Bloomfield Welcomes Change While Honoring Its Past
- Hilary Daninhirsch
- Aug 31
- 5 min read
Known colloquially as Pittsburgh’s Little Italy, Bloomfield is a small but noteworthy East End neighborhood nestled between Garfield, Lawrenceville, Friendship, and Shadyside. The name pays homage to the flowers that once bloomed in the area. Today, a mix of longtime residents and a healthy influx of newcomers—about 9,500 people—call Bloomfield home.
In the 1880s, Bloomfield was settled by immigrants primarily from southern Italy, who came to America to work in Pittsburgh’s industries. A strong Italian culture was established, and while the neighborhood is much more diverse these days, Bloomfield clings to its Italian roots. Restaurants, grocery stores, and other businesses reflect this history. In fact, Little Italy Days, which began in 2002, is the region’s largest heritage festival. Held in mid-August over a four-day period, the event features the annual Little Italy Days Bocce Tournament, the Miss Little Italy Pageant, pizza acrobatics, and a pizza competition.
The majority of Bloomfield’s businesses are located on Liberty Avenue and include an assorted mix of restaurants and retail shops, ranging from longtime establishments to newcomers.
While Italian restaurants are still prevalent—The Pleasure Bar, for example, has had a presence in Bloomfield for 99 years, as well as Angelo’s Pizzeria—the neighborhood is also home to a variety of ethnic food spots. These include Tram’s Kitchen, a Vietnamese restaurant; Masala House Indian Bistro; and two Thai restaurants: Thai Gourmet and Thai Cuisine.
A new and already beloved eatery in Bloomfield is Fet-Fisk, a James Beard Award–winning restaurant that occupies the space where Lombardozzi’s Restaurant once stood. Fet-Fisk is a seasonally driven, Nordic-inspired restaurant that began as a pop-up. Owner and Executive Chef Nik Forsberg seized the opportunity to establish a brick-and-mortar presence in Bloomfield.
“We were lucky to stumble into a defunct but iconic neighborhood gathering place for 50 years; that was exactly what we wanted to offer the community. It was this perfect neighborhood spot that felt lived-in and charmed in a way,” said Forsberg, who added that they retained the décor as an homage to Lombardozzi’s.
Though the restaurant has garnered national attention and certainly draws crowds from across Pittsburgh, Forsberg’s original mission was to serve the local community—and the community has welcomed Fet-Fisk with open arms. “People are happy that this space is being utilized, that we haven’t erased the history that’s in the building, and that we’re bringing more people to the neighborhood,” said Forsberg.
In 2018, Jim Sattler was dining at Lombardozzi’s when he noticed a building for rent across the street. He mused aloud about the rent, and as fate would have it, the owner’s son overheard him. Sattler ended up striking a deal and opened SPiLL the Wine Bar on Liberty Avenue—across from what is now Fet-Fisk—after obtaining a Limited Winery License. SPiLL the Wine Bar is a BYOF (Bring Your Own Food) establishment. Sattler and his wife regularly travel to Italy to source small-batch wines, adding to the seven wineries now represented at SPiLL, by the glass, bottle, and case.
Patrons are welcome to bring in food while Sattler suggests one of his 64 varieties of Italian wine to pair with their meals. In fact, he keeps menus from local Bloomfield restaurants on hand so customers can order food and enjoy it with their wine.
Sattler believes Bloomfield was the perfect location for his business. On weekends, it’s a destination for many customers, while during the week, it’s mostly residents of Bloomfield and surrounding neighborhoods who frequent the wine bar.
One thing about Bloomfield is that it remains affordable—for both housing and business rents. That affordability prompted Ron Leone to move his floral shop, Leone Florist, from Centre Avenue in Shadyside to Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield. The lower rent and reduced traffic congestion made the transition worthwhile. “The transition was really good, because I’m right across from West Penn Hospital,” he said. He’s also received strong support from the community, including other businesses and residents. Leone is pleased to see the number of new businesses popping up in Bloomfield—many of which have relocated from other parts of Pittsburgh. While it’s a well-established neighborhood, he views it as up-and-coming due to the influx of newcomers.
In addition to its eclectic selection of restaurants and shopping options, many are drawn to Bloomfield for the Bloomfield Saturday Market, one of the largest farmers’ markets in the city. Running from May through November, the market draws about 2,600 visitors each week. Around 50 local vendors set up booths. A unique aspect of the market is that it also operates during the winter months, albeit biweekly.
“The market started in 2014. The founder wanted to create a space where small farmers and producers could test out their products. It has evolved over time into something like an incubator model for many vendors,” said Abby Carpenter, president of the board of directors of the Bloomfield Development Corporation, which runs the market and works to foster a thriving, equitable Bloomfield. “We’ve seen about 13 vendors over time do so well at the market that they expanded into brick-and-mortar stores and are doing super well.”
The neighborhood was recently awarded a Main Street Matters grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, which will help the BDC conduct an assessment of how the business district can improve.
One regular market vendor is also a new business owner on Main Street. Molly Latinova and her husband, Jak Latinov, opened Jak’s Bakery almost two years ago, though they previously operated out of the Bulgarian Club for several years. The bakery offers a variety of sweet and savory Bulgarian pastries, such as cinnamon sugar kifla, vanilla crème kremka, flaky apple walnut banitsa, beef kielbasa rolls, and more. Latinova said the building was affordable, and she enjoys having regular customers who can walk to the shop. “We rely on customers coming back repeatedly. That’s why we love being a neighborhood bakery—getting to know our customers and neighbors in Bloomfield. But we still go to about eight other farmers’ markets per week,” she said.
Richard Peyser and his young family are regulars at Jak’s, and having a walkable, neighborhood bakery is something he truly appreciates about living in Bloomfield—along with the ability to walk to other local businesses. He and his wife moved from Lawrenceville about six years ago. While they still enjoy visiting their old neighborhood, they prefer living in Bloomfield. “It is a livable, walkable, and convenient central neighborhood that is very family-friendly,” he said. Having moved from D.C., they were also pleasantly surprised by the affordability of housing in Bloomfield. His family also enjoys the Bloomfield public pool during the summer, which residents have affectionately dubbed “Bloomfield Beach.”
“I think the draw is that it’s very diverse, and a lot of the small businesses are really unique,” said Leone.
“I think there’s a really good network of other businesses in Bloomfield,” added Forsberg. “We talk and meet up at the market and make sure that everyone has what they need. It’s great. I love Bloomfield—it has the history and culture that’s very stalwart and proud, but you also have newer, younger people running businesses. It’s a good reflection of where the city is at in its development, both economically and culturally,” said Forsberg.