Popular restaurant near PPG Paints Arena relying on return of Penguins hockey to stay afloat

PITTSBURGH — Some local businesses are relying on the return of Penguins hockey to keep them alive.

Many die-hard Pens fans know The Souper Bowl. It’s one of the places they hit up when the Pens are in town.

Even though there won’t be any fans at PPG Paints Arena at least through January, the nearby bar and restaurant is doing what it can to try to stay afloat.

Through tears, Carly Moore took to Facebook to show the empty seats at her family owned business.

Hockey fans have been absent from The Souper Bowl for almost a year.

“This is what it’s like to own a small business in Pittsburgh right now,” Moore said. “We need help.”

The restaurant that has been in Moore’s family since the ’80s is getting ready to reopen for the Penguins’ first game of the season on Wednesday night.

“Hockey being back is kind of our last-ditch effort in bringing any income in,” Moore said. “We miss everybody. We want to see our hockey people.”

The tough decision was made to close after Thanksgiving.

“We kept our full-time employees on payroll through Thanksgiving, and I think a lot of that was coming out of my dad’s pocket to pay them, but the part time employees weren’t getting anything,” Moore said.

While The Souper Bowl is opening back up Wednesday, it’s not quite for good and the future of Moore’s family business is uncertain.

Moore said they are hoping to do a watch party like Wednesday night’s once a week to try to get some business.

For those who can’t make it but still want to help, CLICK HERE.

No fans for Pittsburgh Penguins home games in January

Cox Media Group