Carnegie Mellon University
5032 Forbes Ave., Oakland. cmu.edu/dietrich/lcal
Celebrate Chinese culture and cuisine during a free event at Carnegie Mellon University. On Wed., Oct. 1 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., CMU’s Chinese Studies program and Pittsburgh’s Organization of Chinese Americans present the 2025 Chinese Mid-Autumn and Global Food Festival in the Cohon University Center’s Rangos Ballroom. Attendees are invited to “come hungry and curious” and try culinary offerings from around the world (including, hopefully, the traditional Chinese mooncake). The event is open to the public; no RSVP is required.
Wigle Whiskey Distillery
2401 Smallman St., Strip District. wiglewhiskey.com
It’s Halloween at Wigle Whiskey with a Monster Mash pop-up bar. Beginning Fri., Oct. 3, Wigle’s Strip District distillery transforms into a “laboratory of libations” promising special spirits (of all kinds), crafted concoctions, and eerie ambiance. Lab-themed cocktails include Glow Juice, made with Wigle’s Smallman Street Vodka, sour apple, apple and lime juices, and a green glow stick, garnished with an apple slice. Look out for the gummy finger garnish in the Blood Letter, mixed with Wigle’s Straight Rye Whiskey and Spiced Liqueur, pomegranate, dark brown sugar, and molé bitters. Knock yourself out with special shots including Anesthetic, featuring Wigle’s Pa. Rye, orange liqueur, blackberry, and simple syrup, or the Limoncello-based Spin Me Up, mixing orange liqueur, simple syrup, and lime juice.
Want to make your own Halloween spirits? Wigle hosts a Frankenstein’s Lab Cocktail Class on Wed., Oct. 8 and Wed., Oct. 22 from 6-8 p.m. Learn to build three “electrifying” Wigle cocktails, enjoy a grazing board, and receive 15% off all Wigle bottles, including the recently released Frankenstein’s Whiskey or George Washington-inspired Cherry. Cocktail class tickets cost $65.
Say Cheese! x Mazzotta Winery
4092 Gibsonia Rd., Gibsonia. goodtastepittsburgh.com/say-cheese
Credit: Courtesy of GoodTaste! Pittsburgh
GoodTaste! Pittsburgh promises a “gouda” time when its “Say Cheese!” Festival returns. On Sun., Oct. 5, the “ooiest, gooiest festival of fromage” comes to Mazzotta Winery in Gibsonia with eight stations showcasing local cheeses, handmade jams and spreads, and “carefully selected” condiments. The vendor lineup includes Cherish Creamery, Dee’s Jams, Nosh and Curd, Oakmont Olive Oil, Chef Alekka Sweeney, and Salonika Imports with Mediterranean cheeses. Guests can pair their “gratest” cheese samples with Mazzotta’s wines and enjoy demonstrations by The Cheese Queen. Two event sessions run from 1-3 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. Tickets to the 21-and-over festival cost $30 and include four sample pours of Mazzotta wine.
Pittsburgh’s Rivers of Fire
2120 Jane St., South Side. pittsburghsriversoffire.com
Rivers of Fire, billed as Pittsburgh’s first-ever hot sauce festival, comes to Velum Fermentation on Sat., Oct. 4. Presented by Pittsburgh hot sauce maker Hammjack Heat Co., the inaugural hot sauce festival will feature more than a dozen small-batch hot sauce vendors, food and drinks to soak up your sauce samples, including Velum’s Cold Friends Kitchen, a League of Fire hot pepper-eating contest, a DJ, games, and more. Get your viral moment when a podcaster hosts Pittsburgh’s Hot Talk, a local version of the hit YouTube series Hot Ones, and interviews attendees while they eat wings with sauces from the festival. General admission tickets cost $15.
Kinder Being Cafe x The Government Center
715 East St., North Side. instagram.com/kinderbeingcafe
Kinder Being Cafe, the coffee shop and community space inside The Government Center, celebrates its first anniversary with a party. On Sat., Oct. 4, head to the cafe at 6 p.m. for pay-what-you-can libations, including “special freaky drinks,” raffles, giveaways, and the premiere of a Kinder Being movie, Crash Landing: Close Encounters of the Kinder Beings, by multi-disciplinary artist Sadie Shoaf.
Fry Bar x Puff N Vibe 412
1100 Galveston Ave., North Side. frybarllc.com
Paint and sip? How about paint and fry? The North Side-based Fry Bar and Puff N Vibe 412 put a spin on a wine mom pastime with a Paint N Fry Sunday Funday on Sun., Oct. 5 from 1-4 p.m. For $35, paint a canvas (supplies and apron provided) and get a $15 food credit toward Fry Bar’s menu of fresh-cut loaded fries and scratch-made sauces.
Casa del Tequila Fine Eatery
1731 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. facebook.com/p/Casa-del-Tequila-61559249653475
Casa del Tequila, a new Mexican spot located next door to the Manor Theatre in Squirrel Hill, opened on Sept. 29. The restaurant replaces the former Warehouse Grub and Pub, which closed two years ago, and a Silky’s Pub location before that.
Casa del Tequila’s menu features fajitas, quesadillas, burritos, entrees with poultry, steak, and seafood, vegetarian dishes, Mexican desserts, and lunch and chef’s specials, as well as a variety of margaritas and tequilas. The restaurant is now open seven days a week.
Moonlit Burgers x Torogoz
523-525 Locust Pl., Sewickley.
A long-awaited piazza and public marketplace opened in Sewickley on Sept. 19, along with two new restaurants. Torogoz, located at 525 Locust Pl., is a contemporary Latin cookery helmed by Chef Julio Peraza. Described on its Facebook page as a “neighborhood restaurant with shareable, flavor forward dishes [and] great wines,” Torogoz will feature globally inspired Latin plates like lomo saltado (Peruvian stir fry) and arroz con marisco (seafood paella), according to NEXTpittsburgh. The restaurant is currently open for dinner service and will launch brunch in October.
Moonlit Burgers opened its third location, first announced in August, at 523 Locust Pl. in Sewickley. The smashburger restaurant — winner of Best Burger in Pittsburgh City Paper’s Best of PGH 2025 Readers’ Poll — offers its signature burgers, shoestring fries, and fried chicken along with a cocktail and draft menu. The Sewickley restaurant joins locations in Dormont and Uptown. A recently announced fourth Moonlit Burgers in Garfield is slated to take over a former Primanti Bros. space.
Arabica Robusta Coffee House
207 E. Eighth Ave., Homestead. arabicarobustapgh.com
Arabica Robusta Coffee House, named after arabica and robusta coffee beans, opened on Sept. 16 in the former Steel Valley Roasters. The new artisanal shop will serve a custom-made “Homestead Blend” coffee along with espresso drinks, matcha, and a small food menu featuring pastries and breakfast sandwiches from Pittsburgh Sandwich Society.
Axios Pittsburgh reports the Black- and woman-owned shop, launched by Homestead native Greg Harris and co-owner Hannah Kemp, “filled a void” in the borough, with the pair saying they “were tired of traveling out of their neighborhood for a good cup of coffee.”
Arabica Robusta Coffee House is now open seven days a week.
Starbucks
Multiple locations. starbucks.com
Three Pittsburgh Starbucks stores closed suddenly as part of the coffee chain’s nationwide “Back to Starbucks” restructuring plan. A Starbucks location on the South Side (1400 E. Carson St.) closed on Sept. 27, while locations in Lawrenceville (3931 Butler St.), and the North Side (4 W. North Ave.) closed on Sept. 28. Employees at the South Side Starbucks told TribLive they were given little notice, while Herky Pollock, the landlord for the Arsenal 201 Starbucks store in Lawrenceville, expressed surprise at the company closing a profitable location with a drive-thru opened only one year ago.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol stated in a public letter on Sept. 25 that stores identified for closure were “unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect.” The company has also said unionization — which has organized workers at more than 600 Starbucks-owned stores, including 20 in the Pittsburgh area — wasn’t a factor in determining the closures.
