Mario’s South Side Saloon opened in 1982 and despite the name, it had no connection to Mario Lemieux.
After drafted in 1984, a rookie Mario Lemieux entered said establishment. Pittsburgh’s new hockey savior was welcomed with open arms, and the owner and regulars loved him so much they had him behind the bar pouring drafts beers 🍺
A photo of Mario behind the bar hung on the wall for years, leading plenty of people to believe Lemieux actually owned the place or had a hand in it 🍻
That picture has since disappeared, but it DOES exist. Trying to track it down but from my source it looked something like this… 👇 🖼️