The night was billed as “The Final Pour,” a reference to The Carlton’s voluminous wine collection. But judging by the turnout, “the final outpouring” seemed more appropriate.
An estimated 600 friends, family, patrons and employees came out Thursday evening to say goodbye to the iconic Downtown restaurant on its final day of operation.
Shuttered since March 2020 because of the pandemic, The Carlton is closing for good, owner Kevin Joyce announced last week. He cited mounting financial losses and an expiring lease as the reasons for closing after 37 years as an original tenant of the Bank of New York Mellon building.
The well-dressed crowd created a snaking line through the building’s lobby, like a Black Friday sale at Larrimor’s, but instead of bargains, there were shared memories and full glasses of some vintages worthy of a Rothschild.
“We’ll miss this place,” said Lou Manning, of Green Tree. He and his wife, Nicole, worked in the building for years and described The Carlton as both a neighborhood bar in an office tower and a fine-dining destination.
“We affectionately called it Conference Room C,” Ms. Manning said. “We would come down here for happy hour and became friends with everybody.”
“It’s kind of like a family,” her husband added. “You would lose track of time because there are no windows, and the next thing you know, you’d be there for a couple hours and you should probably order dinner.”
Mr. Manning said they had the best burger in town — “No offense to Tessaro’s.”
Even after the couple took jobs elsewhere, “we would come back, and they remembered who we were, down to the drink we ordered,” he said.
Spencer Warren, owner of The Warren Bar & Burrow and Penn Cove wine shop in Downtown’s Cultural District, called The Carlton and Mr. Joyce a major professional influence.
“He’s 100% an icon” in the Pittsburgh restaurant world, Mr. Warren said. “How he handles business, how he runs it — he’s here every single day.”
“I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. Before a game, my parents would bring me here. It's got so much history.”
There were also remembrances of Mr. Joyce and his staff’s generosity. In 1989, Bill Barry’s son, Michael, was battling leukemia — and there was a visitor to their Upper St. Clair home.
“One day, a guy shows up at our door and introduces himself as Kevin Joyce,” Mr. Barry said. “He said he lives on a nearby street and his son Lee is a school friend of Michael, and that he [runs] a restaurant in town, and his staff heard about Michael and wanted to do something for him.
“Kevin then proceeded to give us an envelope with a $10,000 check,” Mr. Barry continued. “He didn’t make a big deal about it and didn’t hang around for any accolades.”
When Michael died a few months later, Mr. Joyce and his son “came to the funeral home on two consecutive nights and just lent support,” Mr. Barry said.
As a kid from Brookline, Mr. Joyce toiled in restaurants as a 14-year old, then through and after college at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1984, at age 30, Mr. Joyce was named general manager of the new Carlton restaurant, opened by Chicago’s famed Levy Restaurants on the first floor of the gleaming new One Mellon Bank Center.
It was a massive success.
In 1995, Mr. Joyce purchased the restaurant from Levy. “We made a deal on a cocktail napkin,” he said.
He continued to lead it as a down-to-earth yet innovative fine dining destination for Grant Street power brokers, gourmands and wine aficionados, who were often joined by those headed to the Civic Arena for hockey games and concerts. And, on one occasion, by an English bloke by the name of Mick. Jagger.
The Rolling Stones singer once stopped by before a concert. Mr. Joyce had left to go home just 20 minutes earlier.
“What are you gonna do?” he laughed.
And while he didn’t have liver, fava beans or a nice Chianti, Sir Anthony Hopkins became a regular while filming “The Silence of the Lambs” in Pittsburgh. He later won an Oscar for his portrayal of cannibal psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter.
“He would kind of remain in character: a very charming guy,” Mr. Joyce said.
But it wasn’t the visiting celebrities that impressed him the most. It was his regulars and the people he worked with.
“This whole experience has been about having great people that have been with me for so long,” Mr. Joyce said, “Coaching them and managing them every day has been a joy.”
He effusively praised the restaurant industry, even beleaguered by COVID-19, as an opportunity to build a career.
“It’s a tremendous industry for personal growth. This is truly an industry that can put people on a path, and a lot of times, we’re undervalued. People look at our industry as tipped employees and minimum-wage people. There’s a lot of people that are supporting families.”
His advice to anyone trying to make a career in restaurants: “Perseverance. Anyone can succeed in [this] if they have a work ethic, a passion for what they’re doing and like to be around people,” Mr. Joyce said.
“We celebrate people’s good moments.”
But on this night, people celebrated quite a few of his.
Dan Gigler: dgigler@post-gazette.com.
First Published: May 28, 2021, 2:23 p.m.
