Destroyed By Fire 13 Years Ago, Rag Top Bar & Grille Is Poised To Return

The former owner of Rag Top Bar and Grille plans to bring the business back to its old location at 820 McLaughlin Run Road.
The former owner of Rag Top Bar and Grille plans to bring the business back to its old location at 820 McLaughlin Run Road.

When Rag Top Bar and Grille was destroyed by a fire in 2005, the bar’s owner vowed that his business would return.

John Clawson moved closer to making that happen earlier this month when Bridgeville Borough Council unanimously approved a liquor license transfer for the resurrected Rag Tops.

The vote followed a brief public hearing on Dec. 10:

The plan is for Rag Top would return to its old address—820 McLaughlin Run Road—in a newer building that erected after the fire. Most recently, that location was home to Shelby’s Station, a bar/restaurant which closed this summer.

Although there is a liquor license already tied to 820 McLaughlin Run Road, it is part of a dispute between the building’s owner and a former tenant, said Charles Caputo, the attorney representing Rag Tops, LLC.

The new license will be transferred from Whitaker Borough, a small town near Kennywood Park.

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