It’s the first of the month, and that means we’re back with our normal monthly food-and-drink updates … even though things are far from “normal” in the local dining industry right now.
This month, get ready for to-go cocktails from a new neighborhood spot, fried chicken *inside* a waffle, and creative booze from a new distillery. We’re also saying farewell to three local restaurants (scroll all the way to the bottom for closings).
In case you missed last month’s edition, catch up here. And in case we missed something, let us know so we can add it.
Hello
🍹 Dubbing itself “the neighborhood corner bar the community of Friendship deserves,” St. Clair Social is now open for take-out of wings, salads, sandwiches, and to-go cocktails from two well-known faces behind the bar, Cat Cannon and Cecil Usher.
🍗 Beloved food truck The Coop has now opened a brick-and-mortar location on the North Side with fried chicken, waffles, and lots of other sweet and savory offerings.
🍔 From the folks behind Menuette, Oak Hill Post is now open in Brookline with everything from veggie burgers to a sandwich called Man Bear Pig.
🥃 Lucky Sign Spirits is now selling bourbon, gin, and rye in Millvale where they’re all about “rethinking spirits from raw materials to processes and finishes.”
🍽 Juju’s Italian Deli and Fire Bar & Grill are now open in Dormont. Look for hoagies and meatball subs at Juju’s and “American eats with multicultural flair” at Fire, NEXTpittsburgh reports.
See you soon
🥞 Square Cafe is moving out of Regent Square to East Liberty in the old Spoon/BRGR location this month.
🧀 Wiz Khalifa is getting into the restaurant business with HotBox by Wiz, a delivery-only restaurant chain. Menu items include Mac & Yellow (macaroni and cheese) and the Taylor Gang Turkey Burger, per Good Food Pittsburgh.
🐟 Fet Fisk, the Nordic-inspired pop-up dinner series, is launching Fet-Fisk: Royal Market with a weekly smörgåsbord available for delivery, Pittsburgh Magazine reports.
🥖 Mediterra Cafe is opening a second location, this one in Mt. Lebanon in the former Fairline space, according to Mt. Lebanon Magazine. Expect pastries, breads, and gourmet pantry items.
🍝 Forma Pasta, the hand-made pasta subscription service, will open a shop in Allentown this fall with fresh pastas and sauces, Good Food Pittsburgh writes.
🍸 The now-closed Alexander’s Italian Bistro on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield is becoming G’s on Liberty with a “menu of distinctive fine dining in a casual and comfortable setting” under restaurateur Grainne Trainor, the Business Times explains.
🍞 Coming soon to the DiAnoia’s and Pizzeria Davide family: Pane è Pronto. Translation? “Bread is ready.” It’s an Italian takeout, bread, and catering kitchen set to open this fall in the Strip District.
☕️ Cares CommuniTEA Cafe is coming to the Hill District, and the coffeehouse will create a learning lab for local youth to gain work experience, per the Post-Gazette.
🍳 Acclaimed chef Jamilka Borges will open Wild Child in Etna this summer for breakfast and lunch, Pittsburgh Magazine reports, and here’s a peek inside.
🍷 A giant Strip District building is transforming into 1700 Penn, a spot for local brews from Helltown Brewery and local booze from Pennsylvania Libations Wine Shop.
🍻 The team behind Pennsylvania Libations is also bringing Bonafide Beer Co. to the Strip District in partnership with the head brewer at Butler Brew Works, NEXTpittsburgh writes. It’ll be in the former Chicken Latino spot.
🥖 Rolling Pepperoni is opening a storefront in Lawrenceville this month run by Who’s Nexter Katt Schuler.
🌮 Gordo’s Tacos & Tequila, a “new double-decker restaurant,” is coming to Mount Washington this summer.
🍺 Heidelberg’s Insurrection AleWorks is making progress on a Strip District taproom.
☕️ Local coffeehouse Adda is opening a third location, this time in Garfield. It’ll include a showroom to feature local crafters.
🍺 Trace Brewing is coming to Bloomfield behind Liberty Beer with an outdoor beer garden, a coolship brewing system for wild ales, and a coffee bar. It’s expected to open in September, Very Local Pittsburgh reports.
🍻 Two Frays Brewery in Garfield is expected to open sometime in 2020.
➡️ Smallman Galley is moving to Bakery Square.
☕️ Redhawk Coffee is expanding to Sharpsburg with an espresso bar and a coffee roaster, per Very Local Pittsburgh.
🔥 The long-awaited Fig & Ash, a “farm-to-flame restaurant,” is headed to Deutschtown and getting very close to opening.
🥙 Beloved food truck Pita My Shawarma is opening a brick-and-mortar in Lawrenceville, and the patio is open already.
🍰 Prohibition Pastries is planning a new cafe in East Liberty with alcohol-infused pastries, cupcakes, cakes, sweet pies, and savory pies, Good Food Pittsburgh reports.
🍲 At long last, Pusadee’s Garden in Lawrenceville is coming back.
🍚 Oishii Donburi is coming soon to Lawrenceville from the owners of Oakland’s Oishii Bento, PennsylvAsia reports.
🍕 Big Burrito is bringing a yet-to-be-named restaurant to Lawrenceville with a focus on pizza, veggie-forward dishes, and burgers, Pittsburgh Magazine reports. Look for it this fall.
🍗 Coop De Ville, another concept from restaurateur Richard DeShantz, is coming to the Strip District with a fast-casual menu focusing on chicken, plus duck pin bowling, classic arcade games, pinball machines, pool tables, bocce, and ping pong.
🍏 Arsenal Cider House is turning an old Dormont bank into a new location with plans to open this fall, NEXTpittsburgh reports.
🧀 Tom & Chee, of “Shark Tank” fame, plans to open Downtown this fall. They’ll be serving melts, soups, and “grilled chee donuts,” per WTAE.
🍔 Arlington Beverage Club, a new concept from well-known chef Kevin Sousa, is coming to an old social club in Allentown called St. George Lyceum, the Pittsburgh Current details.
🍺 Hitchhiker Brewing will take over a tiny storefront Downtown to serve beer — and coffee, per the Post-Gazette.
🏛 Two new concepts are coming to the Pitt Building Downtown, the Post-Gazette reports. One is a sandwich shop. The other is a supper club called Saint Johannes.
🐟 Work on Wild Ninja Asian Grill is underway in Oakland, replacing Uncle Sam’s Gourmet Subs, PennsylvAsia reports.
🍺 The Woods House, a Scottish pub, is slated for one of Pittsburgh’s oldest houses.
Long-term openings on our radar
🐉 The subject of years of anticipation, restaurateurs Richard DeShantz and Tolga Sevdik are expected to open Gi-Jin. When? Well, the opening date has been pushed back for more than a year, sooooo who knows ‾\_(ツ)_/‾.
🍵 Tupelo Honey Teas in Millvale acquired the building next door and will renovate and expand over the next several years.
🎳 Shorty’s Pins x Pints, a new entertainment concept with duckpin bowling, bocce, pinball, cornhole, and giant beer pong, plus street food, is coming to the North Shore, per the Post-Gazette.
🚀 Grist House Craft Brewery is turning a Collier Township Cold War-era Nike Missile Command Center into another outpost for the popular brewery. But a lot of work is ahead, so be patient. An opening date is expected a year or two from now.
🥗 Famed chef Justin Severino is planning a casual California-inspired cafe near North Park, the Trib writes.
🎸 After 19 years, Bloomfield bar/music venue Howler’s is moving to East Liberty, City Paper reports.
Farewell
🥓 Larder of East End, the counter-service restaurant inside East End Brewing from Justin Severino and Hillary Prescott, closed earlier this month.
🥘 Mt. Lebanon’s Fairlane has closed, sharing in a social media post: “Over the last several months, we have tirelessly stretched ourselves creatively, financially, and physically to find a way to adapt our restaurant.”
🍕 Slice on Broadway’s PNC Park location closed permanently in July after four years at the ballpark, TribLIVE reports.