Restaurant openings and closings in Pittsburgh region

Restaurants come and restaurants go.

Some catch a wave of trendiness, some struggle to keep staff, some just fizzle.

TribLIVE reported on several openings and closings of restaurants in the region this week.

Here they are:

Openings

The second Alta Via restaurant is scheduled to open today in Market Square.

Located in the former Molinaro Ristorante & Bar in Downtown Pittsburgh, Big Burrito Restaurant Group president Bill Fuller is excited about the location.

“It’s a cool location. We are really stoked,” he said.

The menu will be similar to the Fox Chapel location with adjustments as the Downtown location evolves. Outdoor dining will be features.

Read all about it here.

Argentine restaurant Balvanera opened in the Strip District in the former Metropol night club location.

The brasserie serves dishes that inspired by Buenos Aires and features a selection of more than 200 labels of Argentine wine.

It will start with dinner service Tuesday through Saturday. Later, it will expand to lunch and eventually breakfast, where the bar area can act as a bodega serving coffee and light sandwiches and baked goods.

The menu features items like empanadas, steaks served with fresh chimichurri and rotisserie roasted vegetables

Co-owner Meredith Boyle grew up in Aspinwall.

Read all about it here.

The old Hough’s in Greenfield will soon be home to the Midnight Whistler pub.

Complementing bar service will be a menu of homemade items such as sausage, bratwurst and kielbasa. Midnight Whistler will make its own biscuits, bread and butter pickles, and cheese sauce.

Starting out, there will be smoked wings, brisket that has been brined for 24 hours, hot honey baked brie and pastrami, and fried chicken sandwiches.

The big smashburger comes with two patties of a custom ground beef blend, special sauce with a mayonnaise and paprika base, and house made bread and butter pickles on a Mancini’s brioche bun.

Read about it here.

Closing

The Waterfront in Homestead shopping area said goodbye to one of its anchor tenants Uno Pizzeria.

It was the only location in Western Pennsylvania for the chain that’s known for its Chicago-style pizza. The restaurant was founded in the Windy City in 1943.

The closure follows another in July, when Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery shuttered.

Read all about it here.

Moving

Invisible Man Brewing Co. is joining forces with another established Greensburg business as they move to set up shop in the former Rialto Bar & Bistro, which closed last year.

The new Invisible Man Brewing location will be open Wednesdays through Sundays as well as on Palace Theatre show dates.

A gastropub planned for the main Rialto space is still a few months away.

Read all about it here.