Heyl: Revisiting Pittsburgh's Late, Legendary Nightspots

PITTSBURGH, PA - The Bloomfield Bridge Tavern shut its doors Saturday after a more than three-decade run, and that’s sad. Bars come and go, but this one had been around long enough and had established such a reputation as a fun place to eat, imbibe or listen to live music that it had become a part of Pittsburgh’s social fabric.

But the BBT hardly is the only local nightspot of notoriety that has had its final last last call over the years. If you’ve been around long enough (and this town isn’t exactly full of transients), you either know many of them by name or were in some of them yourself back in your younger days when your back wasn’t troubling you and you didn’t have to get up so early for work.

I thought it might be interesting to rank these late local establishments by the imprint they left during their heyday. So I came up with a list of initial inductees in a sort of Pittsburgh Bar Hall of Fame that focused on places that have been closed for years, or, in the case of the BBT, hours.

This is a subjective undertaking, much like the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame selections (James Taylor? He’s not a rocker, he’s an insomnia cure). So feel free to disagree with these rankings in the comments section below.

12. Panther Hollow Inn, Oakland
For decades, this was one of the only bars within easy walking distance for Carnegie Mellon University students, an important consideration when snow is falling in January. Within hours after news broke the PHI would close because the Forbes Avenue building it was in had been sold, more than 800 CMU brainiacs signed a petition hoping to save it. The effort failed, the bar closed in 2014 and the site where it once stood now is a Chipotle restaurant.

11. The Boardwalk, Strip District
This actually wasn’t a single bar, but several bars and restaurants over the years that were located on a barge moored on the Allegheny River. From 1991 until 2008, the Boardwalk was home to places such as Tequilia Willie’s, Club Champagne and the infamous Donzi’s, where people seemed to get shot on an almost weekly basis. After the Boardwalk closed, the barge was towed to Chattanooga, Tenn., where a developer’s plans to develop a similar Boardwalk operation never materialized.

10. Froggy’s, Downtown
For a quarter of a century beginning in 1978, the gravelly voiced Steve “Froggy” Morris held court in his Market Square bar and restaurant where celebrities such as Jack Nicholson flocked when they were in town. Despite its reputation as one of Downtown’s go-to destinations, Morris eventually encountered financial difficulties and Froggy’s closed in 2003. Morris died five years later; the bar space currently is vacant.

9. 31st Street Pub, Strip District
During its 53 years in business, first as Greenfield’s Pub then as the 31st Street Pub, this place went through several incarnations: First as a shot-and-beer place for mill workers, then as a biker bar and in its final days was a punk rock haven. For years, colorful owner Joel Greenfield had a “Skull Room” in the back filled with cabinets of skull-shaped mugs and other skull-themed oddities. Greenfield sold the bar in 2015; its former regulars would be horrified to know the Pittsburgh Juice Company now serves organic artisanal cold-pressed juices there.

8. Bloomfield Bridge Tavern, Bloomfield
It’s painful to include this place on the list. After nearly 32 years of Polish platters and live music, this unapologetically no-frills tavern at the end of the Bloomfield Bridge has served its last pierogi. The fate of the building, and the crests of various Polish cities painted on the small wall of the bar’s parking lot, is unknown.

7. Electric Banana, Oakland
No mention to historic Pittsburgh bars would be complete without mentioning the place on Bigelow Boulevard where punk rock flourished. The place was a disco in the late ‘70s before owner Johnny Zarra let the local band Carsickness play there in 1980. When they packed the place, Zarra began booking punk bands. The Banana survived until 1999. Zarra still owns the building and operates an Italian restaurant there named, appropriately enough, Zarra’s.

6. Upstage, Oakland
It’s a testament to the popularity of the Upstage that more than a decade after it closed, former patrons maintain a Facebook page in its honor. Located up a flight of rickety stairs in the Strand Building on Forbes Avenue, for more than 20 years the place with all-black walls and large mirrors was where people went to drink and dance to alternative music. Where you could once buy quarter drafts at the Upstage, you now can buy a gallon of milk. The place is now an IGA supermarket.

5. Chauncy’s, South Side
This Station Square landmark was the place to go to dance away the doldrums for more than 20 years -- until a judge pulled the plug on the music in 2004 and ordered the place closed after numerous complaints of assaults, drug dealing and gun activity at the nightclub. Was he right in interrupting all the fun? Since a co-owner of the club was convicted of operating a heroin ring out of the place, we’re say yes. Since 2006, the space has been occupied by the much less tawdry Buckhead Saloon.

4. Nick’s Fat City, South Side
It was more of a performing venue than a bar, but if the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame can admit James Taylor than I can admit Nick’s. Beginning in 1992, local acts such as the Clarks, Bill Deasey and Brownie Mary regularly played at the place with the art deco facade, as did national ones such as Warren Zevon and Hootie and the Blowfish. Bruce Springsteen played there twice with his good buddy Joe Grushecky. Facing increased competition from other local live venues, Nick’s closed in 2004. It’s been Diesel since 2006, a place that occasionally books live acts but not with the frequency of its predecessor.

3. Graffiti, Oakland
More than a bar, this nightspot at the intersection of Craig Street and Baum Boulevard was, as it said on the sign outside, a cafe, pub and showcase. This was the place where a number of local bands (anyone remember the Affordable Floors?) cut their teeth. Graffiti had a successful run from 1983 until 2000. But the end came when the building was purchased by David Scaife, the son of billionaire newspaper publisher Richard Mellon Scaife, so he could store his personal car collection there.

2. Chiodo's Tavern, Homestead
Joe Chiodo held court in this legendary Homestead Bar that was home to the popular “mystery sandwich.” Its walls were covered with Steelers knick-knacks and other memorabilia, including an alligator jaw and dozens of bras donated by the bar’s female patrons for reasons that never were fully explained. Chiodo retired in 2005 and the bar was razed to make way for a Walgreen’s and Subway.

1. The Decade, Oakland
Was there ever any doubt this legendary Oakland bar at the corner of Atwood and Sennott streets would top the list? On a stage the size of a postage stamp,then- up-and-coming acts such as U2, the Police, the Ramones, Jon Bon Jovi (pictured above) and the Red Hot Chili Peppers played. Bruce Springsteen also once played there, years after becoming famous. The parachutes on the ceiling were all the ambience that was needed. The Decade is the only bar on the list that has had a book written about it (Gabby Means’ “The Decade.”). From 1973 until he sold it in 1995, owner Dom DiSilvio made the Decade Pittsburgh’s ultimate rock and roll bar. Its incarnations since have included a deli, lesbian bar, produce store, and a bar named Cumpie’s. It’s been the Garage Door Saloon for many years now, but in the hearts of many the place always will be the Decade.

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

Photo credits: Decade sign, Dom DeSilvio via Gabby Means; Decade exterior, Jay Flori via Gabby Means; Jon Bon Jovi, Dom DiSilvio via Gabby Means. All photos used with permission.