North Shore bar and grill hopes to thrive on non-gamedays
An upscale bar and restaurant serving American cuisine, craft beers and retro cocktails is on track to enliven a long-vacant North Shore street corner in time for the start of the Steelers football season.
Construction is under way on BZ's Bar and Grill on the first floor of the Smith Brothers Building where Federal and General Robinson streets meet, a spot last occupied by Firewater's North Shore Saloon, which closed in early 2011.
Brandon Herriott, BZ's owner and general manager, said he expects Pirates and Steelers fans to be a critical source of business, but the restaurant will cater to lunch, dinner and late-night diners seeking menu items that will include beef brisket sliders, duck confit tacos, pear and blue cheese pizza and dry, aged rib eye steak. Menu prices will average between $10 and $16.
Dining options on the North Shore can be “spotty” when there isn't a game, Herriott said. He wants to change that.
“We're going to be open seven days a week, and we're going to serve food until 1 a.m.,” Herriott said. “We want to be one of the places over there that you can hang your hat on.”
Herriott, who is moving here from Ann Arbor, Mich., and partners Bob and Lauri Zdravkovski of Detroit are investing $800,000 to renovate the 7,000-square-foot space. Construction will take about nine weeks to complete.
Miles Smith, co-owner of Smith Brothers Agency, an advertising firm operated by three brothers who own the building, said they turned away numerous businesses interested in opening an eatery in the vacant spot steps away from PNC Park.
“We wanted something a little more upscale and an operator that was committed to a year-round presence, not just a game-days,” Smith said.
Smith said he and his brothers wanted the new establishment to respect the century-old building's history rather than “slap paint on the walls and call it something new.”
Before the Smiths bought the building in 2007, it was known as the Boggs Building, named for department store magnate Russell H. Boggs.
Outdoor seating on both sides of the corner will add energy to the block, making it more than just “another bar,” Smith said.
Herriott, a former general and new-store manager at several Bar Louie restaurant locations, said the restaurant will have a capacity of 225 people.
“The first two cities I looked at were Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, and we found a better deal in Pittsburgh,” Herriott said. “I fell in love with Pittsburgh.”
Jeremy Boren is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7935 or jboren@tribweb.com.
