Beehive Coffeehouse Ending 28-Year South Side Run

PITTSBURGH, PA - No drip: After nearly three decades on Pittsburgh’s South Side, the landmark Beehive Coffeehouse is closing. A specific date has not been announced, but a post on the Beehive Facebook page stated the establishment should be open for at least the next two months.

“We have all had some great times there, met awesome people, worked on art projects, drank lots of coffee, played countless games on pinball,” the post by Beehive owners Scott Kramer and Steve Zumoff stated. “Customers and employees were able to be themselves and be around others that had similar beliefs.”

The Beehive opened in 1991 on East Carson Street. Its unique decor and eclectic atmosphere provided a stark contrast to corporate-owned coffee shops such as Starbucks. The business proved to be so successful that Kramer and Zumoff opened a second Beehive in Oakland in the old King’s Court Theater.

That Beehive, which also was a movie and concert venue, closed in 2001. In 2012, Kramer and Zumoff converted two of the South Side Beehive’s three storefronts into the Rowdy Buck bar, which the Facebook post said helped to subsidize the Beehive in its later years.

But declining revenues forced the pair were forced to sell the bar, now known as Trixie’s. The owner of the Beehive building is selling it and Kramer and Zumoff decided to close the coffee shop in anticipation of higher rents likely as a result of the sale.

The post said the new owners plan to convert the space into a restaurant.

Photo via Google Maps.

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