A cut above the rest
Mary Jane Sullivan, 61, and husband Richard Umbel, 73, own The Maples Restaurant.
Don’t judge a book by its cover – Sullivan calls the nondescript exterior of the restaurant “retro.”
The Maples’ “famous” black angus chateaubriand-cut steak.
Crabcakes are one of only four entrees on the menu. Entrees come with a salad and roll and choice of potato or vegetables.
Guests can start their meal with a jumbo shrimp cocktail appetizer.
Crab-stuffed mushrooms are another appetizer option.
The Maples Restaurant, a steakhouse in Fallowfield Township that was ranked 10th on a Pittsburgh Business Times list of the 25 most upscale Pittsburgh area restaurants in February, is unusual for a couple of reasons.
For one, the menu is limited to four entrees.
And two: the steakhouse is open only two days a week.
“We skinnied the menu down to just a few items, and we said, ‘Let’s make them perfect,’ which we do,'” said Richard Umbel, 73, who bought the restaurant with his wife, Mary Jane Sullivan, 61, in 2008.
The pared-down menu includes filet mignon, New York strip steak, crab cakes and orange roughy.
Running a restaurant can be exhausting and time-consuming, so the couple, who live in Monongahela, decided to open the steakhouse on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. so they could focus on perfecting every menu item.
Umbel and Sullivan said their goal is to provide diners with an excellent meal they will remember for a long time.
”We’re very happy to see people come in here and say this is the best steak they ever had in their lives,” Umbel said. “We treat them like they are guests in our home.”
Mission accomplished.
Every rating for The Maples on Yelp is five stars, and the steakhouse is one of only two restaurants on the Pittsburgh Business Times list with an average five-star rating on Yelp.
Boxer Sammy Vasquez, a Monessen native who now lives in Colorado, has visited the restaurant often. Sullivan notes that one diner drives twice a month from Columbus, Ohio, for a filet mignon.
The couple became restaurant owners, quite literally, by accident.
Umbel and Sullivan originally purchased the restaurant for their son, Shawn, who was involved in the restaurant business in Aspen, Colo. Shawn, however, suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle accident, which left him unable to stand for long periods. “So, we took over the restaurant business,” Umbel said.
Every Thursday, the pair receives their order of filet mignon and New York strip steaks, which are center-cut from USDA prime-grade black Angus beef.
Umbel said he and his wife typically prepare about 65 dinners over the course of the weekend. They recommend reservations, although drop-in diners are welcome, as long as there is enough food.
“We have turned away drop-ins because we don’t freeze anything. Everything is fresh, which means we could sell out,” Umbel said. “That’s why we suggest reservations.”
Like the most exclusive steakhouses in the country, The Maples serves up the best, most expensive grades of beef, so expect to pay for the quality. The 16-ounce filet mignon costs $69, while the 8-ounce steak is $39. The New York strip is offered for $42. All dinners are served with salad, rolls and a choice of potato or vegetables.
For appetizers, diners can choose from jumbo lump crabmeat cocktail, crab-stuffed mushrooms or jumbo shrimp cocktail.
Neither Umbel nor Sullivan had experience in the restaurant business before they took over The Maples – but both enjoy cooking.
“Richard’s thing is the meat,” Sullivan said. “He’s an expert on the meat.”
The orange roughy is prepared with a French sauce that comes from a family recipe, and the stuffed mushrooms, Sullivan said, “are unique and delicious.”
Sullivan retired from a 30-year career with the U.S. Postal Service, and Umbel, originally from Gibson, a coal town near Bentleyville, earned a degree in accounting from Penn State University and started his career in the construction industry as the controller of a construction company. Later, he moved to New Jersey, where he worked his way up from treasurer to president of a steel mill company before he moved to Miami, Fla., and became the largest international distributor for Whirlpool Products.
While in Miami, the couple belonged to La Gorce Country Club, where Umbel was active in food and beverage work.
Umbel said he enjoys stopping by tables throughout the night to ask guests how they are enjoying their meals. “It’s instant gratification. When people tell you it’s the best steak they’ve ever had, or that they’ve had crab cakes while they were in the Chesapeake area and ours is better, it makes me feel good. I’m very proud of that,” he said.
The restaurant is located at 409 Old 71, Charleroi, in a nondescript, one-story building with maroon shutters that Sullivan jokingly refers to as “retro.”
“We’d like a little more curb appeal,” she said. “But we brought the restaurant through hard economic times, and we’ve done some nice things.”
The couple would like to see the restaurant open on more weekdays – they once operated it five days a week before cutting back to three, and finally to two days – but they don’t have the drive.
“It was too much for us. If we were 40 years old, we would have this place open five or six days a week and our business would be phenomenal,” Umbel said. “If we could find the right young couple who would come in here and take this place over, we would do it. It’s hard for us to see it closed so often. But, for where we are in our lives, we spend enough time here.”
In their free time, Umbel and Sullivan enjoy playing golf and spending time with their 4-year-old grandson.
“The restaurant has turned out to be a very nice hobby that’s very lucrative,” Umbel said. “We’re very proud that we’ve carved out a great restaurant here in Fallowfield Township.”
For more information or to make a reservation, call 724-489-9900 or visit themaplesrestaurant.com.