A decadeslong watering hole in Brackenridge, closed since covid-19 pandemic restrictions, is making a return under new ownership.
This time, the Parkview Bar and Grille will have an actual view of Memorial Park and the Allegheny River just beyond it.
“We’re gonna blow the front wall out and put in a garage door,” said new owners Jay McQuade and Alaina Gurnari, both of Harrison.
“We want to have a covered patio with outdoor seating and maybe put some fire pits out back.”
They’re eyeing a late summer or fall opening.
Renovations have already begun at the First Avenue spot, a longtime favorite for its $1 wings, jukebox, fish sandwiches and live bands.
“This place was always great,” said Gurnari, who worked there as a bartender before covid shut down operations in 2020. “It was just a chill place; good food and no drama.”
The pair, who met at the Parkview, had joked about owning it long before it went on the market.
“It kind of brings it full circle and adds a little fun,” Gurnari said.
They see the bar’s potential, past the dark-paneled walls and dimly lit bar.
“We’re going to brighten it up and redo the entire kitchen,” said McQuade, a Brackenridge native. “We need some more places around here where people can grab something to eat and enjoy a low-key night.
“That’s what this town is about.”
It’s what the Parkview has always offered. Since at least the early 1990s, the bar has been owned by only two families — the Tritschlers, from 1991 to 2005, and the Dobrowolskis for the next 20 years.
McQuade and Gurnari bought the property in June. They spent their first year of ownership wading through permit applications and ticking off exterior renovations. Already, they’ve replaced the leaky roof, ripped out walls and installed a new HVAC system. They unloaded six, 20-yard dumpsters full of trash.
“The guts are good, but we’re starting with a new slate,” Gurnari said.
At least one major thing — the name, will remain the same.
“That’s what everyone knows it as. We’re looking to fill it with a good crowd of regulars and boaters who walk up from the dock,” Gurnari said. “We want it to be a nice, hometown place.”
The front-facing garage door will open in the summer and have a counter for seating that faces the park.
“Where else around here can you go and sit and look out at the river?” McQuade said, adding that he’s been lucky to get tips and advice from several close friends who own local restaurants.
The pair is developing a menu heavy on traditional bar food — burgers, fries, wings — but with some specialty items, too.
“We’ll have some surprises on there,” Gurnari said.
They plan on offering a brunch, possibly Sundays, once a week.
Gurnari, who grew up in San Francisco, and McQuade, a Highlands graduate, are well-known in the community for their other business venture, Poop 911. The dog waste removal service started about 10 years ago and “kind of runs itself now,” McQuade said.
“It gives us time for something new,” he added.
Initial response from the community has already overwhelmed the pair.
“Everywhere we go, people ask when the bar’s gonna open,” he said. “It’s been really great so far.”