Montco Restaurant Uses Pandemic As Time For Complete Renovation

WHITEMARSH, PA — As Rob Rosato walks through the recently renovated Scoogi's Italian Kitchen & Bar on Bethlehem Pike in Flourtown, it's clear he takes great pride in the business that he has operated with his family for the past 31 years.

Rosato, who is in his early 50s, is a restaurant guy through and through.

He loves the atmosphere offered at a local establishment such as his, since it gives folks in the community a chance to mingle over some good food, drinks and company.

"A lot of people come and hang at the bar waiting for takeout," Rosato said. "It's great."

Scoogi's was lucky. It didn't succumb to the pandemic, as many other food businesses did.

Actually, Rosato decided to use the down time during widespread closures and stay-at-home orders to do something he wanted to do for nearly a decade — gut and renovate.

"I had this envisioned about eight years ago, redoing this," Rosato said.

On Wednesday, Rosato gave a Patch reporter an inside look at the space, which has nice old-world touches such as exposed brick, along with modern flair like a raised ceiling, new light fixtures and faux wood beams.

The building itself is quite historic, and dates back to the 1700s.

And the business truly is a family operation: Rosato's wife, Jennifer, co-owns the place, and their children — Sophia, 24, Angelo, 22, Bobby, 20, and Thomas, 17 — have all pitched in in some way or another over the years.

In fact, Rosato saved some major construction costs during the renovation since his brother, who used to be a contractor, and his son Angelo, who studies construction management in college, did the work completely by themselves.

Construction began in March 2020, right around the start of the pandemic. And the fact that businesses were forced to close for a time in the early days actually benefited Rosato, since the closure would enable the construction work to move forward without having to run a full establishment.

"Once we were closed down, we were able to do it since we weren't serving any alcohol," Rosato said of the upgrades, which started in the bar area of the business.

They did, however, still maintain a good takeout business during this time.

Another upgrade was to turn what was originally essentially a vestibule for foot traffic into an additional seating area.

Then there's the outside seating — it was expanded a bit during the pandemic, but Rosato hopes regulations allow for continued outdoor use since that seems to be a popular offering at the eatery.

Scoogi's offers a total of 225 seats, which doesn't include the outdoor space.

Rosato said outdoor seating is somewhat limited due to his limited parking situation, something he hopes to rectify at some point by obtaining a variance from township officials.

The renovation work itself was daunting, but Rosato is pleased with the result.

"I went through ten, twenty-five-yard dumpsters," he said, explaining just how much work was done at the site.

For now, Rosato is just counting his lucky stars that the business not only didn't shutter during the pandemic, but that it remained thriving.

"We've been very busy, thank God," he said.

In addition to the immediate family, there is the "extended" family at Scoogi's consisting of Lynda Engler, the restaurant manager, Froylon Castillo, the head chef, and the entire waitstaff and kitchen staff who work to make the business a success.

Check out the Scoogi's website to learn more about the business.