It’s a new season, and a crop of new restaurants, cafés and breweries are opening this Fall in Pittsburgh.

Among the many restaurants opening their doors in the next few months are Merchant Oyster Company, Dennis Marron’s throwback to his New Jersey roots, and the second-ever outpost of Southern Tier Brewing Company, a brewery with national name recognition and a stellar draft list.

The city’s North Side looks to become our next go-to drinking destination, with two breweries (War Streets Brewing and Allegheny City Brewing), plus Wigle Whiskey’s much-anticipated Threadbare Cider all settling in in the neighborhood.

While opening dates are never set in stone, here are 14 places we can’t wait to check out this season.

Merchant Oyster Company

At the forthcoming Merchant Oyster Company, Dennis Marron wants to recreate the type of casual, coastal experience that he enjoyed while growing up on the Jersey Shore. That means fresh seafood, pitchers of beer, and open air dining.

“Basically, it’s going to be a Northeast-style oyster bar, with three or four different varieties of chowder, raw oysters, lobster rolls and crab cakes,” Marron says. He’ll also be including a few of his own takes on New Jersey favorites, like pork roll, egg and cheese sandwiches, footlong hotdogs, ‘Jersey’ burgers, and a few different grilled cheese options. “Food that evokes the feeling of being at the beach.”

Expect fresh cold-water oysters that will be sourced from all over the East Coast, including from Maine and the Chesapeake Bay, primarily from Virginia’s War Shore Oyster Company.

The 60-seat Lawrenceville restaurant will feature sidewalk seating and an upstairs bar and rocking chair lounge (feel like you’re on the docks, yet?), and sherry-focused cocktails, sparklings, and wines that pair well with oysters. Plus, a “decent-sized beer program with a few taps,” and a regular slot for oyster stout.

Marron wanted to keep the feel of the place airy, so garage-style windows will be kept open as long as the weather allows.

The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, and for brunch on Sundays.

Merchant Oyster Company is expected to open near the end of October.

Merchant Oyster Company  (4129 Butler Street)

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DiAnoia’s Eatery

There’s a new old-school Italian eatery coming to the Strip District.

DiAnoia’s Eatery, a restaurant/bakery/deli hybrid that will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, will be opening in early fall.

Chef/owner Dave Anoia (who formerly served as the chef de cuisine at Spoon) says that he wanted to the restaurant to encompass his own family’s personal culinary history.

“My wife is from Long Island, so to honor her we’re going to have a little New York deli-style concept, with egg sandwiches and zeppoli,” he says.

Breakfast at the eatery will be primarily grab and go, and the lunch and dinner menus will feature a mix of casual deli options, sandwiches and homemade pastas.

“We’ll have about 20 different sandwiches, a couple of pastas, and a bunch of different deli options, with hot and cold prepared foods for here and to go, like octopus and fingerling potato salad and panzanella salad,” Anoia says.

The eatery’s bakery will be open during breakfast, lunch and dinner, serving up a variety of Italian baked goods and pastries, including croissants with Nutella and Italian cakes.

DiAnoia’s Eatery (2549 Penn Avenue)

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Block 292

Block 292, a market, café, and butchery opened quietly late last month in Mt. Lebanon. The butcher shop features locally-raised meats from Jamison Farm, and the market carries local produce, dairy products and prepared foods from local purveyors.

The restaurant and café, which also includes a bar boasting eight taps and a local cocktail menu, is currently serving a limited menu Monday through Saturday, with lunch being served from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and dinner from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Keep an eye out for extended hours and an extended menu as the restaurant settles into a regular routine.

Block 292 (292 Beverly Road)

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Pork & Beans

Keith Fuller and Richard DeShantz have been teasing the opening of their long-awaited pork-centric smokehouse and beer garden for weeks, posting photos on social media of brand-new signage and Pork & Beans-personalized plates. And now, Fuller says that the restaurant’s opening is officially “coming soon.”

That’s the most information we could get about an opening date, though Fuller has told us that the 134-seat downtown restaurant will feature a menu with pay-by-the-pound meats, sausages, sandwiches and schnitzels, and an indoor smoker.

Pork & Beans (136 6th Street)

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Allegheny City Brewing 

Deutschtown is thisclose to getting a new micro brewery.

Allegheny City Brewing will be opening their brewery at taproom “later in September, for sure,” say owners Al Grasso, Amy Yurkovich and Matt Yurkovich.

The Northside brewery, which will be located at 507 Foreland Street, will offer eight taps, with a mix of ACB staples and an ever-changing menu of experimental brews.

The trip has been building anticipation for the brewery opening while they work through the city permitting process by serving brews at various festivals and community events, and hosted a preview during Deutschtown Music Festival.

Allegheny City Brewing (507 Foreland Street)

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Tres Rios

A new concept is coming to East Carson Street with the introduction of Tres Rios, a Mexican kitchen and tequila bar. The restaurant will have a “pop culture/Andy Warhol” focus, and will feature traditional Mexican street food-inspired dishes, and a full tequila bar with specialty drinks. The company is currently taking applications for positions, and expects to open later this fall.

Tres Rios (1719 E. Carson Street)

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Burgh’ers Lawrenceville

Burger fans, rejoice.

Burgh’ers, the gourmet burger and fries restaurant in Harmony is opening a second location in Lawrenceville.

Owner Fiore Moletz tells us that construction at the new Lawrenceville spot (located at 36th and Butler Streets) began just last week, and the opening should be in the middle of November.

Expect much of the same menu at Burgher’s second location, with locally-sourced beef, farm-to-table toppings, and a bar with local beers and craft cocktails.

Burgh’ers (3601 Butler Street)

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Gluten Free Goat Bakery

Gluten Free Goat, the gluten-free bakery, once a staple at the now-shuttered Pittsburgh Public Market, is opening a storefront later this fall.

The bakery, which currently provides their gluten-free, vegan and soy-free baked goods to markets and cafes around the city, will be opening a bakery/café at 4905 Penn Avenue in Garfield.

Once the café opens, expect sandwiches, waffles, paninis, and a brunch menu that will be served all week long.

Gluten Free Goat Bakery (4905 Penn Avenue)

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Other new fall openings to keep an eye on:

 

War Streets Brewing

War Streets’ Jake Bier says that the Northside microbrewery, which will be housed in a historic firehouse at 1416 Arch Street, currently has all of the necessary licensing, and the crew is getting the interior ready for a Fall opening. War Streets Brewing (1416 Arch Street)

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Union Standard

Derek Stevens, the former executive chef at Eleven, announced plans to open Union Standard in downtown’s Union Trust building earlier this year. The 170-seat restaurant will feature a raw bar and a menu serving casual American cuisine. No word yet on an opening date.  Union Standard 

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Eleventh Hour Brewing

Eleventh Hour Brewing co-owner Keana McMahon says that the Lawrenceville brewery (which will be located at 3701 Charlotte Street) is currently in the build-out process, and its brewing tanks are set to arrive next month, if all goes according to schedule on the building of the 20-barrel system. McMahon is optimistic that the brewery, which will feature traditional brews, plus their famous jalapeno-infused Burning Phoenix Pale Ale, could be open by the end of 2016, or early 2017. They’re keeping fans updated on their blog.  Eleventh Hour Brewing (3701 Charlotte Street)

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Waffles, INCaffeinated

Gourmet waffle restaurant Waffles INCaffeinated is looking to McCandless for its third location, set to open this fall. Like the other two locations, in Beaver County and on the South Side, the McCandless Waffles, INCaffeinated will serve fresh-made waffles with sweet and savory toppings, and other breakfast and brunch items. Majority owner Gordon Sheffer tells the Pittsburgh Tribune Review that the new location should be open by late October. Waffles, INCaffeinated

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Threadbare Cider

We’re eagerly awaiting word on when Wigle Whiskey’s new cider house and meadery will open for business. Here’s what we do know: The new Threadbare site will be close to Wigle’s North Side barrelhouse, and will feature their own hard cider and mead, a fermented honey wine. Threadbare Cider initially projected a Fall 2016 opening date, and will keep fans updated on their website. Threadbare Cider 

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Southern Tier Brewing Company

Early last month, Southern Tier Brewing Company announced that they had officially broken ground on their first satellite brewpub at 316 North Shore Drive, within walking distance of PNC Park and Heinz Field. The Lakewood, New York-based brewery projects that the Pittsburgh brewpub will be opening this fall, with Southern Tier founder Phin DeMink noting in a press release that they brewery is “aiming to open our doors in time for the bulk of football games this fall.” When the brew pub opens, expect classic SBTC drafts, plus a few Pittsburgh-only brews, a full food menu, and a 10,000 square-foot outdoor beer garden. Southern Tier Brewing Company 

Know of any upcoming restaurants that we missed? Let us know in the comments!