HBS Alumni Dinner at Bar Marco Restaurant

Bar Marco celebrated its 10th anniversary on New Year’s Eve. The milestone is a relative rarity in the restaurant world, where, according to a report by Perry Group International, the average lifespan of a restaurant nationally is approximately five years, with many restaurants closing well before that.

What’s made Bar Marco last this long when so many Pittsburgh restaurants prior to and throughout the coronavirus pandemic have closed?

“It really comes down to how you feel when you experience a place. It’s about hospitality. It’s about focusing on guest experience. One hundred percent,” says executive chef/owner Justin Steel.

Bar Marco has evolved over the years, with distinct periods ranging from farm-to-table influence by a cadre of former Legume chefs to the wild, in-your-face, avant-garde culinary experiments of nomadic chef Brandon Baltzley.  Bar Marco has earned a spot on Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurants list every year, with the exception of 2016,…