Bistro 19 will become a legal adult this November. The Mt. Lebanon restaurant will be turning eighteen, and proprietor Greg Gazica has worked there for almost all eighteen of those years. “I started as a server, then I became a shift supervisor, then AGM, then GM, then owner,” he said. “It’s kind of the American dream. You work hard and you can become successful.” Part of what enabled Gazica to succeed at Bistro 19 was his working relationship with former owner Josephine “B” DeFrancis. “I couldn’t see myself working for somebody else,” Gazica said. “She’s like family.”
He became the proprietor on January 2, 2024 and has gotten to work maintaining its focus on quality food and top-tier service. His motto is to “work hard and satisfy every guest,” whether they’re a regular or dining with Bistro 19 for the first time.
The Story of Bistro 19 in Pittsburgh
In the eighteen years Bistro 19 has been open on Washington Blvd, just a stone’s throw from the T station coming in from the city, it’s drawn in a number of regulars. Gazica said one elderly couple dines there five days a week. He makes an effort to seat people he knows are Bistro 19 devotees even if they don’t have a reservation. “Once a server seats somebody, they’re in the hands of that one individual for the entire duration of the evening. Even before, I tell my servers that people’s experience begins when you answer the phone,” he said. (When we spoke over the phone, a chipper and professional staff member answered and directed the call quickly to Gazica.)
Additions, Not Changes
As owner, Gazica hasn’t changed the “fan favorites” on the menu like the grilled salmon salad, which has been on the menu since the restaurant opened, or Chilean sea bass. But one of the big initiatives he spearheaded is bringing back the brunch menu that the restaurant stopped during COVID. A new development on the brunch menu is a zucchini bread French toast, with the zucchini bread made in-house. Gazica also added an avocado toast, which some restauranteurs might scoff at as being a food fad, but it ensures that a vegetarian or vegan can enjoy something on the menu. The brunch menu is available from 11-2 on Sundays. Guests can also enjoy La Prima coffee with their food, which Gazica says he thinks is the highest quality roaster in the city.
Gazica and Executive Chef Greg Fenton work together to develop dishes that highlight Fenton’s creativity and ingenuity while still appealing to a broad audience. Fenton’s talents come through in the saffron and roasted tomato broth that the Chilean sea bass sits in, or the maple cajun aioli on a brunch croissant. Bistro 19 also does a “weekend feature” that isn’t on the menu to give guests more options and to encourage curiosity about fine dining.
He wants to remain faithful to DeFrancis’s vision and see updates to the menu as additions, rather than structural changes. “I tell people: ‘Everything you love about Bistro 19 is staying the same.’ If you didn’t know the restaurant had changed hands, you wouldn’t be able to tell, which is by design,” he said.
Lessons from Service at Bistro 19
Under DeFrancis, Bistro 19 won Best Service, Best Design, Best Continental, Top 25 Best Restaurants in Pittsburgh and Best American Restaurant three years in a row. The space itself even speaks to its mission, as a statement by architect Teresa Bucco reflects: “The space conveys a warm yet sparse design, not unlike the menu, which touts a contemporary American cuisine of unpretentious fare.”
Gazica knows that having worked at every level of Bistro 19 gives him a unique vantage point on how the restaurant operates. “You appreciate and understand the relevance of every job. Unless you do that position, you can’t imagine what it’s like to do someone else’s job.” Many servers who worked at Bistro 19 and moved on to other restaurants later returned to it. Gazica said they were welcomed with open arms, and that Bistro 19’s commitment to quality not just in the food but in the working environment keeps people coming back.
Bistro 19 also offers seasonal tasting menus, including a corn tasting menu for the end of August and an upcoming pumpkin tasting menu. When we spoke, Gazica was in the process of buying fresh new menus for the tables, new napkins, and new plates. Next year, he plans to purchase a new awning for the outdoor seating area in the summer months. “People might think ‘oh, Bistro 19 has been around so long, it runs itself,’” Gazica said. “But you can’t take anything for granted. The second you start taking things for granted, you compromise your integrity.”
Story by Emma Riva
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