Is Pittsburgh a chain restaurant city?

Submitted by thehofstetter t3_118c9hd in pittsburgh

I had a friendly argument with a buddy about whether or not Pittsburgh is a chain restaurant/bar town. While we have a bunch of them, I think the independent places are doing better. I read that Pittsburgh has the most bars per capita of any city in America. But I'm relatively new here, and I absolutely could be wrong.

I know of the chains that are doing well, but do you know of any chain restaurant/bars that have gone under since things have re-opened from the pandemic?

Thank you for the help!

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footballwr82 t1_j9gmjmx wrote

The city of Pittsburgh? Absolutely not.

The surrounding suburbs? Some, absolutely yes. West Mifflin, Monroeville, Robinson.

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Blaze987 t1_j9i06tu wrote

OMG yes. I literally would rather drive downtown than eat near home at this point... I am getting a bit tired of finding parking though.

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stadulevich t1_j9jnxdq wrote

Once you find a good garage. You never have to think about parking downtown.

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RespiratoryTher t1_j9jzg8g wrote

Go to the towns around downtown, like Lawrenceville, squirrel hill, the entire East Side.

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j9l9g0p wrote

Boomers fuckin' loovvvvveeee chains and Cranberry Township is chock full of them. It's like a concert just for boomers, where all their favorite brands are playing.

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schnichaels t1_j9jmkhd wrote

But, man, in between there are some absolute bangers. Baldwin-Whitehall is rife with tons of different food places. It's kinda ridiculous.

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[deleted] t1_j9h1k1y wrote

[deleted]

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Snoo71538 t1_j9h3aom wrote

Delco is the opposite side of a pretty big state. The city vs suburb divide is still true in Allegheny county, but if you are new to delco, and not from Allegheny, maybe this isn’t the place for you. These are very different counties, and Pittsburgh and Philly are VERY different cities.

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strittypringles2 t1_j9hdbzv wrote

What was their original point? My GF is from Delco and I want to compare their thoughts

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Snoo71538 t1_j9jii15 wrote

Basically they said the delco suburbs are all strip malls with chain places, and that they weren’t expecting that

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[deleted] t1_j9h4ouc wrote

[deleted]

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cthulhu_on_my_lawn t1_j9h9jfi wrote

Not sure why you're comparing the urban center of Pittsburgh to a suburban county. Most cities the size of Philly have suburbs like that.

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akmalhot t1_j9haice wrote

I said why. I happen to be sitting here and it was just utterly surprising. I've never seen anywhere else like it.

And no, Pitt urban centr, as I said in the beginning, is not a chain based place.

If you want to see one, go to Delco

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footballwr82 t1_j9hg9fz wrote

It’s Pittsburgh. Pitt is the school

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akmalhot t1_j9hlxtg wrote

are you serious right now?

burgh, sixburgh, pitt, iron city, city of bridges, the 412, city of champions, steel city, footbal city with a drinking problem, blitzburgh....

​

youre a true jagoff for making that comment, oh no, i used shorthand while typing on a phone

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AmyTea t1_j9gl0aw wrote

I feel like I have to go out of my way to get chain food in the city proper

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Malarazz t1_j9gv1gw wrote

This. I miss Red Lobster, not gonna lie.

And Panda Express

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put_it_in_the_air t1_j9h01iu wrote

McKnight Rd: You can add Arby's to make it a trifecta and visit all 3!

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low_la t1_j9jsbev wrote

Obligatory slim yogurt pants at the Arby's on McKnight road at Arby's.

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AmyTea t1_j9n2vcd wrote

I actually miss arbys, dead serious. The cream cheese jalapeno poppers ❤️

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Phl_worldwide t1_j9gxh0e wrote

Going off this map of metro areas, I would say no, it's not a particularly high "chain" city: https://i.imgur.com/7lc6EY4.png

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dannygloversghost t1_j9hfy8x wrote

Yikes Phoenix

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lostboyscaw t1_j9hovmz wrote

Charlotte too surprisingly

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SidFarkus47 t1_j9k1azq wrote

Is that surprising though?

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apitbullnamedzeus t1_j9mfil3 wrote

I heard someone call Charlotte the Chili’s of cities. I only drove through once but it seemed accurate.

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KS_Brian t1_j9kkd9n wrote

not surprising to me. they have about 12 Hooters

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godard31 t1_j9h3muu wrote

That's honestly how I imagined it would look. Also weird this isn't upvoted more because it answered the question better than anyone

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James19991 t1_j9h4x2p wrote

This definitely tracks well with my experiences of what I see when I go to various other metros.

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paddle_forth t1_j9hg0v9 wrote

I wonder how much Waffle House skews the numbers for the south

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oak-hearted t1_j9hyx8n wrote

And this is one of multiple reasons I don't want to move to the South.

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Crittbeast t1_j9g9g49 wrote

Plenty of chains in the suburbs but for the most part I’d say Pittsburgh is a town where you’ll find independent restaurants/bars and local conglomerates that spread around the same concept (Eat N’ Park, Primanti’s) or multiple different concepts (Deshantz group, Big Burrito). Though soul sucking developments like the terminal in the strip and east side bond are bringing in more out of town chains/franchises so who knows where we’re going at this point.

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BoopSquiggShorterly t1_j9gz8nm wrote

The out of town "chains" you are referencing that are located in the terminal are both local conglomerates from the region, but just not Pittsburgh based.

Primo subs is a Philly local chain and Aslin Beer is a northern Virginia local chain. Primo subs does have a lot of locations, but this is effectively a Philly chain.

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zuki4life t1_j9hbei3 wrote

I don't live in Pittsburgh anymore and I grew up outside of Philadelphia but oh man primos is a great chain. They make awesome hoagies.

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PrudentFerret456 t1_j9hedb4 wrote

I have lived in Pittsburgh over 40 years and have never heard of either Primo Subs or Aslin Beer. Where are they?

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Beginning_Physics_21 t1_j9hf403 wrote

The terminal in the strip they renovated on Smallman.

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PrudentFerret456 t1_j9hg4td wrote

Huh. Are they good? For subs, we really have had to rely on foreign chains since Uncle Sam's closed.

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dropkickpa t1_j9hrj41 wrote

Uncle Sam's still has stores in Squirrel Hill and at the Waterworks mall.

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Cryptic_Skies t1_j9k6ebg wrote

not a fan of peppi's or any local pizza place that makes subs?

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Excelius t1_j9hndw4 wrote

It's been noted that this region has an unusual concentration of pizza places. While there's no shortage of locally owned eateries, it just seems like so many of them fall into the pizza category, particularly in the suburbs.

Could stand to see a bit more variety in the locally owned restaurants.

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CARLEtheCamry t1_j9geo3c wrote

Don't forget about the saga of SouthSide's fake Burger King

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mikeyHustle t1_j9grrni wrote

I was gonna say, there wasn't even a real Burger King in the city limits for a minute.

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TSOD t1_j9jfhu2 wrote

There’s one in Carrick though and it was open at the time.

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RemoteImportance9 t1_j9gz3d7 wrote

I love telling my out of town friends about this! The looks on their faces every time… /chef’s kiss

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eastlibertarian t1_j9gev3q wrote

I'm sure there's someone with access to this data who could quantify it, but my general observation is that Pittsburgh is sorta under-represented when it comes to chains. Not saying that's good or bad--just that when I travel to some US cities, I notice way more chains that either we don't have or that I've never heard of.

Columbus is the city to go to if you want chain restaurants. Holy mackerel, do they have a lot of variety! They've been a test market and/or HQ for a number of them over the decades, so I guess there's some kind of very generic, average-ness to Columbus that we don't have here.

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stftw42 t1_j9hgxey wrote

As someone who recently moved to Pittsburgh from Columbus - this is spot on. One thing I'm absolutely flummoxed by is there being no Taco Bell near Pitt/CMU. Have to imagine a Taco Bell Cantina would do numbers...

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starrykristen t1_j9hizlg wrote

There used to be a KtacoHut (kfc Taco Bell and Pizza Hut combo) in Oakland- at least in the early 2000s when I went to Pitt. It was disgusting 😆

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dropkickpa t1_j9hpz54 wrote

Oh KenTacoHut, how we miss you.

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Username89054 t1_j9juhev wrote

It shut down very suddenly one day and the rumor was it failed health inspections that badly. I don't know how true that was, but precisely zero people would've been surprised had that been the case.

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heili t1_j9juvsk wrote

I remember being there when they opened that up. It was mind blowing. There are other combos, but that one had all three.

KenTacoHut ... what a fast food masterpiece.

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kimbecile t1_j9kcsss wrote

There was a pizza hutt and a panda express i think, in the student union in the mid 90's. My pregnant ass worked there then and used to send bagels thru the pizza hut oven.

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blai_starker t1_j9id2xg wrote

I don’t think my spouse is going to survive a year in Shadyside because there isn’t a Taco Bell near us! Not gonna lie, I miss him bringing me cinnamon twists

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IClight69 t1_j9jjvqg wrote

Shaler bro. Aspinwall Bro just go bro it’s only like 5 miles bro it will be so good bro, just go bro trust me.

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Beginning_Physics_21 t1_j9hf8xw wrote

Came here to write this. Compared to cities in Ohio and some other midwest states we are not very chain heavy. Like you said, Columbus is just crazy haha.

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number1pringlefan t1_j9khswf wrote

I grew up in Pittsburgh, and have lived the last two years in Columbus, and can confirm. It's like corporate chain hell out here. Yeah there are some decent locally owned places, but it's nothing like Pittsburgh. We might be similarly sized cities, but Pittsburgh is a real city. Columbus is just a strip mall, a corn field, and a chain restaurant in a trench coat.

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apitbullnamedzeus t1_j9mgc5z wrote

Columbus is like 3x the size of Pittsburgh, at least in the city proper.

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number1pringlefan t1_j9mhwag wrote

while technically true, it's only because Columbus annexed a majority of Franklin County. Imagine if Pittsburgh annexed Ross Townshop, Monroeville, Penn Hills, Baldwin, Pleasant Hills, Bethel Park, Robinson, and Sewickley/Franklin Park

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vocalyouth t1_j9gjpyw wrote

not really. if anything, I feel like we have lots of local/regional chains vs. the national chains for a city of our size.

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Gnarlsaurus_Sketch t1_j9gaeer wrote

Pgh isn't a chain city, with the notable exception of steakhouses.

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mynamemightbealan t1_j9gitj1 wrote

It is kind of odd that we don't have any locally owned high end steakhouses. It really seems like it would thrive in the Pittsburgh market. The more expensive places that are popular here tend to be food over ambience like gastropub type places where people don't feel the need to dress up. Steakhouses seem to fall in line to with that niche

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Gnarlsaurus_Sketch t1_j9gjlgu wrote

Napa Prime is great, but it's well outside of the city in Wexford. Cioppino and Alla Famiglia come close in terms of vibes, but neither has the variety of cuts you expect at a good steakhouse. That said, both are worth visiting regardless.

Edit: I'm going to add Meat and Potatoes to the "not a steakhouse, but go for steak anyways" category.

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PrudentFerret456 t1_j9hboa4 wrote

Meat & Potatoes?

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Gnarlsaurus_Sketch t1_j9hd4i9 wrote

It isn't really a steakhouse (they don't have enough different cuts of steak on the menu). That said, the steaks and sides they do offer are great.

More of a gastropub feel IMO. Love that place.

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PGHxplant t1_j9gwesi wrote

This makes me so sad. Partner and I have a tradition of a birthday dinner wherever the celebrant wants. I was so in the mood for a steakhouse this year, but reasonable Uber/Lyft distance was a must, ruling out Napa Prime. Every steak place in or around downtown just gives me the super pretentious chain-y more money than class vibe.

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Gnarlsaurus_Sketch t1_j9hczkt wrote

Meat and Potatoes is probably your best bet. They don't have the selection of a true steakhouse, but the tomahawk ribeye and steak frites there are amazing

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CasualFriday11 t1_j9mx80b wrote

Gaucho? Though I've heard it's gone downhill since it moved.

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James19991 t1_j9gi1sg wrote

I think this is a good way to put it. Even in the suburbs, you can find your share of non-chain restaurants once you get away from places like McKnight Road.

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MammothBobcat7198 t1_j9gvfzd wrote

If we're talking national Casual Dining Chains, of the Friday's or Appleby's variety, we've got The Cheesecake Factory in Southside Works and nothing else? I can't think of a single other one inside the city limits. There's a ton on McKnight, in Robinson and Monroeville but for some reason, they stay out of the city. Maybe there's some tax or zoning reason for that.

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Pushnikov t1_j9hjray wrote

Two Five guys, only a surprisingly few McDonald’s really. One Boston market. Maybe three burger kings? A handful of Wendy’s, Ruth’s Chris downtown, maybe three arbys, Choolah is a chain but small one. One Applebees right at the city limits near Edgewood. What else?

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Imaginary_Wolf_8698 t1_j9hmkad wrote

Station Square is the city right? It has Hard Rock, Joe’s Crab Shack, and a few others., but it is out of the way over there. And Bar Louie and maybe something else by the stadiums? There aren’t too many, I definitely wouldn’t consider it a chain restaurant city.

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Intelligent_Bet_1910 t1_j9hq2uo wrote

McCormick and shmicks, Eddie vs

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Pushnikov t1_j9hve2z wrote

They’re chains but I feel like smaller chains with some personality so it’s not as obvious

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dehehn t1_j9igqls wrote

There used to be multiple McDonalds downtown. But they were pretty run down and run poorly. Only one left is Market Square.

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feed_the_bumble t1_j9ghroi wrote

In the suburbs, perhaps. In the city itself, I would elect to say no.

There are chains in the city limits but they are wildly outnumbered by independent restaurants and bars.

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varzaguy t1_j9gze0d wrote

I don't think your friend lives in Pittsburgh proper then. What chains?

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Small-Cherry2468 t1_j9glp1b wrote

Go to any larger Midwest city like Cleveland, Columbus, Ft. Wayne and I can confidently say no. I would think with us being in the rust belt, we are probably the least represented by chain restaurants, with the exception of fast food. It's sort of ironic since our population is aging, and older folks generally embrace Olive Garden, Applebee's and the like.

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James19991 t1_j9gi86r wrote

I feel like it's more chain filled than places like New England, but I think it's less chain saturated than most places I've been in the South and Midwest.

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Beginning_Physics_21 t1_j9hffv2 wrote

I grew up in New England, lived here for 12 years, and travel across the country for work. I agree with your statement!

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auroranighthawk t1_j9jdl6k wrote

This is a good summary! I’m originally from Hampton Roads VA area and it is like chain central down there. The ratio of chain vs independent is WAY skewed as compared to the Pittsburgh/Allegheny Cty area.

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James19991 t1_j9jsvpi wrote

Yeah, I've been down there a few times and I definitely remember it being pretty chain heavy.

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MadameTree t1_j9hnk69 wrote

I think our restaurants are good but as a middle aged Yinzer, no one does dive bars better than the Burgh

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toxicshock999 t1_j9hqde5 wrote

R.I.P. Max ‘n Erma’s downtown

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ballsonthewall t1_j9gdwoz wrote

the city? most chains are local or regional, with exception to some national chains like Eddie V's that plant themselves in almost everyone's downtown

the metro area? yeah, just as many chains as everywhere else

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wallacehacks t1_j9hgf64 wrote

No it is not.

I come from Florida, land of the nationwide chains. Pittsburgh chains will have like, three Pittsburgh locations and maybe a random Ohio city.

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MenudoFan316 t1_j9hquz6 wrote

Top 5 wish list for chains in PGH:

  1. Skyline Chili

  2. SmashBurger

  3. Wahoo Fish Taco

  4. Le Peep

  5. And in the name of all that's holy, bring back the Ground Round

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chibman t1_j9k0rkj wrote

There was a Smashburger in Monroeville but it closed like 5 or 6 years ago. It only lasted a couple years.

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apitbullnamedzeus t1_j9mgrq7 wrote

Didn’t a bus drive into it? I wanted to go there and people’s shitty driving, as usual, ruined my day.

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chibman t1_j9mhd50 wrote

Oh yeah true, I totally forgot about that.

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blammocapt t1_j9hclp7 wrote

Erie is the most chain city around.

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OrangeDelicious4154 t1_j9he6ab wrote

I wouldn't say so. There's some chains in the city downtown, North Shore, and down in Station Square, but generally way more local businesses. I feel like it's a lot harder to find fast food in Pittsburgh than most of the cities and to me that speaks volumes. I'm not looking for it (or any chain restaurant) though, so, maybe I'm just full of it.

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Junior_Willow740 t1_j9i5tl9 wrote

Pittsburgh is not say NYC when it comes to restaurants, but its not that bad either. I've been to places in the USA where it seems like all there is is chain restaurants and 7/11. Pittsburgh is not nearly that bad

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Lyonors t1_j9jmzc0 wrote

Definitely not a chain restaurant city.

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stadulevich t1_j9jnpo6 wrote

Definately not. Most places are local business/origional type restaurants., But, if you leave the city all of the suburbs are mostly chain restautants so if you are looking for a chain/chains they are not too far away.

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New_Acanthaceae709 t1_j9juin2 wrote

What do they mean by "Pittsburgh"?

Like, in the city? There's barely any chain restaurants. The vast majority of neighborhoods have zero.

In the suburbs? That's where the chains are here. But that's also not the city, so this may depend on both of ya defining "Pittsburgh" very differently.

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isthatwhathappened t1_j9gdwbg wrote

I’d say somewhere in the middle, definitely a lot of good independent places. But chains seem ever present and very popular, especially local chains.

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montani t1_j9hklo4 wrote

I’ll say that quantity is as important as quality here in most places.

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zappafrank2112 t1_j9id5la wrote

My friends and I had a discussion recently after a trip to Columbus about how woefully underrepresented fast food chains are in Pittsburgh.

We have neither a Krystal nor a White Castle!

No Skyline Chili.

Even Burger King is weirdly sparse, as is Popeyes (yes, I know they're around, but you have to make a point to go to them).

Would also love some Southern staples like Bojangles and Zaxby's.

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MadLucy t1_j9ju4q8 wrote

When I was a kid in the 80s there was a White Castle by the north side end of the 16th street bridge, I don’t remember if it was open or already shut down at that point, but the building was there. I always thought it was cool, because it was shaped like a weird castle! I didn’t even know it was a burger place until years later.

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Cryptic_Skies t1_j9k8diw wrote

That was a White Tower, not a White Castle. There was a White Tower at Craig & Centre too.

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RespiratoryTher t1_j9jz6ay wrote

The city isn’t chains, the suburbs are.

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unenlightenedgoblin t1_j9jdqip wrote

In the city? Mostly not. But the region is overwhelmingly dominated by its suburbs, where chain restaurants proliferate.

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NSlocal t1_j9jgwfv wrote

My family supports independents almost exclusively. Though the kids do want their chipotle and the like from time to time. The suburbs are chain restaurant hell. Even so we'll try to go to independent restaurants even when in the land of restaurant mediocrity.

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Perfect_Speech_8058 t1_j9kqpy8 wrote

Not at all. A but more so the farther you go out into the suburbs but I think that’s the case in most places.

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gracefulnesto t1_j9h6ct1 wrote

Man we don't even have 31 flavors anymore idk what y'all are talking about.

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PrudentFerret456 t1_j9hbtiv wrote

There is a Baskin Robbins on Forbes in Squirrel Hill.

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gracefulnesto t1_j9hcasy wrote

That......is news to me I know where I'm going this weekend!!!!

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zappafrank2112 t1_j9icfh0 wrote

Also one in Aspinwall

And attached to a Dunkin near the intersection of Baum and Liberty

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PGHNeil t1_j9grypj wrote

I tend to think that Pittsburgh is more of a chain city than locals can appreciate. We're just getting the higher end franchises now.

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_j9ge2n7 wrote

What's the metric for determining whether something is or isn't a chain restaurant city?

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hoagiesingh t1_j9hv8en wrote

Apparently you are not going to find any world class chefs or home cooks here. I miss mama’s recipes.

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Really_Cool_Dad t1_j9gp7w4 wrote

People here seem to loooove mad mex and eat n park so I’d say yes. I’ve never seen a city love their chain food so much.

I’m not a fan.

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mikeyHustle t1_j9gs589 wrote

Mad Mex has like a handful of locations, and EnP is regional. If those are your examples, we're doing better than a place where you keep tripping over Applebee's.

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Ceramicrabbit t1_j9gm66v wrote

What city isn't?

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betucsonan t1_j9gp1i4 wrote

Pittsburgh, for one. Think about the city proper - honestly there aren't near as many chain restaurants as you might expect. It's one of my favorite things about Pittsburgh.

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