Fans headed to the Steelers preseason game at Heinz Field on Saturday evening may be disappointed to learn that a popular pre- and postgame spot named for a Steelers legend is no more.
Jerome Bettis Grille 36 on the North Shore has not been open since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Pittsburgh last March, and based on comments from the restaurant’s namesake Pro Football Hall-of-Famer, it isn’t going to reopen.
Speaking to WTAE-TV Thursday evening at a charity event, Mr. Bettis said, "No, I don't think the restaurant is going to come back. It's been so many issues that we've had to deal with, and I think it's probably, you know, best to have said our last goodbyes."
The phone has been disconnected at the restaurant, its website no longer exists and an email sent to an address listed on the restaurant’s Facebook page bounced back. The Facebook page also hasn’t been updated since March 2020 and Twitter and Instagram since 2018.
Opened in 2007 near Heinz Field, the restaurant was a collaboration between Mr. Bettis and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Celebrity Ventures, which operated two similar restaurants: one in Florida associated with former Marlins baseball player Jeff Conine, and one in Columbus, Ohio, with Eddie George, former running back at Ohio State and with the Tennessee Titans.
The Eddie George restaurant in Columbus also closed permanently during the pandemic.
Dan Gigler: dgigler@post-gazette.com.
First Published: August 20, 2021, 8:30 p.m.
