Saving Sacred Spaces Summit!

We're delighted to be hosting the Young Preservationists of Pittsburgh's Saving Sacred Spaces Summit from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 23.  A group of panelist, including your's truly, will be discussing the preservation and repurposing of churches and other religious structures.  For more information, click here.

Pugilists Visit the Priory Again

We're hosting the second annual North Side versus the Outside fundraiser for the Steel City Boxing Club this Friday, September 9.  The event starts at 6 p.m., and will feature a variety of boxing matches featuring members of the Steel City Club taking on fighters from throughout the city.  We hosted this event last September, and it was a lot of fun and spectators had a chance to see some dedicated youth practice the sweet science.  Tickets are $40 for a seat and $20 for standing room.

Here's a link to the event's Facebook page.

Andy Russell in the House

We were pleased to host Steeler great, former linebacker Andy Russell.  Andy received an award from the Homeless Children's Education Fund at it's annual Champions for Children Event, which we were delighted to host this year.

Wine Party at the Priory

We had a great time at our August wine party.  The weather was great, and our old friend Joey DiSalvo came to talk about the 7 Collefrisio Vineyards (from Abruzzi, Italy) wines we tasted.  Joey, who also owns and operates DiSalvo's Station event space and restaurant  is a friend and colleague through the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, where Joey served as Chair in 2009 and I'm proud to serve as Chair this year.  Thanks to Joey and his colleague Vance Kaloz for some fantastic wines and a fun and educational night!

Priory Hotel Featured in National MSN Article

Microsoft Network (MSN.com) ran a recent story entitled Fifteen Affordable U.S. Cities to Add to Your Bucket List.  Pittsburgh, not surprisingly, was among them.  In the piece on Pittsburgh, travelers are directed to try Meat and Potatoes for dinner, the Warhol Museum for a tour stop, and our Priory Hotel for lodging, the only hotel mentioned in the Pittsburgh portion of the piece!

PRLA Good Neighbor Awards

I was really honored, in my capacity as Chairman of the statewide Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, to have the opportunity to deliver our two Restaurant Good Neighbor Awards at the PRLA's Spring Meeting.  The winners were the Springfield Restaurant Group, near Pittsburgh, and Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group.  Both are doing great works in assisting their communities.  Congratulations to them!

Acquiring the Westinghouse Castle

We were very pleased this week to have acquired the Westinghouse Castle in Wilmerding, near Monroeville.  This historic building was constructed by George Westinghouse in the early 1890's to serve as the offices for his air brake factory.  Our plan is to convert the building into a hotel, event facility and restaurant, which honors the legacy of George Westinghouse and the workers who built this region.

You can see a Post-Gazette story on the acquisition here.

Here is a link to the Castle's Facebook page.