East Pensacola Heights' new P'Cola Bistro is aiming to open this fall. Here's what we know

Pensacola's East Pensacola Heights neighborhood has a new restaurant on the way, replacing the former Black Sheep Tavern and Sports Pub.

P’Cola Bistro, located at 3102 E. Cervantes Street, is aiming to be the family-focused, neighborhood diner where customers feel more like family.

The restaurant itself is a family-owned operation, championed by Amira Mekhal, her brother Amir George, sister-in-law Heba George, and her sons Bernard “Beman” Reyad and Leonard Reyad. Her regulars in her last restaurant, a 24/7 diner in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, filled their restaurant for all holidays and in bad weather and became a place they could count on.

“The restaurant didn’t have a lock on it,” Mekhal said figuratively.

After her husband’s job relocated her family to Pensacola, she’s ready to build that culture all over again, and is hoping to have P’Cola Bistro open by Thanksgiving.

“Having a restaurant is like having your bigger family over,” Mekhal said.

Restaurants are her life’s work, and she was heavily influenced by her mother, who passed down Egyptian recipes. Although her mother didn’t speak English, she did know one word and would make sure to use it with every person who taste-tested her cooking.

“Good?” she would inquire.

A smile spoke louder than words, which her mother would always evaluate to measure how much they were really enjoying their meal.

“She (Amira) is a great cook. Her mom’s a better cook,” her son Beman Reyad teased.

While the restaurant will feature a variety of daily specials that lean into the family’s culture, like the homemade hummus or to-die-for Egyptian-styled falafel, the core menu will focus largely on American breakfast and lunch. The menu items come from Mekhal’s own recipes she has perfected over decades. However, she will tell you the secret is not as much about following the recipe step-by-step as it is having the innate “sense” of cooking in the kitchen that kicks in.

“When you have the right sense of cooking, that’s what makes the food delicious,” Mekhal said.

There will be some familiar items on the menu, such as Mekhal’s favorite sourdough French toast. It's the kind grilled to a perfect fluffy thickness that rises a few inches high with just enough cinnamon sprinkled on the plate. She can tell a good slice with just one analytical gaze, and almost had a heart palpitations when she learned how many people fry their French toast.

“If I’m here, (frying the French toast) is not going to happen,” Mekhal said. “I’m really sensitive to the French toast.”

There will also be scratch-made menu items that are harder to come by in the area, like the croque madam, breakfast paninis, Dutch potpies and meatloaf with a credibility that’s followed her all the way from the northeast.

While the restaurant will be easing themselves into the neighborhood with breakfast and lunch to start, they are prepared to add dinner service into the mix if they feel that’s what the community wants. They also have the option of adding outdoor seating in time.

Drink-wise, since the bistro inherited the bar from Black Sheep, they are working on obtaining their liquor license to support alcoholic beverages. They will also have coffee and espresso beverages that are second-to-none against national competitors, Reyad assured.

Reyad will also orchestrate bringing more entertainment options to the neighborhood through the restaurant, including karaoke, comedy nights and live bands.

Ultimately, they’re excited to be in the neighborhood to stay.

“We believe that something is waiting for us here,” Mekhal said.

Those looking for updates on the restaurant, are interested in applying for a job or landing a place on the restaurant’s entertainment lineup can contact the restaurant through the Facebook page, P’Cola Bistro.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: P'Cola Bistro gearing up to open this fall in East Pensacola Heights