McCandless holds its first Restaurant Week Monday, October 12, through Friday, October 16. Eighteen businesses are taking part. To get a business's special, you mention Restaurant Week when you order. There's no ticket or registration. A passport with extra offers stays good through November 30, 2026, so the event itself lasts five days but the passport offers stay good for nearly seven weeks.
Where those 18 businesses sit is the useful part. They aren't on a single walkable strip. They fall into five clusters: a shopping center on Blazier Drive, a plaza on Duncan Avenue, the older crossroads along Perry Highway and Ingomar Road, the edge of North Park, and the public library. The list is the closest McCandless has come to a published map of where to eat in town, and the passport is the incentive to visit more than one cluster.
How Restaurant Week Works
The Town of McCandless announcement promises "18 participating businesses. 18 TOM Specials." Patch's coverage explains how it works:
- Dates: October 12 to 16, Monday through Friday. There are no weekend days in the window.
- Redeeming: Mention McCandless Restaurant Week at any participating business. No registration is needed.
- The specials: Each business made its own "TOM Special." They range from discounts and free items to new or limited-time menu items.
- The passport: Pick one up at a participating business during the event. Its additional offers can be redeemed through November 30, 2026.
- Who's behind it: Diane Romanek, the Town of McCandless executive assistant, helped coordinate it. Funding came through Main Streets Allegheny from the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County.
Since the event runs only on weekdays, the passport is how most people will get to anything beyond one weekday lunch. The town didn't publish each business's special in the sources we reviewed, so plan on asking at the counter.
Five Pockets, Eighteen Names
Here's the full participant list, grouped by location. Where an address isn't confirmed in our sources, the table says so.
| Participants | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| Blazier Drive / Pine Creek | Clark's Restaurant, Little Viet Kitchen | 75 and 195 Blazier Dr. |
| Duncan Avenue | Allusion Brewing Company, YOYO Panda, Large Plain Pizza and Pints | 1701 and 1411 Duncan Ave. |
| Perry Highway / Ingomar | Adzema Pharmacy, Lucky Bug Coffee, Bruster's Real Ice Cream of Ingomar | 8105 Perry Hwy.; 820 W. Ingomar Rd.; Ingomar |
| North Park | OTB at the North Park Boathouse, Mark's North Park Lounge | 10301 Pearce Mill Rd.; 8701 Babcock Blvd. |
| Northland Public Library | Commonplace Coffee | 300 Cumberland Rd. |
| Elsewhere in town | DiBella's Subs at McCandless Crossing, First Watch, Texas Roadhouse, Hello Bistro, Shabu-Shabu Hotpot & Grill, Convive Coffee, Shooters Golf | Confirm locations with each business |
Each pocket comes from a different kind of place: a shopping center, a strip plaza, an old road junction, a county park, and a library. The sections below take them one at a time.
Blazier Drive Keeps Adding Reasons to Stop
Clark's Restaurant lists itself at 75 Blazier Drive in Pine Creek Shopping Center. It describes itself as a family-friendly local bar and restaurant serving burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads, and its site already links a Fall 2026 menu. In the town's photo for the Patch story, Clark's dishes stand in for the whole event.
A short walk along the same road is Little Viet Kitchen at 195 Blazier Drive. Its site says it's in Pine Creek Plaza next to Renee's Hallmark. It's pickup only. The menu has bánh mì, rice bowls, pho and summer rolls, and the business comes from the sisters who own Banh Mi & Ti.
This pocket also got busier for a reason unrelated to food. In August 2026, Riverstone Books left McCandless Crossing for a larger space at 65 Blazier Drive in Pine Creek Center. When it announced the move, the store said it planned to add a café. The store isn't part of Restaurant Week. Still, a takeout order from Little Viet Kitchen and a visit to Riverstone now fit in one stop.
Duncan Avenue Runs on One Plaza
Allusion Brewing Company opened its McCandless taproom on April 12, 2024, in Duncan Manor Plaza. Pittsburgh Magazine reported the space was about three times the size of the brewery's original Vandergrift location. Allusion's current fall lineup includes an Oktoberfest Märzen and Gently Rapping, a spiced pumpkin ale. Its October calendar also lists a trivia night at the 1701 Duncan Avenue taproom.
YOYO Panda shares that address in Suite 5. It describes itself as an authentic Chinese and Asian restaurant, with braised pork belly, fried rice and pork dumplings among its featured dishes. A few doors down at 1411 Duncan Avenue, Large Plain Pizza and Pints specializes in Pittsburgh-style pizza and also serves wings and salads.
Three of the 18 participants are within about a block of each other here. No other pocket has that many so close together.
A Lunch Counter on Perry Highway, Coffee on Ingomar Road
The oldest business on the list may be the one you'd least expect. Adzema Pharmacy at 8105 Perry Highway runs a breakfast-and-lunch counter next to a full pharmacy. According to a 2023 TribLive profile, the owner's father opened the pharmacy in 1959, and it moved across the street to its current spot in 1963. In that profile, owner Jay Adzema said his was one of three pharmacies in the region with a lunch counter, and the only one that didn't sublease it. He also said he doesn't want it seen as a nostalgia act:
"We're doing anything that any modern pharmacy can do, but in a comfortable atmosphere."
Lucky Bug Coffee, at 820 West Ingomar Road, takes online orders for pickup. Bruster's Real Ice Cream of Ingomar is on the list too, so this pocket covers coffee, a counter breakfast and ice cream without leaving the Perry Highway and Ingomar corner of town.
The Park and the Library
The last two pockets are built around public places.
At North Park, OTB at the North Park Boathouse, 10301 Pearce Mill Road, lists hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Its menu of burgers, sandwiches, salads and appetizers uses cycling-themed names and North Park references. Mark's North Park Lounge, 8701 Babcock Boulevard, serves breakfast daily from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The park has more going on this month. On Thursday, October 22, Allegheny County hosts a free Campfire Ghost Stories event on the Boathouse Lawn from 7 to 8 p.m., weather permitting. That falls after Restaurant Week but well inside the passport window, and OTB is right next to the lawn. The park's 102-foot Observation Tower is still under restoration. WESA reported work started August 31, with completion targeted for summer 2027.
Commonplace Coffee is the newest name on the list that our sources date. It opened inside Northland Public Library at 300 Cumberland Road on December 19, 2025, according to the Post-Gazette and Commonplace's own announcement. It serves coffee and tea drinks, scratch-made baked goods, and grab-and-go breakfast and lunch. The library's café page and the opening coverage list different closing times for Monday through Thursday, so check current hours before you go.
Why the Passport Runs to November 30
Patch reported that Restaurant Week was designed to bring customers to local businesses during what can be a slower time of year for restaurants, and to give people a reason to try something new. Lizz Venanzi, the town's community engagement manager, visited every participant while planning it. She said she was "surprised by just how unique each one is, offering experiences and flavors that many people would travel downtown for, right here in McCandless."
With five pockets and five weekdays, the calendar is easy to plan, one pocket per day:
- Monday, October 12: Perry Highway and Ingomar. Breakfast at Adzema's counter, coffee from Lucky Bug, and Bruster's if the weather holds.
- Tuesday, October 13: Blazier Drive. Takeout from Little Viet Kitchen or a table at Clark's, then Riverstone Books down the road.
- Wednesday, October 14: Northland Public Library, with a stop at Commonplace Coffee.
- Thursday, October 15: Duncan Avenue. Allusion's fall beers, with YOYO Panda and Large Plain Pizza and Pints in the same plaza.
- Friday, October 16: North Park. Breakfast at Mark's North Park Lounge, then dinner at OTB by the lake.
Pick up a passport on Monday, and the offers you don't use that week are good through Monday, November 30.
Over the years, many of my conversations with clients have started over a coffee or a counter breakfast, and a list like this one is a good reminder of how much is happening close to home. If you try a new place during Restaurant Week, or have questions about McCandless and the North Hills, I'd be glad to hear from you. You can reach me through Emily Wilhelm. Let's Connect.
