INGOOD TASTE
Candid conversations with the dining scene’s most engaging chefs
Pete Sanida, General
Manager, The Old Bridge
The Old Bridge
2822 South Park Road, Bethel Park;
412.430.0033, old-bridge.net
Describe The Old Bridge.
The restaurant is a dual
concept of brick oven pizzas
and handcrafted sandwiches
made on homemade bread.
As a multi-pizza/baked goods concept, the
restaurant essentially started with one co-
owner, Sanel Hodzic, having a passion for
baking and making signature pizzas. The
research began with what was the best oven
money could buy. The first thought was to
make signature sandwiches on homemade
bread—that would be the front of the house—
and create very fine foods from the back of the
house. This idea started through Justin Christy
(a very dear partner of Sanel) and Amir Medar.
The Old Bridge is named for the most famous
bridge in Bosnia and is symbolic of what
everyone has been through. It’s been destroyed
and rebuilt and it has a beautiful river running
underneath, and that’s the inspiration to our
restaurant name. Another inspiration is Amir
who seems to know everybody in Bethel Park
and is like our ambassador. He’s 6'7" and has
the hands the size of a frying pan. He likes to
create a feel-good essence every day, while I
work to maintain a good morale and harmony
so our staff will want to come to work every day
and for our customers to feel at home.
Q A
On the Menu:
This brick oven pizza and specialty bread
restaurant is BYOB and begins the meal
with must-have appetizers including a
Cheese Platter made of local cheeses,
almonds and seasonal fruits served with
local honey and Romesco; Fresh Mussels
in a white wine garlic broth, breadcrumbs,
pine nuts and basil; Mediterranean
Meatballs consisting of sundried tomato
and walnut gremolata, hummus, and
feta cheese served on a Phyllo nest to
name a few. It has a variety of salads: the
House Salad, a Seasonal Fruit & Candied
Walnuts Salad, Steak Salad, Wedge Salad,
Grilled Peach Salad and The Old Bridge
Salad (tomato, cucumber, Kalamata olives,
feta cheese, pine nuts and marinated
chickpeas served with the house dress-
ing), plus the soup of the day. Brick oven
sandwiches are served until 4 p.m. daily
such as the Meatball, the Vegetarian, the
Chicken MozzaCaddo and the Marroccan,
an Italian sandwich.
It’s a very chic and inviting, open restaurant.
We hear customers say all the time that there
is a family vibe here, from the waitresses to
the food. The food and the space create that
feeling, as well as the people working here. We
have a small staff with our brick oven in front
for patrons to watch the pizza being made. The
fixtures and furnishings offer a very classic,
clean and comfortable space.
What led you to be GM?
My background has been in startups, specialty
foods and coffee for more than 30 years. I was
at a celebration for a friend and I got back in
touch with the owner who I’ve known for 20
years. He’s from Bosnia and my family helped
bring him here a year after the Bosnia war
ended in the ‘90s. I heard what he was doing
with the restaurant and I threw my hat in the
ring. I began June 5 and that’s the day the
restaurant opened.
Chicken Picatta
12
724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE
❘
How do you decide on the menu?
The menu will always have our signature items
(there are a couple that people rave about), like
our Cioppino—a tomato broth entrée with
shrimp, mussels and lobster. We’re constantly
icmags.com
Pete Sanida, GM, The Old Bridge.
listening to the customer and public and the
changes are based on seasonal ingredients and
what’s fresh and what we can support locally.
As a team, we collaborate with the owners, etc.
Our restaurant has a grassroots following and
it’s still a soft open because we haven’t done any
marketing or promotion.
Do you have a history of cooking?
I have a passion for cooking at home and
have left the real cooking to the trained
professionals. If I’ve created a sandwich for the
menu it’s always been out of an appreciation
for good food. I’ve always been an operator or
manager because I know what’s good.
At home, what kitchen tool can’t you live
without?
A good knife and a good pan.
What is your favorite quick meal to
prepare at home?
I like to make a chicken marsala. However, my
fiancée, Shaney Brown (it has a ring to it and
it has to be said altogether), and I like to cook
scallops in a basil sherry cream sauce, using a
very dry scallop to be exact.
What is your favorite go-to ingredient?
Basil. I can work it into almost anything. I also
use cinnamon in roasted potatoes and spaghetti
sauce.
Other than your restaurant, where’s your
favorite place to eat?
I’m a simple man and the one restaurant that
pops into mind is Tessaro’s. They make a nice
steak.
What’s the next big food or dining trend?
Food is a simple pleasure and there will be
trends—they come and go; I believe if you
offer a multi-concept and a good product that’s
fresh, people will come. It comes down to a
place that has a nice atmosphere, good food
and consistency. n
—Reese Randall