New Big Burrito Group restaurant coming to Lower Lawrenceville

Lower Lawrenceville will be the recipient of Big Burrito Group’s newest restaurant concept come early fall.

“We’re working on the final details,” said Big Burrito Restaurant Group CEO Cary Klein. “As soon as we get zoning approval, we’ll be full-blast.”

The restaurant group has leased the first floor space at 3529 Butler St.

They are seeking a special exception from the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment for use as a restaurant and variance for parking.

A community meeting was held Monday night to discuss the proposed zoning change. Klein said the meeting “went really well” and was free from community objections. The Zoning Board hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

While a liquor license placard is posted at the property, it’s still in a pending status.

Shawn Kelly, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, said there is no timetable for approvals due to their varying degrees of complexity.

This is Big Burrito’s newest restaurant concept since introducing Alta Via in April in O’Hara. Big Burrito first indicated their intentions to bring a new restaurant to Lawrenceville in mid-December while announcing Alta Via’s second location in the North Hills. The restaurant group started with Mad Mex in the 1990s, and now includes Eleven, Casbah, Kaya, Soba and Umi.

Many of the new project’s details are mum, but Klein was willing to share a few.

“I can tell you that there will be a patio,” he said. “And, I can tell you that it will be a restaurant with a bar, not a bar with a restaurant. Like our other concepts, it will focus on food with a great bar.”

Abby Mackey is a freelance writer. You can contact Abby at abbyrose.mackey@gmail.com or via Twitter @AnthroAbbyRN.