Bona Terra: A Long Overdue Visit to an Excellent Addition.
I written a lot on this blog about hometown Pittsburgh. I've only briefly mentioned the part of town that I live in. It's a quiet working class neighborhood on the edge of the city. It's affordable, safe, relatively clean and has the benefit of being located in an excellent school district. Overall, I am very happy with my decision to buy a house here. But like any other place, it has its flaws.
Sharpsburg is a traditionally Italian town that served the purpose of being the gateway for poor immigrants into the city. In the very beginning, it was known as the stomping grounds of the Heinz family (of ketchup fame). Over time it assumed a new identity as Pittsburgh embraced its industrial identity. At one time S-burg was incredibly congested, with many families living in each building. As it grew it attracted the inevitable interest groups that tied together the community, and gave it a feeling of community. The power structure of S-burg happened to be tied into organized crime. This lent the neighborhood an insulatory vibe, as the "big men" consolidated their hold over the place. Although the era when the mafia reached its peak of influence is long past now, there are still remnants of the old guard mentality in place. The descendants of those men still represent the controlling interests in town. This has served to promote a continuity, but conversely it has also stood in the way of progressive change. The homogeneous nature of the community is a mixed blessing.
The business district on Main Street has tremendous potential. It is compact and centrally located. There is enough of a population to support an array of quality businesses, and S-burg is surrounded by other neighborhoods that could reasonably supply a supplementary consumer base. Yet there is no grocery store. There is no coffee shop. There is a single gas station. There's a butcher, a barber, a karate school, a few restaurants and bars on every block. And there are a lot of properties standing idle. Why is that? Because local government is operating under a set of notions that were operative forty or more years ago. Many of the inhabitants are of advanced age, have lived here their entire lives, and are suspicious of any kind of change.
The general tenor of the place can be easily experienced by frequenting the town's business establishments. If you are not a familiar face, then you experience a range of service that starts with neglect and approaches hostility. You are offered the minimum, and expected to be satisfied with it. Who are you to question the way things are done? Unless you were born and raised here, then you are a mere interloper- to be tolerated, at best. This provinciality can be frustrating. Certainly it preserves a certain quaint charm that permeates the place, but at the same time, it is making S-burg an anachronism. Surely without an infusion of new thinking and diverse ideas, S-burg will become mired in place, and be left behind in a gradual transformation of the entire Pittsburgh area. This would be a tragedy, and a waste of immense potentiality.
An illustrative case in point is the single four-star restaurant in S-burg. It features an unassuming storefront that belies its exceptionality. Bona Terra's chef does his shopping every single morning, picking only the freshest, in-season ingredients to make his daily menu. Everything is superb, and the service is extraordinary. Attention is paid to every detail, and the dining experience is unmatched anywhere else in Western PA. It is a singularly impressive achievement... yet it is completely unheralded within the neighborhood. It opened in 2003, yet the mayor of S-burg has still not stopped by to greet the proprietor. But solicitations for local charities have been consistent since the opening of the restaurant. The affable host related a story that indicates the value the business community places on Bona Terra. He said that when they first opened, he would send waiting customers next door to the bar, with instructions that the drinks were on him. He continued the practice until the owners of the bar asked him to stop. They said that they didn't want him to send people over that they didn't know. Bona Terra's clientele are prepared to drop $50 per person for a meal, yet they weren't welcome at the corner bar?! I would suspect that I was being told a tall tale if I wasn't already aware of the climate of welcome in S-burg. Fortunately the bar in question has changed management, and the new people have embraced Bona Terra. Could this be the beginning of a happy trend?
I can't tell you how refreshing it was to be greeted and served by a professional staff that cares enough to provide the very best dining experience available anywhere, let alone in S-burg. The good people of Bona Terra have set an example for the entire community, but so far it has gone unnoticed. I can only hope that more of my fellow residents take the time to stop in and see what is on offer. Fortunately the restaurant has earned a loyal customer base from without. It's not going anywhere and it's attracting folks to the neighborhood. Perhaps a few wily entrepreneurs will take a lesson from a true success and emulate Bona Terra's commitment to excellence. If so, the vast possibilities of S-burg have a chance of being realized.
Sharpsburg is a traditionally Italian town that served the purpose of being the gateway for poor immigrants into the city. In the very beginning, it was known as the stomping grounds of the Heinz family (of ketchup fame). Over time it assumed a new identity as Pittsburgh embraced its industrial identity. At one time S-burg was incredibly congested, with many families living in each building. As it grew it attracted the inevitable interest groups that tied together the community, and gave it a feeling of community. The power structure of S-burg happened to be tied into organized crime. This lent the neighborhood an insulatory vibe, as the "big men" consolidated their hold over the place. Although the era when the mafia reached its peak of influence is long past now, there are still remnants of the old guard mentality in place. The descendants of those men still represent the controlling interests in town. This has served to promote a continuity, but conversely it has also stood in the way of progressive change. The homogeneous nature of the community is a mixed blessing.
The business district on Main Street has tremendous potential. It is compact and centrally located. There is enough of a population to support an array of quality businesses, and S-burg is surrounded by other neighborhoods that could reasonably supply a supplementary consumer base. Yet there is no grocery store. There is no coffee shop. There is a single gas station. There's a butcher, a barber, a karate school, a few restaurants and bars on every block. And there are a lot of properties standing idle. Why is that? Because local government is operating under a set of notions that were operative forty or more years ago. Many of the inhabitants are of advanced age, have lived here their entire lives, and are suspicious of any kind of change.
The general tenor of the place can be easily experienced by frequenting the town's business establishments. If you are not a familiar face, then you experience a range of service that starts with neglect and approaches hostility. You are offered the minimum, and expected to be satisfied with it. Who are you to question the way things are done? Unless you were born and raised here, then you are a mere interloper- to be tolerated, at best. This provinciality can be frustrating. Certainly it preserves a certain quaint charm that permeates the place, but at the same time, it is making S-burg an anachronism. Surely without an infusion of new thinking and diverse ideas, S-burg will become mired in place, and be left behind in a gradual transformation of the entire Pittsburgh area. This would be a tragedy, and a waste of immense potentiality.
An illustrative case in point is the single four-star restaurant in S-burg. It features an unassuming storefront that belies its exceptionality. Bona Terra's chef does his shopping every single morning, picking only the freshest, in-season ingredients to make his daily menu. Everything is superb, and the service is extraordinary. Attention is paid to every detail, and the dining experience is unmatched anywhere else in Western PA. It is a singularly impressive achievement... yet it is completely unheralded within the neighborhood. It opened in 2003, yet the mayor of S-burg has still not stopped by to greet the proprietor. But solicitations for local charities have been consistent since the opening of the restaurant. The affable host related a story that indicates the value the business community places on Bona Terra. He said that when they first opened, he would send waiting customers next door to the bar, with instructions that the drinks were on him. He continued the practice until the owners of the bar asked him to stop. They said that they didn't want him to send people over that they didn't know. Bona Terra's clientele are prepared to drop $50 per person for a meal, yet they weren't welcome at the corner bar?! I would suspect that I was being told a tall tale if I wasn't already aware of the climate of welcome in S-burg. Fortunately the bar in question has changed management, and the new people have embraced Bona Terra. Could this be the beginning of a happy trend?
I can't tell you how refreshing it was to be greeted and served by a professional staff that cares enough to provide the very best dining experience available anywhere, let alone in S-burg. The good people of Bona Terra have set an example for the entire community, but so far it has gone unnoticed. I can only hope that more of my fellow residents take the time to stop in and see what is on offer. Fortunately the restaurant has earned a loyal customer base from without. It's not going anywhere and it's attracting folks to the neighborhood. Perhaps a few wily entrepreneurs will take a lesson from a true success and emulate Bona Terra's commitment to excellence. If so, the vast possibilities of S-burg have a chance of being realized.
posted by Merge Divide at 3:01 PM
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