Summer’s here and AllSummr isn’t far behind. The pop-up bar opens tomorrow in Uptown and will operate on weekends through September.
Part-beer garden, part-tiki bar, part-tailgate party, AllSummr is located in a vacant parking lot at 1717 Fifth Ave., a few blocks up from PPG Paints Arena. The 9,000-square-foot site features two state-of-the-art, design-forward tents, where up to 500 guests will enjoy drinks and a selection of food from several popular Pittsburgh bars and mobile eateries.
Beginning this week, hours are Friday from 4:30 to 10:30 p.m., Saturday from noon to 10:30 p.m. and Sundays from 12 to 7 p.m. AllSummr will also be open on select Mondays with discounts for service industry employees. And beginning in mid-July, AllSummr will add Thursdays to their schedule.
In the daytime, the space will host barbecues, food trucks and family-friendly games. When the sun goes down, the 21+ crowd gets up for DJs, a 21-tap beer wagon and a cocktail bar sponsored by Absolut.
The seasonal pop-up bar is the brainchild of Derek Burnell, owner of Round Corner Cantina and Umami, and Michael McAllister, owner of Urbanist Guide.
McAllister says plans have been in the works for about eight months. They’re excited to add a bit of longevity to the pop-up bar craze and support the community.
“I’m interested in bringing more energy to the neighborhood, which is going to be seeing significant changes in the coming years,” says McAllister, an Uptown resident.
Throughout the summer, local bars, boutiques and social curators will be hosting their own pop-up events at AllSummr. One example already on the schedule: On July 4, artist and photographer Huny Young hosts “Diaspora 2 Dope 2.0,” a block party sponsored by Hennessy.
In addition to generating fun, Burnell and McAllister want to generate funds for a neighborhood cleanup and nonprofit organizations. A portion of July’s proceeds will go to BOOM Concepts, a Garfield-based organization and gallery that supports local artists, musicians and entrepreneurs.
“We are proud to kick off the AllSummr concept in Uptown this year – a neighborhood rich with history, architecture and soul,” Burnell says. “Our singular goal is to contribute to the communities that we partner with through programming and events. It’s going to be a really exciting experiment.”
Will AllSummr become an annual thing? McAllister says he hopes to bring the summer fun back to Uptown again next year, though the exact location may change. The lot that the AllSummr crew is currently renting is slated for development in the near future.
