INGOOD TASTE
Candid conversations with the dining scene’s most engaging chefs
Art Mitchell, Owner,
Trolley Stop Inn
6247 Library Road, Bethel Park;
412.831.7300, trolleystopinn.com
M-Th, 11 a.m. to Midnight; Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.
to 1 a.m.; Sun., Noon to 11 p.m.
In June, the Trolley Stop Inn was sub-
merged under 5 feet of torrential rain.
Owner Art Mitchell reflects on the flood
that led to an outpouring of community
help.
Describe what happened
recently when the Trolley
Stop Inn was flooded.
The flooding was something
I’ll never forget. Since opening
in 1983, we had never been put out of business
because of a flood. It was a Wednesday
morning in June and our main food vendors
delivered all the food, beer and liquor like
normal. By that night our main floor had
about 5 feet of water throughout the entire
restaurant, in a matter of minutes. Bethel Park
had approximately 4 inches of rain in about
45 minutes. The rain dropped so hard and
so fast onto Route 88 that it came down into
our small creek, turning it into a monster as it
gushed into our lot. There was so much water
it floated 12 or 14 cars parked in front of the
restaurant. The water broke our main door
open and flooded the whole place. We had
20 or more customers and employees inside.
Thankfully, no one was injured. However, there
was a ton of financial loss for my customers,
the employees and myself. The toughest part
was knowing we had just remodeled the entire
place only two years ago—both the exterior
and interior—with all-new floors and walls.
Q A
How is the Trolley Stop Inn since the
flooding?
Structurally, the restaurant was still sound, but
we remodeled and replaced everything—from
the drywall, to all-new refrigeration, deep
fryers, kitchen equipment and computers. All
of our phones were completely ruined, too,
and needed to be replaced. The damage was
one thing, but the complete lack of revenue
coming in was another. It wasn’t anything I
couldn’t overcome, but it