts, is a frequent Chefs Kitchen customer, she said.

Chefs Kitchen, which was opened in 2015 by Michael Fuggitti, serves classic American fare at its location at 2240 W. Pulaski Hwy. Bollinger has worked at Chefs Kitchen for two and a half years and she said the Snatchers kitchen will be run by someone from Chefs Kitchen.

But before Snatchers can open, the restaurant needs a liquor license and Bollinger took a step toward that when she appeared before the North East Board of Appeals Thursday night seeking a special exception for the purpose of obtaining a beer, wine and liquor license. The board approved the request, which Bollinger called wonderful news.

Weve been waiting for it, she said.

While Bollinger doesnt intend to do any remodeling before Snatchers opens, she said an opening date has not yet been determined pending approval of a liquor license from the county.

Though Bollingers request was unanimously granted by the North East Board of Appeals, it came with five conditions, which had largely already been hashed out during a two-hour session with the towns planning commission earlier this month.

The need for the conditions seemed to stem both from the restaurants location near a residential area and from the past history of complaints received when the Paradise Grill was located there, rather than from any concerns about the Snatchers management.

Its a new owner. I think the planning commission has done due diligence on this and I think at this point we need to give the new folks the benefit of the doubt, said Gabrielle Oldham, chair of the board of appeals during the meeting.

The first of the five conditions granted the restaurant extended hours from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday with the stipulation that the closing hours represent the end of entry for new patrons but not the end of service. Bollinger told the board that she doesnt initially intend to serve breakfast at Snatchers because Chefs Kitchen does very well in that area but wanted to leave that option open for the future.

Secondly, music from Snatchers cannot be audible from any adjoining property past 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and past 9 p.m. Friday through Saturday. Third, the restaurant cannot use the words bar, pub, tavern or sports bar in its either its name or sign. While the restaurant was initially called Snatchers Creekside Bar and Grill, Bollinger dropped the bar part after learning bars are not allowed in town.

Fourth, if the planning office and the North East Police Department receive three valid complaints about the restaurant, Snatchers is required to reappear before the planning commission and board of appeals to reevaluate its permission for extended hours. Finally, Snatchers must appear before the commission and board annually to continue to review the operation of extended hours.

No one spoke against the special exception for Snatchers and quite a few people spoke in favor of having a new restaurant at the location, since Paradise Grill, which first opened in 2007, has now been closed for months.

Eric Polansky told the board he interviewed many applicants in order to find a tenant for the property and believes Bollinger will bring a lot of people to the neighborhood, noting hes eaten at Chefs Kitchen since it opened and always had a good experience. Acknowledging that Paradise Grill started to go down toward the end of its tenure, Polansky said he believes Snatchers will turn things around.

Being empty isnt going to help the community in any way, he told the board. As the rent comes in, Ill fix the place up and do anything I can.

Doreen Casimir, who lives in Victoria Park, a retirement community near the restaurant, said shes heard from many people in the community that are looking forward to having a restaurant re-open at that spot. And while she appreciates the boards conditions on the music from the restaurant, she actually wishes it could be a little louder.

I used to sit in my apartment and try to listen, she said to the laughs from the board.

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Chef's Kitchen owners to open second restaurant - Cecil Whig