After being put up for sale this summer, Brewers Bar in Lawrenceville — Pittsburgh’s oldest gay bar — will remain intact with new ownership in 2025.
Justin Beiter will be the face of the bar as a co-owner and operator. He said it will be rebranded, but it will remain a LGBTQ hub.
“It’s been this safe space for such a long time,” said Beiter, 38, of the Cultural District. “I just want to honor that and keep that going.”
As a gay man, Beiter said he loves having a place to go to connect with the city’s queer community and like-minded people.
“I’m just really excited for it,” said Beiter, who has a history of managing restaurants and bars. “I want to keep the legacy that it already has alive, and … breathe some fresh air into it.”
The building on Liberty Avenue is five stories, and the bottom two stories were converted into a nightclub in November.
Maurice Nassif, the new majority owner of Brewers Bar, said he approached his friend Beiter with the business venture.
“I own a couple other restaurants in the city as well,” he said. “(Beiter) knows what he’s doing.”
Nassif said he will be operating behind the scenes while Beiter works to manage the bar in person.
“I just thought he’s a good guy; he’s smart,” Nassif said. “It’s hard for people to actually break into owning your own restaurant.”
The new name isn’t picked out yet, he said, but it’s in the works. Some aesthetics will be changed, but the bar will largely remain the same.
“Getting to know the community more, I actually realize that there’s a big need,” Nassif said, wanting to keep the gay bar’s tradition going. “They need places to go and feel safe. I know Brewers has a long history, and they’ve done a lot for the community.”
Brewers’ legacy
Longtime owner Carol Held said in July she was ready to retire and spend more time with her grandkids, leading her to put the bar up for sale for $1.2 million.
Brewers Bar has been in business in Pittsburgh for 43 years, and she’s been at the helm since 2010, when she took over for her dad, Andy Usner, who died.
Usner was a police detective for the city, and he bought the bar in 1981, Held said.
Ideally, she said she wanted a “young mind” or someone in the local LGBTQ community to take over the business, and she hoped a new owner would keep the original Brewers Bar intact.
Held’s wish is coming true with Beiter and Nassif, and she said she couldn’t be happier.
“It was a win-win situation,” she said, as the buyers have the same love for the bar’s patrons and Pittsburgh’s queer community.
Held posted about the sale on the Brewers Bar Facebook page this week, and she’s hoping for the new owners to take over in four to six weeks.
The friends have been interested in purchasing the space since September.
Nassif said he’s unsure when a grand opening will take place, as the new owners are still waiting for Pennsylvania to approve the liquor license transfer.
“We’re hoping end of January or February,” he said.
Before any branding is changed, Held said Brewers Bar will be hosting a “blowout party” on New Year’s Eve, where people can gather and share their memories from over the years. The bar will remain open and in full swing, she said.
“I’m just very happy — it coud’ve went to somebody who wanted to tear the building down and make a condo,” she said. “It couldn’t have happened better.”