Strip District : Development News

The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT) is in the midst of a $10 million expansion to double the size of the school, and a recent land purchase at 2930 Liberty Avenue brings their total footprint to over 60,000 square feet.

Executive Director Harris Ferris says the goal is to build a campus environment in the Strip District.  The new parcel, which is adjacent to the theatre, now provides ample land to build an annex building and three new studios, as well as increase parking capacity on the south side of Liberty Avenue.

The current expansion is the third phase of the School Expansion Plan.  PBT’s Board of Trustees approved the $850,000 purchase price at its July 10 meeting.

In 2010, PBT opened Byham House, a student residence, in the rectory of the former St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Lawrenceville.  And last year, the school expanded its PBT Studios reception area.

With the newly acquired space, PBT’s fourth phase of development includes the construction of a new, 16,000-square-foot building.  Although still in its design phase, the structure will be an annex of the current building, located to the rear of the campus.

Parking will eventually be shifted to the 2930 Liberty Avenue lot, where Ferris says the space will either be surface or multi-level parking, depending on funding.  Either way, he says it will be beautifully landscaped.

“The idea is to create a visual and dynamic presence on Liberty Avenue,” Ferris says.   He also hopes a campus environment that spans both sides of the avenue can help to mitigate traffic.

PBT’s school serves over 800 students of diverse ages, in addition to housing a professional company of 27 dancers.  Ferris hopes the expansion will also help to serve the growing interest in community-based programs.

““That’s kind of an eclectic campus,” Ferris says.  “But it’s unified around our image and our aspirations for the art form.”
 

Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Harris Ferris

Crested Duck Charcuterie, the Beechview-based meat market and deli, is expanding to become a USDA certified facility.  The planned upgrades will allow the French-inspired charcuterie to ship out of state, and supply large chains such as Giant Eagle.  And according to owner Kevin Costa, it will also be an opportunity for him to give back to the region’s small-scale farmers.

“The small farmers have made my business what it is,” Costa says.  “They have supported me and supplied me with a really good, quality product.  So if I can help them out I don’t know why I wouldn’t.”

According to Costa, there are just a few USDA certified processing facilities in the region.  He says they’re not always easy to work with, nor do they give farmers many options in terms of gourmet products.

Costa says farmers are losing customers because they can’t provide certain custom cuts and higher-end products, especially around the holidays.  He hopes that with the new certification, Crested Duck can help to meet that need.

The shop will offer farmers a full range of nitrate-free meats, including bacon, sausage made with farm-grown produce and many other specialty cuts and orders.  Although similar products are already offered through Crested Duck, the certification will expand the shop’s capacity and distribution means. 

In order to complete the necessary upgrades, Costa launched a Kickstarter campaign that was successfully funded last month.  In addition to USDA certification, the campaign will aid in expansion of its Beechview retail service, including a new Sunday brunch and occasional evening dinners.

Crested Duck also remains a mainstay at the Strip District’s Pittsburgh Public Market.  412-892-9983.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Kevin Costa

This week in Pop City's Eat + Drink roundup:

- Nicky's Thai Kitchen, the popular Allegheny West Thai restaurant, will be opening a new location downtown, at the corner of Penn Avenue and 9th Street.  Sinful Sweets by Christopher George is also planned to open in the adjacent storefront at 901 Penn Avenue.

- The Strip District’s Bar Marco has announced it will team up with Chef Justin Severino, of Cure, every Monday for charcuterie, cheese, and cocktail pairings.  The weekly events will be menu-free, with custom-made cocktails built for guests based on personal preferences.  Cocktails, with small charcuterie and cheese tastings, will be $10.  Bar Marco, 2216 Penn Avenue.  412-471-1900.

- Stone Neapolitan Pizzeria at River Vue is now open.  The restaurant features an Italian imported wood-burning oven and promises a 90 second cooking time.  Located in the ground floor of the recently opened RiverVue apartments, the pizzeria is across the street from downtown’s Point State Park.  Also on the menu are house-made mozzarella, Italian sodas, draft and bottled beer, as well as made-to-order salads and sandwiches.  300 Liberty Avenue, Suite 100.  412-904-4531.

- Yogli Mogli, a franchise of the national chain, opened recently on Washington Road in Mt Lebanon.  The eatery is a self-serve yogurt shop that features classic flavors with unique parings such as blueberry acai, and pomegranate raspberry tart.  Toppings range from mango, lychee, and peaches, to cookie dough, walnuts, and granola.  695 Washington Road, Mount Lebanon.  412-207-2291.

- Mrs. Jean’s Southern Cuisine has moved to a new location at Hosanna House, 807 Wallace Ave., Wilkinsburg.  The restaurant also recently finished taping an episode for Chef Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.  412-723-2015.

- The South Side’s Carson Street Deli has reopened after closing briefly for renovations to the sandwich shop and craft beer store.  In addition to bottled beers from local breweries and specialty imports, Carson Street Deli now features 20 taps.  The deli hosts weekly beer samplings Wednesdays, from 6 to 8 p.m.  1507 E. Carson Street.  412-381-5335.


Writer:  Andrew Moore

- The Wild Purveyor’s Market Stand is now open in Upper Lawrenceville.  An evolution of the wholesale wild-foods business started by brothers Cavan and Tom Patterson, the market features local Pennsylvania cheeses, meats, and produce, as well as an assortment of seasonally foraged foods.  Currently in stock: chicken of the woods and hen of the woods mushrooms.

And the Second Annual Pittsburgh Picklefest will take place at the market this Saturday.  The event is presented by Crested Duck Charcuterie and Slow Food Pittsburgh.  5308 Butler Street, Lawrenceville.  412-206-WILD.

-  Benjamin’s Western Avenue Burger Bar is scheduled to open tonight in Allegheny West.  The restaurant is operated by Paul Tebbets, co-owner of Toast! in Shadyside, and the former BRiX Wood Fired Wine Bar, which the new restaurant replaces. 

BRiX closed its doors earlier this year after difficulties with a zoning permit for its wood-fired pizza oven.  The burger bar will be similar in concept to BRiX while swapping pizza for burgers.  Benjamin’s is located at 900 Western Avenue in the Northside.

-  Fredrick’s Soul Food is now open Monday through Saturday on Smithfield Street, in Downtown Pittsburgh, serving breakfast at 6:30 a.m.  Fredrick’s specializes in chicken and waffles, ribs and wings, yams, greens, and mac & cheese. 

Fredrick’s is owned by Larry Ross.  Ross says the menu consists of family recipes, and his kitchen staff is headed by his daughters Maya and Seaera.  412-232-1900. 633 Smithfield Street.  6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

-  Sal’s City Deli is opening soon in downtown, and will feature made-to-order sandwiches, fresh salads, and homemade soups.  It will be located at 245 Seventh Street, next to the Benedum Theater in the Cultural District.

-  In addition to locations in East Liberty and Cranberry, BRGR’s gourmet burgers are now available to downtown lunch crowds via The BRGR Food Truck.  From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. it will be parked at Grant Street and Forbes Avenue, Monday through Friday.  It also makes regular appearances in the Strip District, on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 21^st Street and Penn Avenue.

-  Another newcomer to Pittsburgh’s mobile food scene is Oh My Grill, a specialty grilled-cheese themed food truck.  724-996-3955.
 
 Click here for more information about food trucks in Pittsburgh.


Writer:  Andrew Moore

 Eat + Drink is a new occasional section of Development News focusing on restaurant and bar happenings in Pittsburgh.


-  Restaurateur Domenic Branduzzi, of Lawrenceville’s Piccolo Forno, has announced plans to open a second establishment in the Central Northside.  The restaurant, which will likely be named Il Giardino—a tribute to its historic setting—will occupy the former Garden Theater space, and will be a key component in the block’s long-awaited redevelopment. 

Il Giardino joins Nakama Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar, which announced plans earlier this year to open in the former Masonic building, also on North Avenue.  The block-wide redevelopment is a project of Zukin Realty.

Branduzzi hopes to be open by late summer, 2013.  Construction at both restaurant sites is expected to commence simultaneously.

Branduzzi says the space will be larger than his current restaurant, at 4,000 square feet, and will likely feature a rear patio.  Like Piccolo Forno, the restaurant will include a wood-fired pizza oven, with the addition of a pizza bar.

-  In the South Side, Stagioni will be hosting a family-style farm dinner at their restaurant next Tuesday, September 25th.  The dinner will feature produce from Pittsburgh’s Knotweed Urban Farm, a CSA and cooperative farm in Stanton Heights.  The four-course meal begins at 6:30 p.m. and is $35.  2104 E. Carson Street, South Side.  412-586-4738.

-  Truth Lounge celebrated a grand opening last week.  The upscale restaurant and cocktail bar replaces the former Café Allegro at 51 S. 12th Street in the South Side’s Bedford Square. The menu focuses on small plates, as well as craft cocktails and high end wine.  412-381-9600.

-  21st Street Coffee has relocated to a new storefront space in the Strip District, at 2002 Smallman Street.  The cafe is now next door to Kaya.  "No, we aren't changing the name," their website reads.

-  Mac Diner is now open in Allison Park, a breakfast-all-day eatery serving nine varieties of mac and cheese.  Open 7 days a week, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.  4848 Route 8, Allison Park 15101.  724-939-7434.


Writer:  Andrew Moore

Kelly O's Diner has opened in the Strip District, serving breakfast seven days a week.  It is the second location for the diner which has been serving the North Hills for the past eleven years. 

Owner Kelly O'Connor says she had been looking to open a second location in the city, and most recently in the Strip District, for many years.  But then recently everything fell into place.  “It almost felt like fate," she says.

Located at 100 24th Street, Kelly O’s replaces the former Jo Jo's Restaurant in a building that had once been an automotive garage.  The diner is adjacent to the Otto Milk Condos and across from Marty’s Market.

Due to an earlier fire, O'Connor says the interior was partially demolished when she took over the space.  She needed to rebuild the kitchen and bathroom, as well as install new electric, plumbing, and HVAC.

Kelly O's flooring is finished with the diner's signature black and white tiles, and its walls are wrapped in sparkling diamond plate.  On the building's exterior, O'Connor covered the entrance side in a stainless steel facade, providing a modern twist on the diner look, she says.  The remaining exterior walls will be covered in murals.

O'Connor has been working with the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Women in Business for the past three years. The school provides expertise to entrepreneurs in the city, assisting with drafting business plans and providing a business attorney, among other services. 

O'Connor says was attracted to the Strip District for its diversity, and because of its concentration of independently-owned businesses.

"The fact that you’re surrounded by a bunch of small business that make this one really big business community, I think that's awesome," she says.

In keeping with the Strip's tradition, Kelly O's opens early for breakfast, at 5 a.m., Monday through Saturday, and at 7 a.m. on Sunday, and closes at 3 p.m.  412-232-EGGS.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Kelly O’Connor

To celebrate this year’s anniversary of the Whiskey Rebellion--which occurred near here in 1794--the Strip District's Wigle Whiskey plans to tar and feather its patrons.  But don't worry, while the distillery might make its rye whiskey much like it was done in 18th Century, their process for tarring and feathering is much more humane.

The event is a collaboration between the Mattress Factory, Attack Theater, Society for Contemporary Craft, Toonseum, Carnegie Library and the Carnegie Science Center.  Each organization will “tar and feather” attendees, with guests will voting on the most inventive method.  The winning organization will receive use of the distillery for an evening.

But why tar and feather?  Meredith Grelli, co-owner of Wigle, explains that historically Europeans and Americans have protested taxes this way, and that local tax collectors were once tarred and feathered by Pittsburgh distillers.

Along with art-related tar and feather activities, food will be provided by the Pittsburgh Taco Truck, Franktuary, and the Goodie Truck.  And Bar Marco will host an afterparty with $5 Wigle cocktails.

In addition to this weekend's event, Wigle is preparing to release several new distilled spirits. 

In October, Wigle will unveil its first traditional Genever gin, and will be one of only two distilleries in the nation currently offering that spirit, Grelli says. 

And Wigle hopes to have a new line of bitters available before the holidays, with experimental flavors such as lychee or honeysuckle. 

"We hope to just keep innovating and introducing people to new spirits, to lost gems of distillation," Grelli says.

Grelli says since opening Wigle has become a destination for whiskey lovers, with enthusiasts traveling from as far as Scotland and Costa Rica, and from throughout the nation.  She expects the momentum of craft distilleries to continue growing.

"The craft distilling environment and the industry is really where craft beer making was probably 20 or 30 years ago,” she says.  “So we're really at just the start of this.”

Wigle Whiskey is open for cocktails and tastings Wednesday through Sunday.  Tours of the distillery can be booked through their website. 


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Meredith Grelli

To many, the name Wholey's is synonymous with the Strip District.  And with the opening of Wild Alaskan Grille, Luke Wholey is hoping to build on that legacy by offering a full-service restaurant that fittingly serves high-quality seafood.

Located at 2106 Penn Avenue, one aspect of the new eatery will seem familiar to regulars of Wholey’s Fish Market: Luke himself. 

For the past three years, Wholey has served grilled sockeye salmon outside the market that his grandfather established over a hundred years ago.  And Wholey will once again be on grill duty, standing beside his six-foot-wide, cast-iron grill.

"I'm out here seven days a week, manning the grill," he says.  "Cooking has always been a passion of mine, and it's a lot of fun for me to be out here serving my customers."

Wholey’s sidewalk salmon special ($12) is served over rice with grilled zucchini and roasted red peppers.

Inside, the restaurant features a full-service kitchen and menu.  The space is a repurposed warehouse that plays well on the Strip’s legacy and the Wholey name.  It currently seats 150 on the first floor, but will accommodate up to 300 guests once the second level is complete.

Nautical décor features prominently throughout the rustic interior, including work by local artists, fish mounts, and handmade tables of reclaimed electric cable spindles.

Wholey will be missing from the grill in the coming weeks, but he has a good excuse for his absence.  He will be competing in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans.

Wholey, a lifelong fisherman, plans to catch eight yellow perch in Lake Erie, and ship them live to New Orleans, where he will prepare them for the competition on August 11th. 

A hopefully victorious Luke Wholey will celebrate a grand opening at his restaurant on August 15th.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Luke Wholey

The Allegheny River Green Boulevard is beginning to take shape.  At last week's public meeting, project leaders unveiled specific information about the corridor's future, including a detailed six-mile bicycle/pedestrian path alignment.

The uninterrupted bicycle path is set to run along  Allegheny Valley Railroad's freight corridor between Lawrenceville and the Strip.  

But while AVR continues to pursue commuter rail service in this area, Green Boulevard leaders want to move some aspects of the project forward sooner rather than later.

"We'd love to see new transit options in there, but we also want to move some elements of the plan forward before that," says Lena Andrews, URA senior planning specialist.  "We don’t want to wait for that to happen."

At the meeting, consultants presented test scenarios for Lawrenceville's 43rd Street master plan, which included passive recreation space along the river between 43rd and 48th Streets and a mix of riverfront townhomes and multi-unit buildings.

In the Strip District, consultants recommend future developments to include a 95-foot setback from the river.

Andrews says community members in attendance were supportive of the boulevard project, particularly for the bicycle/pedestrian trail and commuter rail options, but also were eager to see improvements in storm water infrastructure.

Possible funding sources for the project were discussed, and included special assessment districts, tax increment financing, corporate sponsorship, and contributions from foundations.

Andrews says another possibility for making the project financially feasible is to reduce the development's parking requirement.

A reduced parking requirement should make sense for the Green Boulevard.  One of the project’s goals is to reduce the city’s dependence on automobiles by increasing transit options and by providing a safe and direct bicycle corridor.

"It makes a huge amount of sense, and that's the point of building all this new infrastructure…to enable people to live a little less dependently on the automobile,” Andrews says.  “To have a district where the parking requirement is a little bit lower, that not only has benefits for the environment but it makes it cheaper to build, too."

The last public forum will be held later this year in November.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Lena Andrews, URA

A string of openings have come to the Strip District, including the new Italian restaurant Emilia Romagna; Marty's Market; and R Wine Cellar.

Marty's Market, a specialty food store and café, held a soft opening on Saturday, giving shoppers a glimpse of the new market that replaces the former Right By Nature at 2305 Smallman Street.

The market is one-third smaller than the former grocery store, and specializes in locally grown and organic foods. But Marty's seeks to distinguish itself as a unique retail experience, starting with design.

Renovations to the space include three glass garage doors--which open to the downtown skyline--two kitchen areas, and a coffee bar.  Owner Regina Koetters says transparency, from the kitchen to the street view, was a guiding principle in the market’s design.

Marty’s cafe, which seats up to 45, serves made-to-order meals from a menu that changes daily.  The cafe is also planned to serve as a community kitchen of sorts, with tastings and cooking demonstrations by local chefs and amateurs alike.

-  Just a few blocks away Emilia Romagna will celebrate its grand opening this Friday.  The restaurant is a project of Chef Jonathan Vlasic, of the Allentown restaurant Alla Famiglia, and Peters Township’s Arlecchino.

The menu features dishes inspired by those regions of Northern Italy, as well as popular dishes from the proprietors’ other two restaurants.

Located at 108 19th Street, the space will also introduce a new nightclub to the Strip--V Ultra Lounge--which will also open on Friday.  The lounge will occupy the building’s second floor and balcony, and will feature a limited menu of antipastas, burgers, and sushi.

The lounge and restaurant are a project of Vlasic, Vince Isolde, and Chef Cory Hughes.

-  R Wine Cellar has opened at 2014 Smallman Street, selling house-made wines.  The cellar, a family owned urban winery, currently has four reds and four whites available, including oaked and un-oaked Chardonnays.

Although juices are currently brought in from elsewhere, all wines are fermented, blended, and bottled on site.  And several wines are made using grapes from the Lake Erie Region, including the white Traminette ($12) and the Lake Erie Red ($13).

Owner Steve Russell says they chose this location because they wanted to be in the middle of the developing Strip District.

"We think the potential here in the future is very strong," he says.

Koetters agrees, and says it’s an exciting time to be part of the Strip District, and recognizes that each new businesses is a boon to the neighborhood.

“We’re fortunate to be enjoying a great time in the Strip,” she says.  “There’s a lot of stuff going on… [and] I want Marty’s to be a vehicle to encourage more investment in the Strip.”


Writer:  Andrew Moore

Pay attention to vacant lots in the East End, as they might come alive overnight.  A partnership between Epic Development and the Strip District restaurant Bar Marco is transforming unused parcels of land into pop-up beer gardens throughout the summer in East Liberty, Lawrenceville, Downtown, and the Strip District.

The first pop-up event, called Tapped, was held this past Saturday in the Strip.  Epic Development founder Michael McAllister says he got the idea for these pop-up beer gardens while attending school in Washington D.C., where similar events were taking place.

“The whole idea is to take a site that's inactivated and turn it back over to the community,” McAllister says.

Epic and Bar Marco are seeking to partner with landowners who want to gain exposure for an upcoming development project, or with folks who are simply willing to activate an unused space.  McAllister says it’s an opportunity to build community and connections within a neighborhood.

Saturday’s Tapped event was held on a lot adjacent to Bar Marco’s restaurant on Penn Avenue.  Food was provided by the Franktuary food truck and Lucy’s banh mi sandwich cart, with beer from East End and Full Pint breweries.  The event lasted from 11 a.m to midnight, with DJ’s, bacci courts, and a block party atmosphere.

After moving back to Pittsburgh, McAllister says he noticed a large number of entrepreneurs taking risks with out-of-the-box businesses, especially with exciting, food-related endeavors.  He sees these pop-up parties as a way to continue building excitement for the local, small-business community.

McAllister says the events will be planned organically, and will take a grassroots approach to promoting each pop-up party.
 
The next pop-up party will take place within the next month in Lawrenceville, at a location yet to be determined.
 

Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Micahel McAllister

Big changes are coming to the Strip District, as two iconic buildings are being readied for major renovations, streetscape improvements are planned, and businesses expand.

A massive warehouse, formerly used by Wholey’s  Market, and still best known for the store’s affixed neon logo, will soon be redeveloped into Class ’A’ office space.  Monroeville-based developer Sampson Morris Group plans to build 225,000 square feet of new LEED-certified office space, and over 120 indoor parking spaces for tenants.

The 7-floor, concrete structure is currently windowless, however new facades will include massive window cut-outs, giving the former cold-storage structure its first-ever openings.  Renovations will add new elevators, heating and cooling systems, and other amenities.

Designed by Desmone & Associates Architects, the building will offer loft-style office spaces, in a style architect Eric Booth calls “converted warehouse chic.”

In other Strip news: Last Thursday, the URA approved a $250,000 grant to the city to help pay for design work related to the Smallman Street corridor.  This work will establish baseline documents of existing conditions, and is tied to the Buncher Company’s planned partial demolition and renovation of the historic Produce Terminal.

The Buncher Company’s current plan is to build a road connecting Penn Avenue to the Allegheny Riverfront, where the developer will build a mixed-use development on 55 acres of land it owns behind the Produce Terminal.

The Smallman Street design work will begin to address necessary changes to accommodate the increased numbers of new residents and traffic that the Buncher development would bring.

And finally, Parma Sausage Products, Inc. is expanding to an adjacent space on Penn Avenue.  The former Fudgie Wudgie shop will be used by Parma as an improved, more aesthetically pleasing space for retail and wholesale customers.  Parma, established in the Strip in 1954, offers salami and dry-cured products, as well as fresh and cooked meats.

And Carhops Sub Shop is the latest restaurant to open in the Strip District, offering cheesesteaks, pizza, and Italian sandwiches.  Relocated to the Strip from the South Hills, Carhops is open Monday through Saturday, 10 to 6 p.m.  1806 Smallman Street, Strip District.  412-904-4774.
 

Writer:  Andrew Moore

Marty’s Market, a new specialty food market and café, will be open this spring in the Strip District.  Owner Regina Koetters says the market will be right-sized, sourcing products from farms and other producers within a 150-mile radius.

Koetters moved to Pittsburgh in 2008 to be a part of the region’s redevelopment, and because she was impressed by the city’s offerings.  It is in that vein that she hopes to create a community gathering place centered around food, and describes the market as a community minded business.  

“I didn't see any need to go beyond the community to get something going,” Koetters says.  “Instead, I wanted a business that celebrated what already exists in Pittsburgh's community, and furthered it in some way.”

Marty’s is located in the former Right By Nature space, but Koetters is quick to say customers should not expect a similar supermarket concept.  

“I’m certainly building on what was great about Right By Nature, but Mary's Market is quite different in concept and function,” she says.  

Marty’s will only occupy 2/3 of the former tenant’s space.  In addition to specialty foods, the market will stock pantry staples, like flour, sugar, and salt.

None of the produce at Marty’s will have been treated with chemicals or pesticides, nor any meat with hormones or antibiotics.  Koetters wants customers to enter the market and not have to worry about those issues, and to know that the products here are of high quality.

“It allows the [customer] to focus on the product, the flavor, the freshness, and what they want to do in their kitchen, as opposed to reading labels the entire time they're in the store,” she says.

In the coffeehouse and café section of the shop, well-known chefs and amateur cooks will be held in equal esteem.  Koetters hopes to develop a menu and product selection that will celebrate Pittsburgh’s diverse communities, while bringing people together around food.

Koetters is currently searching for an executive chef to run the café at Marty’s Market.

“I think I'm building a really cool playground for someone who knows how to do stuff with food,” she says. “I’d love that person to show up and just have a great time, and unlock the potential that I’m creating here.”


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Regina Koetters

Bar Marco has opened in the Strip District after nearly 6 months of remodeling work in the former No. 7 Engine Co. building.  The historic space has been transformed into a European-style wine bar and restaurant, with an emphasis on communal dining and a menu designed for sharing.

Bobby Fry, one of four co-owners, says the remodeling was done to bring the space back to its original beauty.  Floor tiles have been removed, dry-wall torn down to reveal classic subway tile, and a drop ceiling has given way to an original tin installation from 1905.

The first floor's symmetrical design is intended to encourage conversation among strangers, and create a sense of comfort.  A large bar seats five to six, and opposite, a drink rail lines the window facing Penn Avenue.  In between are three large communal tables, with combined seating capacity at 40.  All furniture was designed by co-owner Michael Kreha, and built in-house, with welding provided by Gray's Welding of Braddock, PA.

Bar Marco is the first dining project of four childhood friends--Justin Steel, Kevin Cox, Fry and Kreha.  Each left various professional careers, coalescing in Pittsburgh around a shared passion for food and drink.

The menu, which Fry describes as European bar food, will change on a regular basis, but recently featured “snack” plates like patatas bravas, arancini, frico, and a duck BLT; and large entrees, also meant for sharing, such as chicken enchiladas, baked caponata, and ribeye with chimichurri.

Bar Marco offers a range of small production wines, and inventive mixed drinks, such as a tequila gimlet featuring house-made lime cordial, and the Bar Marco Manhattan, made with orange bitters.

The second floor, while still a work in progress, is used as an art gallery and private event space.

Bar Marco opens at 5 p.m. and is open late, serving their full menu until 2 a.m., Wednesday through Saturday.  2216 Penn Avenue, Strip District.  724-875-2738.

Writer:  Andrew Moore
Source:  Bobby Fry

Vietnam's Pho is expanding in the Strip District, adding an Express Bar adjacent to the main restaurant space, featuring banh mi sandwiches, bubble tea, and salad and sushi bars.

Tom Nguyen, co-owner and chef, says when an adjacent restaurant space became available, he and partner Gina Trinh decided to expand because so many customers were asking for those Vietnamese hoagies. 

For banh mi lovers, this is exciting news. Banh mi, (a Vietnamese sandwiches of marinated meats or tofu, pickled vegetables, jalapenos, and herbs on baguette) are increasing in popularity in Pittsburgh. 

Lucy Nguyen (no relation) has served these sandwiches from a sidewalk grill for many years, but spends her winters in Vietnam.  With Vietnam’s Pho’s new Express Bar, these sandwiches will be available year-round.

Nguyen says he is surprised that so many Pittsburghers have been asking for the Vietnamese sandwiches, and that this demand is the whole reason for the expansion.

Nguyen says he personally favors light salads for lunch, which is why he included the salad bar.  Pasta, potato, and tuna salads are included, but also Vietnamese-style preparations, like papaya, lotus, and green mustard salads.  Meals are weighed, and paid by the pound.

At the sushi bar, which seats seven, a chef will prepare rolls in front of the customer.  Rolls include avocado, cucumber, tuna, eel, and California, among many others.

Fruit smoothies, teas, and bubble teas feature tropical fruits like passion fruit, kumquat, mango, as well as peach, honeydew, and other fruits.  And there's even one made from durian, a fruit still considered quite peculiar among American tastes.

Vietnam's Pho has been serving the beef noodle soups that are its namesake, among many other Vietnamese dishes, for the past three years in the Strip.

In celebration of their grand opening, items at the Express Bar will be 10% off for the first two weeks. 

Vietnam’s Pho is open 11 A.M. to 9 P.M.; the Express Bar opens earlier, 9 A.M. to 7 P.M.
1627 Penn Avenue, Strip District. 412-281-8881.


Writer:  Andrew Moore
Soruce:  Tom Nguyen, Gina Trinh