History & local legend
Larry’s Roadhouse occupied the former Hays mansion in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood. Built in the 1850s for Jacob and Mary Smith Hays, the house stood beside the railroad long before Larry Vichie bought it in 1984. During its years as a restaurant, employees reported encounters with a woman in old-fashioned clothing and objects that seemed to move when nobody was watching.
The Brookline Connection’s building history records a waitress seeing a shimmering woman in Victorian dress on the stairs. The figure faded as the waitress watched. Staff also described filling the candy dishes on the counter and returning to find the sweets scattered across the floor, although the dishes remained upright in their places.
A burglar-alarm installer reported knocking in the walls and doors slamming while he worked. The experiences frightened him enough that he was reluctant to return. Larry’s Roadhouse closed in 2013.
Sources
- The Brookline Connection, Hays mansion building history, family photographs and accounts from restaurant and alarm-company staff
- The Brookline, January 2017, neighborhood recollection of Larry’s Roadhouse
- Paranormal in Pennsylvania, 2024 episode on the specific Hays mansion and workers’ stories
- Esri World Geocoding Service, point address for 1766 Ballinger Street
