30 East Main reopens in downtown
Roger Clatterbuck (left) and Frank Sacco are managing partners of the new 30 East Main, An American Tavern in downtown Uniontown.
Chef Roger Clatterbuck cuts into a peach cobbler at the new 30 East Main, An American Tavern.
The new 30 East Main, An American Tavern, will offer a variety of American foods, including this half-pound burger with fries and pickle.
Outside seating is one feature at the new 30 East Main, An American Tavern in downtown Uniontown.
The fact that a statue of Mark Twain reposes right around the corner from 30 East Main magnifies its new American tavern theme.
Reopened at 11 a.m. Thursday after sitting idle since February 2008, 30 East Main, An American Tavern, has had a complete makeover as well as a new direction to its menu.
“We saw a need in the community. We thought this would help improve the economic base. We saw it as something that would be doable, enjoyable and a challenge,” said Roger Clatterbuck, chef and one of two managing partners.
“Our theme is the 13 colonies. Our intention is to honor the country and its founders,” said Frank Sacco, another managing partner.
30 East Main has about 18 associates, including kitchen, wait and bar staff.
Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and dinner only on Saturday, the menu features such meals as Frontier Burger, double-cut one-pound pork chop, country fried veal, New England mussels, salads, homemade soups, including Duda corn chowder, named after the area farm where the restaurant buys its corn.
“Everything is made from scratch. There is such a bounty in this area. As we have our menu settled in, we will add more proteins (beef, pork, chicken). Everything we use is grass-fed and natural,” Clatterbuck said.
The menu will be seasonal for some foods, while others will remain the same, he added.
A member of the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture, Clatterbuck said, “We want to buy our food locally. We are buying from Duda’s (Luzerne Township) and Jackson Farms (Uniontown) and Sand Hill Berries (Mount Pleasant). I’m looking for someone local who makes artisan cheese,” he added.
They also have used local businesses in refurbishing and decorating the restaurant, including Just Simply Clean, Neubauer’s Flowers in Uniontown and Eagle Cabinetry in New Kensington, which produced the woodwork, including booths and tables.
Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Only dinner will be served on Saturday and the restaurant will be closed Sunday. Takeouts are available.
Prices are competitive to other area restaurants, Sacco said.
The new 30 East Main has seating for 96 in its dining room and another 45 to 50 at its bar, which is stocked with liquors and more than 60 domestic beers, many of them craft beers and popular local brews, Sacco said.
Keeping the style simple, the interior is brick, wood, cast iron and brass. Wait staff will use state-of-the-art technology to place orders.
“They will be using Ipads for point of sale at the table. They can send the order directly to the kitchen from the diner’s table. They can also take care of the bill at the table with the Ipad. It even has a camera so we can take pictures at the tables,” Clatterbuck said.
The restaurant plans to have a phone application so people can order before they arrive.
Following its American theme, 30 East Main also honors some local people through three artistic panels by Burton Morris, Pittsburgh artist, dedicated to Frank Lloyd Wright, designer of Fallingwater; Robert E. Eberly, local businessman and philanthropist; and Joe Hardy, whose daughter Maggie Hardy Magerko, started 30 East Main.
Hardy said the initial investment in the property was about $2.5 million. “And you can see, there has been more investment since that. I’d say this represents a significant investment,” Hardy said.
He sees a bright future for the new 30 East Main.
“I think this is a very strong community here. The location across the street from the State Theatre should be a plus. The courthouse is just steps away. This will be a focal point for people. I think we have a niche here above anything existing,” Hardy said of 30 East Main.
Sacco and Clatterbuck worked for Hardy at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, where they met. Clatterbuck’s background is in cooking.
“I started when I was 10 years old as a dishwasher,” Clatterbuck said.
He went to college to become an English professor but found cooking to be his real love.
He went to the Culinary Institute of America and found his way to Farmington where he was chef de cuisine at Nemacolin Woodlands and later became involved in administration. “I decided to move back to the kitchen,” he said, which lead to 30 East Main.
A Pittsburgh native, Sacco began in the hospitality business in 1974 at the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh.
He has worked on the Queen Elizabeth II, at the former World Trade Center in New York City and the Ritz Hotel in London, England, as well as at Nemacolin Woodlands.
Food producers interested in selling products to 30 East Main can contact Clatterbuck at the restaurant. More information is available at 724-430-MAIN.