Salty Pork Bits opens storefront in Lawrenceville
Justin Severino came to the 5300 block of Butler Street in Upper Lawrenceville in September 2010 to open a restaurant, Cure, that vaulted him and this 206-yearold Pittsburgh neighborhood onto the national culinary map.
On Friday, the acclaimed chef returned to the same block to open a storefront for his Salty Pork Bits charcuterie company just a few doors down from Cure’s former Cure location. The space was most recently home to Full Pint Wild Side Pub, which closed earlier this year.
“This is my comfort zone,” he said Thursday. “It’s really impressive how much change has happened in Lawrenceville” over the past decade. “The thing that matters the most is the community we serve, and that’s the farmers we work with, our staff and our neighborhood. Ten years ago, it was a lot different than today, and it’s really awesome to have the confidence to open a neighborhood store in 2020.”
Salty Pork Bits will offer 20 flavors of salami and sausages as well as charcuterie board accoutrements. Mr. Severino said that his team will add ptés, prepared foods like sausage and peppers, meatballs, sausage gravy, greens and beans, and Bolognese sauce, as well as frozen butcher boxes for at-home cooking.
He said he is most excited about his recent purchase of a machine that will allow him to produce emulsified sausages like hot dogs. He hopes to create dozens of offerings made with different meats like mortadella.
“It’s a weiner paradise here,” he said. Mr. Severino began offering subscriptions of artisanal salumi under the Salty
Pork Bits banner in the summer of 2018, and he and his team of chefs produce charcuterie in the same facilities that supply his Pittsburgh restaurants, including Morcilla, a Spanish restaurant on the 3500 block of Butler Street, and Larder of East End in Larimer, a partnership with East End Brewing. Salty Pork Bits also ships nationwide through a partnership with Goldbelly.
He said charcuterie has kept his business afloat during the pandemic, with Morcilla moving to takeout only and Larder offering limited outdoor seating.
Salty Pork Bits will be open for curbside pickup only from noon to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Order online at saltyporkbits.com.
Chicken Latino
Chicken Latino completed its move from its Strip District home of 13 years to 2100 Broadway Ave. in Beechview on Wednesday with a ribboncutting ceremony that included Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, city Councilman Anthony Coghill and state Sen. Wayne Fontana.
The new BYOB location is in the former home of Davio, and it will have outdoor seating. It will serve its signature Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken roasted in a brick oven.
Shebin Santos. a native of southeastern Peru near Cusco, came to Pittsburgh originally to attend dental school at Pitt, but after marrying a Pittsburgh native, she opened Chicken Latino.
Walnut Grill
Walnut Grill has opened a fifth area location at 1001 Cool Springs Drive in Bethel Park with an expansive outdoor patio that can seat over 100 guests near the Cool Springs Sports Complex.
The first Walnut Grill opened 21 years ago. Other area locations include Bridgeville, Fox Chapel, Robinson and Wexford. In May, one opened in the St. Louis area, which will have four locations.
Slice on Broadway
Although the Pirates’ season just got underway, Friday will be the last day of business for the Slice on Broadway pizza shop on the Federal Street side of PNC Park after four seasons on the North Shore.
In a release, Slice founder and owner Rico Lunardi cited a downturn in business due to the pandemic, with no fans at the ballpark and few office workers on the North Shore. Slice’s three other locations in Beechview, Carnegie and East Liberty are thriving, according to Mr. Lunardi, and he said he is actively looking for other locations in the Pittsburgh area.
Other news
Ka Mei Chinese restaurant at 2209 Murray Ave. in Squirrel Hill will close permanently at the end of service Sunday after 14 years in business, according to a post on the restaurant’s social media. It thanked customers for their support.
From 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, 412 Food Rescue will distribute 500 boxes of food in the parking lot of the former Shop ‘n Save at 1850 Centre Ave. in the Hill District as part of the USDA’s Farmers to Families Box Program. The distribution is open to anyone in need, and each household will receive a box full of fresh dairy and produce items from Schneider’s Dairy and Paragon Foods.