Walnut Grill’s location in the Waterworks Mall complex has closed, according to an announcement on an owner’s personal social media page.
With the closure of the 911 Freeport Road location, the chain eatery is now down to three area locations — Pine, Robinson, and South Strabane, Washington County.
Walnut Grill has been serving self-described elevated casual American cuisine since it was founded in 2001 by the co-owners of Walnut Holdings LLC: Kirk Vogel, Matt Turbiner, Gregg Caliguiri and Marc Hourvitz.
The Waterworks location opened in 2009.
”BIG THANX to all! Tonight we closed our doors as the Walnut Grill Fox Chapel for the last time,” Hourvitz said in a social media post March 16.
“Since 2009, we participated in our community in every way we were able to. Such an outstanding group of guests, staff and neighbors. I would do it all over again.”
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No reason was publicly given for the closure, which took effect this week after one final weekend in business, according to Post-Gazette news partner KDKA-TV. An email sent to Vogel for more information was not immediately returned.
Walnut Grill Holdings also owns Blue Sky Kitchen and Bar at 211 N. Whitfield St. in East Liberty, which has been listed as “temporarily closed,” has a disconnected phone number and a website that was down on Wednesday morning.
A sign on the door of the establishment that opened in the summer of 2022 reads: “Blue Sky is closed. Stay tuned for what’s coming next.”
The group is also behind Shady Grove in Shadyside, Pizzaiolo Primo in Market Square and South Fayette, and Social at Bakery Square.
In late February, the Waterworks Walnut Grill received a consumer alert that was later lifted by the Allegheny County Health Department after an inspector found nearly a dozen dead mice and rodent dropping on the premises. The issue was addressed, the restaurant inspected again and the alert lifted by the next day.
First Published: March 19, 2025, 1:15 p.m.
Updated: March 20, 2025, 2:46 p.m.
