'We're Surviving': Bridge Closure Slows Business For Long-Time North Side Ice Ball Stand
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Gus and YiaYia's ice ball stand has been a staple of the North Side's Allegheny Commons Park for decades.
But Gus, who's now 86, admits business has taken a hit in part because of the closing of a nearby bridge.
"It did in April, plus the weather, it was a combination of the two, we hardly did anything," said Gus Kalaris.
The bridge, which runs over the railroad tracks will be closed for two years.
But the good news is that now that the weather has people thinking about cooling off with ice, Gus says the regulars are back.
People like Janet Croker and her husband, from Ross Township, make Gus' stand a regular destination.
"We're regulars. We've been coming here for years," said Croker.
However, with the bridge closed, Gus says they still don't have the drive-by traffic they used to see.
"Guys that come through here who are service trucks are not coming up because after they get here, they have to turn on to North Avenue, which is jammed with traffic now," said Gus. "So they don't even bother to come up here."
To help out, Allegheny City Brewery even started a promotion that ends Wednesday where if you show the bartender a selfie of yourself buying ice from Gus, you'll get a free beer.
But Gus says business has already picked up, and after so many years in the ice ball biz, he's not complaining.
"What are you going to do? We're surviving," he says.