Nied’s Hotel has new owners — and they're keeping the fish sandwich

Nied’s Hotel has new owners — and they’re keeping the fish sandwich

If everything goes as planned, Pittsburghers could be chowing down on Nied’s Hotel’s famous fish sandwiches by next year’s fish fry season.

A consortium of business partners closed on the Upper Lawrenceville property on Jan. 31. They’re planning a considerable renovation of the iconic building while aiming to keep the essence of hospitality that made Nied’s a draw for nearly 80 years.

Tom Barr and Leigh Yock, primary owners of Spirit, partnered with Brigette Davitt and Mary Verratti of Society G and longtime hospitality industry veterans Austin Ansell and Tommy Dorman to restore the ground-floor bar and restaurant and open a 13-room hotel on the building’s top two floors.

“It really warms my heart that they are going to carry on what my grandfather and father started here,” says Jimmy Nied. “There’s a legacy to this place.”

His grandfather, Thaddeus “Ted” Niedzinski, purchased what had been an Irish bar in 1941. His father, Paul Nied, took over in 1948. Jimmy Nied was a fixture behind the bar from young adulthood until he closed the operation five years ago.

“They wanted me to re-up in the military after my duty was done, but that’s when I decided to join the family business,” he says. “And then I never left.”

Nied’s Hotel holds special meaning for Barr.

“One of the first memories of my life was Jimmy handing me a Snickers bar over the bar. I remember being here as a little kid. There was a pool table here and a Pac-Man video game over there,” he says.

Barr’s father, Skipp, was a fixture in the lounge and remains a close friend of Nied’s. In 2015, the two helped Barr and his group of investors acquire the former Moose lodge that is now home to Spirit.

“I watched Tom grow up, and then I watched him and his partners take over the old Moose lodge and grow into something special there. They’ve done a great job,” says Nied.

To that end, Barr says he plans to do very little with the bar space. The only significant change he anticipates is adding a staircase to the hotel lobby in the far corner of the room where an old beer fridge currently stands. They’ll also move the booths from the dining room – which will see a significant refurbishment – into the bar. A coffee station will replace the short-order cooktop at the front of the building.

“This place is full of memories,” Barr says. “We plan to keep the history and spirit of that alive in this room.”

Dorman, Spirit’s former kitchen manager and most recently of Pittsburgh Taco Boys, will serve as Nied’s chef in a new commercial kitchen that will be built in the back of the ground floor. Barr says it’s still too soon to fully formulate what meal service will look like, other than to note that it’ll service hotel guests and the general public.

One thing is certain: Nied’s famous fish sandwich will be included.

Austin, a fixture at Butterjoint in Oakland for the last decade, will be the general manager and run the bar program, which will continue the Nied’s tradition as a neighborhood watering hole, likely adding some modern touches such as house-made soda syrup. Look for a selection of classic cocktails, too.

Davitt and Verratti are leading the transformation of the two floors that formerly served as a residential boarding house into a modern 13-bedroom hotel. Davitt says that preservation and restoration are the focus of the build-out, while additions such as bathrooms in every room will bring the hotel up to contemporary standards.

“What I see is a lot that needed to be preserved more than looking at things that needed to be changed,” she says. “The woodwork, the pocket doors, the wallpaper, the radiator heat. We want to use all that we can.”

Rooms might be booked individually, but groups can also book a whole floor or the entire space for short- or longer-term stays.

“Smaller, curated group-lodging for weddings, events and conferences is something that’s missing in Pittsburgh right now,” Davitt says.

The ownership group will also oversee the restoration and reactivation of the outdoor amphitheater adjacent to the building.

“It’s a massive project in terms of infrastructure, but it’s something that we hope will be special to the neighborhood,” Barr says.

He says it’s too early to estimate an opening date, but he hopes to have things operational by this time next year.

“The thing we’re most excited about is continuing the tradition of hospitality and the vibe that’s been here for what feels like forever and transferring that into something that has a new dynamic presence.”

Hal B. Klein: [email protected], Twitter @halbklein and IG @halbklein.