WELCOME TO PITTSBURGH!

Welcome to the Steel City, everyone!
We’re so excited to have you here for the 2025 National Summit!

We’ve put this page together for you as a little guide to Pgh. You’ll find suggestions for food (naturally) and other interesting spots to check out if/when you have some time.

THE BASICS:

HOTEL: Wyndham Grand Downtown Pittsburgh @ 600 Commonwealth Place
SUMMIT: CCAC - Allegheny Campus (in the Northside) | CEIT Bldg is at 807 Ridge Ave
CKP HQ: 107 Flowers Ave (Hazelwood)

GENERAL GETTING AROUND: aside from ride shares and walking, we have our public transport, including light rail (the T). There is a “fare free t-zone” as well. (see the Visit Pittsburgh Dining Map below for downtown T stations)

Getting to the Summit from the Hotel:
If you are driving or taking a rideshare, it's a 4-5 minute ride. More directions on parking lots to use coming on Tuesday.
If you are walking, it takes a little over half an hour. The pedestrian bridge that crosses with I-279 is the fastest, but also noisiest. Crossing at Roberto Clemente bridge or Andy Warhol bridge add about 5-7 minutes, but offer a nicer walk if you have the time.
If you are taking the train, google will tell you the fastest path is to go from Gateway to North Side (1 stop on the BLUE/RED/SLVR/SWL lines), but leaves a 10 minute walk with more uphill. The better route is riding from Gateway to Allegheny Station (2 stops on the same lines), which leaves a 5 minute walk that's mostly level. These directions are also linked in your summit booklet.

THE IMPORTANT STUFF: During “Member Appreciation Night” on the first night, there will be Live Band Karaoke, featuring “Lead Singer Wanted”. The most current song list can be found on their Facebook here.

Pittsburgh has so many neighborhoods and more bridges than you can probably imagine!

Thanks to our friends at VisitPittsburgh, this map will give you an idea of where things are.

Visit Pittsburgh can be a huge resource on all things “Visiting Pgh”, including ideas for:

Other places to check out that are a short distance (walkable if you’re feeling like a little adventure) from the hotel or Summit location include:

It’s Pittsburgh Restaurant Week this week!

EYV (Eat Your Veggies), one of our past Guest Chefs is participating.

Another great source for the good-good in the city?

Pittsburgh City Paper’s “Best Of PGH” voting round!
Voting is going on right now and you can see who the community has nominated into the voting round. You’ll find ideas for food, arts & culture, shopping, and more!

We’re also listed in this. *blush
If you have a couple minutes, please click here and vote for us for best Butchery, Food Relief Effort, and Food Truck.

  • Soju (in Garfield) - Korean - Chef Simon Chough was our May 2025 Guest Chef

  • EYV (Northside and participating in Restaurant Week) - plant forward - Chef Michael Godlewski was our January 2025 Guest Chef

  • Fig & Ash (Northside, close to EYV) - Chef Corey Hughes was our May 2024 Guest Chef

  • Fet-Fisk (Bloomfield) - Chef Nik Forsberg was our July 2023 Guest Chef

  • Cinderlands (Strip District and Lawrenceville) - Chef Joe Kiefer was our September 2024 Guest Chef

  • Umami/Nanban/The Parlor DIm Sum (Lawrenceville) - Chef Roger Li

  • The Woods House (Hazelwood) - Chef Travis Torsell was our July 2024 Guest Chef (he was also a CKP Chef Instructor for 7yrs and is also our Social Media & Marketing Manager’s fiance)

  • APTEKA (Bloomfield) - Chef Tomasz was our August 2024 Guest Chef. And we were excited that Chef Kate was also able to join us in the kitchen that evening. APTEKA is one of the featured chefs for the gala, but they’re open Friday!

Enjoy a meal at past Guest Chefs’ restaurants!

MISC:

PHOTO OPS:

  • Fred Rogers Memorial Statue (North Shore) because Mr. Rogers

  • Mount Washington view of the city via the Duquesne Incline; there’s also shopping and dining in Mt. Washington

  • West End Overlook: another great view of the city

  • Roberto Clemente Bridge

  • The Cathedral of Learning on University of Pittsburgh’s campus

Pam’s Picks

Hi! I’m Pam. CKP’s Social Media & Marketing Manager.
I’d like to share a few of my personal favorites with you.

I’ll be adding to this.

SouthSide:

  • Carson Street Deli @ 1507 E Carson Street: Great sandwiches. Seriously. Great selection of draft and canned beers from Pgh and beyond. Great people. Seating inside and a little patio outside. If you’re lucky, a dog or two will be chilling out back. My fave sammies include “The Smashley”, the “Avo Gouda Day”, and the “Balboa”.

  • Cold Friends Kitchen food trailer at Velum Fermentation @ 2120 Jane Street. The Cold Friends food is the bomb diggity. I saw a post of their pork belly bites (served on top of kimchi) and HAD to go there one day just to order them.

    Nearly everyone working on that trailer is in recovery (one of the co-owners now lives in an apartment that overlooks where he used to sleep on the street at one time). The last time I spoke with them, they would also like to start their own workforce development program to train and help folks in recovery find employment within the city’s food service world. They have a “pay it forward” menu item to help them continue to drop meals with houseless community members or anyone in need of a hot meal.

    Velum Fermentation is a brewery with pinball and other arcade games inside. There’s also pickleball. It’s dog-friendly, so you never know who you might meet.

  • Dish Osteria — this restaurant is tucked along a more residential street. You’ll likely think you’re at the wrong address, but trust me, you’re at the right place. The food is fantastic! It’s such a great little place. I’d make a rez if I were you. You can certainly chance it and see if there are any tables available or if you can snag a seat at the bar.

  • SouthSide Works

    • photo op: Take a photo with Fredosaurus Rex! Fred Rogers Productions is in SouthSide Works so Fredosaurus Rex is in the “square” there. He’s in front of Cheesecake Factory.

    • While you’re in SouthSide Works, grab some ice cream from Jeni’s. The ice cream is great, but if you want a proper Pgh ice cream experience, you’ll want to Uber it down to Page’s Dairy Mart. It’s still in SouthSide, but you’ll want to ride down.

FOOD

An awesome sammie at Carson Street Deli.

Cold Friends Kitchen’s pork belly bites on a bed of kimchi.

My pup, Millie, is very suspicious of Fredosaurus Rex.