Why are there ZERO Eat n Parks in the city?

Submitted by Shank_ t3_11c3upt in pittsburgh

There used to be one in squirrel hill but I guess it’s closed now? They used to be my favorite late night eating spot but now to go to one you have to cross a bridge and drive 20+ mins. What happened? Covid?

(Please recommend late night eats places for me in the meantime)

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Potatosouppool t1_ja1go16 wrote

Technically the one in the Waterworks & the one on Banksville Road are both in the City. I heard the one in Squirrel Hill wasn't getting as much business as it once did

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CarterS20884 t1_ja1iv4e wrote

I’m guessing you mean like downtown, south side, and the strip areas. There are quite a few right outside of those. dormont, waterfront, McKnight road. Don’t know if those count but yeah that would be nice if there was one on like forbes or something

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Romanakis t1_ja1omum wrote

If you’re in Shadyside, I’d try for Ritter’s, but I’m not sure about their hours since covid. They used to be open 24 hours, or at least on the weekends. They have a great avgolemono soup.

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Hmgeisler t1_ja1q1ay wrote

I thought this was set up to a punchline. “I don’t know. Why?”

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inimeg68 t1_ja1qntl wrote

Waterworks Mall, Freeport Rd. is the City of Pittsburgh.

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rogimonster t1_ja1r8tf wrote

Lizzen up yinz. They quit on stickies. Eat n park is dead to me. Who cares where they are. No stickie, no yinzie.

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tesla3by3 t1_ja1s4y7 wrote

Two reasons Rents are significantly higher in the city.

The suburban population tends to skew towards chains and more “comfort food”.

So the same reason there’s no Applebees or Fridays. (Excluding Waterworks, which is technically in the city)

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NineFootEightWeight t1_ja1t6ra wrote

Billy left his home with a dollar in his pocket and a head full of dreams.

He said somehow, some way, it's gotta get better than this.

Patti packed her bags, left a note for her mama, she was just seventeen.

There were tears in her eyes when she kissed her little sister goodbye.

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HarpPgh t1_ja1tesa wrote

Waterfront. Unfortunately, Squirrel Hill closed

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thatdude778 t1_ja1wcp9 wrote

It will still take around 15 min, but the drive to the Waterworks location isn't bad from Shadyside. Washington Blvd. > Highland Park Bridge > Freeport Rd.

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stadulevich t1_ja2440z wrote

My late night go to's are dive bar with a kitchen til 10pm and alegheny wine mixer with a limited but good kitchen open til midnigh or 2am.

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Confident_End_3848 t1_ja280fu wrote

A long time ago, there was an eatnpark on Washington Blvd. Haven’t been that way in years, but I guess it closed.

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redurbandream t1_ja2sxz9 wrote

There’s an Eat n Park right off the T in Dormont at the Patomic station

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daninhim t1_ja2ta3a wrote

Replying to CarterS20884 (#2,013,992)

Y’inz…we got two of them across the street from each other on McKnight Road. You’re welcome to have the southbound one. Actually take the northbound one as well, along with the Bob Evans. But don’t touch the Arby’s.

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jangoblamba t1_ja2zk6w wrote

Idk why this is such a problem. There's two eat n parks almost in the city, close enough that they're not hassles to get to. And it's an Eat 'n Park. As someone who worked there for a few years, I can truthfully tell you that the city would lose nothing if those two locations closed down. It offers nothing special anymore. Not open 24/7, McDonald's burgers that take longer to get, and a sub par diner menu that can be bested by most small pubs in terms of quality. Their baked goods are frozen and baked on site, and their homemade soup is concentrate bags they add water to on site. The only thing they have going for them is the breakfast buffet on the weekends, but I can't imagine that makes it entirely worth it

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Paczilla2 t1_ja31de7 wrote

Well, the food is just… ok. It has stayed consistently ok or just not good for a while.

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JAK3CAL t1_ja35z9y wrote

There’s at least one on 51

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lasagnasmash t1_ja3fcah wrote

Because it sucks. /s

Because it sucks. /srs

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embrex104 t1_ja3inel wrote

I think Eat N' Park put Hello Bistros in that place instead of EnP's.

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tesla3by3 t1_ja3j16l wrote

Replying to pAul2437 (#2,017,987)

Maybe comfort food wasn’t the best word. Maybe “casual dining chain “ would be better. However, it doesn’t negate the point. Nor does the existence of 2 restaurants

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AngryDrnkBureaucrat t1_ja3l22s wrote

There are TWO Eat n Parks in the city.

With a third that is 500 feet away from the City border.

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bbcbravado t1_ja3mgwn wrote

Because they have no variety of food, we got one in north Versailles tho

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you_cant_pause_toast t1_ja3n53a wrote

Hello Bistro is owned by Eat'n Park and there are 3 in the city. Market Square, South Side and Oakland. You can get a Superburger, tha'ts about all the menu overlap they have. But the salads are huge and pretty good. That model probably works better in the city than an Eat'n Park.

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LgnHw t1_ja3qn1p wrote

there’s much better food options that exist

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CL-MotoTech t1_ja3r4ll wrote

I went to the one on 65 the other day. I took my son. The stickies thread made me interested since I hadn't been there since the mid 00's.

It exactly as bland and average as I remember it being. My son loved it though. It does have a certain charm, though maybe I am just being a romantic.

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Shoehornblower t1_ja3s5uf wrote

People from other places have moved in and brought their high falutin taste buds?

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Aezon22 t1_ja40dbf wrote

Replying to lulu125 (#2,026,624)

Wait, supplier? I worked at one in the 90's and they made the stickies and everything else right there in the restaurant bakery. Sad to see they aren't doing that anymore.

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Hoppiness83 t1_ja4b6mb wrote

Replying to DangerousAwareness92 (#2,026,745)

Who even does that? Surely not me.

I'm simply pointing out the "city living is elite" idiot crowd. And Reddit is full of them. You know, those feeling superior because they live in the city. Like it's a big deal or something.

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Aggrocity t1_ja4ebim wrote

The city folk understand that Eat n Park is below average!

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TacoBean19 t1_ja4j9w7 wrote

There’s one on crane avenue in banksville

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_ja4n3jm wrote

TBH the food ain't great. Though besides the hardcore old people who go it's the people who went at night who didn't care that much what the food tasted like.

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Itsjustataco t1_ja4qnhp wrote

Consumer preference and demographics are the driving forces.

Fast casual meals are often coming in at the same price point and generally of better quality. Most dinners aren't interested in sitting down for an hour + meal that is generally not on par with the fast casual alternatives.

Inside the city, there is a whole host of options to complete with ENP, specialty brunch spots weren't a thing 20yrs ago. ENP realized fast casual/changing consumer preference and targeted these crowds by way of SixPenn(RIP), The Porch, Hello Bistro.

Denny's, ENP, King's, Bob Evans are all dinosaurs that aren't bringing in business when there is an abundance of competition. Years ago, their competition was probably dinners, but most dinners have closed up in favor of these newer age alternatives. If you look around the city, there just aren't many sit down restaurant chains.

So, outside the city, life moves a bit slower, considerably less competition from the brunch & mimosa, more families on family budgets, etc.

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OrangeDelicious4154 t1_ja4uaa3 wrote

Demographic shifts in the city due to a variety of factors (not the least of which is rising rents) has pushed out those who typically frequent lower cost restaurants like Eat'n Park - families. The COVID-19 Pandemic also radically changed food service. Less places are open late, and the industry is still suffering staffing shortages. The chain is still alive and well in the suburbs as far as I can tell.

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NunzAndRoses t1_ja4yt0l wrote

There’s one on Banksville and one in Dormont

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CVK327 t1_ja5adv6 wrote

A lot of major chains don't operate in the city. Eat'n Park, Sheetz, GetGo, Walmart, just to name a few. It's difficult to maintain a business and keep profit margins high in the city, especially one as tightly packed as Pittsburgh. It's obviously doable, but it's a completely different game than running a business in the suburbs. If they start doing city work, they have to change the way they do things for those branches. It's much easier to just plug and play the same processes in the suburbs. They could probably open ten more Eat'n Parks in surrounding areas more easily than they could open one on the city.

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2TH16 t1_ja5wwca wrote

Eat N’ Park was better with a cigarette indoors

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ScratchMoore t1_ja6036f wrote

Replying to Fearless-Law-4916 (#2,040,715)

I heard that rumor a few days ago for the first time. Haven’t been there for a while, but I’m definitely checking next time I go.

Luckily, my nephew was selling stickies for a fund raiser this year, so I have some in my freezer for when I get that hankering

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bholzy t1_ja63k7w wrote

I know I’m probably gonna get downvoted, but I wouldn’t even waste my time or money to go there anymore. Subpar food and a constantly shrinking menu

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