PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Dressed in a suit, tie and wingtips, Gene Ney stands out like a fake I.D. at Gene’s Place, the South Oakland dive bar he’s owned since 2005.

After a long day of teaching business courses at Carlow University, he’s once again surrounded by college kids. Ney heads to his upstairs apartment and, moments later, emerges wearing a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

He happily pours pints until 2 a.m.

“Ever since I was in kindergarten, I’ve wanted to teach and I’ve wanted to own a business,” Ney says. “It gives me credibility with the students.”

The century-old Louisa Street building is within stumbling distance of the University of Pittsburgh’s campus. It began as a bakery that, during the Great Depression, sold live chickens and booze. Ney purchased the property from Denny Bird, a Pittsburgh police officer who operated the space as Denny’s Bar.

Ney managed that spot, as well as Thirsty’s, its sister establishment in North Oakland, to pay his way through grad school. (He went on to earn a Ph.D. from Pitt, plus a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees from Slippery Rock University.)

Denny’s Bar closed on Dec. 19, 2004 and was officially rechristened Gene’s Place on Feb. 11, 2005. To celebrate his 20th anniversary, Ney hosted a party featuring free Isaly’s chipped ham barbecue sandwiches and champagne, n’at.

Even on his nights off, bouncer Aidan Klivanoff doesn’t drink alcohol. He’s content to sip from a bottle of pop and chat with patrons who’ve made the tiny watering hole their second home.

Gene’s Place has been the site of marriage proposals, wedding receptions, graduation celebrations and birthday bashes. Former Gene’s Place bouncer Mike Woodhull carded his future wife, Colleen, on her 21st. The couple now run Yinzer’s Amazing Cheesesteaks in New Orleans.

In my 20s, I was a Gene’s Place regular. After visiting as a 46-year-old, I’m pleased to report that nothing much has changed. With its wood-paneled walls decorated with neon beer signs, Pitt memorabilia and a plaque that promises “Free Beer Tomorrow,” the space falls somewhere between a cozy cottage and a man cave. All around me, current 20-somethings are laughing, sharing pitchers, throwing darts and talking above the din of the Pens game on TV.

I am drunk on nostalgia.

For a draft from the past, I ordered an Old German, a lager-style beer produced by Pittsburgh Brewing Co. This particular keg of the stuff was dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day and dubbed “Old Irish”.

The local beer-making behemoth – you can tour the 170,000-square-foot production facility in Creighton! – bought the budget-friendly brand from Maryland’s Queen City Brewing Co. in the ‘70s. It’s amassed a loyal following, both in South Oakland and on the West Coast. Company President Todd Zwicker says 80,000 cases are shipped annually to Oregon and Washington State.

Gene’s Place boasts the oldest OG tap in the city and has adopted the beer’s mascot, Herman the German, as its own. You can get a 22-ounce draft for $3 or a pitcher for $7, which makes good business sense if you’re thirsty and broke.

Ney would be a millionaire if he charged for the advice he’s dispensed over the years. But, he’s the first to admit; if he didn’t own the building, he’d never be able to afford the rent.

He spent the first two years of his life in Oakland before his family moved to the South Hills. His heart never left the neighborhood. Ney believes the demolition of Pitt Stadium in 1999 hurt the local economy by driving football fans to bars and restaurants on the North Shore, where the Pitt Panthers share Acrisure Stadium with the Steelers.

As a 2001 Pitt grad, I agree.

Gene’s Place is the last bastion of my collegiate party life now that all of my other beloved foodie institutions are gone, including the Original Hot Dog Shop, Fuel and Fuddle and Mad Mex (I even lament the passing of the short-lived PileZ, a take-out joint that was just so wonderfully weird!) Thank goodness someone saved Dave & Andy’s Homemade Ice Cream from extinction!

During the pandemic, when consumers switched from beer to hard liquor, Gene’s Place sold mixed drinks to go. Even after social distancing requirements were lifted, patrons were more likely to order a Long Island Iced Tea than an Old German. Five years later, they’re finally coming back to beer.

Gene, who never married and has no children, doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon.

“It keeps me young and forces me to stay up-to-date,” he says. “Personally, I’d like to do it as long as I possibly can.”