Remembering the Pittsburgh Hard Rock Cafe as it prepares to close

The 1980s and ’90s produced a fair share of restaurant chains, but two stood out for their commitment to pop culture ephemera and memorabilia. Planet Hollywood, launched in 1991, welcomed guests to dine among props and costumes from classic and blockbuster films. Then there was Hard Rock Cafe, a similar concept centering on music. Each location had its walls festooned with signed instruments, tour posters, and other items from famed rock and blues musicians.

This venture, launched in London and officially franchised in 1982, featured stages for live performers alongside its dining rooms. This applies to the Hard Rock Cafe in Station Square, opened in 2002 with “an industrial ceiling and exposed-brick stage,” indoor seating for 200, a seasonal outdoor patio, and an 80-seat private indoor patio room “overlooking the dancing fountain,” according to the location’s website.

Station Square will soon lose its Hard Rock, ending over two decades of hosting live music that ranged from tribute bands to local acts. The location will close on Feb. 13 after Brookfield Properties, the New York-based firm that owns the property, reportedly decided not to renew the restaurant and performance venue’s lease.

The location will go out doing what it has always done, serving patrons a combination of comfort food (including its award-winning burger) and music. On Mon., Feb. 3, hip hop artists Sean Ski, Marly, and Jody Graves will present Final Farewell, a show honoring the venue’s contribution to the local music scene.

Sean Ski, whose real name is Sean Lewandowski, tells Pittsburgh City Paper that the Hard Rock played an important role in his career.

“Performing at the Hard Rock has helped me greatly in getting my feet wet and in developing a local fan base,” he says. “I felt like it was only right to do a finale show there, not only in celebration and gratitude for my own personal experiences with so many memories created there but to pay homage to everyone both past and present who has played a role in making it such a special spot.”

He adds that he had a “great relationship with all of the staff at Hard Rock, adding that they “have always been so kind and helpful” to him and his team. “Many of the employees have also purchased merchandise of mine and have become supporters, which means a lot to me, especially being that my performances there had that kind of positive impact.”

Ski says the venue allowed him to open for hip-hop artists Afroman and Dizzy Wright, rock artists like Chris Barron of the Spin Doctors, and “good friend and fellow Connellsville native” Scott Blasey of The Clarks. Ski adds that, after completing his second international tour in Canada with Chris Webby, he had his first headlining show at Hard Rock in August 2024, which he says “was a success and very encouraging.”

The closure of Hard Rock speaks more to the slow death of Station Square brought on by Brookfield deciding to sell the entertainment complex, than a lack of commitment. Over the pandemic, as other restaurants and performance venues closed permanently, Hard Rock survived COVID-19 and reopened. It also outlived two other anchor Station Square businesses, Buca di Beppo and Joe’s Crab Shack, that shuttered in 2024.

Part of Hard Rock Station Square’s longevity perhaps lies in its eclectic events. Besides touring musicians, the venue hosted nostalgic acts like the ’90s boy group LFO, Broadway musical singalongs, and tribute bands, as well as a Match Gayme event with drag queens and Giselle Fetterman, a CP-sponsored Battle of the Bands in 2018, and, more recently, a DJ convention party. 

Ski believes one of the biggest reasons Hard Rock has been a staple in the Pittsburgh music scene is because it provided “a consistent space for the national, middle-tier artists, and local aspiring acts to perform.”

“There’s been a primary focus on the A-level musicians getting booked in the bigger venues like [PPG Paints Arena], Starlake Amphitheater, PNC Park, Acrisure Stadium, [et cetera], which is great, but with so many other smaller venues closing down the past so many years, the options are now very limited for other national touring artists and bands as well as local musicians to secure a venue to play a show,” he says. “The Hard Rock, along with a short list of other local music venues, have been that outlet.”

His statement speaks to smaller local venues that have closed over the past several years, including Rex Theater and, more recently, Club Cafe.

As Hard Rock prepares its exit, Ski would like to see the property be put to good use.

*My hope is that the space is utilized as another music venue/restaurant or at least something in the arts,” he says. “Our local music scene needs a resurgence, and it starts with more performance location possibilities. In general, I’d like to see Station Square as a whole return to prominence.”

This article appears in Feb 5-11, 2025.