Newtown Twp. Supervisors Approve High-End Steakhouse Capital Grille

A much anticipated Capital Grille restaurant will be coming to Newtown Township after the township board of supervisors approved both conditional use and the transfer of a liquor license for the new establishment at Wednesday night’s meeting, both by 3-2 votes.

After some extensive renovations, the new 8,500 square-foot Capital Grille will move into the space at 2807 South Eagle Road in the Village at Newtown Shopping Center formerly occupied by a Pier 1, which closed more than three years ago. Capital Grilles are part of the Darden Restaurants group.

Joe Blackburn, the local attorney representing Darden on the project, and Darden Associate Director of Development Drew Johnson said renovations would take seven or eight months once started. Johnson estimated the new restaurant would be opening in the late summer of 2024.

Both Darden representatives said the Newtown Township establishment would be the first in Bucks County and the first among 63 Capital Grilles across the country to be located in a non-metropolitan kind of area. Johnson said the closest Capital Grilles to Newtown Township currently are in Philadelphia, King of Prussia and Cherry Hill, N.J.

Supervisors’ Chairman Dennis Fisher and fellow board members Elen Snyder and Phil Calabro voted yes on both conditional use approval and the transfer of a liquor license from another restaurant in Bucks County to be used at the new Capital Grille. Supervisors Kyle Davis and John Mack voted against both motions.

Davis echoed a thought voiced often Wednesday night on parking and traffic problems at the center residents have been complaining about for years. The new Capital Grille will be among many restaurants located within a fairly small area of the shopping center.

“It’s a mess over there,” Davis said. “Parking is terrible. I certainly have no problem with Capital Grilles. I’m honored they chose our town, but I just don’t think it’s a fit at this shopping center.”

Mack added “When do we stop bringing restaurants into that area?”

But Blackburn countered that a parking analysis done by Darden representatives showed that even at the busiest time for restaurants at the center, Saturday nights, there would still be 250 parking spaces available at the center and 140 in the “immediate vicinity” of the Capital Grille.

“We believe that is more than adequate,” he said. Blackburn added he asked the shopping center’s owner, Brixmor, to place a greater emphasis on having employees park farther away and leave closer spaces open for patrons. Also, Darden is working hard and anticipates offering complimentary valet parking for the new Capital Grille, he said.

The new restaurant will have total seating both indoor and outdoor of 236 and would be open every day until midnight for dinner only as there are no plans at present to offer lunch, Blackburn said. He added the total seating capacity of 236 is misleading because it includes 48 seats in three private dining rooms that would not be in everyday use. No outdoor music will be allowed.

Johnson said Capital Grilles place a great emphasis on lower density, or leaving more space between seating for patrons than many other restaurants. “We’re not trying to stack people on top of each other,” he said.

“Capital Grille is a feather in our cap,” Snyder said before voting to approve the liquor license transfer. “I’m not a fan of more liquor licenses, but we wouldn’t have Capital Grille without the liquor license.”

According to its website, thecapitalgrille.com., Capital Grille restaurants have “nationally renowned dry-aged steaks, fresh seafood and acclaimed world-class wines,” among other attractions. Blackburn referred to them as “very high-end steakhouses.”