All 'daHled' up: New look -- and restaurant -- for a Liberty Avenue stalwart
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A neon sign welcomes patrons to Taste of Dahntahn. -
Paitned patrons lounge along one side of the bar inside. -
The interior of Taste of Dahntahn. -
Bob Crawford, and his wife, Courtney Lynch-Crawford, just opened Taste of Dahntahn. -
The exterior of the Dallmeyer Building at 535 Liberty Ave. today. -
The exterior of the Dallmeyer Building at 535 Liberty Ave. in 1980.
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Two years ago, Courtney Lynch-Crawford and her future husband, Bob, waved flashlights around so they could see behind the metal paneling that covered the first two floors of a Downtown building on Liberty Avenue.
As the Fox Chapel couple peered into the 2 feet of space behind the ugly facade, they saw a rough cut stone exterior and wood trim, details that made them embark on a restoration. Mrs. Lynch-Crawford bought the Victorian-era structure in 2009 for $300,000.
Today, it's the home of a new restaurant called Taste of Dahntahn, heralded by a 13-by-7-foot neon sign at 535 Liberty Ave. Mr. Crawford wanted to call the restaurant Taste but that name was already taken. His 9-year-old daughter, Corinne, suggested Taste of Dahntahn.
The second floor houses CP Group, Mrs. Lynch-Crawford's furniture and fabric sales business, and her husband's remodeling company, Paramount Contract Services. There are two apartments on the third and fourth floors; on the roof, a deck is being built for tenants.
With new windows on every level, dark green paint and contrasting burgundy trim, the building sparkles like a glossy jewel. The transformation is especially fitting because, for most of the past century, it was the Downtown branch of Kappel's Jewelers.
Mr. Crawford, who owned 15 Friendly's restaurants in Central Florida, loves the neon sign because art deco is his favorite style. Even the entryway carries through the color scheme -- it's framed in celery green, penny-shaped tile.
At the red granite bar, which seats 22 people on swivel chairs, patrons can order alcoholic beverages as well as 8-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola and Sprite in bright, neon colors. The dinner menu will have LED lights. The executive chef is Lee Corbett, formerly of Jackson's restaurant in Moon and the Hyeholde. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and eventually plans to serve breakfast. Much of the menu is in Pittsburghese: At lunch, there's "sammitches," such as the Dahntahn Dagwood, the Chipped-Chopped Ham BBQ and the Sahside Cuban.
The restaurant's red and white poured terrazzo floor was customized with flecks of glass and mirrors. The red granite bar has a thick edge, "so you can sit up and eat at the counter and you have leg room," Mrs. Lynch-Crawford said. Luca Paganico, a local air-brush artist, painted the scene of fashionable ladies on one of the bar walls.
First Published September 6, 2011 12:00 am
