i m 29, that s who i m building this restaurant for. and everyone was justin: 56. sonja: yeah, my parents age or older. justin: you know, i thought to myself, i m going to this neighborhood that s basically desolate. i m going to take this building that s it s a restaurant that s been closed for seven years. and i m going to do something nice here. you know, i didn t expect the reaction i got from the actual people that lived around me. anthony: right. justin: you know, which was not positive. they liked it the way it was. you know, that was their life. and then i move in and all of a sudden, i open this restaurant and people with nice, fancy cars are taking their parking spaces. and now i m a yuppie gentrifier. you know what i mean? anthony: well, you know, own it. sonja: sometimes it kind of hurts, right? as a restaurant owner or small business owner, because there are always haters out there. and you feel like, okay, so somebody wants me to be a small business o
my employees. and then also on me, they are going to talk about gentrification. like you re just trying to do your thing. you re just trying to do something good. anthony: right. justin: and you re trying to do it for you. and you should. sonja: yeah, but i don t know, i mean for me it s different. like, i definitely was thinking about the neighborhood when i did it. like i m not some egomaniac who thinks that just putting out my food is a reason. so that everyone can enjoy the artistry of my food, that s why i m opening a restaurant. that s not the point. justin: not to disagree with any of what you just said. but i didn t open cure in lawrenceville because i wanted to change the neighborhood. i honestly opened cure for me, 100%. i was like struggling professionally, struggling personally. cure was all about satisfying me. like, 100%. anthony: if i m running a high-end restaurant in pittsburgh, who am i employing as porters, dishwashers? sonja: students. justin: honestly
anthony: no way. justin: pittsburgh, pennsylvania is a big bright shining star of an example of what blue-collar america was a hundred years ago. sonja: when we re looking at who is applying, we also need to look at neighborhoods. the topography of pittsburgh is such that neighborhoods are separated by bridges and ravines. and this sort of thing means that people stay within their neighborhood. anthony: everybody is talking about a pittsburgh renaissance. there are artists coming, there are hip, new restaurants. somebody s making money. sala: yes.
as a restaurant owner or small business owner, because there are always haters out there. and you feel like, okay, so somebody wants me to be a small business owner, and take care of my employees. and then also on me, they are going to talk about gentrification. like you re just trying to do your thing. you re just trying to do something good. anthony: right. justin: and you re trying to do it for you. and you should. sonja: yeah, but, i don t know, i mean for me it s different. like, i definitely was thinking about the neighborhood when i did it. like i m not some egomaniac who thinks that just putting out my food is a reason. so that everyone can enjoy the artistry of my food. that s why i m opening a restaurant. that s not the point. justin: not to disagree with any of what you just said. but i didn t open cure in lawrenceville because i wanted to change the neighborhood. i honestly opened cure for me, 100%. i was like struggling professionally, struggling personally. cure w
are there typical, iconic pittsburgher qualities? maggie: i d say you probably worked here and brag about working here. you complain about millennials. you complain about the people in the street harassing you. you don t like anything new, at all. anthony: you re describing me. the menu is looking good. right in my happy zone. racks of pork rib, grilled hearts of escarole and turnips. a sauce made from the pork drippings. and, four types of sausage. anthony: wow, look at this. maggie: this is amazing. anthony: that s titanic. i don t want to speak about pittsburgh in a dismissive way, but it was not known for being what it is today. people are talking a lot about the food scene here. twas not always so. what were people eating before? justin: you know, steak and potatoes. sonja: you know, living in san francisco, as a young person in your 20s, you were going out to eat. that was really important. and we all knew about the restaurants, whether you were in the restaurant b