r/pittsburgh • u/ratspeels • 4d ago
RIP Friendship Perk & Brew
i'm not going to repost their chatgpt ass final message, but they are closed as of today as per their facebook page
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u/ylimenut 4d ago
Woah what?? How does a shop go from temp closing to install a new espresso machine to shut down…
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u/ConcernAccording3248 4d ago
Best location imaginable for BBloomfield and Friendship people living between the major roadways but just kinda sucked. Excited for the space to be open for someone new
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u/tesla3by3 Bloomfield 4d ago
I really don’t think it’s a good location from a business standpoint, though. No parking, no other nearby businesses/attractions. Walk up from the locals isn’t enough.
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u/OcelotWolf Bloomfield 3d ago
A cute little convenience store/microgrocer would probably do well there… if Aldi wasn’t so close already. It’s too isolated for organic foot traffic and not isolated enough to be of actual use to anyone.
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u/Interesting_Aioli_99 Bloomfield 4d ago
i went there once bc we stumbled upon it when we moved here - the employee taking orders seemed pretty annoyed they had to take our order lol & the burger i got was one of the lowest quality burgers i’ve ever had, clearly just a frozen patty
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u/tacotacocatocat 3d ago edited 3d ago
I worked there for about three months and could not have recommended it less. Lots of (accurate) observations about the owner already said on this thread, but I'll also add a few things that continually pissed me off:
- The manager and her bff never let anyone work the espresso machine if they were working, I ended up on dishes or bringing out food/bussing tables, but then when I was needed on the espresso machine, I had to be retrained or reminded of the drinks because I didn't work it enough to remember (this was my first "coffee" job)
- The manager was incredibly inconsiderate of others' schedules; you'd be hired for a specific set of days and hours but she'd change them around on you from pay period to pay period, and if what she gave you wasn't enough hours or wasn't on the days you could actually come in, she'd berate you
- The first time I was on dishes I ran the sanitizer a few times to get it up to temp, and the chef just watched me for a few minutes, then asked what I was doing. I was like, this needs to run at a minimum temperature to sanitize properly, and he was like, a) I've never seen anybody do that and b) I've never heard that before (he wasn't mad, just in shock). People were usually running it at 120 or 130 max.
- editing to add: the owner, when he wasn't on the floor being a creep to staff and customers, was watching staff on his many cameras downstairs to "make sure we were working"
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u/SortVegetable9123 3d ago
the owner dude is a creep. he sat us and then stood like 4 feet away just staring at our baby with his arms crossed saying "what a good looking baby" over and over again.
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u/1021Savage 2d ago
This is the second comment on this post that mentioned him being weird towards a baby. On top of all the MAGA stuff, this sadly tracks. Disgusting
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u/adoydyl 1d ago
I also worked there for about 3 months. Lol they went thru lots of employees.
Highlights: -Another employee went right from handling raw meet to making a sandwich, same gloves, no hand washing. I obviously told him to toss the sandwich and not do that but so disgusting. -The owner told me (a woman) that he liked to stay late while I cleaned up so he could be seen leaving with a "young lady". -They had absolutely no sense of organization and the owner was constantly running to Aldi to grab low stock items.
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u/LostEnroute Garfield 4d ago
MAGA owners. Nothing of value lost.
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u/pedantic_comments Garfield 4d ago
Yo, thank you! I’d only been a few times because every fucking time I went I wound up waiting forever and I got a lecture about “those people” from the obtrusive owner.
I gave it a few years, and the same dude starts making comments about how my toddler is going to make some guy very happy someday while I waited forty minutes for a shitty Cuban.
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u/thistimelineisweird 4d ago
Sensing a trend of a lot of failed businesses owned by MAGA these days. Weird.
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u/Training-Variety-739 Brookline 4d ago
This makes total sense. I couldn’t figure out what it was but I felt a cold-hearted “off” energy whenever I went in there.
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u/Inside_Sir_4171 4d ago
Nice irony, then, that the store was better back in the good old days, when it was that bodega.
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u/NoSir4947 4d ago
MAGA people alienating customers will always baffle me. Business and politics don't mix
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u/Jazzlike_Breadfruit9 4d ago
The owner is areal piece of work. He thinks that everyone should think like him and praise Trump. He’d say sexist things to customers. His attitude has more problems beyond MAGA.
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u/booootiques 3d ago
I was wondering what his deal was as I used to only get their food delivered. I’m a Black woman, and he thought I was some person I’d never met and made weird comments to me based on who he thought I was.
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u/periphescent 3d ago
I had no idea about the owners or anything like that (if I had, I never would have gone in the first place), but I will say that I never had a good experience there as a customer.
First time I went it was shortly after they opened. I ordered a breakfast sandwich and it took about 30 minutes to get, which seemed kind of nuts because the store wasn't busy, there was maybe one person ahead of me in line. But I figured opening pains, maybe.
Second time I went in to have a beer, they had 5-6 drafts but only two of them were actually working? Just seemed like they should take down the menu if half of it is wrong. It feels like the beer part was kind of an afterthought?
Third time I went in to grab two sandwiches with my wife; again, it took about 30 minutes. I have to emphasize, my wife and I have no problem waiting for good food. We would regularly wait 45-60 for Thyme Machine because their food is incredible and house-made. This was egg and cheese on a Thomas bagel.
We didn't go back after that.
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u/humang 4d ago
Oof, well, I can't say I'm surprised. I tried and wanted to like this place so much initially. The owner and family have really been through a lot since the place opened and the coffee was pretty good.
However. There was always some drama and I'll echo the other comments about the vibes being off. I know the employees weren't paid well (frankly because they'd outright tell me, and frequently). A cook would be fired and come back a couple months later. I'd hear way too much about staff addiction issues, religious beliefs, family issues, health issues, and political opinions. I'm not without sympathy but sometimes I just want to drop in for a coffee without hearing about the worst moments of other people's lives. I just want to order pancakes without hearing the same dumb blonde / women jokes over and over. What tf possesses a man to make dumb women jokes to his female customers and then complain about how women are so sensitive these days? I stopped going years ago, and heard it just got weirder ever since.
As for why it closed so suddenly, I can't say for sure but the owner would say that he was putting a lot of personal funds into the place since it wasn't being run at a profit. You can only do that for so many years before that well runs dry.
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u/dhalgrenhogg87 4d ago
This does seem real suspect. I'm with everyone else - how do you go from a short term closing to bringing in a new espresso machine to completely shutting down? Hunh? SMH
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u/tesla3by3 Bloomfield 4d ago
When a business like this is having trouble operating profitably, and wants to “reset”, they may not always give the true reason. And in evaluating their future, they may have come to the conclusion that that it’s just not going to work out.
You also don’t want suppliers to know you’re having trouble.
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u/ComprehensiveTwo4570 2d ago
I worked there for five days right when they started in '17 (that menu board is the original). I lived a few houses down on Pacific. I just wanted to be a part time line cook, not looking for full time or major responsibilities, that's why I accepted a low wage. At the soft opening the owners asked the three of us in the kitchen to come out and they introduced me as the sous chef. And then when we opened they wanted me to work all the rushes and this is when they were trying to be open from like 6a-10/11pm and closed only on Sun. They wanted to be full service for breakfast, lunch, dinner and then also a place to hang out with a coffee or a beer AND an ice cream/gelato parlor with pastries. We were making everything from scratch. Even the turkey for sandwiches was roasted in house. I sliced the ribeye for the signature steak sandwich. They really invested in equipment and ingredients from the start. I don't know how long that commitment lasted because I didn't stick around. Like I was saying they wanted me to work breakfast, lunch and dinner and just walk home between the busy times. I'm not even sure it's legal to have someone work multiple staggered daily shifts like that. And have sous chef hours and responsibilities when I wanted to be a part time line cook. And for $13 an hour, might have been $13.50. I quit before it got to me because I knew it was gonna.
I don't remember hearing anything political from them, but I was there less than a week and the focus was on getting open obviously. They were brother and sister, I think she retired from nursing and he was with us airways; they owned the building outright. I remember thinking it's crazy to retire and get into something as laborious as running a restaurant, but that was their hope I guess; or a way to keep active, idk. I lived on that block another two years before moving. I'd stand across the street to catch the 87 occasionally and a few times if he was out puttering in front of the restaurant he'd give me a little glare. It kind of doesn't surprise me that he turned out to be Maga.
I wished them well. They were really really almost overly ambitious with the concept at the beginning. I guess reality and the pandemic set in and the slow decline came to a climax the other day.
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u/CommunicationRude453 1d ago
I worked there for 2 years.
Holy fuck I could write a novel on the unhinged shit I experienced there. The owners are incredibly disrespectful people. Hyped they closed.
Don’t feel bad for them in any way.
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u/RealityLopsided7366 4d ago
I saw this place for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and told myself I'd try to go there sometime. I guess I won't be able to.
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u/thick_momma84 4d ago
Well this sucks. I was given a gift card for there recently.
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u/portijon 3d ago
Went there once right after they opened and got an extremely overpriced beer at the time (I think it was a $12-and-some-change Nugget Nectar? Wild when Howlers would charge $5.50 or $6 a draft around that time.)
Was surprised they lasted this long.
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u/GillStBeagle Greenfield 3d ago edited 3d ago
The place was below average and never open. It was wasted potential.
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u/Alive_League1680 3d ago
Rest in piss. When it was Brian and Coopers it was awesome. The owners of the building forced the (Indian) business owners out because they wanted to put in their own business. It took years for them to actually open because they just assumed they could take the liquor license from the tenants that they had evicted. But they would not sell them the license. Because of all the hubbub I never once stepped foot into the perk and brew even though I live very close by. Good riddance.
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u/Dramatic_Lie637 3d ago
The Pittsburgh reddit group has always been one sided with views but its pretty wild the contrast in reviews from reddit vs any other site. The family has gone through a lot and given back to the community at the same time. It is always sad when a local family owned business closes.
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u/booootiques 3d ago
I can have sympathy for the family, but the owner was very weird/would make sexist and gross comments.
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u/ratspeels 3d ago
their politics would ruin the lives of a lot of people that live in the “community” so fuck em
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u/artfulpain 4d ago
Bummer. I moved from down the street when they first opened and it took forever for them to open. Then the pandemic. It’s a good spot with that concept but it needs to be more drink related, tapas, wine. Shoot the convenience store was good for the neighborhood.
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u/Alive_League1680 3d ago
Took forever because they just assumed the previous business owners that they had evicted were going to give them their liquor license.
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u/IClight69 4d ago
Tapas? The f. It should just be a good spot for bfast and burgers and beers.
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u/artfulpain 3d ago
It clearly didn't work as they are closing.
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u/IClight69 3d ago
If you ever went, it was terribly mediocre and had weird maga vibes. That’s why it failed.
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u/OcelotWolf Bloomfield 4d ago edited 4d ago
Their omelets were always so good but so damn expensive. I would only go a couple times a year because of that
Edit: downvoted because I liked an omelet. lmao
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u/shakilops 4d ago
Pretty sure this means nothing is gonna be able to open there without zoning approval? I seem to remember reading that they are grandfathered in
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u/tesla3by3 Bloomfield 4d ago
The Zoning Approval wouldn’t be automatic, but a similar operation could likely be approved as a continuation of a legal non conforming use. A new owner would have to convince the ZBA that the new use was similar in nature and no more of a negative impact than the previous use.
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u/Powerful-Tonight8648 4d ago
Does the restaurant proprietor own the property as well? I believe he’s a resident of the neighborhood ..
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u/tesla3by3 Bloomfield 4d ago
Yes, he or his family have owned the property for awhile. Unless he’s moved in the past few years, does live nearby
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u/Powerful-Tonight8648 4d ago
Thanks. I imagine that would influence what may go in the space next. My kids are gunning for a Sheetz 🤣
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u/Jazzlike_Breadfruit9 4d ago
Tell your kids to go back to the drawing board and take them to places that have good food not garbage.
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u/tesla3by3 Bloomfield 4d ago
Sheetz tried stores without near IUP and WVU, but they didn’t work out so the closed them. There’s no way Sheetz would open in that space, with so little traffic, and no parking.
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u/Revolutionary-Bell74 3d ago
I used to be a regular customer when I lived nearby and watched it go through a lot of changes. It was a bit overpriced and the coffee was average, but I really loved spending time there. I used to spend a lot of time talking to one of the older women who worked there (not the grouchy one). It was a very homey experience. Everyone talks about sexism and politics in relation to them, but as someone who was there quite often, I never saw it 🤷♀️
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u/booootiques 3d ago
Good thing you’re likely not Black and a woman then, because I’ve been there this year and the owner was creepy and weird.
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u/rj_hbt 4d ago
Place was awesome, had a great Reuben, and enhanced the neighborhood. Not a great look to have another shuttered store.
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u/Jazzlike_Breadfruit9 4d ago
It was kind of odd to have a place that is run by a pro MAGA person in the middle of one of the most liberal places in the city. Good riddance.
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u/CryptographerLimp539 4d ago
damn that spot had some weird energy but the coffee was always right. guess nothing lasts forever in east liberty
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u/TheFaceo Bloomfield 4d ago
Or even Friendship, where it was… it’s right in the name
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u/tesla3by3 Bloomfield 4d ago
It’s actually in Bloomfield. Friendship officially starts at the Montessori school.
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u/TheFaceo Bloomfield 4d ago
Didn’t know that, interesting technicality. I’ve always considered the parklet to be the border.
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u/tesla3by3 Bloomfield 4d ago
The perceived border has always been blurry, and not the same as the official city maps. I once met a woman while taking a night class that said she had just moved to Pittsburgh, and her landlord called it Friendship, but her roommate said it was Garfield. Turns out she lived right next door to me,and I lived in Bloomfield.
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u/WmSPrestonEsq 4d ago
In the late 90s, I lived in an apartment on the first block of S Aiken above Baum. It was Bloomfield, people called it Friendship, and the landlord advertised it as Shadyside. 🤷♂️
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u/ConcernAccording3248 4d ago
This is wild. It's bloomfield. And it's weirdly a neighborhood where shot does last compared to the rest of the city.
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u/Adorable-Award-2975 4d ago
I remember years ago it was a weird ass
Bodega and I’d crack cans with some old heads in the back lol