City Channel Pittsburgh, PA 2023 Pittsburgh City Council meetings, 19 Sep 2023

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From YouTube: Pittsburgh City Council Public Hearing - 9/19/23

Description

Bill #2023-1841: Liquor License, Amboy Restaurants

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Good afternoon and welcome to Pittsburgh City council's cable cast public hearing for Tuesday September 19th 2020 20 20 23 relative to Bill 2023 1841, the clerk. Please read the title and and uh message the bill.

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Bill 1841 resolution requesting the approval of an inter-municipal transfer of a liquor license license number are 12 196 from Mac and taws Inc, located at 3335 East Main Street, Carnegie PA 15106 to the applicant Amboy, restaurants of Pittsburgh LLC, doing business as Amboy Eatery located at 400 East Ohio Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, pursuant to amended Pennsylvania liquor code statute, 4 461.

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Thank you. First.

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Order business.

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Will be um inviting the guests up or the applicants up if you'd like to make a presentation or if you have anything or if you'd just like to make your comment at the table here it's up to you, you come up to the table.

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Right over here.

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And then, if you could just um say your name and purpose of uh I I assume you're, the applicant I.

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You could say your name and and what you're here for okay.

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um So my name is Rafael vincio um I am the owner of Amboy uh restaurants at Pittsburgh, LLC and I've been trying to develop this business and introduce Philippine Cuisine uh to the city of Pittsburgh to help diversify the food scene and just really highlight the minority aspect and being an immigrant myself, I think that is integral to the purpose of this business.

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To really put that up front and show that um you know this is a land of dreams we get, we are able to realize uh business and and what we want to do uh to better ourselves and I think this would be a great way, a pathway for um this, just a city in general to be able to thrive and have business flowing everywhere and and benefiting the community.

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Well, thank you. So we um we will now move the testimony from you could stay here, because I'm gonna I might have a couple questions after, but we have moved the testimony where we'll hear from public speakers. I wouldn't have any registered speakers, but um you know any speaker that is in person would like to come forward. You have three minutes if you'd, like I, mean I'm familiar with at least one one other person in there in.

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The audience hi Allison hi Allison, Herndon I'm, the nighttime economy manager for the City of Pittsburgh I've, read over the applicants, application his business plan and um it looks like a really nice supplement to what's already building on East, Ohio Street and really becoming kind of like this little destination for Cuisine. It's pretty exciting.

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um Mr fencio has also a farm that he is attaching to this business, not located there, but that will Source. The Flies I'm also very impressed with some of the sustainability goals that he has. um You know reducing carbons um and looking over the application. As far as the alcohol part is concerned, it's a reasonable portion of his proposed sales. It doesn't look like it would be the type of business by hours or amount of sales that would impact the neighborhood, so I think it's a I.

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Welcome you to the city and we hope we can be a resource to you as well.

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All right thanks, Allison and then seeing if there's no other, no other speakers, um I'll uh I'll, move to um I'm, really just a couple. Questions I have or just a general conversation, so the so I represent district one and uh quite familiar with East Ohio streets which which business is 400 East. It.

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Used to be a Subway restaurant, okay,.

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The very Corner yeah.

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Oh yeah and Suba was up top yep.

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Before they relocated to okay,.

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Yeah right nice, so this will be a what type of restaurant Philippines Filipino.

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It's Filipino Focus, but in terms of just introducing Cuisine, um it's still American in essence, I think that Fusion of two different cultures, really it it showcases my background. Okay,.

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And being influenced by the U.S uh with our country that has become like the marketing pitch, the the overall package of what the restaurant and the food will will be.

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Nice, and so will you occupy both fours, the first and second.

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Just the single floor in the basement the first floor, yeah.

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Okay and then do you own the property I'm. Sorry, do you own the.

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Property right I am leasing the.

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Problem at least the property nice, and then this is the transfer where I haven't done too many liquor transfers in my district. But this one comes from Carnegie PA to here. So interesting I mean I. You know learned all about this stuff. Whenever you know Allison, it's been great. uh Helped me understand this stuff when I got on Council four years ago. So all.

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um And when do we expect that uh to open when when can we come down for Filipino.

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um Not until next year, so this is just a preliminary work that I have to do in terms of uh securing the loan. uh Essentially, everything is contingent so I'm trying to uh work my way up um once the loans are secured. That really just opens The Floodgate and it would really allow the the build out and the process to begin so. I want to say maybe February.

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If uh I got I get lucky and.

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uh Full bar yes and then how late will you be open.

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um So the initial marketing strategy is to just operate for dinner service that way, because the revenue is more significant in that time of uh day so, but hopefully extending it to more of like a daytime, maybe lunch weekend service, um but I mean there are so many factors and variables involved like labor, is also an issue. So I have to be very uh pragmatic about that, um and really just being able to execute I want to be able to deliver what I said. I would deliver so keeping it short.

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All right, well, I, wish you all the best of luck and anything before I adjourned this meeting. No thank you appreciate it. Okay,.

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