Pizzaiolo Primo
Eight Market Sq., Downtown. pizzaioloprimo.com

Need a new pumpkin treat? Pizzaiolo Primo in Market Square launched its latest seasonal dessert: Pumpkin Cannoli. The “autumnal take” on the Italian classic features pumpkin-spiced ricotta cream in a golden pastry shell finished with caramel and powdered sugar. The Pumpkin Cannoli is available for a limited time.

Halloween and Day of the Dead Specials

The Industrialist Hotel’s Rebel Room conjures spooky season with five themed Halloween and Día de los Muertos cocktails, available Fri., Oct. 31-Sat., Nov. 1, from 7 p.m.-12 a.m. The lineup includes El Diablo (Casamigos Reposado tequila, pomegranate, and lime juice finished with Tabasco sauce, chili salt, and lime) and Unto Dust You Shall Return (Lillet Blanc spritz, Cointreau liqueur, and London Dry Gin) served with a scoop of charcoal powder, a dash of absinthe, and a dried orange wheel.

Through Sun., Nov. 2, Downtown’s Ritual House serves up a horror movie-inspired seasonal bar with offerings like Time to Float (Bombay gin, passionfruit, and pineapple), served with a floating red balloon à la Stephen King’s It. Do You Like Scary Movies? mixes vodka, lemon, simple syrup, and black glitter with a strawberry jam “blood rim” (watch out for a Ghostface garnish). The Every Town has an Elm Street caramel apple shot layers vodka, Apple Pucker, Midori, grenadine, and Bailey’s.

Ritual House’s Time to Float and Do You Like Scary Movies? cocktails Credit: Courtesy of Ritual House

Enjoy Puttshack‘s tech-infused mini-golf while sipping the limited-time Frankenstein’s Monster cocktail (Espolón Blanco tequila, lime juice, cotton candy, passionfruit, and simple syrups) topped with a black salt rim and served in a smoke-infused chest. Visitors during Halloweekend (Fri., Oct. 31-Sun., Nov. 2) receive a free game cards.

Raising Cane’s “goes glow mode” with its first-ever glow-in-the-dark specialty cup and haunted virtual reality experience. Customers can snag a limited-edition Halloween Cup for $1.39 with the purchase of any combo or 32-ounce drink (while supplies last). Each glow-in-the-dark cup unlocks a haunted Cane’s restaurant in virtual reality, where fans can play games like “Capture the Bat” and win surprise treats, including free fries (or try out the VR online).

Puttshack’s Frankenstein’s Monster cocktail Credit: Courtesy of Puttshack

Slovak Heritage Festival
4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland. facebook.com/SlovakHeritageFestival

Sample Slovak cuisine on Sun., Nov. 2 from 12-4 p.m. when the University of Pittsburgh’s Slovak Studies Program presents the 35th Annual Slovak Heritage Festival. Billed as one of the country’s largest annual Slovak events, the free festival will serve klobasa, haluski, pierogies, pastries, and more.

Velum Fermentation
2120 Jane St., South Side. velumfermentation.com

Velum Fermentation is running a food drive. Through Fri., Nov. 21, donate a canned or dry good and receive $1 off a beer or beverage at the brewery.

The food drive comes following the Oct. 17 announcement that Pennsylvania’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will be paused in November due to the federal government shutdown. Pittsburghers can also give food through the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, 412 Food Rescue, Jewish Family and Community Services Food Pantry in Greenfield, and Rainbow Kitchen in Homestead, or learn more about emergency food resources.

DiAnoia’s Eatery
Multiple locations. dianoiaseatery.com

DiAnoia’s fans can now make the restaurant’s famed pasta at home. A new line of DiAnoia’s dried pasta is made with Pennsylvania-grown wheat, comes in four shapes (radiatori, rigatoni, reginetti, and gemelli), and is traditionally bronze-cut and dried for a texture that will “grip sauce” and “lock in flavor,” according to a press release.

One-pound packages are priced at $6.99 and can be purchased at DiAnoia’s and Pane è Pronto in the Strip District, and at select Giant Eagle Market Districts, with online ordering coming soon.

Pour Johnny’s Credit: Courtesy of Pour Johnny’s

Pour Johnny’s
4136 Library Rd., Unit B6, Castle Shannon. pourjohnnys.com

Pour Johnny’s, a specialty espresso and smoothie shop, opened on Oct. 18 with a ribbon-cutting and kickoff event. Located along Rte. 88 in Castle Shannon, the shop expanded from a coffee bar located in a Washington County antique shop and features a curated menu of local and specialty items.

Now open daily, the shop features coffee beans roasted by De Fer Coffee & Tea, pastries from Brown Bear Bread Company, specialty teas from Charleston Tea Garden (reportedly the oldest tea garden in North America), and 1919 Root Beer on tap, sourced from a family-owned Prohibition-era brewery in Minnesota. The take-out and curbside shop will also serve matcha, cold brew coffee, fresh-fruit smoothies, and signature “quenchers” that muddle soda with fruit and flavored cold foam.

Black Beauty Bar & Grill
2037 Centre Ave., Hill District.

The Hill District celebrated the grand reopening of Black Beauty Bar & Grill, closed for renovations since March 2024. Also known as The Black Beauty Lounge, the establishment is the longest-running bar in the Hill District — operating for more than 50 years under the ownership of 83-year-old Roberta “Mrs. Bert” Brassell — and is a recognizable landmark for its colorful August Wilson mural.

Brassell told the Hill Community Development Corporation in July she’d been working to transform the space into a multi-generational “gathering place,” and updates include a new bar, revamped menu, fresh paint, and historic photos.

“This moment makes me proud and means so much to the Hill District, because this community is a pillar of Black Culture in Pittsburgh,” Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, who attended the Oct. 14 reopening, posted on Instagram. “Black Beauty isn’t just a place to eat – it’s a place to gather, to celebrate, and to feel at home.”

Camino
4428 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. caminomex.com

Bloomfield has a new Mexican spot. Camino Coctelería & Cocina opened on Liberty Avenue near the Bloomfield Bridge — the third venture to occupy the space since Del’s Bar and Ristorante closed in 2015 after more than 60 years in business.

Launched by the team behind Totopo Cocina & Cantina in Mt. Lebanon and Tocayo in Shadyside, Camino will serve “modern Mexican with street soul,” according to its website. The menu features tacos, fajitas, and carne asada, along with customizable burritos and bowls, a full bar menu with tequila-based cocktails, specialty and house margaritas, palomas, and an Ode to Del’s mezcal drink.

Mary’s Vine
211 Kenmawr Ave., Rankin. marysvine.com

Mary’s Vine in Rankin announced it will close at the end of October. Social media posts thanked guests while citing “challenges” including supply chain issues, rising costs, and staffing shortages.

“We are deeply grateful for your support, your friendship and the memories we’ve created together,” reads a post on the wine bar’s website. “It has been an honor to serve you and share our love of wine with all of you.”

Launched in 2019 by the Stasinowsky family, Mary’s opened in a century-old Croatian church following extensive renovation, offering a “library” of nearly 400 wines. The wine lounge went on to earn national recognition, including winning a DiRōNA (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) award for exceptional dining.

This article appears in Oct. 22-28, 2025.

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