The Story
Kevin Sousa opened Superior Motors in 2017 in Braddock, the small borough just east of Pittsburgh that was once the heart of Andrew Carnegie's steel empire. The restaurant occupies a converted 1920s automobile dealership and serves an ambitious tasting menu alongside a more accessible a la carte offering.
The project was as much about community as it was about food. Sousa crowdfunded part of the opening, partnered with local organizations, and committed to hiring from the Braddock community. The restaurant's success has been a catalyst for broader economic development in a borough that had struggled for decades after the mills closed.
Superior Motors earned national attention and critical acclaim, with features in the New York Times, Bon Appetit, and Food & Wine praising both the food and the mission.
What Makes It Pittsburgh
Superior Motors is the most Pittsburgh restaurant imaginable: fine dining in a former steel town, built on community investment, housed in an industrial building, and driven by a belief that great food can be an engine of neighborhood revival.
Braddock's story is Pittsburgh's story in miniature, and Superior Motors is proof that the region's post-industrial future can be as compelling as its past.