Two people meet in rehab. Fall in love. Make pickles. Launch a food truck. Open a sandwich shop. Raise a family. Build a community.
In this episode, I sit down with Madi Donaldson and Joe Bardakos, the co-owners of The Brinery in Sharpsburg that’s serving up scratch-made sandwiches, homemade pickles and kraut, house dressings and sauces, and a lot of heart. Their journey to brick-and-mortar started pre-pandemic—making pickles in the kitchen at Piccolo Forno—before moving on to a food truck and finally landing in a storefront where they could build the kind of place they’d always wanted: a family, not just a restaurant.
But The Brinery is more than a sandwich shop—it’s an expression of who they are. For Joe, who grew up in a Greek-Italian household in Shaler, food has always meant family. And for Madi, The Brinery has become the place where she gets to build the kind of family she’s always dreamed of. Their team is part of that too—from the fish-fry batter genius Scotty to the whole crew of food lovers and creatives behind the counter.
We talk about Meatball Madness (it got too intense to last), Sunday supper dreams, the heartbreak of losing parents, the joy of feeding people, and the spicy beauty of imperfection.
Food is nostalgia. Food is subjective. Food is chaos. And food is love.
914 Main Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15215
412.420.0744
