Richard Gubitosi introduces himself to the Mars borough council and explains the dermatology clinic that he and his wife plan to open at the former bakery on Grand Avenue. William Pitts/Butler Eagle

MARS — Former New York City police officer and current Gibsonia resident Richard Gubitosi announced during the borough’s council meeting on Monday, Aug. 19, that he and his wife, Dr. Carolyn Willis, had recently purchased the former Sweethouse Bake Shop on Grand Avenue and are planning to turn it into a dermatology clinic.

According to Butler County property records, the couple purchased the Grand Avenue property in February for $242,500. As of Monday night, Gubitosi has no timetable for when the new dermatology clinic would open, but he says that it will “hopefully” open in the spring of 2025.

His wife, Dr. Willis, is a dermatologist in the UPMC hospital system, working from the Cosmetic Surgery & Skin Health Center in Sewickley. According to her UPMC online profile, she specializes in laser surgery and cosmetic dermatology.

“She practiced in New York for over 10 years, and we moved here in 2016 so she could do a cosmetic surgery fellowship,” Gubitosi said. “We loved it here so much that we stayed.”

Although council members asked — half-jokingly — if he could lend his services to the Mars Police Department at least on a part-time basis, Gubitosi said his police days are behind him.

Despite having spent more than two decades of his life in the Big Apple, Gubitosi said he and his family have settled nicely into Western Pennsylvania.

“We love the town. We always go to Stick City (Brewing Co.),” Gubitosi said. “We have two children. One’s at Pitt, and one’s at Pine-Richland.”

In addition to his work putting together the dermatology clinic, Gubitosi also works as a Realtor for Keller Williams in Wexford.

He worked with the NYPD for more than two decades, including as deputy inspector, before retiring in 2016.