Tarentum restaurant owners announce closing after relocation attempt fails amid dispute

Community members are gathering in support on social media after owners of Cindy’s Hometown Restaurant, Bob and Cindy Hatajik, announced the diner’s closing this week on their Facebook page.

In the post, Cindy Hatajik cited a dispute with the owner of the building as the reason for the closing.

The announcement comes after the couple’s previous decision to relocate the restaurant from East Fourth Avenue in Tarentum to the former Parkview Bar and Grill along First Avenue in Brackenridge.

The couple planned to transform the space into a 1960s-style diner with an ice cream bar.

Bob Hatajik said they initially planned to open the location in April, but the plan changed when landlords David and Karen Dobrowolski wanted to go in a different direction.

“When we looked at (the Parkview building), it was in bad disarray,” Hatajik said. “The waterline broke. It needs some wiring done.”

He said he planned to do the repairs himself, with the landlords paying for the materials.

“It just wasn’t working out,” Hatajik said.

But David Dobrowolski said there was never a set plan on how to approach the repairs.

“There was actually really nothing discussed about what (work) could be done with Bob,” Dobrowolski said.

He said they were never paid rent after giving the Hatajiks access to the building in February.

“We gave them a key in the beginning of the year, and we were expecting rental payments,” Dobrowolski said. “Nothing ever transpired, so we decided to go in a different direction.”

Hatajik said that during their time in the building, the couple wasn’t paying rent because they were unable to fully move into the building because of a leaking roof, electrical issues and burst pipes. Dobrowolski wasn’t able to obtain an occupancy permit for the building because of the fixes that needed to be made.

“The building was never ready to be opened,” Dobrowolski said. “We had some work to do before we could get the occupancy permit.”

The building originally closed in March 2020 during the pandemic.

Dobrowolski and Hatajik said there was no written lease or documentation that spelled out the agreement between the parties.

The Hatajiks said they decided to close altogether because of a lack of rental options.

They have been looking for a new building since October but have had no luck finding a place with rent they could afford, Hatajik said.

“We tried Springdale, Lower Burrell — we even tried the (Heights) Plaza,” Hatajik said. “We were just trying to find something reasonable with a kitchen, but it just didn’t work out.”

Dobrowolski said he plans to take out a loan to make the repairs the building needs.

“The building is in such a desirable location along the river,” he said. “I have other people that are interested in renting it so we’ll go from there.”

As of now, Hatajik said, the couple are working on selling their equipment. Hatajik and his son, Cody, are still looking for a new home for Cindy’s.

After seeing the support and well-wishes from patrons on Facebook, Hatajik reminisced about how Cindy’s came to be.

It all started with Cody hosting lemonade stands when his parents held yard sales. One day he brought home $300 after a day of selling lemonade and small plates. Then the family entered the food truck business.

Their original brick-and-mortar diner opened in 2016 with a walk-up ice cream shop across from Dreshar Stadium along First Avenue in Tarentum. The move to East Fourth Avenue came in 2020.

Each phase of restaurant work had one thing in common: Hatajik, Cody and Cindy worked as a family.

“We’re not quitting altogether,” Hatajik said. “We’re still looking. We don’t give up, and we don’t quit. We figure out our way around things or through things with prayer.”