PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

It’s showtime!

After what seems like an eternity of planning and construction, Lawrenceville’s Main Street Diner will hold a soft opening on July 5. Despite the mundane name, the restaurant on the corner of Main and Butler streets is ready to turn on the juice and see what shakes loose!

Tim Burton fans will dig it. I do! But, I, myself, am strange and unusual. This isn’t a pop-up; like death, it’s permanent.

Here are the deetz:

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Located in the windowless basement of Lawrenceville Market House, the space is one … big … dark … room that reminds me of  “Beetlejuice,” a 1988 movie starring beloved Pittsburgh-born actor Michael Keaton. Upon my arrival, I thought, “I could live here.”

Customers will descend the stairs into a cemetery and listen to Harry Belafonte music in the reception area until their number is called. I plan on being No. 54,000,601.

The dimly lit bar is filled with abstract sculptures, a funky fireplace and shades of mauve and veridian. There’s also a Ms. Pac-Man Head-to-Head Arcade Table. Kickback Pinball Cafe, a recently shuttered Lawrenceville arcade, found an afterlife in the eatery’s otherworldly dining room. It looks like Saturn and holds 14 movie-themed pinball machines, a wedding scene photo op spot and more than 80 souls.

In addition running Row House Cinema across the street, owner Brian Mendelssohn is a pinball devotee who spent a lot of time (and quarters) at Kickback, so resurrecting the brand was a no-brainer. Tournaments will be held each week and the diner will host the Pittsburgh Women’s Pinball League on Mondays when it’s closed to the public.

After giving your flipper fingers a workout, you can have a little something to nosh. There won’t be any face-grabbing shrimp dishes on the menu, just a lot of upscale American and Polish eats, including burgers, meatloaf, salads, pierogies and potato pancakes. For dessert, I hope my milkshake comes with a Zagnut, a candy bar originally produced by Pittsburgh’s D.L. Clark Co.

While Mendelssohn admits he can’t write a handbook on restaurant ownership, he has some experience. He runs Simply Burgers & Fries and Oliver’s Donuts at Lawrenceville Market House and Bierport across the street and works with various food vendors at Fulton Commons, a coworking space and kitchen incubator in Manchester.

As founder of Lawrenceville-based Botero Development, a company that renovates and repurposes historic structures, attention to detail is his specialty. He knows as much about supernatural cinema as he does about interior design. In other words, you’re working with a professional here!

He says the building, a former Mellon Bank constructed in 1967, is a fine example of Mid-Century Modern architecture. The basement, which is 24-feet below street level, is the perfect spot for a spooky bar.

Mendelssohn and his team of artists, including Ryder Henry (no relation to Winona) and Bree Berry, watched the flick at least 167 times to generate decor ideas. They’ve recreated everything from furniture and signage to a snake-like creature that juts from a mural on the wall. There’s even a nice, (expletive) model of a quaint little town in the dining room.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

A grand opening celebration will be held some day-o in August.

As a diehard fan of the 1988 film, this is the only sequel I need.

Main Street Diner is located below Lawrenceville Market House at 4112 Butler St. in Lawrenceville. Hours will be 3:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday.