40 North restaurant to open in City of Asylum's Alphabet City space with James Beard-nominated chef
The address for the newest restaurant on Pittsburgh’s North Side is more than a number.
40 North is also the latitude (the distance from the earth’s equator) of Pittsburgh.
“What a cool detail,” said executive chef Beth Zozula, 38, from Greensburg, who researched the name. “Pittsburgh is on the map, and we will tell everyone when they come in that, ‘You are here.’ ”
Zozula is planning an early summer opening for 40 North.
The restaurant will be inside the Alphabet City venue of City of Asylum, an organization that provides sanctuary to endangered literary writers and offers free literary, arts and humanities programs. COA programs are presented in Alphabet City, along with a steady schedule of jazz performances. The venue also includes a bookstore.
Zozula is an established Pittsburgh chef, having worked at Eleven in the Strip District before becoming executive chef at Whitfield inside Ace Hotel in East Liberty in 2015. When the hotel and restaurant closed last year during the pandemic, Zozula wasn’t sure of her next step. Contacted by Alphabet City, she took a tour.
She loved the mission of being more than a place to dine. Zozula, who has been in the restaurant business since she was 17, said the space was “intriguing.”
“It’s pretty exciting,” she said. “After taking a break, I decided I wanted to feel good about what I was doing, and this gives me the opportunity to do just that.”
A California native, she moved to Pennsylvania when she was 7 and grew up in Acme, Fayette County. Zozula said she had well-rounded food experiences growing up.
Her parents had goats and chickens and a large garden. She learned to milk goats and create healthy food from her mother, Kathy Zozula, who still gives her daughter goat milk today. She got inspiration for food such as fried chicken and mashed potatoes and the best cookies from her grandmother, Janet Zozula, which she still bakes.
Her great-grandfather lived on the North Side’s Federal Street, which is adjacent to Alphabet City, so this opportunity is the perfect fit, she said.
The plan is for a menu of appetizers, salads and sandwiches, made on fresh buns, and inspired from cuisine all over the world.
Sam Suter, also formerly of Whitfield, will serve as beverage director. His plans include an eclectic wine list, classic cocktails and beers from local brewers. There also will be nonalcoholic selections.
Brugge on North previously operated in the Alphabet City space, but it closed in June amid the pandemic restrictions.
Recipes will reflect Zozula’s childhood memories of California, the woods of Pennsylvania, lessons from chefs, moments with friends and the power of food as medicine.
“Chef Zozula’s vision for the space is a perfect fit for our organization,” City of Asylum Executive Director Andrés Franco said. “40 North will be part of a diverse community, committed to the mission of City of Asylum, and blending the dining experience with live concerts, film screenings and literary events once in-person programming resumes, while also sharing the bustle of the bookstore.”
40 North is located at 40 W. North Ave., near Federal Street, in Pittsburgh’s North Side.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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