Ex-Steelers' WR Hines Ward to open new restaurant this Summer

Hines Ward's after-football ventures continue, as a report came out today via Tim Schooley, of the Pittsburgh Business Times, that Ward finalized a lease for a new restaurant to be named Table 86, in Seven Field, Butler County, PA.

Ward teamed up with restaurateur, Howard Shiller, a principal in the same company that operates Jerome Bettis Grille 36 on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, in the lease for the space. The restaurant will be accompanied by a wine bar to be named VINES by Ward, both occupying the former spaces of the recently closed SiBA Tuscan Grill & Wine Bar and its companion Bohem Bistro & Bar.

According to Shiller, the new establishments will put a focus on quality food with Table 86 focusing on a variety of butcher-block burgers, seafood, pastas and salads, along with some Korean barbecue items.

Though Ward now resides in Atlanta, GA, Shiller says that customers can expect the Steelers' all-time leading receiver to make frequent appearances at the location once it opens.

Since Ward's retirement, he has maintained a presence in advertising in the Western Pennsylvania region, and Shiller sees that this restaurant will further maintain that presence in the area.

"He's a very highly respected former Steelers player," Shiller said of Ward.  "He'll be as current and relevant as he always was. It'll just be more in a business sense."

If Ward follows Bettis' lead, there is no doubt his new venture will be deemed a success for years to come.