​The Capital Grille Proposes To Open Restaurant In Newtown

NEWTOWN, PA — The Capital Grille, an upscale fine dining restaurant, and steakhouse, is proposing to open a restaurant at the Village at Newtown shopping center on Eagle Road.

According to a conditional use application submitted to Newtown Township, The Capital Grille is looking to locate a 236-seat restaurant inside an 8,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Pier One Imports on the east side of Eagle Road.

If approved, it would be the first Capital Grille in Bucks County and the fourth in Pennsylvania. The Capital Grille’s other locations are in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and King of Prussia.

A layout of the proposed restaurant submitted as part of the conditional use application shows a reception area opening up to a main dining room, three private dining rooms, and a horseshoe bar surrounded by individual tables. The layout also depicts 24 seats on an outside patio on the Eagle Road side of the building.

In addition to seeking conditional use approval, The Capital Grille will be asking the township to approve a liquor license transfer from a business in Warrington to the township.

The liquor license transfer and ongoing parking concerns at the center are expected to be key sticking points during the upcoming conditional use hearing expected to be held in June before the board of supervisors.

Since the opening of Ardana, parking in the village has gotten more challenging, especially on Friday evenings at the McCaffrey’s side of the shopping center. Even before that residents have complained about traffic and parking inside the redeveloped center.

Brixmor, the company that owns and manages the shopping center, is allowed to have up to 45 percent of its space devoted to restaurant use, under a redevelopment agreement with the township. The new restaurant would bring the percentage up to 35.7 percent.

The more challenging obstacle for The Capital Grille will be securing approval by the supervisors of a liquor license transfer. In the past the supervisors have been reluctant to approve any additional liquor licenses in the township.

The quota for liquor licenses for Newtown Township is around seven, said supervisor John Mack. The township currently has double that number, he said.

Last year when the Blue Point Grill originally presented plans for a seafood restaurant at the former Corner Bakery Cafe at the Newtown Shopping Center, the supervisors initially denied a request for a liquor license transfer from outside the township.

"The supervisors voted to deny that primarily because, at least I thought, because we have enough liquor licenses in Newtown. We don't want to become the next Pottersville," he said, referring to a fictional town in the movie, "It's A Wonderful Life."

BPG, however, was able to secure an existing license in the township from the Friends Bar and Grill, which had closed in early 2022. It eventually won conditional use approval from the township and is now preparing for a July opening.

The Capital Grille, which opened its first restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island in 1990, is best known for its "expertly prepared steaks," which are dry aged in house for 18 to 24 days and then hand-cut by the restaurant's on-premise butcher.

Its food is made from “exceptional ingredients, artfully prepared," says its website. "It is our sole desire that everything, and we mean everything, that arrives at your table at The Capital Grille delights you. To ensure that experience, we use only the finest, freshest ingredients, artfully
prepared in recipes designed to engage all of your senses.”

The Capital Grille's wine list features more than 350 selections, and its floor-to-ceiling wine kiosk regularly houses between 3,500 and 5,000 bottles.

“From the moment you step into The Capital Grille, the experience is one of comfortable elegance,” says the restaurant’s website. “African Mahogany paneling and art deco chandeliers provide a warm, stately setting for our nationally-renowned dry-aged steaks, fresh seafood, and acclaimed world-class wines. With service as gracious as it is attentive, we look forward to impressing you.”

The Capital Grille is owned by Orlando, Florida-based Darden Restaurants, Inc., which also owns and operates Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V's. Earlier this month Darden entered into a merger agreement to acquire Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc., which owns and operates Ruth's Chris Steak House.