Sep 28, 2025 By Jon Andreassi 3 min read

A family-owned Italian market that has long been a staple of the Pittsburgh region is planning a new location in North Strabane Township.

Leonard Labriola’s Italian Markets will open a fourth location at the site of the former Kings Family Restaurant at 580 McClelland Road.

Owner Leonard Labriola said they are still early in the process, and are looking to open by next spring.

“I always told my children … I always wanted to put a store in the South Hills. I think that is a very great area,” Labriola said Friday. “This came about in April. I was brought to that site. Oh, my goodness, how could this be available? And it was. It’s a terrific spot. It’s a terrific retail opportunity.”

According to Washington County property records, Labriola’s purchased the McClelland Road property on Sept. 4 for $2,725,000.

Labriola’s currently has locations in Aspinwall, Monroeville and Warrendale. A now-closed location in Penn Hills is still used as a warehouse and kitchen. Their markets offer a wide selection of cheeses, deli meats, pasta, homemade sauces, bread and desserts. They also sell prepared meals and homemade soup.

“We sell anything that you can think of in an Italian product,” Labriola said.

In Aspinwall, there is also the Labriola Winery. Labriola said the North Strabane location will also sell its selection of wines.

Labriola said his father, Leonard Labriola Sr., opened the first store in 1929 on Larimer Avenue in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood.

Nearly a century later Labriola’s multiple locations continue to be owned and operated by the Labriola family.

“Mom and Dad gave us a good start,” Labriola said.

North Strabane Township Manager Andy Walz said the McClelland Road property is zoned to allow a business like Labriola’s to operate by right, so a conditional use application would not be necessary.

However, any alterations Labriola’s may plan to make to the building will require a building permit. Labriola’s has not yet filed an application for a building permit.

“We have met with them,” Walz said. “We have not received any official applications.”

According to Labriola, the building that housed Kings will remain, but the interior will be remodeled to fit their needs.

“We’re keeping the four walls. The interior will be demolished, and then we’ll put our footprint there. We’re not expanding it, we’re using the four walls,” Labriola said.

In 2023, there were discussions about the Kings restaurant closing and becoming a GetGo gas station and convenience store.

Representatives from Giant Eagle had appeared before the township zoning board to request variances to build the store, but were denied.

Giant Eagle also appeared before the planning commission, whose members expressed concerns about the traffic the GetGo would cause along Route 19.