#4728 - Pee Dee's Brunch and Bar, Steubenville, OH - 8/6/2022

Pee Dee's Brunch & Bar, Steubenville, OH

The Wikipedia page says that the economy of Steubenville, Ohio -- location of historic Fort Steubenville and birthplace of Dean Martin, has been sluggish since the steel industry waned during the 1980s. The census shows that the population has been declining since the 1940s, and many of the decrepit downtown buildings seem to reflect that diminishment, though many are brightened by various murals. The building on 4th Avenue that houses Pee Dee's Brunch and Bar is one of these worn places, the second floor windows now blocked with darkened plywood, dirt staining the facade next door, and a large ghost sign for Battle Ax Plug chewing tobacco towering over a vacant lot of dirt and weeds. The menu and interior of Pee Dees are also nothing fancy. But I'm giving this place my highest recommendation. 

What makes Pee Dee's great, in my view, is its authenticity and its character -- and the fact you just feel happy sitting there. You won't want to go expecting haute cuisine or fancy cocktails, of course; but if you're in the mood for some classic American diner food at a good price, Pee Dee's delivers in spades. My photo doesn't communicate how large my burger is, but you might get an idea from the large stack of lettuce and juicy tomato. 

The diverse patrons give it a nice, neighborhood vibe, but it's the owners who really set the tone. They're both affable hosts, with Preston ("Pee") chatting up the regulars as they drop in, and Diane ("Dee") keeping up a running patter that veers from local observations to snarky humor to singing. (The elderly woman next to me at the counter informed me that "the entertainment here is free.") I was wearing and Einsturzende Neubauten tee shirt when I came in and after having me pronounce it, Dee asked if I was Irish.

 The place has apparently been Pee Dee's for 31 years now, with Diane here all that time. The original "Pee" was her brother, who eventually left the operation, but in 1999 Diane conveniently married another "P," her husband Preston. I have virtually no data on the long history of the building before that, although I happened across a 1972 Polk guide at an antique store in town and found "Arcade Billiards" listed there.

Owners Preston and Diane
Pee Dee's Bar & Brunch, Steubenville, OH

Steubenville isn't exactly convenient to us, but it is just 30 miles or so due west, across the West Virginia panhandle and the Ohio River, so I expect we'll pass through now and then, and I hope Pee Dee's remains there for a long, long time.

160 S 4th St, Steubenville, OH 43952 - (740) 283-9184
Est. 1991
Previous bars in this location: Arcade Billiards
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Reviews: businessfinder - worldorgs