Pete Henderson, owner of Chace’s Cafe, the longtime Black-owned restaurant, had his share of ups and downs at 301 East Carson Street, South Side.
Primarily he would be open for breakfast and lunch, serving a plethora of African American consumers as well as people of other ethnicities, many of whom would grab a meal before or during work, as a number of businesses were within walking distance of the restaurant.
On the flip side, Chace’s Cafe had been a target for break-ins and vandalism.
During an exclusive interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier, Aug. 10, 2026, Henderson didn’t detail any single incident or issue that, after more than a decade at the South Side location, prompted him to leave the South Side and relocate to a location at the Braddock Hills Shopping Center. But he did tell the Courier: “To be honest, I was having struggles trying to make it work on the South Side. It wasn’t beneficial to me at all.”
Henderson continued: “I didn’t get the help from the (South Side) Chamber of Commerce; people didn’t actually know I was there unless you knew who I was. The help down there wasn’t really, what I call, good for me.”
Peter Margittai, president of the South Side Chamber of Commerce, told the Courier on Aug. 18, 2026, that Chace’s Cafe had not been a paying member of the Chamber for at least the last two years, and that “we try to promote primarily our members, obviously, because they’re paying a due, and therefore we do want to promote them the most. But we do promote businesses that are not necessarily members.”
Although Henderson closed his location in July 2026, as of August 18, 2026, “Chace’s Cafe” is still listed as a business on the South Side Chamber of Commerce’s website. The Courier has learned that an annual membership to join the South Side Chamber of Commerce for a for-profit business is $150 for businesses with up to five employees, $250 for businesses with six to 10 employees, $300 (between 11 and 20 employees) and $350 (more than 20 employees).
“We were there as long as we could,” Henderson said. “There’s just not any funding and things like that to help Black businesses stay afloat. In the City of Pittsburgh, we get the crappiest little buildings that we have to lease or rent, and then we don’t get the big money to lay them out and make them look really nice and elaborate like the other places. We have a little budget sometimes to work with, and there’s really nowhere to get these grants and funding to do the things that we need to stay competitive.”
While Black-owned businesses have popped up here and there on the South Side, primarily the East Carson Street business corridor, many of them end up eventually closing. That was the case with the popular Carmi’s Restaurant, which put its location at 1825 E. Carson St. up for sale in 2024. Fudge Farm, which had a run on the South Side for six years, closed in 2022. Back to the Foodture, owned by Eddie “Barnz” Magwood and Angel Magwood, closed its restaurant at 2767 E. Carson St. in 2023.
However, Street Fries, a popular food truck owned by Eric Williams, who is Black, just moved into a storefront location on the South Side, at 1210 E. Carson Street, in July. And there are other Black-owned businesses that are still in business on the corridor, such as Ramone Pierce’s Bonez Barbershop, 1221 E. Carson St.
What may have broken the camel’s back for Henderson is when the Allegheny County Health Department ordered the shutdown of Chace’s Dining Hall, which was a few doors up from Chace’s Cafe. In the fall of 2025, Henderson wanted to expand Chace’s into an evening event space, where upwards of 100 people could sit down, enjoy food, drinks, music and televisions. Chace’s Cafe didn’t have the room down the street for that type of in-person entertainment. But before he could apply for a liquor license, Henderson said the state Liquor Control Board and the Allegheny County Health Department visited the dining hall and found violations.
Those violations included not having a sanitizer present at the facility, and the facility lacking a three-bowl sink to wash, rinse and sanitize.
The inspection report from the health department also said the dining hall was operating without a valid food safety permit, and the hall didn’t submit plans prior to opening and didn’t obtain a required inspection from the health department’s plumbing program. The inspection report was dated, Oct. 1, 2025, three days after the hall had a soft opening for people to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Minnesota Vikings in Ireland, Sept. 28, 2025. It was a 9:30 a.m. Pittsburgh start time, 2:30 p.m. overseas.
Henderson told the Courier that he never sold or provided alcohol to any of the patrons during the soft opening.
In Henderson’s mind and heart, though, he felt that certain people or businesses didn’t really want him to open a dining hall in that location in the first place.
Ultimately, Henderson said goodbye to the South Side and hello to Braddock Hills, at 270 Yost Boulevard, next to Rita’s Italian Ice and Frozen Custard. Henderson is hoping to open Chace’s Cafe there in late August or early September. He believes he will be welcomed more in Braddock Hills than he was on the South Side. Henderson said the Mon Metro Chamber of Commerce, which serves the Braddock area, has welcomed him with open arms. The new location has room for numerous tables for people to eat inside the restaurant, as well as takeout.
“The business owners around here have welcomed me, too,” Henderson told the Courier. “The people over here are just eager and can’t wait for us to open the doors. I’m happy to be here.”
In an exclusive interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier, Chace’s Cafe owner Pete Henderson discusses why, after 12 years, he left the South Side of Pittsburgh and relocated to Braddock Hills. He also discusses what really happened when the local health department shut down his banquet hall last fall.
Click on either of the links below to hear the Courier’s podcast episode 3, presented by Culturvate Enterprises…call 412-913-0334 for details.
