Joe Beckham did not need to look far for inspiration when he decided to open a new restaurant in Pittsburgh. The Philadelphia-based restaurateur simply reached back to his family — and to the city where his career in hospitality began more than three decades ago. The result is Harry & Fritz, a warmly lit, Art Deco-styled American eatery at 947 Penn Ave that opened this month in Downtown Pittsburgh, becoming one of the most eagerly anticipated new tables in the city.
The name honors two men Beckham never wanted the world to forget: his grandfather, Harry Oxenreider, and his great-uncle, Frederick "Fritz" Mackes. In the 1930s, the two frequented the kind of place Beckham has now built — casual American spots where the food was hearty, the cocktails were classic, and the welcome was genuine. Black-and-white photographs of both men line the restaurant walls, making the dining room feel less like a new opening and more like a long-standing neighborhood institution that simply needed rediscovering.
The menu is peppered with namesake tributes. Mussels "Fritz" — fresh Prince Edward Island shellfish bathed in white wine broth with spicy kielbasa, jalapeños, tomato confit, and herbs, served with toasted Mediterra Bakehouse sourdough — is already drawing raves from early diners. The 10-ounce hanger steak is billed as "a medium-rare tribute to Uncle Mackes." Aunt Helen's triple-layered devil's-food-and-buttercream cake closes the meal in style. Every dish carries a story, and Beckham clearly intends for his guests to feel it.
The broader menu reflects a kitchen that is serious about comfort without being fussy. Kasespatzle, the German take on mac-and-cheese, anchors the appetizer section alongside jumbo soft pretzels and a chilled seafood bar featuring oysters and lobster tail. Main courses range from Linguine & Clams — Littleneck clams in the shell and tossed in garlic white wine butter, finished with herbed breadcrumbs and lemon zest — to Chicken Two Ways, a plate built around a pan-roasted breast with thyme jus and a slice of housemade chicken strudel. The cocktail list pays tribute to Harry's favorite drink, the Rum Manhattan, alongside the signature Fussfungle Old Fashioned.
A Pittsburgh Story, Decades in the Making
Beckham's connection to Pittsburgh is deeper than a business opportunity. His service-industry career began here in the early 1990s, when he was a busboy at Cafe Allegro on the South Side. He tended bar at Nick's Fat City and helped launch Lava Lounge, the beloved quirky hangout on Carson Street that became a fixture of Pittsburgh nightlife before closing in 2016. He eventually moved east to Philadelphia, where he built Redux Hospitality into a respected restaurant group — but the Monongahela never fully left his system.
It was longtime Pittsburgh hospitality figure Steve Zumoff who helped Beckham find the Penn Avenue address, a prime corner inside the Courtyard by Marriott building with sight lines to the street and room for the kind of leather booth Beckham envisioned. Zumoff is himself preparing to open Spork Island Trading Co. in a storefront directly across the street, a coincidence that is quickly turning that block of Penn Avenue into one of the more interesting restaurant corridors in the city. Downtown Pittsburgh's dining scene, already energized by several strong recent openings, gains another compelling reason for residents and visitors to pull up a chair and linger.
Harry & Fritz is open daily from 4 to 10 p.m. For a downtown still building momentum toward full evening vitality, a destination like this — one with a genuine story behind it, an operator who has been waiting decades to tell it, and a kitchen capable of delivering — is precisely the kind of anchor that changes a neighborhood's trajectory. Pittsburgh gave Joe Beckham his start. He has returned the favor.