Oakmont residents will see a new addition to the borough’s shopping district in 2024 after council approved Local Remedy Brewing’s conditional use application in a 6-0 vote Dec. 18.

Before the vote, a public hearing was held to discuss the conditional use of the proposed site. According to borough Solicitor Kate Diersen, conditional use is a type of permitted use that requires more clearances to ensure that all conditions are met.

“A lot of times, it’s a use that is going to have a little bit of an extra impact,” Diersen said. “It gets an additional review.”

Matt Synan, president of Local Remedy Brewing, said the microbrewery will take the former site of Oakmont Bakery on Allegheny Avenue.

“I grew up not too far from Oakmont. And when I moved back here from training, I lived in Oakmont for many years,” Synan said. “I know this community fairly well and the strong sense of community here. That’s one of the things that brought us here. It’s the perfect environment for us.”

While looking for a space to put the brewery, Synan said he and the other members of Local Remedy, including Dan Silianoff, Joe Vickless, Sean Williamson, Brian “BJ” Swartzlander and Sean Rogan, met with local business owners to gauge how beneficial adding a brewery would be to the area.

He said the business plans to employ one manager and two servers, noting the owners and founders of the taproom will serve as brewers. The space is 3,590 square feet with a sitting area that will hold up to 76 patrons. When it opens, the menu will include beers, ciders and seltzers. Synan said they already have begun to collaborate with local restaurant owners to serve different food options inside the brewery.

Synan added that before its predicted opening in late summer or early fall of 2024, the building will require some “cosmetic changes” to its exterior, but nothing that will affect local traffic.

“The original Oakmont Bakery at 531 Allegheny Ave. is essentially a shell, so it will need a complete build-out inside with some exterior updates as well,” Synan said in an email.

A traffic study revealed that the brewery is required to have at least 24 parking spaces available, and there are 149 spaces available in the area. The brewery’s property has an eight-car lot and is within range of 141 spots available for on-street parking. Three of the on-street spots and one off-street spot are ADA approved.

The brewery has received a great deal of support from community members, with five residents writing letters in support of the taproom. Kelly Rezak, a local business owner who could not attend the meeting in person, wrote she is excited to see the empty building being used by a new business.

“As a fellow small-business owner, I feel it is important to expand on the great options Oakmont already provides to its residents,” she wrote.

Other letter writers mentioned they are excited to bring in friends from different towns to visit the new spot.

Two residents, however, voiced their concerns about the brewery at the hearing.

Brian Leri, general manager and executive chef at Hoffstot’s in Oakmont, spoke about his concerns for parking. Hoffstot’s is next door to the brewery’s intended location, and he said there wouldn’t be enough space to accommodate the business that the brewery would bring in.

“There’s no way this won’t affect the parking,” Leri said. “They’re saying there’s going to be a lot of walk-up traffic — there won’t. A lot of the letters are saying they’re going to bring people to town, and those people are going to be driving in. The empty building is a major issue. Something needs to go there, but the right business needs to go there. This isn’t the right business.”

John Keefe echoed Leri’s concerns. Keefe is the owner of Hoffstot’s and Chelsea Grille; both restaurants are located on either side of the brewery. Aside from his concerns about parking, he brought up the possibility of his business getting damaged if the brewery were to be put in that location.

“Have you people researched anything about the dangers of operating a brewpub?” Keefe said. “I’m sure you probably haven’t, but AmTrust Financial did. Breweries have different exposures than restaurants. Breweries use compressed gas cylinders, which can explode if not handled properly. These things matter to my business, which basically shares a wall with them.”

Richard Williams, an Oakmont resident since 1954, said there has to be a solution to parking concerns and the problem should not stop new businesses from coming into the town.

“Let’s get together, find places in this borough where we can park and walk the lovely town, and keep our good restaurants,” Williams said. “I don’t necessarily like beer, but I’ll try it out.”

Co-owner of Mystery Lovers Bookshop Kristy Bodnar worked with the brewers during her event “Booktober: Books and Brews.”

“Since I moved here in 2012, Oakmont’s lost a huge portion of the shopping district,” Bodnar said. “We welcome — as a business and as residents — this new business to Oakmont.”

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