The Beginning of Bistro To Go

This year, Bistro To Go will be open for 17 years in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Historic Northside.
As we celebrate, enjoy a glimpse back in time to Opening Day, October 7, 2007.

The sun shimmered off the highly polished stainless steel. The air even held expectancy. Jazzy old-school classics played in the background. A talented vocalist I had met just the day before was setting up his one-man show in the corner. Rock Nouveau, as he called himself, peered through the urban courtyard gate.

“When you opening?” he yelled.

Before I knew it, we had settled on a fee, and he committed to 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Well, wasn’t that just perfect? What I hadn’t even thought of was cared for. I laughed at the unexpected coincidence—from the swirls in the logo to the art on the walls, my style spoke of art nouveau. Before long, I would learn to expect the unexpected.

The melodious music felt like it belonged in the historic Hollander building. For the past year, I had been on a journey to open a café, one that I had not really planned—and that’s another story. This wasn’t going to be any ordinary business. This business needed to be everything to everybody to survive (the opposite of all I had been taught). The neighboring residents had been jaded, as they watched entrepreneurs with hopes and dreams come and go. Only three newer stores remained, looking like glittering islands—the recently opened Priory Fine Pastry, Sweet Time General Store, and Mueller’s Hardware Store, which was filled with every necessity.

I was determined not to look at the odds. Married just 3 years, at 45, I had delusions of taking my ready-to-serve gourmet meal home at five to my new husband.

The street outside the door of 415 East Ohio had seen years of decay and abandonment. What had begun in the late 1800s as a city of grandeur was now tired and worn. Each existing turn-of-the-century façade revealed architectural gargoyles, cornices, and terracotta. As I signed the seven-year lease, with no money, I conjured up dreams of the finely dressed with parasols and carriages long gone by—hoping my little café would make a difference.

The music drifted back. Rock Nouveau sang vintage Sinatra. The stage was set. It would not be long until the intimate café space was filled with friends invited for the celebration. My husband, Stanley, would be the first to arrive, picking up the last supplies. I nervously re-polished the counters that were already shined and ready. I fussed again with each display, built high and overflowing with artisan cheeses and fruits placed with precision. I waited. Just me, my Bistro, and Rock Nouveau. Little did I know this was the last day I would think of this Bistro as just mine.

October 7, 2007, Opening Day

Thank you for visiting through the years and in the future.
Visit by visit, you are transforming this historic street back to its original beauty!
What’s old will be new again!

Nikki Heckman—Founder and chef