Wind, Snow & Rain – Bistro Drivers

For most guests, a catered event begins when the food arrives and the celebration starts. Behind the scenes, however, every delivery has its own story. For Bistro To Go partner and business manager Kevin Klingensmith, the road to an event is often just as memorable as the event itself. After five years with the company — and somewhere between 500 and 1,000 deliveries — he’s learned that the magic doesn’t just happen in the kitchen. It happens in vans, on loading docks, and sometimes in the middle of muddy fields and mountain roads. The logistics can be as memorable as the events themselves.

Kevin has been part of Bistro’s delivery operation since his first day, often driving U-Hauls packed with hot boxes and equipment to weddings, corporate lunches and events across the region. Some days mean multiple trips across Pittsburgh; during the busy holiday season, Bistro can handle dozens of deliveries in a single day. 

One of his most memorable setups took place at Carnegie Mellon’s soccer field during a freezing spring storm. Staff hauled equipment across mud, wind and snow just to build a beautiful outdoor event in the middle of the field. “The craziness is in the setup and breaking down,” Kevin says. “The event itself, that’s the fun part … We’re part of the party.”

Other deliveries have taken him far beyond the city. One wedding venue called The Roost sat high on a mountain nearly three hours away from Pittsburgh, requiring a winding 45-minute drive along a narrow road under a thick tree canopy. After the reception ended near midnight, Kevin and the crew slowly maneuvered down the road before beginning the drive home.

Then there was the day he delivered to the Pittsburgh Steelers — only to walk outside and discover the Bistro To Go delivery van had been towed! Even when your client is the Steelers organization itself, game-day parking rules prevailed.

With Pittsburgh preparing to host the NFL Draft, Kevin expects similar chaos. His advice: park outside the busiest areas and rely on buses, ride shares or shuttles. And for navigating the city year-round, he shares a driver’s secret: Second Avenue. He calls it a “cheat code” for avoiding traffic.

After hundreds of deliveries, unpredictable weather, late-night drives, and the occasional unexpected tow truck, Kevin still approaches each run with the same mindset. Every delivery is part of a bigger experience, one that helps bring people together for moments of celebration. For the Bistro To Go team, getting the meal to the table is only the beginning. The real reward is knowing they helped make the event happen.