A new restaurant is getting ready to open in Penns Valley. Here’s what you can expect
A new American restaurant co-owned by a Penns Valley native who moved back to her hometown after more two decades away is set to open March 12.
Streamside Family Restaurant is scheduled to open at 137 W. Streamside Place in Gregg Township after undergoing two months of renovations. The nearly 1,800-square-foot eatery will replace Pizza Heaven.
“I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m like every feeling that you can possibly feel all rolled into one,” co-owner Jennifer Seles said Monday. “We filled our Coke machine today and I’m looking at it going, ‘It looks so beautiful. This is really becoming real.’ I was surprised that a Coke machine could make me feel that way.”
Owning a restaurant was a lifelong dream for Seles. She and her husband bought the former pizza shop in January.
Seles was raised in Penns Valley, but moved to Southern California in her early 20s to pursue a medical career. She moved in 2014 to Pittsburgh, where she met her husband and lived for several years before settling back into “Valley living.”
The restaurant will offer pizza, sandwiches, salads and strombolis when it first opens its doors. The menu is expected to evolve, especially over the next year while Seles’ continue to renovate the kitchen.
The plan, Seles said, is to turn the eatery into family restaurant that will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Home-cooked meals and breakfast buffets are planned for Sundays within a month or two.
“I have seven kids, five grandkids. It’s pretty much turned into a family affair,” Seles said. “My daughter helps us, my grandchildren help us, my son-in-law helps us. It’s really turned into a family thing. It really is a family restaurant.”
The restaurant can seat upward of 88 people, in addition to picnic tables outside. About 10 people are employed, Seles said.
The business is scheduled to be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday until June, when the restaurant is scheduled to also be open 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Tuesday.
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 10:44 AM.