Joyce Hanz stories

Two restaurateurs from O’Hara are the husband-and-wife team behind a new, casually chic restaurant and bar opening soon in Aspinwall. Adam and Diana Kucenic are co-owners of Foxhole Tavern, located in the former Tavern in the Wall, known as Sam’s Tavern to locals, at 211 Commercial Ave. Sam’s Tavern operated...

A fourth-generation Sharpsburg resident has made political history. Kayla Portis, 40, is the first elected Black mayor to serve the borough nestled along the Allegheny River in Allegheny County. “I feel like it’s long overdue,” she said. “Representation matters.” Portis’s ancestors, former slaves, fled rural South Carolina after the Civil...

Tom Iurlano was 5 when his late aunt Margaret Tomko treated him to a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game at Forbes Field in Oakland. He came home with a souvenir he still holds dear and keeps on display in his O’Hara home. “She bought me a L.A. Dodgers bobblehead,” said Iurlano...

The fate of the once thriving and longest continually operating restaurant, bar and hotel in Saxonburg remains unclear. Hotel Saxonburg closed abruptly after the owners posted the news in a social media post March 5. An online sheriff’s sale for the property is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 16, according...

A new Italian market is serving up a taste of Italy in Verona. Garbarino Bros. Market opened Tuesday at 737 Allegheny River Blvd. Co-owner and chef Andrew Garbarino of Verona is continuing the Italian legacy begun by three generations of Garbarinos of New York. He named the market to honor...

Members of Daisy Troop 58111 rolled up their sleeves for an afternoon of giving back to the Sharpsburg community with a two-part food and book donation event held on Nov. 6. Participating Daisies, all first-graders at Fairview Elementary in the Fox Chapel Area School District, donated hundreds of canned goods,...

The reason behind the irregular operating hours at the Family Dollar store in Sharpsburg remains a bit of a commerce conundrum. The discount store located at 909 Main St. closes on random, unannounced days when, according to online hours of operation, it should be open from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. daily....

Chad Townsend of Fox Chapel grew up eating frozen Ho Ho cakes, courtesy of his late grandmother, Mildred Trau. That love of noshing on frozen treats would later inspire Townsend to hone his ice cream-making skills and later open Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream, based in Pittsburgh. Mildred, or “Millie” was...

A pint-sized student author continues to develop her creative writing skills as she transitions from Kerr Elementary School to Dorseyville Middle School in the Fox Chapel Area School District. Bella Gao, 11, lives in O’Hara and is a sixth-grader with a zest for writing fantasy fiction. While enrolled for four...

There’s more room to roam for customers at Dancing Gnome Brewery with the expansion of a new specialty cocktail bar located a block away from the well-established brewery in Sharpsburg. 925 opened on Oct. 17 in the original Dancing Gnome location at 925 Main St., serving Pennsylvania-produced wines, liquors, Dancing...

A luxury penthouse boasting a dramatic glass catwalk that gives a nod to Pittsburgh’s reputation as a “City of Bridges” is on the market for $1.1 million in the Strip District. The North Penthouse is the largest unit in Springfield Lofts. Listing agent Austin Kyle Rusert of Coldwell Banker Realty...

Sharpsburg police Chief Thomas Stelitano knows every street in the one-mile stretch in the borough of Sharpsburg. “I can name those streets with my eyes closed,” said Stelitano, 56. Chief Stelitano now lives in Blawnox but grew up on Eighth Street and still has relatives and friends who live in...

A former grain silo and airplane hangar are two combined apartment-style lodging options offering upscale accommodations at a Butler County farm on more than 200 acres. Co-owners Jan and Cathy McDonald bought their farm in 1999 and later opened a wedding/event barn-themed venue called the White Barn, separate from the...

John Jericho of Sharpsburg is tired of leaving Sharpsburg to buy groceries. The senior citizen soon won’t have to leave the borough to access fresh, quality produce and groceries with the opening of a new market called Harvest on Main Community Market, set to open in early 2026. Harvest on...

Sharpsburg finally has a hair salon. Glossed Beauty Co. is a new full-service hair salon on Main Street and co-owners and best friends Lexi Rothwell and Bailey McClafferty are the stylist duo behind the brand, offering “elevated, effortless beauty.” “Our mission is to enhance your natural beauty and confidence through...

Nanci Goldberg rejects the idea of retirement. “I call it ‘rewirement,’ ” said Goldberg, a former Fox Chapel Area School District art teacher who volunteers almost daily in various capacities in and around Sharpsburg. “I don’t use the word retirement.” On most days, Goldberg is easy to spot along the...

A “mini-mansion” offering one of the biggest residential lots in Shadyside is on the market for $5.3 million. But what exactly is a mini-mansion? Howard Hanna Realtor and listing agent Roslyn Neiman explained why she described the property at 5238 Ellsworth Ave. as such. “A mini-mansion is pretty impressive and...

Ken Mizuno’s path to establishing a life in Pittsburgh began as a college student at Carnegie Mellon University. Raised in Long Island, N.Y., the son of immigrant Japanese parents, his mother cooked traditional Japanese fare at home. But his time in Pittsburgh would expose Mizuno to a whole new culinary...

Steve Zakman has come a long way from sleeping on the floor of an unfurnished apartment above Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Zakman hit the road in 1994, driving from his hometown of Pittsburgh solo, with a dream of having a career in the film and entertainment business in Hollywood...

Aspinwall has been without a dry cleaner for five years, but that’s about to end as Joe Ferrante and Sarah Thimons prepare to open Wash Laundry & Dry Cleaning on Nov. 1. The O’Hara couple chose Aspinwall’s Brilliant Avenue business district for many reasons, touting the close-knit community, safety and...

The sushi scene is rolling along in the South Side. South Side resident and owner Keresty Kelly is expanding with a second location of Sushi Tomo in the former Little Tokyo Bistro along the East Carson Street business corridor. A staff of nine, including Kelly, who does “whatever needs to...

Laurence Park grew up in Los Angeles and never thought he’d end up living in Pittsburgh. But when his father was hired as a financial professor at The University of Pittsburgh in 2022, Park traded West Coast living for the hills of Western Pennsylvania. “It’s very different but there’s a...

Tranquil woods, waterfalls, streams, wildlife and plenty of room to roam are just a few of the natural amenities at two niche luxury residential developments in Fox Chapel and O’Hara. Described as “ultra-private,” The Oberoi in Fox Chapel and The Cascades in O’Hara are the culmination of years-long research and...

Mooooove over, beef. The bison bandwagon has settled in Western Pennsylvania with restaurants offering bison burgers (and even a bison meatloaf!) on their menus. Touted as being much lower in saturated fat than beef, 100 grams of raw bison contains 109 calories and 1.8 grams of fat, whereas the same...