Photo by Alan Olson
A small lunch rush gathers at the Alpha Tavern.

WHEELING — One of the city’s most iconic restaurants has had new life breathed into it, and the Alpha Tavern opened its doors to customers Monday morning for a special, invitation-only event.

Much of the building — which formerly hosted Ye Olde Alpha — was demolished and rebuilt from the ground up, and the “old house” portion of the restaurant has been replaced with an outdoor patio. Windows and lights brighten up the interior, while colorful artwork adorns the walls.

Following Monday’s soft opening, where guests were allowed in by invitation only, today will see the grand opening to customers. Only the restaurant’s bar side will be open for the first week or so, with the restaurant side and outdoor patio set to open next week.

Beau Catalano, who serves as both one of the restaurant’s owners and its corporate chef, said he’s happy to see the dawn of a new era. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic limiting numbers in the restaurant, Catalano said the staff were adapting and handling the situation one day at a time.

“This is just a little taste of what we’re doing. The kitchen’s working fine, people aren’t walking over one another, so it seems it’s flowing well. Staff is working well together,” he said. “We take it one day at a time, and we’re doing the best we can do. We really didn’t want it to be (like this), but it is what it is, and we’ll do what we’re supposed to, keep everybody safe, and just work through it.”

The location served as home to Ye Olde Alpha for nearly 90 years before the establishment closed its doors at the beginning of 2020. Anthony “Herk” Sparachane had purchased the bar at auction for $380,000 in October 2019.

Sparachane, his brother, Nick, and Catalano operate the Undo’s restaurants in the region. Catalano said he wanted customers to know that The Alpha Tavern was not an Undo’s, but its own, thriving eatery, combining a new look with some classic style.

“The history of the Alpha will always be the history of the Alpha, and we’re looking for a new beginning,” he said. “We’re humbled and happy to be able to take it from here. The baton was handed to us and we’re going to run with it.

The new venue brings with it some new amenities behind the scenes, as well, which Catalano said will allow the Alpha Tavern to offer unique meal options.

“We put a smoker outside, so we are smoking ribs, we’re smoking wings. We’re going to have veal chops, 11 different salads. I just tried to make it different than Undo’s,” he added. “… The menu that we came up with here is its own thing, with nine or 10 different appetizers, a different kind of pizza altogether, so it’s been fun trying to create new items.”

Catalano specified that many parts of the building have been completely redone, from the basement to the roof, with new refrigeration and lighting, as well as steps taken to address smells in the building.

Though the building sports a new name and a new look, Catalano hopes that patrons will return to what was one of Wheeling’s favorite restaurant locations to appreciate that change is good.

“This is one of people’s favorite places. It’s a whole new look, a fresh look, and when they come they’re not going to see dead animals hanging on our wall. We’ve got pictures of the beautiful, good things in Wheeling, like the Fourth of July festival, in full color. It’s an uplifting place to be, and we just want to take care of our guests while they’re here.”

Nick Sparachane echoed Catalano’s comments, saying the tavern’s approach is to showcase all the good things about Wheeling.