Judge shutters Oakland's troubled Panther Pit bar for 1 year
An Allegheny County judge on Wednesday ordered that the Panther Pit Bar and Grill in Oakland be closed for at least one year.
Common Pleas Judge Dan Regan ordered that the establishment on Meyran Avenue be padlocked last week after the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office filed a civil complaint against its owners alleging it was a nuisance bar that did not have a liquor license.
On Wednesday, Regan signed a preliminary injunction shutting it down for one year.
According to the DA’s complaint, police were called to the Panther Pit approximately 40 times between January 2023 and last month.
Among the calls were allegations of fighting, underage drinking and alcohol poisoning. The complaint alleged that the bar’s operators would charge $20 for unlimited drinks and was often frequented by under-age patrons.
The bar has also been raided multiple times by Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement agents, including in September.
At the most recent raid, agents seized nearly 350 gallons of liquor and 80 gallons of beer.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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