Fermata Brewing Company
918 Merchant St., Ambridge. fermatabrewing.beer
Take in dinner, beer, and a holiday jazz show at Fermata Brewing. On Wed., Dec. 17 from 6-9 p.m., join for the brewery’s annual Holiday Beer Pairing Dinner featuring a four-course meal by Black Dog Wood Fired Pizza served with curated beer pairings. Jazz vocalist Olivia Van Goor will perform Christmas classics on the brewhouse stage. Tickets cost $70 and include your choice of a chicken or steak entrée and a beer with each course.
Holiday Cookie Exchanges
It’s not too late to share your favorite holiday cookies. On Sat., Dec. 20 at 1 p.m., Hazel Grove Brewing hosts a Homemade Holiday Cookie Exchange. Bring two dozen treats to swap, along with a separate container, and leave with a mix-and-matched box of assorted cookies. The brewery will pour a complementary beer for each participant. The event is free.
Georgie’s Corner Bakery and Café in Shadyside invites bakers and cookie fans to its first-ever Holiday Cookie Exchange. Register to bring 2.5 dozen of your best homemade cookies on Mon., Dec. 22, at 6:30 p.m., and go home with a tray of new treats, including selections made by Georgie’s pastry team. Participants can also enter a cookie contest for a chance to win a $25 Georgie’s gift card and a giant gingerbread man cookie. Seasonal snacks, drinks, and trays will be provided. Tickets cost $25.
Old Thunder Brewing Company
340 Freeport Rd., Blawnox. oldthunderbrewing.com
Old Thunder Brewing says Cheers to Five Years with a party on Sat., Dec. 20, from 12-10 p.m. Celebrate the releases of Fallen Shadows, a barrel-aged Imperial Stout, and Fortune Favors the Brave, an Imperial IPA, as well as a new merch drop. The Steer and Wheel, Fireside Pizza, and Alabaster Coffee provide food and caffeinated beverages.
Mr. Smalls Café
400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. instagram.com/mrsmallscafe
They say never meet your heroes, but what about mythical holiday creatures? Krampus, punisher of naughty children, ditches the Alps for all-ages Coffee with Krampus event at Mr. Smalls Café on Sat., Dec. 20 from 6-9 p.m. Guests can meet Krampus, take photos, and enjoy spirits and warm beverages while DJ Cryptid Yinzer spins holiday tunes. Entry is free.
City of Pittsburgh Farmers Markets
5737 Beacon St., Squirrel Hill. pittsburghpa.gov/Recreation-Events/Events/Farmers-Markets
Catch the final Pittsburgh Farmers Market of the season on Sun., Dec. 21, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The Squirrel Hill Winter Market will be held in the Beacon-Bartlett Parking Lot, offering holiday shopping with craft vendors alongside fresh produce, meats, cheeses, beverages, and baked goods from Jak’s and Mediterra, as well as a new plant-based Holiday Ham Roast from Self-Reliant Seitan, and more. The market is also doubling SNAP benefits through the end of the season thanks to Just Harvest’s Fresh Access program.
Vendor applications for the 2026 Farmers Market Season open on Jan. 12, 2026. The new season will kick off on May 10, 2026.
The Soft Spot
5407 Penn Ave., Garfield. instagram.com/thesoftspotpgh
Get a preview of The Soft Spot — a sapphic cafe opening soon in Garfield — at a Queer Arm Wrestling Pie Eating Spaghetti Dinner Rent Party. For the winter solstice on Sun., Dec. 21, the cafe hosts it “weirdest” and first-ever event, inviting “all who may benefit” to support the “sober venue dedicated to intersectionality and intergenerational queer community.” Bring a spaghetti dinner-themed dish to share, join the pie-eating contest (including free coffee for all “pie munchers”), or sign up for the arm-wrestling competition. Wrestlers pay a $10 entry fee, with proceeds split evenly between the winner and supporting The Soft Spot’s opening.
Burger King
1820 E. Carson St., South Side. bk.com
The South Side Burger King strikes again. Pittsburgh Scanner logged a Dec. 10 call to police from the notorious “Fake” Burger King reporting that “some guy ordered a bunch of cheeseburgers and then started to throw them at other customers.” By Pittsburgh City Paper’s count, this is at least the third Burger King incident the Scanner account has posted in the past two years, following an “irate customer” and a “female inside causing a scene.”
Pittsburgh Restaurant Openings
The end of the year usually means saying goodbye, but we welcome a wealth of restaurants opened (or reopened) in recent weeks.
Phat Bagel, a hand-rolled bagel pop-up that moved into Baby Loves Tacos‘ vacated Bloomfield space, officially opened its doors on Dec. 11. The bagel shop, which also debuted “phresh” merch, is now open Mon.-Fri. from 5:30 am-2 p.m., and Sat.-Sun. from 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Phat Bagel has also teased a second location in the Strip District.
Baby Loves Tacos, which relocated to 4510 Liberty Ave., also celebrated a sell-out soft opening after a complete overhaul of its new space. The menu features “handmade everything,” including all-day breakfast (with Pittsburgh-rare Huevos Rancheros), customizable burritos and enchiladas, Baby’s signature tacos, and more. Baby Loves Tacos is currently open Mon.-Fri. from 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
The Park House, known as one of Pittsburgh’s oldest bars, reopened under new ownership on Dec. 5. The North Side tavern dates back to the 1800s and operated as housing, a hotel, a bakery, a candy store, and a popular music venue before closing in 2020. According to a video on Park House’s relaunched website, the bar reopened on Repeal Day (Dec. 5), which commemorates the end of U.S. Prohibition in 1933, to coincide with The Park House’s original opening date and receipt of its liquor license 92 years ago.
Foxhole Tavern in Aspinwall, billed as a “neighborhood tavern with an old soul,” opened for reservations on Dec. 2. Touting a polished bar and cozy feel, the restaurant’s focus is “timeless dishes,” featuring oysters and fried calamari, soups and salads, and entrees such as a dry-aged burger. A full bar menu lists martinis, signature cocktails, wine, and beer.
After months of renovation, Spirit launched its full-service pizzeria in a dedicated new space. The Spirit Pizzeria & Garden Bar opened on Nov. 20 and features soups, salads, pasta, pizza, and other shareable dishes, along with a cocktail and NA menu and the return of its signature Grandma Pie on Mondays. Reservations can be booked through Resy.
The South Side welcomed La Dolce Vita, a new Italian restaurant, last month when it took over the former Stagioni space. Owner Tony DiDonato closed Lucca Ristorante in Oakland to launch the new restaurant, which he told the Pittsburgh Business Times allowed his team to shift to a “pared down” menu of “very simple, very rustic Italian” at more affordable prices. Dishes include burrata, Italian wedding cake soup, flatbreads, house-made pasta, and a chicken piccata.
Murray Avenue Grill
1720 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. murrayavenuegrill.com
Murray Avenue Grill announced it will close on Dec. 28 after 39 years of operation in Squirrel Hill.
“Since our founding in 1986 it has been our privilege to serve this community and to build lasting relationships with our customers, employees, and neighbors,” reads a post on the Grill’s Instagram page. “As we conclude this chapter, we do so with deep appreciation for the countless memories, friendships, and experiences shared over nearly four decades. Though the business is coming to a close, the legacy of these years will remain with us always.”
The property, including the restaurant space and its liquor license, is currently listed as under agreement.
