Former HGTV star set to expand business footprint in Sewickley
A historic building is slated to be transformed into a new restaurant, thanks to a celebrity interior designer with a penchant for putting the spotlight on Sewickley.
Plans for a proposed new restaurant cleared a hurdle Nov. 5 when Sewickley zoning board officials unanimously (5-0) approved a zoning variance request of a 40-feet loading space from applicant Leanne Ford of Sewickley.
The building is located at 524 Locust Place in Sewickley's historic district and was bought for $665,000 in July by Axel LLC, according to online real estate records.
Ford had renovation shows on HGTV including "Restored by the Fords" and "Home Again with the Fords."
Ford relocated from L.A. to Pittsburgh four years ago and hails from Upper St. Clair.
She and her clothing mogul husband Erik Ford own Buck Mason, a luxury casual clothing store that opened last year along Beaver Street in Sewickley.
Ford wears many creative hats as author, businesswoman and interior designer — known for her texture, vintage, nature, books and art style formula.
She recently published "The Slow Down," a design book that includes the story of her journey back to Pittsburgh.
"It's all about my love of living in this small town and fixing up one of its historical homes," Leanne Ford said.
Obtaining the zoning variance was essential in order to move the project forward.
Cait Delach, a member of the LLC and Pittsburgh architect Andre Clarke presented to the zoning board on Ford's behalf because she was out-of-town attending a book signing event in Texas.
The building is zoned C1.
The variance allows for off-street loading at Division Street and not in the front of the building on Locust Street.
The required seven parking spaces have already been leased from the borough.
Zoning board member Connor Cogswell inquired about the expected frequency of deliveries to the new business.
"Normally it's in the morning for deliveries," Delach said.
Concerns over whether deliveries would impede or impact traffic or have an impact on Division Street were brought up by Delaney.
"Division is pretty quiet and is everyone's back-of-house for loading and it's actually nicer than trying to unload on Locust," she said.
"We're happy to be able to get started," Ford said of the variance approval.
Sewickley has three historic districts within the borough and all exterior work must be reviewed by the historic review commission and then approved by borough council.
The restaurant concept is still in the works and Ford said there's not much to tell, yet.
The building has sat unoccupied for several years now and is 124 years old.
It was lastly Cuttings Flower & Garden Market.
"We are so excited to bring it back to life and continue to bring fresh energy to the town of Sewickley," said Ford, adding she has always had a love for old buildings.
"I'm very happy to get the chance to bring it back to life," Ford said.
