Main Street in Ligonier packs a whole lot of food and history into its version of small town America.
The main drag is dotted with mom-and-pop restaurants, coffeehouses, candy and ice cream shops, boutiques, galleries, hotels and jewelry and antique stores along with the quintessential civic buildings — the town hall, library and post office. And most of those establishments are housed in storied structures with decades-old doors, window frames, foundations and roof lines.
The town — population of around 1,800 — grew out of a bunch of log houses and takes its name from Fort Ligonier, built by the British during the French and Indian War. During its boom years, Ligonier was a railroad town, then later became a summer resort to some of Pittsburgh’s upper crust.
At its heart sits the Diamond, which was landscaped as a public park in 1894, with a bandstand that looks like a gazebo. In Northern Ireland, a town’s square used to be commonly known as the Diamond, and the Scotch-Irish who settled in the area in the 18th and 19th centuries brought the term with them.
An interesting number of places to eat, drink and hang out are all in the two-block radius of the Diamond. Some are homey and some are haute, but they are welcoming and alluring. So bring an appetite to Ligonier — you won’t leave hungry or disappointed.
The Kitchen on the Main, 136 E. Main St.
Lorrie and Rick McQuaide, who own two restaurants in Johnstown, used to drive to Ligonier every weekend to have breakfast at The Kitchen on the Main. So when the restaurant came on the market 18 months ago, they not only bought it but also kept the menu and chef Joshua Fryer.
It’s a chef-driven menu, Ms. McQuaide says. For lunch, Mr. Fryer dishes out charred tomato jam with octopus; jumbo lump crab with corn relish and romesco sauce, bison, Scottish salmon and Angus burgers, tacos, soups and salads.
Breakfast is available until 3 p.m. and includes a classic Benedict and also versions with salmon, crab and vegetable; smoked salmon and blackened shrimp omelets; meat and quinoa breakfast bowls with eggs any style; and banana bread French toast with banana Foster sauce, banana slices and pecans.
Menus for lunch and dinner are similar except that the evening meal also includes entrees like porcini-crusted filet mignon, seared salmon with pineapple fried rice and lotus root chips and prosciutto-wrapped monkfish with red pepper jam.
The McQuaides will be opening a sister restaurant, The Kitchen on Penn, at 4811 William Penn Highway in Murrysville next month.
Crumpets Tea Shop, 201 E. Main St.
The name says it all, and only crumpets and tea are served here.
There’s a whole wall of jars of black, green and herbal loose tea to choose from — 150 on any given day — and include unusual ones like the hand-rolled Black Dragon Pearls tea and Golden Monkey that resemble monkey paws.
Crumpets — those thick English teatime treats — come with a long list of sweet ($4.95) and savory ($5.95) toppings. Order sweet ones like the classic lemon curd or something offbeat like chocolate ricotta with pecans and caramel or rosemary goat cheese with dates and honey. Savory-topped crumpets are served open-faced and with a side of blue corn chips, and toppings range from the popular chicken salad to ham with fig jam and white cheddar cheese to one that combines hummus and olive tapenade.
When owner Virginia Christman first opened her tea shop in Blairsville, she settled on the idea to sell crumpets, as well, because they could be made in a very small kitchen, didn’t need an oven but instead could be just cooked in an English muffin mold on a griddle by mixing yeast, flour, milk, salt and baking soda.
In October 2016, she moved to Ligonier’s Ivy Manor Building, which was built in 1850. The two-room shop also sells preserves, tea accessories and blankets and skirts from countries known for their teas.
Those who walk in are encouraged to open the jars and smell the teas before making their choice. “But we do have a sniff and no sneeze policy,” she says, laughing.
Joe’s Bar, 202 W. Main St.
A nondescript brick building that simply says Joe’s Bar houses the wildest secret in Ligonier. Once you get past the smokers and the beer drinkers in the bar and head to the back of the room, you will be greeted by a stuffed life-size polar bear.
Go up the narrow spiral staircase to the upper level, and you’ll find a mind-blowing taxidermy collection. Sassaby, impala, warthog, Gobi argali, blue wildebeest, red lechwe and a host of other animals hunted by Joseph Snyder, who started the bar, on his many trips to Africa, Australia, Asia and across North America.
In one corner of a case is a framed photograph of Arnold Palmer, which the golf great has autographed to Mr. Snyder and his wife, Marcella. Mr. Palmer had visited the bar several times and was Mrs. Snyder’s classmate in grade school.
There are about 200 stuffed animals in total, says Keith Blystone, Mr. Snyder’s grandson and the current owner. The display landed up in the bar because his grandmother didn’t want them in the house and his grandfather didn’t know where else to put them.
If taxidermy is not your thing, then catch a bite from a limited menu that features burgers, hot dogs, hot sausages, soft pretzels with cheese or cinnamon sugar, soup and fried fare along with basic beers like Miller Lite, Keystone Light and Budweiser.
“We don’t do anything fancy,” he says.
Another quirk of the place? Every day when Joe’s opens at 11 a.m. there is $90.30 in the cash register. That’s because when Mr. Snyder first opened the place in 1961, he had $90.30 with him.
Carol & Dave’s Roadhouse, 122 N. Market St.
Carol and Dave Cassler run the eponymous second-floor restaurant, which sits above a Subway shop in a building that was a car dealership in the 1920s. The parts area was downstairs and the car showroom upstairs, says Mr. Cassler. The concrete floor is 10 inches thick.
The history does not stop there. The woodwork, door to the dining room, chandelier and beams on the ceiling are reclaimed from old churches, and the mirrors are from Idlewild Park.
There’s a story behind a plaque in the dining room. It features a cork and netting from a Champagne bottle broken by his grandmother to christen the USS Hanover in Philadelphia in 1919. “Her father was a prominent dentist in the city but she was disowned by her family when she married down to my grandfather,” he says.
In the railroad room, photographs tell many a story about the Ligonier Valley Railroad company, which transformed the town in the late 1800s.
Open seven days a week, the restaurant serves classic American fare with something for everybody by featuring Italian, Asian, vegetarian, vegan and plenty of meat dishes for lunch and dinner. A breakfast buffet is featured on Sundays.
“On Fridays and Saturdays, we serve lobster tails from South Africa. And our crab cakes are better than what they get on the shore,” Mr. Cassler promises.
Scamps Toffee and Sweets, 111 N. Fairfield St.
The color orange reigns at this undeniably cute storefront shop. Amy Hepler moved to the location a year ago as she was looking for a larger space to sell her homemade Swiss milk chocolates, Belgian dark and white chocolates, toffee sauce for ice creams, toffee-covered popcorn and barks and display the many drawings of Scamps, her chihuahua mascot.
Check out watercolors of Scamps at the Ice Fest, beach and farmer’s market. And there’s Scamps celebrating Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving and Election Day — all against a vibrant orange background.
Ms. Hepler says she chose orange for the interior decor, labels and ribbons because it is happy and positive.
“And you can see it across the room,” she says.
Her chocolates are sold in 33 states but Fairfield Street holds her only retail store. A quarter pound of milk, dark and white chocolates sells for $8 and chocoholics can buy four pounds for $80.
Myriam’s Table, 221 W. Main St.
Travel the world without any angst or a passport at Myriam’s Table. Owner and chef Myriam “Lisa” Houser has a Syrian and Creole background, and culinary training in Italy and France.
For breakfast, try artichoke and brie crepes, tortillas with two eggs, black beans, salsa verde and pico de gallo or potato hash and eggs with corned beef, or pastries like creme brulee muffins and financiers.
Gourmet sandwiches (pulled pork sliders with apple cabbage slaw and smoked ham with sour cherry jam and mustard on sprouted wheat bread), salads (haricot verts, beets and chevre with white wine vinaigrette and arugula, Manchego cheese and almonds with citrus vinaigrette), tomato bisque with mac ‘n’ cheese (which was born accidentally) and specials like the grilled cheese sandwich with spice-flavored pickled grapes and Spanish Drunken cheese are among the options on the lunch menu.
In winter, breakfast and lunch are served Thursday through Sunday and dinner only Thursday through Saturday. Mark the calendar for “eclectic pie” night (fig and pig, green goddess and Italian Muffaletta) on Thursdays, Mediterranean (antipasti and pastas) on Fridays and a multicourse chef’s choice on Saturdays.
Myriam’s shares half of the lower level with Thistledown at Seger House, a boutique hotel that was home to coal baron John Seger until the 1940s. It was then sold to Sisters of Mercy of Pittsburgh who used it as a satellite hospital.
When Helen Newlin McGinnis bought the building from Sisters of Mercy, she wanted to turn it into a home for the elderly. But the people of Ligonier had a fit, says Kathy Brown, who operates the food walking tour in town called Tasty Trek. So it remained as a hospital until 2011 and then briefly served as an ophthalmologist’s center and drug rehab facility. Today, it is a hotel run by Michelle and Adam Gardner.
The Wicked Googly, 209 W. Main St.
Eat, drink, bowl and be merry at The Wicked Googly, which is under the same roof as Ligonier Lanes, and is a popular meeting place for the locals.
Open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., breakfast is served every day until 11 a.m. While omelets and breakfast sandwiches are featured on the rise-and-shine menu, there is platter for everything — standard breakfast suspects, pancake, sausage and steak and eggs. Soups, salads, pizza, sandwiches and wraps are available the rest of the day.
A late-night menu is offered on Fridays and Saturdays, and everything is deep-fried — from hot pepper cheese balls to funnel cake fries to mac ‘n’ cheese wedges.
In addition to the 20 domestic and imported beers available on tap, Googly serves craft IPAs, hard ciders, chocolate stouts and caramel porters.
While merriment is encouraged, the welcome-in board at the Googly has a tongue-in-cheek caution to parents: “Children left unattended will be given a Red Bull and a free puppy.”
Ligonier Tavern & Table, 139 W. Main St.
The oldest restaurant on Main Street, says Kathy Brown of Tasty Trek, is the tavern. It occupies a Victorian building that dates back to 1895 and was the residence of Ligonier’s first mayor, William J. Potts. It also was the first home in town with indoor plumbing.
In 1927, the Calderelli family from Pittsburgh converted the home into the Lincoln Hotel & Restaurant. The top two floors were the hotel, and the restaurant below was known for its legendary Italian red sauce. Sold to the Krieger family in the mid-1970s, it became solely a restaurant and is now run by Mary Louise Stoughton of Green Gables Restaurant and Huddleson Court in Jennerstown, executive chef Shay MacDonald and guests services manager, Carrie MacDonald.
An extensive lunch and dinner menu features mozzarella egg rolls, fried calamari with curry pickles, tahini Caesar salad, fried chicken BLT with bacon-ranch mayo, and honey and hoisin barbecue salmon. For Happy Hour, the tavern offers four kinds of tacos and a whole slew of wing options.
Connections Cafe, 109 S. Market St.
Head down a block on South Market Street for sourdough waffles; fresh salads like tuna and red beans, white quinoa tabbouleh or cauliflower and green peas; frittatas studded with red pepper and smoked Gouda; potato dill and Jamaican black bean soups; and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches like apple cheddar and cranberry honey-mustard.
A sign in the cafe’s hallway directs visitors to “Come on in the kitchen.” That’s where you’ll meet owner Sharon Detar making curry chicken salad with grapes, apricot scones, white chocolate raspberry tart or whatever else she’s planning for the day’s menu.
The breakfast-and-lunch restaurant is on the first floor of a building that dates from 1908. The fireplace in one of the two cozy dining rooms still has the original lime green tiles and woodwork with the faux finish.
“I love coming here because I feel like I’m coming to a friend’s place. Sharon is so warm and the baked goods are out of this world,” says a regular, Cokie Lindsay of Ligonier.
Ligonier Creamery, 105 E. Main St.
Not only are the names of ice creams interesting but so are their flavors at this shop open year-round. Dark Side of the Moon, inspired by the Pink Floyd song, is made with black raspberry chip, five kinds of chocolate ice creams and fudge ripple. Then there are the Holly Doodle (marshmallow ice cream studded with sugar cookies and with swirls of red and green icing) and Unicorn (a combination of blue raspberry, black raspberry and cotton candy ice creams).
A burnt almond torte ice cream, with pieces of the famous cake from Prantl’s Bakery, was rolled out for the first time last fall.
The shop also features sundaes, razzles, floats, ice cream cakes and ice cream pizzas.
Owner David Gehlman has had the shop for nine years but has been in the dairy business for 40. He churns out more than 200 flavors through the year using mixes from Galliker’s Dairy in Johnstown. He makes the ice creams as needed because they are kept only for three to seven days.
There are fewer flavors in January and February, when business is slow. But whether it snows or shines, the biggest sellers are always his chocolate ice creams.
Abigail’s Coffeehouse, 104 W. Main St.
When Dianne and Joe Stewart bought the coffee shop, named after the previous owner’s daughter, they kept the name and most items on the menu including Abigail’s Famous Chicken Sandwich, made with pulled white meat, red grapes and dill and served on a croissant.
All the sandwiches and soups are made from scratch, Ms. Stewart says, and so are the pepperoni rolls and the cranberry and chocolate chip scones.
Abigail’s features a weekly sandwich. Popular ones are the meatloaf sandwich, which is Ms. Stewart’s mother’s recipe, and the Rams wrap, created in honor of the high school mascot and made with pulled beef, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, cheddar and horseradish sauce.
There are plenty of “what’s hot” and “what’s not” drink options like cappuccino, mocha, soy latte, hot chocolate, fruit smoothies, milkshakes and lemonade.
To celebrate the Ligonier community, the Stewarts pull a “lucky local’s” name from the coffee club cards every week and the person gets free coffee.
Table 105, 105 E. Main St.
Back in the 1970s when Katherine Valencia was a child, she used to shop at the G.C. Murphy five-and-dime store. That building now houses her restaurant.
“It’s a nice remembrance to come back to,” she says.
She manages the front of the house and her husband, David, is the chef of the BYOB establishment that serves lunch and dinner fare with a new American accent.
Soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches are on the lunch menu and so are “fun things” like ginger pork on lettuce wraps and a Thai peanut bowl that can be ordered with grilled chicken or not.
Dinner is a candlelight affair featuring New Zealand lamb lollipops, ahi tuna and double-cut pork chops. Table 105 is open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday and Wednesday through Saturday for dinner.
Kingfisher Coffeehouse, 211 E. Main St.
Jane Nair lives right across from her business. When the space, which was previously an antique shop, came up for sale, she made a beeline for it and opened shop five months ago. Her husband bought the red door from Construction Junction for $30.
The coffeehouse typically features eight flavored coffees, and s’mores is the special for this month. Ms. Nair patronizes the Ligonier native, Dark Side Coffee Roasters. In addition to coffee made with the roaster’s beans, the shop sells 1 pound packages of signature blends like Appalachian Trail and Steel City Reserve and single origins like Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.
Order a macchiato, cortado or Dirty Chai (spiced tea with a shot of espresso) in three sizes — eight, 12 or 16 ounces — along with baked goods like scones, brownies, biscotti and lemon bars to get charged for the day ahead.
O’ Shea’s Candies, 119 W. Main St.
The first thing that hits you at the Johnstown-based chocolatier’s shop is the sweet smell of confections.
Penny candies, hard candies, chewy ones, old fashioned candy buttons and candy necklaces are just some of the many treats. A display case is loaded with nonpareils, chocolate-covered strawberries and pretzels, truffles, French creams, almond barks and fudge.
But there is more to the place than just chocolates and candies. It also sells Penn State ice creams (grilled stickies, peach Paterno and cinnamon caramel apple) and a range of flavored popcorns — Millcreek orange dreamsicle, George Washington strawberries (cherries might have been more appropriate), Hawaii coconut and Linn Runn Lemonlicious (a riff on Linn Run State Park).
Diamond Cafe, 109 W. Main St.
Open for 30 years, the small cafe with about eight tables and a functioning toy train serves down-home fare for breakfast and lunch, closing at 3:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Breakfast can be had all day and features the usual fare — eggs, French toast, oatmeal, bacon, hashbrowns and bagel — and an omelet with the works is the most expensive at $5.50.
The lunch menu is all about sandwiches, ranging from egg and chicken salads to BLTs to ham and tuna melts to grilled cheese, pizza bagel and ham barbecue. All sandwiches come with chips and pickles, and a choice of bread and sides like French or zucchini fries and coleslaw can be ordered for an extra cost. Daily baked specials, cookies, pies and apple dumplings are the dessert options.
When you get the check, you’ll realize how scary cheap a lunch can be.
Kamee’s Desserts, 138 W. Main St.
Tucked away a few yards from Main Street is this dessert shop proud of making “gourmet goodies from scratch.”
The daily menu rotates and includes cheesecakes (peppermint and raspberry) and pies (mint Oreo and apple-walnut) by the slice or as a whole, carrot cake filled with pineapple, cookies (caramel-toffee and raspberry white chocolate), cupcakes and muffins. It also sells ice creams, floats and hot chocolate with ice cream.
The shop sits in a building that used to be V.V. Gaskin Funeral Home, says Kathy Brown of Tasty Trek, and Kamee’s is where the horse stable used to be. The space then was converted into a kitchen store and a restaurant before it became a bakery.
Arthi Subramaniam: asubramaniam@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1494.
First Published: January 22, 2020, 12:00 p.m.
