PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Brewing Co. and Ruggers Pub announce Good Cheer, the 1st Annual Iron City and IC Light Holiday Takeover Bar, opening on Saturday, November 21st.
Good Cheer, located within Ruggers Pub, will be an immersive, “Instagrammable”, yuletide bar experience, with a local twist. The menu will have a local twist as well, both in offerings as well as price point. Iron City and IC Light will be included on the Good Cheer menu, with no item pushing over the $6 mark. But, if for some reason guests choose not to imbibe from Good Cheer’s menu, Ruggers’ bar will still be fully functional. Good Cheer will also be taking non-perishable donations and monetary donations for the Pittsburgh Food Bank for the length of the time it is open.
“Pittsburgh Brewing Co. is very excited to work with Ruggers Pub and extend “good cheer!” The holidays are a great time for warm wishes and cold irons,” says Neal Early, Senior Sales Manager of Pittsburgh Brewing Co.
Though Ruggers Pub, which opened in 2000, may not be as much of a household name as Iron or IC Light, the rugby-themed watering hole already has a long-standing relationship with Pittsburgh Brewing. Engraved on a plaque which has hung on the wall since opening day are the following words: “We invite you to enjoy yourself at Ruggers Pub, lift up an Iron, and toast Eddie Short.” (Eddie Short was a fellow rugby teammate whose passing was the inspiration for opening the bar.) Currently Pittsburgh Brewing Co. and Ruggers Pub support the Pittsburgh Forge Rugby Club through sponsorship, and the team proudly wears the Iron logo on their chest during every game.
The iron-forged holiday partnership is the brainchild of Sara Lynn Ruth, owner of Saralynn Créatif, who manages Ruggers Pub’s marketing. “Of course I wanted to craft something that would excite customers and that would also make an impact on my client. The holiday pop-up bar concept works… but how could I make it work better for us, in Pittsburgh, in 2020? That’s when the lightbulb went off… get Pittsburgh Brewing Co. on board and give it a local spin.”
Of course, regardless of the upcoming holiday season, Covid-19 can’t be ignored – and Good Cheer has no plans to. Ruggers Pub is an Open & Certified Pennsylvania compliant business. They are currently operating at 50% capacity with the highest priority on keeping their customers and employees safe, while preserving as much as they can of the “pre-Covid” bar experience. Ruggers has a spotless track record during the Covid-19 regulations and for this reason is confident that Good Cheer can be successful in its inaugural year, despite necessary restrictions. The pub recently installed the iWave filtration system installed which has been proven affective to significantly reduce a wide variety of pathogens in the breathing zone and on hard non-porous surfaces. During the duration of Good Cheer, masks are required to enter and capacity will be monitored. Last call is at 10:45PM and all patrons must vacate the bar by midnight. Time limits may be put on guests during exceptionally busy times.
“2020 has been a wild ride for everyone and we look at this as the perfect opportunity to close out the year on the highest possible note. We’ve been raising Irons for 20 years at Ruggers and we couldn’t be more excited to work with a brand that has become synonymous with our bar, our Rugby team, and our city,” says Alex Gordon, manager of Ruggers Pub.
Good Cheer opens Saturday, November 21st and is located within Ruggers Pub, located at 40 S 22nd St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. More information can be found at GoodCheerPgh.com.