McKeesport Mayor James Brewster's administration has changed city perceptions of the Palisades building at the Marina at McKee's Point.

"It's part of our renaissance for the area," the mayor said.

Unlike the previous administration of Wayne Kucich, the Brewster team views it as a potentially lucrative city asset rather than real estate to be sold to generate cash for the city.

Now, with the opening on Friday of McKee's Cafe, a small restaurant in the Palisades basement, the changed perception will have another anchor in reality.

The restaurant will feature a sandwich menu with hot fare and daily specials, said co-owner Janet Menarcheck, of Pittsburgh, who is partnering with her son, Bill, and her brother, John Stefaniak and his wife, Iva.

"I saw the advertisement for a restaurant in the Palisades. And we thought it had possibilities," Menarcheck said.

"My son wanted to start a business, and my sister, brother and I all have business and restaurant backgrounds. It just seemed like the way to go."

The restaurant will serve as an anchor for further development of the marina and the adjacent riverside Gergely Park, city administrator Dennis Pittman said.

"The reason you don't sell [such a property] is because you want to bring in private businesses to bring in revenues," he said.

"One of the pieces of a successful presentation is to have a restaurant at the destination point. And to be successful, you need to have private sector investment."

Landing the restaurant is part of the new strategy of capitalizing on the Palisades building, the marina and the park, Brewster said.

"This is part of the strategy of appointing new members to the Marina Commission. We are going to call it all Palisades Park," he said.

"We're working to get [Regional Asset District] funds to make this a multipurpose park and a jewel that will attract people to the city."

The planned Palisades Park will start at the Monongahela River and extend to Gergely Park and Ninth Street, Pittman said.

The city has applied for a $75,000 grant from the RAD board that would cover enlarging the parking area nearby and also cover the purchase and installation of a picnic pavilion, picnic tables, benches and small fixed-standing barbecue grills.

The restaurant, which will be open seven days a week, will fill a space that's been vacant since a restaurant there closed six years ago.

The new restaurant will seat 68 in the main dining room and include two banquet rooms for business meetings and other gatherings, Menarcheck said.

With the Steel Valley, Montour and Youghiogheny trails intersecting at McKee's Point, the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers, hikers and bikers will have another reason to stop, Pittman said.

City solicitor Jason Elash said the process of bringing in a restaurant took about six months.

"I want to fast-track projects," Brewster said.