Blue Bell Inn owners open The Copper Crow in Montco

Scott Dougherty, who owns the Montgomery County landmark Blue Bell Inn with developer Bruce Goodman, was presented with a restaurant opportunity about 20 minutes away in Horsham. “We couldn’t pass up on it — and it wouldn’t have been a deal without the team that we have,” Dougherty said.

Although the pandemic delayed Dougherty and Goodman’s new opportunity by a full year, they had key workers such as chefs Peter Sherba and Ralph DiPopolo on board for this week’s debut of The Copper Crow. It’s a smart-looking modern-American cocktail bar-restaurant at 116 Welsh Road in Horsham, next door to a new Wawa and across from a Sprouts market.

Dougherty has been around the eastern Montgomery County restaurant scene since 1990, when he was hired as a busser at the Blue Bell Inn, which traces its history to 1743. (He hired his now-wife, Colette, as a busser/host in 1994.)

Dougherty went on to co-own Bridgets, a white-tablecloth steak house restaurant in Ambler. In 2012, Dougherty and Goodman bought the Blue Bell Inn from the Lamprecht family, and they renovated before reopening in 2014.

There’s nothing “ye olde” about The Copper Crow, whose all-day menu is an-ambitious-but-something-for-everyone mix of pizzas, burgers, small plates (lava rock Wagyu seared at the table, duck confit grilled cheese, potato gnocchi in a cauliflower fondue), and such entrées as steaks, wood-fired paella, roast chicken, and whole branzino.

There’s a roomy patio accessed through a garage door with its own bar for outdoor dining, as well as a private-dining room upstairs.

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.