#6324 - Lucky Frank's Irish Pub, Braddock, PA - 8/27/2025

Lucky Frank's Irish Pub, Braddock, PA

A lot of people assume Lucky Frank's Irish Pub is no longer open, and that's what I had done until a local informed me that it's one of those places where you have to ring the doorbell and hope they let you in. Standing on the main drag of Braddock, PA, with an attention grabbing "Harper Whiskey" ad painted on the side, it's not that you'd miss Frank's, but from the front doorway there are no signs of lights on inside, and not knowing about the doorbell, my previous attempts ended when I found the door locked. This time, however, the door was actually slightly propped open, and I entered and took a seat at the bar, in front of two interesting old back bars, and amidst some curious stares.

Lucky Frank's Irish Pub, Braddock, PA

The borough of Braddock, just southeast of Pittsburgh, was name for the British General who died here in a failed mission to take Fort Duquesne from the French (his aide-de-camp Lieutenant-Colonel George Washington would live to fight another day). It has been a struggling community ever since the Carnegie steel mills closed down in the 1970s and 1980s. It was named a "financially distressed municipality" by the state, and in 2006 elected a hulking, shorts and hoodie wearing mayor named John Fetterman, who initiated various revitalization efforts. On this day, in addition to Frank's, I was able to visited the recently reopened and still being remodeled "Carnegie One," the very first of the over sixteen hundred libraries erected with funding from the steel magnate.

It should go without saying that inside Frank's is a classic dive bar, and it was tended by a woman who told me her name was Henrietta, but was curiously called "Mary" by all the patrons. Mary/Henrietta examined my ID carefully, quizzing me about whether I worked for a lawyer or was an inspector of some sort. The bar has a posted policy of not allowing anyone under the age of 35, a policy that is not so much enforced anymore, esp. since COVID. Mary told me she's a tough broad, and informed me that "There's something wrong with you and I'm going to figure it out." When I asked her if it was okay if I took some pictures she called Frank, who gave the okay.

With a cold Yuengling in hand and my web page on the phone, I eventually convinced Mary that I was who I said I was and I was there because of my bar hobby. It turned out that Mary had a lot of information to share about the bar, its history, and people there and around the neighborhood, and we slowly become something like buddies. She dug out relics from the bar, including pulling out boxes of old bottles she'd founding digging in and around the building, unwrapping each one from the packing paper to show me.

It's clear that the Frank's building is pretty old, and that it's hosted bars for a long time, but I've only been able to find snippets of information, especially post-prohibition. There have been saloons at this address since at least 1889, under the following succession of owners:

Samuel R. Holmes (-1889-)

Patrick McKeown (-1890-1902) and John O. Lightner (-1892-)

Christian Echart (1901-1904)

Fritz Totzke and Peter Schmidt (1904-1905)

Matthew Marohnick (1905-1907)

Michael Kalina (1907-1908-)

Peter J. Caulfield (-1909-1919-)

Frank Skrabec (-1913-1921-)

From there the info becomes more sparse. In 1935 it was a tavern named the "Barcewicz Café," by 1949 it was the "Silver Grill," and it was "Lucky Frank's Irish Pub" by 1993. Around 15 years ago it was closed by the authorities for several years due to rampart drug activity. It was reopened in 2012, under a plan from owners Frank Evanovich and Charles Blon that included banning anyone under 30 and staying open only from 8am to 6pm.

As I left Frank's, Mary escorted me out the door, continuing to share information, until we each took a photo of the other in front of the place, and gave each other a departing hug. I'm really hoping I can dig out substantially more of the history of the bars here, and definitely plan to return.

312 Braddock Ave, Braddock, PA 15104 - (412) 545-2914

#6323 - Dante Club, Rankin, PA - 8/27/2025

Dante Club, Rankin, PA

The Dante Club is not a place you are likely to stumble upon if you are not seeking it out, tucked in the shadow of the Rankin Bridge in the old steel and wire manufacturing borough down the Monongahela River from Pittsburgh. Even the Google Street View images give no hint of business, showing instead the bridge flying over it. But one cohort who can find are movie producers -- flicks that were partially filmed here include "The Deliverance," "Last Flag Flying," "Mindhunter," "The Road," "American Rust," and "Out of the Furnace."

Owner and bartender Danielle Cioppa told me there were two types of people who find the bar without being locals/regulars: People who attended the local community high schools that are memorialized in the space, and movie people. She was surprised to find out I was neither.

Dante Club, Rankin, PA

The movie people obviously like the old, classic working man's bar vibe in the historic space - as do I. This neighborhood used to be heavily Italian, and as can be seen in an old book of club by-laws, rules, and regulations possessed by the bar owners, the "Dante Club" can be traced all the way back to 1924, when it began in the home of Mrs. Teresa Russo. The club began renting the current space in 1936 (shortly after prohibition), and became a chartered club with a liquor license in 1937.

It would remain the members-only Dante Club for more than half a century, because it was sold in 1998 to someone who opened it to the public renamed "Hidy's Cafe." But finally in 2022 Todd Cioppa purchased it for his (Italian) mother Anita, who was 80 years old at the time and returned it to the original name and ran it briefly before passing away two years later. It's now run by Todd and his wife Danielle.

Danielle noted that attendance at the bar varies widely, from very slow nights to big crowds. She hosts a lot of different sorts of events, bringing in old bar owners for interviews, staging a fish fry contests from the innumerable churches and volunteer fire departments that produce them every Lent, craft nights, live music, comedy shows, Steeler games, Pride week specials, and watch parties for the various films created here. The bar has also served as the hub 

As we were discussing my hobby, Danielle provided various historical notes on the bar, and quizzed me about other interesting local bars, adding a few to my to-do list. I'm following the club on Facebook now for future events.

  

Anita Cioppa's coats hang in an
abiding homage

115 W Braddock Ave, Braddock, PA 15104 - (412) 852-6919
Est. 1937 (first becomes a club and bar), 1998 (opens to public)
Previous bars in this location: Hidy's Cafe
Web site: dantesrankin.com - facebook - instagram 
Articles and reviews: yajagoff.com