Restaurant Spotlight: Ziggy's Tavern

Ron Sofranko, a partner of Ziggy's Tavern, says there are a lot of misconceptions about the restaurant which has operated for decades at 9101 Perry Highway, at the foot of Cumberland Road, in McCandless.

"There's a real myth about Ziggy's, everybody says it changes hands so often but technically, it's only had five owners in 50 years," he said. "It was Baldini's from 1961 to 1983, then it goes to Dave and Duffy's for another 12-13 years."

After a few troubled years when the previous owners lost their liquor license, Sofranko entered the picture in 2006.

"We named it Magoo's and I sold it in 2006," said Sofranko. "The new owner kept it as Magoo's for another four or five years and he decided to change it to Fiddler's.  He got out last April, and that's when I came back in and named it Ziggy's."

Sofranko and his partners have remodled the entire restaurant, expanded the kitchen, renovated the upstairs and added a cigar bar, the only cigar bar between downtown Pittsburgh and Cranberry. Sofranko said the menu is more upscale.

"Our kitchen has a chef, not a cook," he said. "It's not an Applebee's Chili's or Friday's, everything is made fresh, from scratch, daily. Soups are made fresh. We don't buy prepared products. Most of the dressings are made fresh."

Sofranko says the popularity of various food network shows has made diners more sophisticated, but they still want a casual atmosphere.

"The niche is for quality, neighborhood restaurants," he said. "Ziggy's is a neighborhood bar and I think there's a niche for neighborhood bars, but not neighborhood bars that were basically for just a shot and a beer, diners want more these days." 

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