History of 128 South 17th Street Building.

John and Eliza Fisher commissioned construction of 128 South 17th Street in 1885. The three story building was constructed as a saloon, with the Fisher’s living quarters on its upper floors. The building took the place of a one story frame dwelling that had stood on the lot for a number of years and that had been the Fisher’s home from 1880 til 1885.

The building at 128 was constructed in the Second Empire style, as shown in its mansard roof, John and Eliza Fisher hired the South Side contracting firm of Plank & Rothleder to construct the building, at the cost of $3000.

John fisher was an immigrant from Austria, and Eliza Fisher was born in Hesse Cassel, Germany. Both came to the United States and settlerd in South Side in the 1870s. John Fisher worked in the Birmingham Tool Works at South 13th and Breed Street and in glass factories on the South Side before he became a saloon proprietor at 128 in 1885.

John Fisher run the saloon until he died in 1906. He lived above the business with Eliza Fisher, a niece, Eliza Yenke, and her husband, Ernest Yenke, a bartender in the saloon. After John Fisher’s death, Eliza Fisher rented the building to tenants while living a short distance away on south 17th. She moved to Michigan before she died in 1920. She left the bulding to Eliza Yenke, who sold it in 1928.The new owners Peter F. and Mary M. Wilson (also known as Peter F. and Mary M. Wolski conveyed the building to Robert E. and Catherine McCaan for $1 and other consideration (tax stamps indicate a price of $11,000).They run the business as McCaan’s a renown local Irish Bar for half a century.

Michele and Cindy Savoia purchased the building from Patrick J. McCaan, attorney in fact for Catherine, on December 28 1999 and open Dish Osteria and Bar in September 2000

The former Fisher saloon has now had a total of four owners.

Fisher Saloon 1885

Wilson’s 1928

McCaan’s 1946

Dish Osteria and Bar 2000

Brief history of Dish Osteria and Bar

It has been a long and successful run that began on a NYE of 1999 when we bought McCann’s, an Irish Pub. We ran the bar as it was until San Patrick Day of 2000, and what a ride it was for those 3 months! We spent the summer months opening and closing at various intervals to give us the chance to remodel and shape our vision for what Dish eventually evolved into it. The place had no name, some frozen sandwiches and Chef Boyardee cans,  plenty of alcohol, a jukebox, a mixed crowd of industry friends, artists and musicians, college students, vintage Vespa drivers, South Side old timers, and neighbors. The kitchen was being built and the plastered walls were crumbling. In the final stretch of that summer we closed for the major work, and with the help of Cindy’s mom, dad and brother, the space was transformed into what it is today. Everybody was asking when we would open again, but without committing to a definitive date or any kind of soft opening, on a Friday night, September 22, 2000, we decided to open. We taped a hand written note on the door “Opening Tonight” and from that moment on we spent every day to create a place for people to come and enjoy good service,  simple food, wine, beer and cocktails in a tv free environment, in an atmosphere that, over the years, has been a trademark of Dish. We are forever grateful for our past and present staff members in the front and back of the house that helped us to materialize our vision. Without them it would not have been possible. We are forever grateful to the score of people that came through the door and supported us over the years. Our vision at the time was to offer something new to Pittsburgh which would allow people to connect and socialize over a nice glass of wine and food.  It has been such a pleasure to watch this happen over and over in the course of the last 20 years or so.

We did take a 2 year sabbatical in order to catch up with life and family in 2017/18. When we reopened in April 2019 we were grateful that our staff came back to work with us, and their experience allowed us to handle an overwhelming response from all of our loyal customers, as well as new ones. It was one of the best years on record until the 2020 pandemic brought us to a sudden stop, as it did to the rest of the world.

We are now in the process of reopening again after more than a year. We are aware of the new challenges this time around, but we are excited to bring the spirit of Dish back into the fold of daily life in the great city of Pittsburgh.

See you soon……