Dive Bar & Grille opening in Indiana Township, Regent Square

Timing is everything.

For Clint Kuskie and Gordon Judge, it was double timing. They were searching for a fourth location for the Dive Bar & Grille and found two – one in the former Ryan’s Pub in Regent Square and the other in the current Gators Grille in Indiana Township.

They will join a location in Pine – the first that opened in 2010—along with existing bars in Lawrenceville and Pittsburgh’s South Side. Kuskie told the Tribune-Review on Friday that having choices in the city and outside makes it available to everyone.

He grew up in Rostraver. Judge is from Munhall. The two worked together at Bar Louie which gave them a lot of restaurant experience from bar tending to cooking to waiting tables. They talked about owning a business.

They came up with the name “Dive Bar” together. The establishment’s philosophy is to serve good food from burgers and seafood to short rib tacos and and tasty desserts. They also offer a wide selection of beers and other cocktails in a laid-back atmosphere.

“It’s about opportunity,” Kuskie said. “When we heard about the Pine location was soon to be vacant we went for it. We wanted something that was our own. We know this is a big undertaking but when things present themselves you have to take advantage of those things.”

They plan to transform the Gators in Indiana Township in early fall.

The old Ryan’s Pub site on Braddock Avenue, near Forbes, is awaiting the transfer of the liquor license and should open this summer. That location was originally set to become, Hilton’s Lounge, but that never materialized as the owner, Adnan Pehlivan, faced sexual assault charges. Pehlivan is awaiting another trial after jurors deadlocked on a verdict in his first trial in March.

“We have been able to have so many locations because we have such a good staff,” he said. “Good people are a key ingredient. You also have to have regulars who are what keep the business going,” Kuskie told the Tribune-Review. They are the life blood. We know them because they are such loyal customers. Never did we plan for this to happen this way, but it has. It was pretty much unexpected, but sometimes those things work out the best.”

The timing was definitely right for both locations.