MYSTERY LOVERS BOOKSHOP | PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN

Oakmont, a small bedroom community perched along the Allegheny River, is full of one-of-kind destinations beyond the acclaimed Oakmont Country Club.

Surprisingly, most of the expected 200,000 fans heading to the U.S. Open June 9-15 may miss the gems of this charming borough. They’ll be shuttled between the club and satellite parking lots in Hartwood Acres and Monroeville, rolling past delightful mom-and-pop shops, restaurants, a house museum and more.

“They forget Mayberry,” says Carol Kinkela, who founded the popular Carabella boutique more than 28 years ago. Still, Carabella, like other shops along the shady, brick avenue of its business district, will be extending hours during the tournament. “The merchants are ramped up and ready to welcome the world,” she says. (328 Allegheny River Blvd.)

CARABELLA | PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN

Buff Rodman, who has worked at the iconic Mystery Lovers Bookshop along this stretch since 1993, has experienced three U.S. Opens here so far. “We don’t get as much of a bump as you might think,” she said about extra business. The shop celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. When Mary Alice Gorman and Richard Goldman opened Mystery Lovers in 1990, it was the first book store in the region to offer a coffee bar (it no longer does, but customers can bring in their own). It has changed owners a few times and hosts author talks, four book clubs a month and more. Its offerings are focused on the second-most popular book genre: mysteries and thrillers. (514 Allegheny River Blvd.)

Oakmont also is home to the independent Oakmont Bakery. It opened as the town’s only full-service bakery in 1988; in early 2019, it nearly tripled its size at its new 19,500-square-foot retail and production space, where it serves more than 1,000 customers a day from all over the region. (1 Sweet St.)

The Oaks Theater opened as a single-screen movie theater in 1938 as the “jewel of Oakmont.” With changing times, it closed for a few months in 2014 for a transformation: It built a main stage for live entertainment and added a full-service bar and kitchen. The Oaks now offers stand-up comedy, live music and guest speakers and continues to show classic movies and cult films on its large screen. (310 Allegheny River Blvd.)

For history buffs, the Kerr Memorial Museum presents the well-preserved home of a professional middle-class family at the dawn of the 20th century; it includes Dr. Thomas Kerr’s medical office on the first floor. Virginia Kerr, the daughter of Thomas and Jessie, never married and lived in the Queen Anne-style home until her death in 1994. She bequeathed the home to the borough in memory of her father. A special exhibit on the Kerr family itself is underway and continues through October. Visitors can tour the first two floors, as well as the basement, by appointment. Call 412-826-9295 to arrange. (402 Delaware Ave.)

The River’s Edge, a mixed housing development built beginning in 2013 on the former site of Edgewater Steel, offers a beautiful park and walking trail along the Allegheny River. (Riverfront Street)

If you can’t make it to Oakmont Country Club, the long bar at Hoffstott’s Cafe Monaco — surrounded by six video screens and posters of former U.S. Open tournaments — might be the next best place to watch the action. One of the bartenders recalls Spanish pro Sergio Garcia joining the crowd one year. (533 Allegheny Ave.)

Its owner, John Keefe, owns several other restaurants in town, including The Lot at Edgewater, a new-age diner and chop house that provides another expansive space for gathering, as well as a cigar bar and live music. (145 Allegheny Ave.)

Pittsburgh Magazine Food Editor Kristy Graver suggests other dining and drinking places in the area: Oakmont’s first brewery, Local Remedy Brewing (531 Allegheny Ave.); Pittsburgh Taco Boys (319 Maryland Ave.); Acclamation Brewing in nearby Verona, at 10.7 Marina along the Allegheny River (314 Arch St.); and Inner Groove Brewing, a vinyl-themed brewery (751 E. Railroad Ave.).