West Allegheny to Host Gold Card Club Holiday Breakfast

BELOW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Scenes from inside the new Latitude 40. PHOTOS BY LATITUDE 40
With a $25 million infusion from EPT, LGI is about to open two
new locations in Chicago and Indianapolis, but not before
putting the final touches on its second location in Brent’s old
backyard at the Pointe at North Fayette.
There, the once weed-strewn Roomful Express building has
gotten a thorough, $14-million facelift, including a new addition
to house a theater and patio roof deck. Named after its nearest
latitude line, Latitude 40’s doors opened last month, and, like its
sister location in Jacksonville, features a range of entertainment
options. The promising retail market, along with the proximity of
hotels and airport, says Brent, played no small part in LGI’s
decision to invest in his hometown, where his concept has
created about 190 jobs amidst the tough economy. “I love
what they’ve done,” says Brent about the area where he grew
up, went to high school, and met his wife in eighth grade. “It’s
an amazing change.” Brent
says that through his wife, Antonia Zambrano Brown, they’ve
retained close familial ties to the area, and that the two have
made frequent trips back with their three children. Recently,
they bought a townhome in Centennial Point near Settler’s
Ridge.
Last year, Brent’s brother, Kyle, another area native, joined
LGI as its director of venue oversight. Like Brent, Kyle also
graduated from Montour in the 1980s, where both brothers
played football. While Brent went on to attend the Naval
Academy and quarterback the football team, Kyle played for a
season at the University of Pittsburgh. Brent went on to pursue
investment banking, while Kyle got into real estate development
and management.
In 2007, Brent teamed up with fellow investors to start The
Brownstone Group, and together they began the hard work of
traveling across the country, checking out similar type venues.
Brent says that it actually was a lot of work.
“Really, it was a team of professionals who worked very hard
to develop the concept,” he says. “It was no one person or
moment. It was a year-long process.”
What they came up with was a sprawling, open floor, Vegasstyle
format that encapsulated the best of what they’d
experienced. Latitude 40 features 24 lanes of luxury bowling on
two floors, 70 arcade games, a sports theater, live music,
comedy acts, and a 90-seat, single-screen theater showing
second-run movies. Cocktail service is available throughout,
serving a menu that LGI Business Developer Mike Biogiotti
describes as Neuvo American. That means options like seared
and blackened tuna sashimi and ribeye steaks, but not at the
expense of comfort standbys like burgers and pulled pork
sandwiches.
For those preferring a quiet, sit-down dinner, there will also be
a restaurant downstairs, partitioned off by bubble walls
dampening the sound from a nearby, multi-tiered sports theater,
which will show just about any major sports event, including
every NFL game.
Upstairs, past the glass-enclosed wine room, entertainment
seekers can also bowl while listening to live bands and DJ’s.
Brent says they’ll have one of either every Friday and Saturday
night. Or they can check out live comedy and bands in the
Vegas-style theater. Once the weather improves, the outdoor
patio will also be open.
In Jacksonville, Mike says, both theaters have proven popular
for private events. Outfitted with video conferencing
equipment, the live theater was 90 percent booked last year with
events ranging from college booster meetings to product
announcements. The movie theater, says Mike, has proven
popular for birthday parties, for which LGI can either download
a movie or hook up a video game system to the theater’s
enormous screen. Brent says on Sundays it’s commandeered by
local Steelers fans,
who announce
their presence by
displaying a giant,
blow-up Steeler
outside the venue.
That may or may
not have
something to do
with Brent being a
devoted and lifelong
Steelers fan
himself.
Either way, he
says, “it’s one
location, endless
possibilities. From
the youngest to
the oldest, they all
have a great time.”