3 minute read
Over the Bar Bicycle Café opens in South Fayette
Bike-themed restaurant features artwork, outdoor patio
By Andrea Iglar
On a straightaway just before Chartiers Creek bends 180 degrees, hawks and heron soar over a new restaurant and bar in South Fayette—Over The Bar Bicycle Café.
The eatery embraces the outdoor location and, although there is plenty of car parking, celebrates a form of open-air transportation: the bicycle.
Michael Kotyk opened Over The Bar Bicycle Cafe in the Hastings neighborhood of South Fayette Township in December. Bike-themed decor includes real bicycle parts under the bar surface.
Photo by Andrea Iglar
A bike rack and repair station sit outside, along a path in the Hastings neighborhood on Mayview Road.
Inside, colorful murals on ceilings and walls depict the toothed chainrings of bicycle gears, along with displays of vintage bicycles, a four-seat tandem bike and fixtures formed from bike parts.
Mosaics adorning the outdoor patio are punctuated by a wall-mounted bicycle.
A custom mosaic depicting the restaurant and Chartiers Creek adorns the outdoor patio.
Photo by Andrea Iglar
The ambience ties into the menu, which includes a locally brewed beer called Gravel Grinder and sandwiches named The Trail Builder and Bike Lane BLT.
“Besides just being a restaurant with our whole bicycle theme, we promote healthy lifestyles and active living,” owner and founder Michael Kotyk said.
The South Fayette location is the third for Mr. Kotyk, who opened his first Over The Bar, or OTB, on the South Side 12 years ago, followed by one in North Park 6 years ago. OTB Hastings opened in December.
Self-described foodies and avid cyclists, Mr. Kotyk and his wife, Erin, a school psychologist, live in Upper St. Clair with their children Aidan, 13, and Addison, 10.
In 2018, they started working with the developer of the Hastings plan, Charter Homes & Neighborhoods, to open a restaurant close to home, along the creek and active railroad tracks.
“We felt there weren’t too many options in the South Hills besides chains,” Mr. Kotyk said. “We felt we could do good business here.”
The dining room includes bike decor, such as this vintage tandem four-seat bicycle.
Photo by Andrea Iglar
His business already has ties to the cycling community. Mr. Kotyk has established OTB as a bicycle-friendly employer through local and national programs, and he plans to advocate for expanded trail networks in the local area.
Originally from Sharon in Mercer County, Mr. Kotyk formerly worked for the original Quaker Steak & Lube and then moved to Pittsburgh, where he attended graduate school and worked as a landscape architect specializing in trail planning.
He is on the board of BikePGH, a nonprofit that works to expand biking and walking opportunities. Mr. Kotyk said opening his restaurant has been more challenging than expected due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the local community has been supportive.
When operating at full capacity, the 6,000-square-foot restaurant can seat up to 168 patrons inside and 72 outside, on a patio warmed with 11 large heaters and two fire pits.
The outdoor patio at Over The Bar Hastings accommodates 72 people.
Image courtesy of OTB Hastings
OTB Hastings offers takeout service for food, beer, wine and cocktails, plus indoor and outdoor dining, as permitted by COVID-19 safety guidelines. Online ordering is available.
The bar has 16 beers on tap, plus bottles and cans. About 90 percent of the beers are local, including Gravel Grinder, an India pale ale that Dancing Gnome Brewery in Sharpsburg created in collaboration with OTB. The beer can design matches a mural on the ceiling of the OTB Hastings bar.
The ceiling mural in the bar at OTB Hastings matches the artwork on cans of Gravel Grinder, a beer developed in partnership with Dancing Gnome Brewery of Sharpsburg.
Photo by Andrea Iglar
The rotating menu generally includes appetizers, salads, wings, burgers, sandwiches and “healthy ride bowls,” with vegetarian and gluten-free options. Kids under 10 can choose from items named Strider, Tandem and The Tricycle.
“Some people make fun of me for my so-called ‘kitschy’ menu names,” Mr. Kotyk said, “but I like to bring fun into the restaurant.”
Over the Bar Bicycle Café at Hastings: 1595 Mayview Road, South Fayette; 412-319-7212, Facebook, Instagram, otbbicyclecafe.com/hastings.
