Add a visit to Casellula @ Alphabet City on the North Side to the to-do list before the holidays next week since the restaurant is closing December 23. The Pittsburgh outpost of the New York spot has been open for just under a year.

Brian Keyser — restaurateur behind the 10-year old Manhattan sibling — was convinced to open in the former Masonic Hall by City of Asylum co-founder and president, R. Henry Reese, who cited Casellula Cheese & Wine Cafe as a New York favorite.

Between now and the holidays, owners are hashing out what’s next for the space: whether it’ll debut as a different concept with a new name, or if the space will go dark.

“I hope to be able to comment on what is next for the space and whether I will be involved in the next few days,” Mr. Keyser says in an email. Mr. Reese has not yet responded to inquiries from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Casellula was a super anticipated restaurant opening since 2015 for a couple reasons: Connected to the City of Asylum and its bookstore and event space, Casellula is one of the first businesses to mark progress in the development of the West North Avenue stretch, next door to the long-delayed Garden Theater project.

It’s also part of a larger collection of North Side developments, which includes Federal Galley at Nova Place in the former Allegheny Center, which opened earlier this month, as well as the stretch of buildings under development along East Ohio Street. These include the 96-room Workingmen’s Square Hotel from Comfort Inn via October Development, and a handful of properties slated for restaurants, retail and residences on the stretch. Casellula’s closing speaks to the risks of pioneering a neighborhood’s changeover.

The timing of the closing falls a few weeks after Mr. Keyser caught heat for his outspokenness in his frustration with the city’s service industry featured on the Pittsburgh blog Tipped Off, a platform for front-of-the-house staff. It includes news, updates, events and a forum on which servers can rate their work experiences at area restaurants.

In response to a negative review from a former server, Mr. Keyser wrote:

I opened Casellula @ Alphabet City with great optimism and high ideals. Unfortunately, those ideals bumped up against reality; my idealism turned into a simple fight for survival. The biggest issue is that Pittsburgh’s restaurant boom has thinned out the pool of experienced restaurant workers to the point that we could not attract good employees to our Northside location. Our opening staff was too small and had almost no fine-dining or casual-fine-dining experience.

He was also interviewed by Tipped Off prior to his speaking as part of a panel on the future of tipping in restaurants held at Scratch Food & Beverage in Troy Hill in early December; his restaurant made news when he reversed his no-tipping policy back in October.

No-tipping did not work at his restaurant, he says, because “Business was inconsistent,” and “the space we are in with City of Asylum is inefficient.” But he said that his employees “were being paid more than their work deserved,” a perception that is one of several that led to his reversal of the no-tipping policy.

When he decided to make the change, he emailed investors, City of Asylum staff, regulars and others. “I still believe that a system where servers are paid fair wages and food and drink prices reflect the actual cost of getting the product to the table is best for employers, servers and guests,” he wrote. ”Unfortunately, the unique quirks of Casellula @ Alphabet City make us the wrong test case.” (Mr. Keyser’s New York restaurant does not have a no-tipping policy.)

Mr. Keyser told the Post-Gazette he hoped that paying staff $17 to $22 an hour would entice people to stay and work at the restaurant; as it turned out the consistent wage didn’t mitigate turnover. His menu prices per plate were higher than a tipping restaurant he pointed out, which hurt business, especially since Casellula is a destination restaurant. “I have every confidence that in three years there will be more restaurants here,” he told the Post-Gazette.

City of Asylum co-founder and president R. Henry Reese says things are still undecided as far as what will happen with the Casellula space.

"At this time, we have no specific plans," he wrote in an email. "The news is too new to us."

He noted they were pleased with the reception of Casellula and that it fulfilled its role in enhancing the Alphabet City experience.

He confirms that City of Asylum is committed to having a restaurant in the space and had invested in outfitting the kitchen, dining room and event area as part of that commitment. "We will be seeking a restaurant to work with us in accomplishing a transition as quickly as possible," he said.

Reservations are still available at Casellula via OpenTable through Saturday.

Melissa McCart: mmccart; Instagram @postgazettefood; Facebook @postgazettefood

First Published: December 16, 2017, 11:16 p.m.
Updated: December 16, 2017, 11:16 p.m.