Fat Head’s Saloon is Closing and Pittsburghers’ Hearts Are Heavy

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Every time I get a text from my friend Steph, it’s to inform me that one of our beloved college bars is closing.

I’m thinking about blocking her.

In January, her message was about Hemingway’s, our Oakland hangout that’s hanging on until May 3. Yesterday, Steph was losing her mind over a social media post from Fat Head’s Saloon:

“Back in 1992, this place started as a simple idea: open the doors, serve great food and beer and create a place where people felt welcome. What we never could have imagined was how many lives would pass through those doors, and how deeply this place would become part of the community.”

Arguably the South Side’s most famous noggin, Fat Head’s last day of operation is April 26.

Glenn and Michelle Benigni’s destination beer bar evolved into a beer brand by master brewer Matt Cole that eventually led to a full-blown beer factory in Cleveland that has three Ohio brewpubs. USA Today recently named their Bumble Berry label one of the best in the nation.

In 1999, I kicked off my 21st birthday bar tour at Fat Head’s Saloon because I wanted to get a taste of this craft beer I’d been hearing so much about. It felt like I was being initiated into a secret club.

Now that I’m 47, any kind of tour sounds exhausting, but I’d be happy to belly up to the bar for one more beer. I know when to stop while I’m ahead.

This week, Stef and I have plans to raise a pint at Hemingway’s. If you’re planning your own farewell tour, April 13 is the Forbes Avenue bar’s final karaoke night. The online merch store launches April 21 and, if your picture’s hanging on the wall, you can pick it up from 3 to 6 p.m. on May 5, two days after the last last call.