Pittsburgh Pizza Icon Bringing Slice of Home to PIT

Pittsburgh International Airport is welcoming another marquee local brand – this time with extra cheese.

Mineo’s Pizza House is opening a new location in the airport’s airside terminal in the spring. The menu will include its famous pizza as well as hoagies, salads and appetizers.

Mineo’s is one of Western Pennsylvania’s most popular pizza and Italian restaurants. In July 2024, it landed on The New York Times list of “15 of Our Readers’ Favorite Pizza Places Around the World.” Locally, Mineo’s is consistently voted Best Pizza by readers of Pittsburgh Magazine and Pittsburgh City Paper, just to name a few “Best of” readers’ polls.

“We are very excited to open our newest restaurant in Pittsburgh International Airport,” said Gio Mineo. “It’s an exciting time for the region with the new terminal opening next year, and we are proud to be a part of it. We are looking forward to introducing our award-winning pizza to the millions of first-time visitors to Pittsburgh. We are also excited that travelers visiting former Pittsburgh residents can now bring them a little slice of home.”

Mineo’s first opened on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill in 1958, which is still run by the third generation of the Mineo family. Mineo’s also has restaurants in Mt. Lebanon and Allison Park, in addition to its incoming PIT location. (Courtesy of Mineo’s Pizza House)

Mineo’s is the latest addition to the airport’s revamped concessions offerings announced before the new terminal opens later next year. The new concessions reflect passenger feedback from Pittsburgh-based travelers and regional visitors.

“Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal is for Pittsburgh by Pittsburghers,” said John Brennan, the airport’s Director of Commercial Program Development. “Sense of place is important, and nothing reinforces that idea more than the airport adding one of Pittsburgh’s most beloved and iconic brands to our concession offerings.”

A variety of local businesses opening retail locations in 2025 include Wexford-based coffee and tea house Café Conmigo and Champion City Sports. They will be joined by national brands such as Shake Shack, Jimmy John’s, Sambazon Acai, the award-winning breakfast restaurant Bad Egg, modern deli Stack + Press Delicatessen, Mexican restaurant Mi Casa Cantina, and Camden Food Market.

From Murray Avenue to the world

Mineo’s was founded by John Mineo, an immigrant from a small town in Sicily near Palermo. Once in America, he dreamed of making pizza. In 1958, he took a Squirrel Hill streetcar and found an empty storefront on Murray Avenue. That restaurant is still open today, proudly run by the third generation of the Mineo family.

From the original store, Mineo’s has added locations in Pittsburgh’s suburbs including Mt. Lebanon in the South Hills and Allison Park in the North Hills. The airport location will be the iconic restaurant’s fourth location.

Mineo’s will open in the main food court next to Marathon Diner. The concept design reflects the best of its other locations. It will be the only eatery in the food court to feature a bar seating area.

“The space is designed to be unique,” Brennan added. “It will be as much a draw as their food and will be a popular place to wait for a departing flight.”