Pamela's Diner is a prominent

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...

s in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, USA. Its specialties are

crêpe A crêpe or crepe ( or , , Quebec French: ) is a very thin type of pancake. Crêpes are usually one of two varieties: ''sweet crêpes'' () or ''savoury galettes'' (). They are often served with a wide variety of fillings such as cheese, ...

-style pancakes, omelets and

Lyonnaise potatoes Lyonnaise potatoes – in French pommes de terre sautées à la lyonnaise – are potatoes, boiled and then sliced and shallow-fried, served together with fried onions. History and ingredients The culinary term ''à la lyonnaise'' – in the st ...

. It is "treasured" and is considered to be in the "

pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

of pancake purveyors". In 2013, Pamela's Diner was featured by the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' in a "What to Do in Pittsburgh"

feature story A feature story is a piece of non-fiction writing about news. A feature story is a type of soft news. The main sub-types are the ''news feature'' and the ''human-interest story''. A feature story is distinguished from other types of non-news ...

. Pamela's Diner is owned by Gail Klingensmith and Pam Cohen. Both educated as teachers, the business partners handle different tasks, Klingensmith with the more business end and Cohen as "the culinary artist". The first Pamela's Diner location, in the

Squirrel Hill Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated a ...

neighborhood, opened in 1979. Subsequent locations have opened in Shadyside, the Strip District, Millvale,

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

and Mt. Lebanon. During the

2008 United States presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

visited Pamela's Diner for a campaign visit. Once elected, President Obama invited Klingensmith and Cohen to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

for a

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

breakfast with the Obama family and 80 veterans. Later that year, during the

2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit The 2009 G20 Pittsburgh Summit was the third meeting of the G20 heads of state/heads of government to discuss financial markets and the world economy. The G20 is the premier forum for discussing, planning and monitoring international economic ...

, President Obama expressed dismay that he was unable to return to Pamela's Diner during that trip, but

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

did visit. Incidentally, the Oakland storefront received damage during the

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

that accompanied the G-20 summit. Pamela's Diner announced in December 2021 that their Squirrel Hill neighborhood location will be closing largely due to COVID-19. With the loss of several long-time employees, the location decided to shut its doors. Opened on Forbes Avenues, before relocating to the Murray Avenue in 2011, it operated in Squirrel Hill around 42 years. The other diner locations will stay open, however. The owners hinted that they are open to another, smaller Squirrel Hill location in the future.

References

{{coord, 40.45201, -79.98365, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Diners in Pennsylvania Restaurants in Pittsburgh Tourist attractions in Pittsburgh Restaurants established in 1979 1979 establishments in Pennsylvania