Street To Be Named After Late Pittsburgh Ice Ball Icon Gus Kalaris

PITTSBURGH, PA — City officials plan to rename a portion of a street after Gus Kalaris, whose orange ice ball cart continues to be a local landmark even after his death last month at the age of 92.

Mayor Ed Gainey said Saturday that a portion of a street in Allegheny Commons Park will bear Kalaris' name. Gainey made the announcement at Gus and Yiayia's cart, where city officials and members of the public gathered to honor Kalaris' memory.

Gainey also posted a touching tribute to Kalaris on social media.

"Gus Kalaris embodied Pittsburgh," Gainey wrote on X. "You got more than just an ice ball when you came to see Gus. You had someone to care about you, even if he didn't know you. It takes somebody special to make others feel special, and Gus did that for so many people."

Gus Kalaris' father began the business in 1934 with Kalaris's mother, Pauline, the original "Yiayia" - the Greek term for grandmother. Gus Kalaris took over the cart's operation in the early 1950s.

Kalaris and his workers staffed the handmade carts seven days a week, April through October. The menu never changed; customers chose from the shaved ice balls, popcorn or peanuts.

So revered was Gus and Yiayia's cart that in 2021, a much smaller version of it became part of the Carnegie Science Center's holiday Miniature Railroad & Village exhibit.