Good finds.
Clear answers.
Side Street helps you discover specials and events at independent businesses around Pittsburgh. Here’s how the directory works.
Where do deals and events come from?
We don’t make up deals or invent discounts. We find offers and events in publicly available sources—such as official business websites, menus, and social media posts—or get the details directly from businesses.
Submissions are reviewed before publication. When available, a listing’s details include its source link and the date we last checked it, so you can see where the information came from.
What do Today and Live now mean?
Today starts with suggestions suited to the time of day in Pittsburgh: breakfast and coffee in the morning, daytime outings and lunch, then dinner and evening plans. Places open now lead, followed by relevant places opening within 90 minutes. The map and list share these suggestions automatically. During quiet hours, we look ahead to the next openings. Search, an outing choice, or a custom category selection takes priority over these automatic suggestions. Live now marks listings happening right now; upcoming listings show their scheduled times. A place pin’s number counts matching listings for the selected dates.
Opening labels tell you whether a place is open now or when it opens next. Places closed for the whole day stay out unless a verified on-site event provides a scheduled visit. Once the day’s final opening or event ends, the place drops from Today. Choose another day to plan ahead, or browse the places directory outside opening hours.
How do community ratings work?
Been to a place? Sign in with a verified email and choose Recommend or Wouldn’t recommend in its details. Each account gets one vote per place; you can change or remove yours anytime. Please vote only from your own experience, without incentives, coordinated voting or conflicts of interest.
The public badge appears after at least five member votes and shows the percentage who recommend the place, alongside the vote count. Individual votes and member identities stay private. No badge means there are not yet enough votes to show a rating. These are Side Street community opinions, not Google ratings or an independent inspection. If you suspect abuse, contact us with the place link.
Are all opening hours confirmed?
No. We use official or owner-confirmed hours where available, and conservative editorial estimates where hours are missing or incomplete. Estimates are identified in the place details and never presented as verified. A live view is based on schedules, not a signal sent directly by the business.
Regular opening hours, kitchen service, last admission, booked sessions and special events may differ. Holiday changes and unexpected closures can happen. Check the business’s current details before traveling, and use the correction option if something is wrong.
Does a listing mean the business partners with Side Street?
A directory listing alone doesn’t mean a business has a partnership with or endorses Side Street. We may discover and list an offer the business has already shared publicly.
Are event tickets deals?
Events are labeled separately from specials. A ticket price is the cost of admission, not a discount. Free admission, no-cover shows, and donation-based events are labeled accordingly. Check the official event link for fees, availability, age restrictions, and changes. Doors and showtimes are listed separately when published; we don’t estimate an unpublished end time.
Can specials change?
Yes. Businesses can change prices, schedules, eligibility, or availability. Check the offer’s terms and official source, and confirm with the business before heading out. A listed special is subject to the business’s current terms and availability.
If something looks outdated, use the report option in the deal’s details or email joe@sidestreetpgh.com with the business name and what changed.
Can I ask for my business to be removed?
Absolutely. If you don’t want your business included, email Joe at joe@sidestreetpgh.com and ask to have your business omitted from our directory. We’ll remove your business and its offers from the public directory.
Include the business name and location so we can identify the right listing. A listing link and your role at the business are helpful, too.
Request business removalCan I share a deal or suggest a correction?
Use “Share a find” at the top of the map or list page to send an offer for review. You can also email joe@sidestreetpgh.com with an official source or details from the business. Submitting an offer doesn’t publish it automatically.
Why are some activities listed without a discount?
Side Street includes verified opportunities to participate: game nights, drop-in activities, pickup sports and open league registration. Admission and participation fees are prices, not claimed savings. Each listing needs a concrete activity, official source, schedule, cost and eligibility details. Registration dates describe the signup window, not when games take place. A business being open alone does not qualify.
Privacy & your information
What does Side Street track, and why?
We count visits and listing activity to understand what people find useful: seeing a listing, opening its details, clicking its website or directions, and saving it. Side Street has its own aggregate activity counters and also uses Google Analytics 4 for visits, referral sources, engagement, and listing interactions. The privacy notice explains the information sent.
Does Google Analytics receive my name, email, or password?
Our custom listing-event payloads do not include your name, email, password, Firebase account ID, search text, or precise device location. They contain a public listing ID, listing type, and map/list surface. Google can still receive cookie identifiers, device/browser information, and network information. We do not describe that as collecting no data or being completely anonymous.
Do you track my exact location?
The nearby feature requests device location only when you choose Use my location. As described in our privacy notice, nearby coordinates stay in this browser tab’s session storage for up to 30 minutes rather than being sent to Side Street’s servers. Map tile requests can reveal the area being viewed to the map provider, and Google Analytics can estimate a city or region from connection information even when location permission is denied. You can browse without sharing device location.
Do you use cookies, and can I turn analytics off?
Google Analytics may use first-party cookies to recognize a browser and its sessions. Side Street also uses storage for sign-in, guest saves, preferences, and temporary feature state. Google Analytics is excluded when the browser supplies Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control; the separate local and advertising counters exclude Do Not Track. The current version has no in-app analytics consent switch. Browser or content-blocking controls may help; desktop add-ons do not necessarily apply inside the iOS app. See privacy choices for the exact scope and available options.
Are my saved places and recommendations public?
No. Guest saves stay on your device; account saves are associated with your account so they can sync. Individual recommendation votes and member identities are not displayed publicly. Eligible places can show the combined recommendation percentage and vote count. Keeping an account feature private does not mean its data is anonymous to the service that operates it.
Does signing up also subscribe me to the newsletter?
No. The Daily Rundown is a separate, optional signup with email confirmation. Sender processes the subscription and delivery details, and may measure email opens and link clicks separately from site analytics. Every edition has an unsubscribe link. Deleting a Side Street account does not automatically unsubscribe the newsletter.
How do I delete my account or ask about my data?
Open your account, then Password & account settings, and choose Delete Side Street account. Follow the password and deletion-confirmation steps. For help, access, correction, or a deletion request, contact joe@sidestreetpgh.com. Never send your password. Some payment, accounting, or dispute records can be retained as explained in the privacy notice.
Does the privacy notice apply in the mobile app too?
Yes. It covers Side Street pages displayed inside the mobile app as well as the website. Opening an external business website or other third-party service is subject to that service’s privacy practices. The full privacy notice lists the providers, uses, and choices.