Brick & Barrel to replace Andora restaurant in Indiana Township

Joyce Hanz | Wednesday, December 4, 2019 2:03 p.m.

Joyce Hanz | For the Tribune-Review

Brick & Barrel will open next year in the Andora restaurant space, which is the historic Cross Keys Inn on Dorseyville Road.

A popular restaurant in the Fox Chapel area is closing and will reopen as Brick & Barrel, a new wood-fired pizza and bourbon-themed casual eatery.

Andora Restaurant, located in the former Cross Keys Inn at 599 Dorseyville Road, will remain open until the end of December after seven years in business.

Brick & Barrel is scheduled for a March 2020 opening, said co-owner Jeff Brungo.

“The emphasis is going to be on affordable and high quality farm-to-table food,” Brungo said. “We fell in love with the atmosphere at Andora and, when I was a kid, I ate dinner often at The Cross Keys with my parents.”

Brungo, 51, has worked for more than 40 years around Pittsburgh’s food and beverage market.

He landed on the name Brick & Barrel after a trip down south to Nashville’s Stock & Barrel with friend and business partner Chris Hildebrandt.

Brungo also co-owns The Library, a bar in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood.

Brick & Barrel will feature farm-to-table cuisine prepared in a wood-fired brick oven. The standard menu will include entree salads, handcrafted soups, gourmet burgers and desserts.

The bar will feature more than 100 bourbons and offer locally brewed craft beers.

Brick & Barrel plans to serve lunch and dinner, seven days a week.

At Andora, it will be “business as usual” until the Dec. 31. closing, said manager Cassy Slover. “Everyone is saying they’re sad to see us go. We’re grateful to the patrons and community for supporting Andora.”

Andora bought The Cross Keys Inn in 2012. Designated a Historic Landmark by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, the 1850 building originally opened as the G.F. Thomas Tavern until 1876, when it underwent a name change to the Cross Keys Inn, serving as a stagecoach stop between Kittanning and Pittsburgh.

The restaurant has been restored and features an outdoor patio, hand-painted murals, original brick and woodwork, eight private dining rooms upstairs and a separate brick exposed bar.

“We love the feel and will freshen up the interior with some paint but we won’t lose the historic feel,” Brungo said.

Andora’s sister restaurant with the same name, located on Mt. Nebo Road in Sewickley, will remain open.