Coughlin's Law: Once A Gas Station, Soon A Gastropub

PITTSBURGH, PA - Some people walk past a derelict property and see a community problem; others stride by the same real estate and see community potential. Frank Vetere falls squarely into the latter category.

He once noticed noticed an abandoned BP gas station on Virginia Avenue on Mt. Washington that hadn’t pumped petrol probably in more than a decade. Vetere, a co-owner of the Carson City Saloon on the South Side, was intrigued.

Fast forward about three years to the present.

Renovations to the abandoned eyesore are nearly complete and the finishing touches are being put on a sleek new new bar and restaurant called Coughlin’s Law. The opening day target is next month.

“A lot still has to happen between now and then, but we’re shooting for St. Patrick’s Day,” said Tracy Molyneaux, a Carson City Saloon manager and part-owner of this new venture. “We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from our neighbors on the mount and we’re anxious to open.”

That’s understandable as the ownership team - which also includes Frank Vetere’s brother and Carson City co-owner Brian Vetere and a their cousin, Callen Pisone - has made a significant financial investment in the new business.

The purchase price alone for the 12,000-square-foot lot was $425,000, according to Allegheny County property records. That amount is well above its assessed value of $135,900.

Molyneaux did not disclose renovation costs but the old garage has been extensively updated, complete with an outdoor deck offering an impressive view of the mount and Downtown. A roof has been added outside in front to allow for additional outdoor seating when the weather is warm.

Additionally, bar stools also will be set up outside in the summer months, with patrons being served through the garage doors that will be raised when the temperature permits.

The building today looks considerably different from this picture of when it was a boarded-up former service station:

Photo: Allegheny County Bureau of Property Assessment

The bar name is a tribute to the 1988 Tom Cruise movie “Cocktail,” in which a character named Coughlin dispenses advice to Cruise that usually begins with the phrase, you guessed it, “Coughlin’s Law.”

Molyneaux promises the place will have a mellower atmosphere than Carson City Saloon, which opened in 2006 in the former German Savings Deposit Bank Building and primarily attracts a college-aged clientele.

“We’re kind of thinking a 30s crowd,” Molyneaux said. “We’re basically targeting our original customers at Carson City who are in their 30s now and are married and are having kids. They’re maybe not into the college vibe anymore, but still want a place where they can go for happy hour or to watch the game or get a bite to eat.”

With the bar-restaurant industry fraught with failure, Coughlin’s Law's chances for success are anyone’s guess. But being just around the corner from the mount’s Shiloh Street business district and within easy walking distance of the Monongahela Incline, the potential Frank Vetere saw when he first came across the place certainly is there.

Think the service station would have survived in that spot for decades if it had been on some nearly inaccessible dead-end street? Location is critical to any business.

That’s true whether you’re pumping gas or pouring drafts.

Eric Heyl is Patch’s Pittsburgh field editor. Reach him at 412-334-4033 or Eric.Heyl@Patch.com

Photos via Tracy Molyneaux. Used with permission.

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