PITTSBURGH — Space in the former Ace Hotel building in East Liberty is now set to open as Hey Babe, an upscale craft cocktail-driven bar and lounge.
The duo behind the space, which also used to serve as a YMCA, Danielle Cain and Rob Hirst, are two partners who first met working at Soba in Shadyside, where Cain was executive chef and Hirst managed beverages. Cain had previously worked at Casbah and been executive chef at Kaya and has since served as executive director of Big Burrito Restaurant Group’s catering division. Hirst has experience behind the bar programs at several notable spots including Mad Mex Oakland and Sienna Mercato and served as the U.S. Bartending Guild’s Pittsburgh president for five years.
With a combined over 50 years of hospitality experience between them, the two are now ready for their own venture together, taking over unused space in the now Maverick Hotel. They plan to first open the lounge and bar in summer 2025 and later incorporate tabled restaurant space as well.
“The location and the building sort of checked all the boxes for where we wanted to do something,” Hirst said. “You know, 10 to 12 years ago there were a bunch of places where you could go and enjoy an evening with friends that were a little bit loungier. I feel like those places have sort of gone away. When we look to go out, either spur of the moment or make plans, there’s nothing that fits that bill in the East End anymore aside from a very few places, so that sort of really excited us.”
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