There are occasions when you visit and she’ll be sitting on the backside of the bar closest to the restrooms and she’ll have this onliest grin on her face while looking around at what she’s created.
Sure, it’s a bar. Yeah, it’s inside an old barracks building, and it’s truly tucked away and hidden behind one of the nation’s most popular fast food chains. Oh, and let’s not forget, most of the time her business is referred to as, “The Hole.” That can’t be good, right?
Wrong. It’s endearing. All of it. The nickname, the wood-paneled-and-rounded walls, the three-sided bar, and the fact pizza joints and car mechanics covered the property before a gentleman named Allan Kage opened the tavern in late 1998. Not even a year later, he hired a young lady named Angie Szalay to manage it.
In December 2012, Szalay bought the business after Kage suddenly passed away, and it wasn’t fancy then, it’s not fancy now, and Szalay likes it the way it is. Her place is known for the wings, hoagies, live entertainment, and the Sunday Brunch, and The 19th Hole is exactly what it’s intended to be.
And Szalay is, unlike some owners, in the middle of everything literally and figuratively, and her local patrons adore her because she’s one of “us,” “them,” and “everyone.” She’s a sports fan, loves her inherited entrepreneurial spirit, genuinely appreciates what’s good, and isn’t afraid to go head-to-head with what’s bad.
That’s why it works; why what she does and how she does it just works thanks, of course, to the support of her staff, family, and friends.
And, damn straight, it’s “The Hole,” and there’s more where that comes from, too.
When you first applied for a bartending position at the 19th Hole, did you envision being the owner at this point in your professional career?
Well, I actually never applied for the job.
The story goes like this: Al Kage & I became friends when I worked at Peaches on River Road. Not long after Peach sold and it was under new management I then went to work at Uncle Pete’s when it opened in North Wheeling. One day, Al invited me to Zien’s for lunch. It was there he slid a guest check across the table, written on it was a job offer to manage The 19th Hole.
I’m forever grateful for that lunch with Al. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would have led me here. Several months after Al passed unexpectedly, I was beyond grateful when his wife asked me if I’d want to buy the bar. The answer could only be YES! That is when the next chapter in my professional career began.
Who gets the credit for your entrepreneurial spirit?
I would have to give that credit to my Grandma Rosie Szalay!
She owned Rosie’s Club in North Wheeling for many years. Although I wasn’t old enough to hang out in the bar, my mom and I would stop to see her on Saturday mornings and get her grocery list. She’d even give me a couple quarters so I could get some peanuts from the machine at the end of the bar.
Over the years, what always blew me away was, here is this spunky Hungarian woman speaking broken English no less. She made it happen; she raised her kids and wanted something for herself. She was a success story. My Grandma Rosie always had the funniest stories about the bar, the customers, the comradery, and all that love she felt from everyone in her North Wheeling community.
Guess it was only a matter of time for me to get into the same line of business.
Why do you believe your establishment attracts people of all ages?
I’ve worked at some pretty special places over the years in my bartending career. None as awesome as The 19th Hole, though!
We literally have regular customers of all ages. Ranging from our little ones and younger kiddos (that love to come for Sunday Brunch or they stop in for some Honey BBQ wings & cheesy fries) all the way to some of our regulars are in their 70s even 80s!!
It’s just amazing to see how much fun folks have, especially when there’s live music. That draws a lot of my 30-60-year-old regulars. The younger crowd is sprinkled in at all different hours of the day/night but mostly later on when the rest of us are fast asleep!
Tell us about the new business you’re involved with that will be constructed on the land where Spic n’ Span was for decades.
The new adventure that awaits? The 19th Hole Drive Thru & Carryout.
This is going to be something very new to me but I’m excited for the opportunity & the challenge. There will be 10 LVL machines and all the drive thru goodies everyone is used to (such as pop, amazing coffee, cigarettes, beer, lottery tickets, etc.) with a fantastic twist – drive thru 19th Hole food as well.
There will be breakfast hoagies and such in the morning transitioning to wings, cheese fries, and all of our deep fried goodies. One thing we’ve been lacking is more drive thru food options in the Woodsdale area, so when you just don’t feel like getting out of your car because you’re in your jammie’s or work clothes you can just pull up and get our amazing food.
Oh, and grab a lotto ticket and some beer! Or you can even come in to play the machines while you wait. The final details and how this will all play out are still to be determined, but I’m sure it will be a fantastic asset to our community.
Which professional sports teams in Pittsburgh will be next to win a world championship? When? And why them?
Geez, I don’t know. As much as I love all Pittsburgh professional sports teams, I can’t answer that one. They’ve all been struggling.
