BY MIKE FAHER
A prominent Johnstown property – including nearly four acres of land and a 6,800 square-foot building – is up for sale.
The former Johnstown Brewing Co. building, which dates to the early 1900s and at one time was an exclusive hangout for steel executives, is offered at $595,000.
The property’s future is important for officials in Southmont, where there are relatively few commercial properties to boost the community’s mainly residential tax base.
“We’ve just got to hope that there’s some entrepreneur out there who’s willing to reopen it,” Borough Manager Rich Wargo said.
Johnstown Brewing Co. opened in March 2003 and carved out a local niche by offering its own brand of beer brewed on site. But the owners ran into financial problems, and the restaurant closed in June 2008.
The Brewing Company was only the latest business venture at 942 Pinegrove Lane. In the past 14 years, the property has hosted four eateries: PineWood Restaurant, Charbonnee Au Vin, Lino’s and the Brewing Company.
Charbonnee Au Vin lasted only four months in 1997. The Brewing Company and Lino’s, which operated from March 1998 to January 2003, were far more successful but still could not find long-term stability.
However, the property’s history stretches back for at least a century. Initially, the building was constructed as a clubhouse for a nine-hole golf course.
Bethlehem Steel Corp. bought the site in 1923. The golf course was replaced by tennis courts, and Bethlehem Management Club hosted the steelmaking giant’s supervisory employees for decades.
Bethlehem fell on hard times by the 1980s and put the property, by then called Ye Olde Country Club, up for sale. It was purchased by a consortium of club members, but a bank foreclosed on the site in the early 1990s.
The property now is being promoted through RE/MAX Team Realtors.
The sprawling building includes bars and seating on two floors, along with an outdoor deck and 3.9 acres of land. A liquor license is available, but the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board would have to approve its transfer to a new owner.
It is the only liquor license in Southmont Borough.
And Wargo said that any commercial redevelopment of the property
– whether through the opening of a new restaurant or another commercial venture – would have positive ramifications for the community.
“Obviously, it’s going to have an impact on us,” Wargo said. “It’s going to generate additional property taxes, and it will help the earned-income taxes.”
