Restaurant

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - When I heard about the opening of yet another restaurant specializing in Italian food, I admit a chip appeared on my shoulder. I like Italian food as much as the next reviewer, but a) there are already plenty of Italian restaurants in the greater Hagerstown area, and b) most of the Italian dishes in this area are Americanized versions of the dishes I ate in Italy. So I went to Martinsburg with a bit of an attitude to check out the new Corleone Ristorante.

A Shepherdstown man was arrested Tuesday on charges of burglarizing a restaurant, according to the Shepherdstown Police Department. Sean Michael Riley, 30, address unavailable, was charged with burglary, petit larceny and destruction of property in connection with a Sunday evening burglary at Domestic restaurant, 117 E. German St., police said. The restaurant was entered through an unlocked door and several unspecificed items were removed, police said. A wooden mallet was used to break the restaurant's front window, police said.

Washington County liquor officials on Wednesday granted a liquor license to a Clear Spring man who said he wants to reopen the former Gateway seafood restaurant at 15124 National Pike. Jason Provard said during a Wednesday hearing before the Board of License Commissioners for Washington County that the restaurant will be called Thunder Road Bar and Grille. He said he plans to have a grand opening May 4. After the hearing, Provard said he intends to buy meats and produce from local farmers.

A man accused of throwing a device similar to a Molotov cocktail at a window of the McDonald's along Apple Harvest Drive near exit 12 of Interstate 81 was found not competent to stand trial. Nicholas Hart Dudley, 19, of 1213 West Virginia Ave., Martinsburg, was indicted in October 2011, on one count of second-degree arson and counts of possession, criminal use of, and wanton endangerment involving a destructive device, explosive material or incendiary device, according to court records.

The Checkers sign will soon be a familiar sight to motorists on Hagerstown's Dual Highway. The fast-food restaurant chain plans to open an outlet in the city by the end of the month. In addition to burgers, wings and fries, the restaurant will bring jobs to the area. Misbah Malik, who co-owns the franchise with two other business partners - Mahmood Ahmad and Mushtaq Cheema - said this week that the restaurant will employ 14 people full time and will have another 26 part-time employees.

WILLIAMSPORT -- Sam Cool celebrated his April 30th birthday in style. He and his two partners, brother Shawn Cool and Mike Fotta, took part in the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new restaurant in Williamsport, the Governor's Landing Deli & Restaurant. The restaurant, which opened in October 2007, has been gaining customers mostly through word of mouth. It is in the Bowman Business Park at 10212 Governor Lane Blvd., not far from businesses like Lenox Distribution Center and D.M. Bowman Trucking.

Hempen Hill BBQ Bar & Catering, 13208 Fountainhead Plaza, Hagerstown, will sponsor a fundraiser for Clear Spring Elementary School from Monday, May 11 to Wednesday, May 13, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant will donate 15 percent of all food sales to support the PTA. Reservations are recommended for parties of five or more. Let the server know you want to help the school.  For more information, call 301-797-4455.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- The former John Wallace Kitchen will be getting an extreme makeover and, its new owners hope, a new restaurant tenant to help revitalize the West Main Street fixture and the downtown. The restaurant that Nick Papoutsis opened in the 1960s closed a few years ago. It recently was purchased by Paul Gunder and Dr. Bob Zimmerman, who will be renovating the former restaurant from the floor to the ceiling, as well as nine one- and two-bedroom apartments on the upper floors.

A year after closing its doors, the site of the Red Horse Steak & Anvil Bar, at 1800 Dual Highway in Hagerstown, was torn down earlier this week. Hagerstown Zoning Administrator Stephen Bockmiller said a site plan involving an environmentally friendly office building is working its way through the process. The tentative target date for the Planning Commission to review the plan is July 9.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- A Chrysler Sebring plowed through the front of the Parlor House on Wednesday, seriously injuring two people in the car and two people inside the restaurant in the South Potomac Shopping Center, according to a fire official. One man, who was carrying food in a takeout container, was walking through the restaurant's glass-encased lobby when the impact threw him through an interior window at about 4:30 p.m. He suffered the worst injuries and was taken to Washington County Hospital, Waynesboro Fire Chief Dave Martin said.