Hazelwood’s famous fish fry is still here | The Homepage

Community Kitchen Pittsburgh’s plan to move to Uptown delayed

Kwe House, former culinary student, announces last year’s Community Kitchen Pittsburgh Lenten fish fry. The popular event has returned to 107 Flowers Ave. this year. Photo courtesy of Community Kitchen Pittsburgh

By Juliet Martinez, Managing Editor

One of the city’s most popular fish fries is staying in Hazelwood for 2026.

Community Kitchen Pittsburgh offers culinary training and job placement. It also supports food access programs all year. But it is famous for its Lenten fish fry, which was voted the city’s best by readers of Axios Pittsburgh last year. In 2024, the nonprofit announced it would move to a larger location in Uptown. This left the location of this year’s fish fry a question mark for fans.

On Feb. 20, those hungry fans celebrated when the fish fry opened again on its familiar corner. There were the familiar sights and smells of batter-fried haddock, haluski, fries and more at Second and Flores Avenues.

Community Kitchen Pittsburgh caters business meetings and feeding programs around the region. The organization delivers daily meals to shelters and community meal locations. It runs a food truck and offers luxury catering. And it offers seasonal specials: Thanksgiving sides and the Lenten fish fry. The people planning, prepping and cooking those meals are getting career training. They also get wraparound support to help them overcome barriers to employment.

Fish fry sale proceeds support the no-charge training program.

“We’re grateful for the continued support of our Hazelwood neighbors and excited to keep serving up fish, sides and impact from the same community we’ve called home,” said Pamela Luu, Community Kitchen’s social media and marketing manager. “We’re proud to stay put for this season and even prouder to partner once again with Hazel Grove Brewing to make this year’s fish fry our best yet.”

Hazel Grove Brewing is just down the street from Community Kitchen at 4609 Irvine St. But from 4 to 7 p.m. on Fridays through April 3, the craft brewery will sell beer in cans at the fish fry.

“We’ve loved working with our good neighbors and friends at CKP, who host the best fish fry in Pittsburgh, and couldn’t be more excited that they’ve invited us back for the fifth time in a row,” said Barb Hartman, co-owner of Hazel Grove Brewing. “It’s one of the highlights of the year for us, and we feel fortunate to be a part of it.”

On Feb. 27, March 6 and 13, local Girl Scout troops will also sell cookies at the fish fry from 4 to 7 p.m.

Running every Friday through April 3, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., guests may dine in or take out. Orders may be placed in person or online at ckpgh.org/fish-fry. Phone orders will not be accepted.

Preorders may be placed online each week, beginning at 9 a.m. on Mondays for Friday pickup. Preordering is encouraged to ensure prompt service and availability.

Hazelwood connection is strong

The timeline for a potential move is murky. Community Kitchen founder and executive director Jen Flanagan wrote in a Feb. 10 email that the organization is still working on sorting out funding for the new space. So, the program will stay in Hazelwood for now.

The nonprofit has been based in the 11,000-square-foot Spahr Building in Hazelwood since 2018. Property owner Action Housing has extended the organization’s lease into next year.

In a 2024 interview, Ms. Flanagan told The Homepage that moving into the Spahr Building was a great step forward for the organization. Along with the fish fry, the nonprofit launched Bloom Café and expanded its training options.

Students can select a three-month culinary diploma course. They can take Pennsylvania Department of Labor-certified apprenticeships, or baking and butchery programs. And a six-month transitional employment program offers more support for people returning to the workforce.

One of the expanded training options conceived as something that would happen in the new place has come to fruition already. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor approved the nonprofit for a registered meat cutting apprenticeship.

In 2024, Ms. Flanagan said she was eager to bring more people into the nonprofit’s transitional employment program.

“A lot of people have [employment] barriers that didn’t start in three months and they’re not going to be solved in three months,” she said. Students in that program get more support to work out transportation, court dates, childcare and other problems. Regular employers don’t have the capacity to tolerate those in a new hire, she said.

The Homepage contacted Action Housing for this article, but the nonprofit did not respond to questions about what future tenant might move into the space.

No matter what happens with the new facility, Ms. Flanagan said the connection to Hazelwood is a priority.

“Given how much we love being in Hazelwood, we are also looking into ways we can maintain (operationally and financially) a presence in Hazelwood regardless of the planned new facility,” she wrote in February.