After four years in Downtown Pittsburgh, the barbecue restaurant Pork & Beans is closing.

“We’ve made the difficult decision to retire Pork & Beans, but all the wonderful friends and memories will last a lifetime,” the restaurant posted on Instagram. “Thank you so much for everything.”

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A post shared by Pork & Beans (@porknbeans_pgh) on Sep 30, 2020 at 11:45am PDT

The barbecue joint opened to fanfare in fall 2016 as part of the Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group. Officials with the company didn’t return messages seeking comment.

For Pork & Beans, DeShantz partnered with Keith Fuller, who formerly owned Root 174 in Regent Square.

As its name suggests, the menu centered on pork and featured smoked and cured meats and dishes presented “like an art project,” according to one reviewer.

DeShantz, who grew up in Pittsburgh, has been a player in the region’s restaurant scene since 2011 when Meat & Potatoes opened to rave reviews in the Cultural District.

Other restaurants followed. Butcher and the Rye and Tako opened Downtown. The French-themed Poulet Bleu opened in Lawrenceville. Fish Nor Fowl took over the space of Salt of the Earth in Garfield. Coop De Ville just opened in the Strip District.

In 2018, DeShantz and Tolga Sevdik, a partner in the business, were semi-finalists for a James Beard Award for restaurateur of the year.

Pork & Beans had been offering a lunch menu for takeout or delivery since mid-August. It had been closed since March with the coronavirus pandemic.

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Thank you all for your patience and support during this time. Stay tuned for updates with all of the RDRG restaurants as we work on our game plan.

A post shared by Pork & Beans (@porknbeans_pgh) on Jul 11, 2020 at 7:52am PDT

The restaurant reopened for on-site dining Sept. 10 and had been offering a sandwich menu.

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‼️Thursday‼️ We are OPENING as a new concept ? a little something you’re all going to like ??• • Here’s the deets? Opening Thursday September 10th. Hours begin at 5pm on Mon,Thurs, Fri, and at 12pm on Sat, Sun. We will have a small tasty af sandwich menu that we will offer until it sells out! We’ll also be offering batched cocktails and cans of beer that you can enjoy exclusively outdoor under a cover we’ll have up ?? oh, did we mention this will all be available for takeout as well?!• • It’s an easy, no fuss, real outdoor bbq kind of jam and we can’t wait for yinz to try it!!!

A post shared by Pork & Beans (@porknbeans_pgh) on Sep 6, 2020 at 5:02am PDT

The other restaurants in the DeShantz group remain open. In September, a second Tako location was announced for Bakery Square in Larimer, opening next year.

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sooo ummm...can 2021 just get here already?!

A post shared by Bakery Square • Pittsburgh (@bakerysquarepgh) on Sep 7, 2020 at 8:20am PDT

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