Eat'n Park's Hello Bistro opens on Pittsburgh's South Side

PITTSBURGH — Eat'n Park Hospitality Group is opening a second Hello Bistro on East Carson Street in the South Side. This comes one year after it opened the first Hello Bistro in Oakland.

"Our first Hello Bistro opened in Oakland last year," explained Eat'n Park Hospitality Group Director of Concept Development, Mark Broadhurst. "The success of that location showed us we are meeting people's interest in quality food at a great value in a quick service style restaurant."

Hello Bistro is a restaurant that gives customers all the benefits of fresh food but in a fast paced setting. Customers have all the variety they would see in an Eat'n Park restaurant and can get it on the go. Eat'n Park Hospitality Group senior vice president of Marketing, Kevin O'Connell, said Hello Bistro is Eat'n Park with just a little bit of attitude, it is the "sassy cousin."

O'Connell said Hello Bistro is a restaurant to meet the demands of today's consumer. He said it allows customers to choose between menu items or make a creation of their own from the more than 55 everyday fresh ingredients. One way they are separating themselves from other bistros is allowing people more options. O'Connell said people have the variety of ordering a salad, but still have the options of getting a burger as well, allowing for every pallet to be satisfied.

On the menu includes some the Eat'n Park favorites, such as the "Super Burger," potato soup, fan favorite ranch dressing that gets its own dispenser for people to get as much as they want, and of course the famous Smiley Cookies are available as well.

The South Side location was picked because of the people traffic through the area. O'Connell said they saw success in Oakland because of the students from the cities colleges and expect to see potentially more traffic in the South Side because of the residential neighborhoods.

Eat'n Park Hospitality Group Vice President of Graphic Design and Construction, Andy Dunmire, said the building was designed to show the history. He said they peeled back several layers of wall to get back to the originals walls of the building. The building dates back to at least the 1940s, from what Eat'n Park found on record. Another way they brought history to the restaurant was using 100 year-old doors to be used as the divider between the entrance walkway and the seating area.

O'Connell said they plan to expand out to suburban area in years to come. Another Hello Bistro is expected to open in early 2014 in downtown at the corner of Wood St. and Forbes Ave. For more information visit their website at www.hellobistro.com.

WPXI