Locally made craft beer will soon come to 531 Allegheny Ave in Oakmont, PA as Local Remedy Brewing was recently awarded a conditional-use permit to open in the space. The location was formerly the home of Oakmont Bakery after the bakery moved to a new location in Oakmont.

For those who have followed the Pennsylvania Homebrew Invitational, the name Local Remedy should sound familiar. The brewery competed in the 2023 competition placing first overall in the Pittsburgh region. Local Remedy is lead by Matt Synan, along with his team which includes Dan Silianoff, Joe Vickless, Sean Williamson, Brian “BJ” Swartzlander and Sean Rogan.

We reached out to Synan about the future space as well as the team. “We’ve all been separately passionate about beer and brewing for more than a decade, eventually coming together to brew as a group a few years ago. As we got more serious about brewing we found ourselves falling in love with the creative process, but even more so with sharing our beer with people outside of our group” Synan said about the team behind the brand.

In a recent TribLive article Synan was quoted as discussing why this location was so important to him. “I grew up not too far from Oakmont. And when I moved back here from training, I lived in Oakmont for many years,” Synan said. “I know this community fairly well and the strong sense of community here. That’s one of the things that brought us here. It’s the perfect environment for us.”

However, according to the initial report, not everyone is in favor of the pending brewery. During a public hearing on the vote of the permit, two local business representatives voiced concern over a brewery opening in the location. The report goes on to say…

Brian Leri, general manager and executive chef at Hoffstot’s in Oakmont, spoke about his concerns for parking. Hoffstot’s is next door to the brewery’s intended location, and he said there wouldn’t be enough space to accommodate the business that the brewery would bring in.

“There’s no way this won’t affect the parking,” Leri said. “They’re saying there’s going to be a lot of walk-up traffic — there won’t. A lot of the letters are saying they’re going to bring people to town, and those people are going to be driving in. The empty building is a major issue. Something needs to go there, but the right business needs to go there. This isn’t the right business.”

John Keefe echoed Leri’s concerns. Keefe is the owner of Hoffstot’s and Chelsea Grille; both restaurants are located on either side of the brewery. Aside from his concerns about parking, he brought up the possibility of his business getting damaged if the brewery were to be put in that location.

“Have you people researched anything about the dangers of operating a brewpub?” Keefe said. “I’m sure you probably haven’t, but AmTrust Financial did. Breweries have different exposures than restaurants. Breweries use compressed gas cylinders, which can explode if not handled properly. These things matter to my business, which basically shares a wall with them.”

Despite the concerns the vote passed unanimously, 6 to 0, with many local residents not only supportive of the passage, but writing letters to express their support.

The Local Remedy team has been competing in many local events serving their beer to the community for the past handful of years. It’s through the development of their brand that they have worked hard to become a strong value add to Oakmont and the surrounding area; one of the primary reasons they received so much support during the vote process.

Synan confirmed that when Local Remedy opens they plan to brew their beer on a 10 barrel brewhouse “that will allow us to offer 6-8 beers on tap year-round, as well as seltzers and other local products. We will also have cans available for takeout sales” he confirmed about the space.

He went on to share more about what type of beers the local community can expect when Local Remedy launches. “Like much of our community, we enjoy hop-forward beers, so count on them being taproom staples. But we also love other styles, namely Märzen, Weissbier and barrel-aged stouts. For us, it’s more about a love of beer and the art of brewing than it is specializing in one particular style. You’ll see a variety of beer at Local Remedy, each with the same commitment to the craft and we can’t wait to start pouring them later in 2024!”

According to Synan, the brewery has an anticipated opening of late summer or early fall of 2024. Synan said about the current state of the building that it “essentially a shell, so it will need a complete build-out inside with some exterior updates as well. And that the building will require some cosmetic changes to its exterior before they can launch.” For now you can follow the brewery on Instagram to keep up with all updates on the pending opening.