PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Since purchasing a Pittsburgh dive bar on Oct. 31, 2023, Georgia natives Jeff and Melanie Fletcher have been adding down-home touches to the menu and the space.

“It’s 1970s-post-apocalyptic-Southern-hippy-grandma,” Melanie says of the decor. “It’s a little spooky, but not bougie.”

Brehm’s Return also has one hell of a view and is haunted. Happy Halloween!

The Troy Hill building, erected by Henry and Mary Brehm in the late-1800s on a scenic overlook once known as Return Street, has been a watering hole for more than seven decades. Generations of Iron City Beer drinkers have bellied up to the bar at Janczak’s, Bummer’s, Orgal’s, Boulpen and, most recently, Tammy’s Place.

The Fletchers, who live in the neighborhood, consider themselves stewards of 1354 Goettman St.. They’d rather see it live on as a community hub than a condominium. Many of Tammy’s longtime employees have stuck around through the transformation, helping the Georgia peaches get a taste of Western PA. (May I recommend the pierogies?)

Hours are 9 a.m. to midnight Tuesday through Sunday. Although there’s a retro cigarette vending machine on site, smoking’s prohibited.

Breakfast, however, is still lit.

Options for the Most Important Meal of the Day include egg platters, pancakes, French toast, breakfast burritos and Southern favorites such as a Pimento Cheese Patty Melt on marbled rye.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

On Taco Tuesdays, the breakfast special is Chilaquiles, tortilla chips tossed in salsa roja and topped with two fried eggs, Cojita cheese, pickled onion and sour cream and served with refried beans. Spice up your mid-week morning even more with a Bloody Mary! Need a caffeinated pick-me-up? Brehm’s recently partnered with Commonplace Coffee and the Fletchers can’t wait to introduce an espresso martini made with a Brehm’s signature blend.

Lunch and dinner crowds can grab everything from a burger and fries to chicken wings, wraps, a house salad, hushpuppies and bottles of wine to go. There’s local beer and cider on tap and signature cocktails available such as Planter’s Punch, a mix of Hamilton Jamaican Pimento Dram Liqueur, dark rum, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, angostura bitters and mint, y’all!

Challenge your date to a game of chess. Melanie built several tables with boards built into them (just ask kindly for the pieces). Brehm’s hosts Dive Bar Chess every Wednesday starting at 6 p.m.

Are you a Bulldog? The Fletchers lead the Pittsburgh Chapter of the University of Georgia Alumni Association and host game-watching events for local alumni for football and basketball.

The billiards room is in the back, which has a cool atmosphere of its own. There’s an eclectic mix of furniture in the front seating area. The walls and ceilings have different textures, but are dotted with familiar dive bar ephemera such as neon beer signs and taxidermy.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

It has Beehive coffeehouse vibes. Fellow Troy Hill eateries Scratch & Co. and De Fer Coffee & Tea exude the same kind of artsy, Grunge-era chill, as does Red’s Good News in Brookline.

Regulars will appreciate the Brehm’s sign made from Tammy’s drink tokens. In another design element that nearly moved me to tears, the long table in front of it came from Jeff’s childhood home.

My favorite feature of Brehm’s Return — other than the people and weird name — is a wall that’s a patchwork of old, wooden doors. On it hangs an ornate frame with a black-and-white photograph of the Brehms, who are both beaming.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Mark my words: Gen X Yinzer American Gothic is the next interior design craze.

The Fletchers, whose backgrounds are in business and aerospace, are world travelers who wanted to put down roots in a place that felt real. They fell in love with Pittsburgh as soon as Melanie enrolled in Carnegie Mellon University and moved here permanently when she graduated in 2018. Even after driving on the Parkway East during rush hour traffic, they knew it was home.

That’s love.