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When Nik Forsberg and Sarah LaPonte launched Fet-Fisk in 2019, they wanted to create a space appealing not just to customers but to themselves on the evenings when Pittsburgh’s restaurant industry was quiet.
For the past five years, Fet-Fisk has served its Nordic menu at pop-up locations throughout Pittsburgh, advertising where it could be found on social media or in a newsletter. In 2023, Forsberg was recognized as a James Beard Award Semifinalist.
Its last dinners of 2023 were hosted at Black Radish Kitchen, a catering kitchen in Point Breeze, and served about 180 patrons a night.
Growing alongside their clientele was the desire to have a space of their own.
“We want to be a community gathering place for our friends and peers and anyone who likes what we do,” Forsberg says.
Before the pandemic, Forsberg and his business partners were on the lookout for a permanent restaurant space. Forsberg thought a couple of spots had enough character to house Fet-Fisk.
Then they toured the building that once had been Lombardozzi’s, a Bloomfield staple. After 50 years, Lombardozzi shut down in March 2020 when the pandemic hit and never reopened.
Through the dirty, carpet-covered floors, dropped ceilings and general dilapidation, Forsberg knew this was it.
“It had inherent charm,” Forsberg says. “All the wood paneling and all the iron grates are original. The shape of the bar and the vibe when we walked in galvanized the concept for me.”
Almost a year and a half later — and two weeks ahead of its March 28 opening date — Fet-Fisk features original Lombardozzi glassware, cutlery and furnishings, “with the exception of the barstools,” Forsberg adds. Glass panels etched with the letter L throughout the restaurant were flipped upside down and an additional line turned them into sweeping F’s.
“The space just had so much character that we were able to build off of rather than going into an empty box and trying to come up with something,” Forsberg says.
With roots now set, growth is on his mind. Forsberg says the restaurant will launch with about 20 menu items, almost double the size of the pop-up menus. Service will start with winter fare, and spring and summer offerings will soon follow.
General Manager Heather Perkins says the bar’s menu — like the food — will be European and understated.
“Our house is a Swedish vodka and … a Nordic gin,” Perkins says. “Leaning into the European style of finishing with a house-made marigold schnapps to end the meal — no fuss and everything has its place.”
Slices of extravagance still found their way onto the menu. Forsberg’s grandmother, in one of her last conversations with his father, said she had a good life, “but wished she had eaten more caviar.”
“I felt like I had to stick it on there for Peggy,” he says.
The restaurant does not require registration like the pop-ups did, but similar crowds are expected. Fet-Fisk has added a few new hires to its core staff, but the number on the floor nightly will remain relatively the same.
“We were really lucky to keep the people who have been along with Nik and been legacy staff along the way,” Perkins says. “And then getting a new group of people who had this new energy was really exciting.”
A wall of metal grates and windows creates a physical barrier between the moody, first-come-first-served bar and a reservation-based dining area.
“A lot of us have cherished memories of divey bars,” LaPonte says. “We can do that on this side and have a more elevated dining room, but they don’t feel like two separate spaces. When there are people in here, there are a lot of good nooks that you can peer in, and the mirrors reflect the light nicely.”
Starting March 28, Fet-Fisk will be open Thursdays through Mondays. The dining room will be open from 5 to 10 p.m., and the bar — and connected seating — will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight.
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