Volunteers give Trafford fence a makeover

A handful of volunteers answered the Trafford Business Association’s call for helping hands Saturday morning at 427 Cavitt Ave.

In a little more than four hours, they brightened up the block by improving a fence on the property of Klassy Bar and Grill.

The ad hoc work crew cut and stained boards and applied them to the face of a bare 21-foot chain link fence bordering the sidewalk between the restaurant and neighboring BirrBatt Printing.

“We were out of there before 1:30,” said association President Larry George. “It got all done, and it looks great. It’s getting a lot of compliments.”

The work day was the latest in a series of annual beautification efforts coordinated by the association, which was organized just a few years ago.

“We were looking for ways we can start to regenerate the community,” George said. “We have done what we could on a shoestring.”

With volunteer labor, Saturday’s spruce-up cost just a little over $100, he said.

The beautification program, popularly known as Power Wash and Paint Day, recruits volunteers to improve business facades and other public spaces, to add visual appeal to the town. Businesses that benefit from a makeover are asked to chip in toward needed materials.

“We want them to have some skin in the game,” George said.

The BirrBatt storefront was repainted in a previous project.

Owner Sheldon Klasfeld had planned to debut Klassy, formerly known as Parente’s, as a multi-faceted dining and entertainment site earlier this year, but he encountered a setback with the arrival of the covid-19 pandemic. He purchased a liquor license for use at Klassy from the closed Rivertowne Pub and Grille in North Huntingdon.

“With the pandemic, I’ve had a little detour, but I’m very positive,” he said.