Accomplished Pittsburgh chef on track to open North Side restaurant in May

Three years ago, chef Brian Hammond bought a building to open a restaurant at 414 East Ohio St. on the North Side, and it’s finally on track to open in May.

He’s calling it Siempre Algo — translated from Spanish to “Always Something” — housed in the former Schrim’s Garden Cafe, a two-story stand-alone that will feature an open kitchen, 16 seats at the bar/ chef counter, 35 seats on the lower level and 25 seats upstairs for crowded nights or events, he says.

Look for a menu of starters such as ceviche, seasonal soups, Bavarian-style pretzels and charcuterie on a menu of small ($7 to $12), mid-sized share plates ($10 to $17) and larger dishes (mid-$20s).

Mr. Hammond brings a wealth of culinary experience to the neighborhood. Before opening the 220-seat Restaurant Echo in Cranberry with his father that they closed in 2014, he spent nearly a decade in Chicago, where he worked at Topolobampo and Frontera Grill, both owned by celebrity chef Rick Bayless. He also had cooked at Hyeholde in Moon under Chris O’Brien, who later became his chef de cuisine at Restaurant Echo.

In the architecture and build-out, Mr. Hammond is mindful of the building’s past, what had been owner Frank Schrim’s namesake Garden Cafe for decades. “It’s a time capsule, with the long bar, the wood booths, the tin ceiling. It’s a little bit of a gem,” Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference told the PostGazette when Mr. Hammond bought the building.

“I had a strong feeling for the space,” Mr. Hammond said of the property. Even though he grew up in Philadelphia until his family moved to the Cranberry area when he was in high school, Mr. Hammond considers himself a native Pittsburgher. He says he fell in love with the North Side and that some aspects of it remind himof his time in Chicago.

Mr. Hammond’s restaurant will join Brugge on North slated to debut at the City of Asylum development in the next month. Jesse and Amy Seager, who own Point Brugge Cafe in Point Breeze and Park Bruges in Highland Park, have teamed up with City of Asylum co-founder and CEO R. Henry Reese in the Alphabet City to open a restaurant in the space that had been Casellula.

Siempre Algo is also part of a larger collection of North Side development that includes Federal Galley, which opened in December at Nova Place, as well as the stretch of buildings earmarked for restaurants, retail and residences along East Ohio Street. Construction will likely include the 96-room Workingmen’s Square Hotel from Comfort Inn from October-Development.

Since he bought the building, Mr. Hammond has been working around town in front-of-the-house positions such as Stagioni on the South Side, learning from different service models at various neighborhood restaurants and taking in how those restaurants connect with customers.

Of his new place he says, “This industry can be tough, and I think it’s important to have a positive outlook,” he says. “My goal is to open a place that fosters a supportive and encouraging community.”