I Love This Bar Spurns Pittsburgh Development

Developers in Pittsburgh are searching for a replacement after learning that a Toby Keith bar and grill is spurning their retail and office complex like one of the characters in a country song.

Photo: Jason Moore

Walnut Creek Amphitheatre, Raleigh, N.C.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Columbus, Ohio-based Continental Real Estate Cos. was counting on Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill to anchor the North Shore Place I and II complex on North Shore Drive.

Much of the space of the restaurant had already been built out, including its trademark guitar-shaped bar.

Continental’s president of development in Pittsburgh, Barry Ford, says the developer has a “couple of good options on the table” for taking the space.

The Post-Gazette reports the company that operates Keith’s restaurant has had trouble keeping it afloat in other cities.