When longtime Mission District Pittsburgh-themed sports bar Giordano Bros. closed in February, there was apparently a little secret that co-owners Jeff and Allison Jordan kept quietly to themselves. They had already found a new ownership group who were determined to keep the old spirit of the Pittsburgh-themed menu and Steelers and Pirates fans’ gathering place intact.  

The rest of the world learned this secret last week. Mission Local reported that Giordano Bros. would reopen as Rudi’s Sports Bar and Restaurant. SFGate then reported Saturday that the purchase was already in place when Giordano Bros. closed.

“I know the [Giordano Bros.] owner very well, so I spoke to him immediately,” new co-owner Rudi Rughoonundon told SFGate. “I told him I wanted to make an offer." SFGate adds that “By the time the news of the Giordano Bros. closure reached the public, hands were being shaken and papers were being signed.”

You may know Rudi Rughoonundon as a longtime regular at various other 16th Street bars, but this is his first venture into bar ownership. His co-owner is Ollie Pender, co-owner Richmond District's Scarlet Lounge, and longtime manager of downtown’s Murphy's Pub.

The bar will maintain a lot of the Pittsburgh memorabilia, but more importantly, the same menu. Though there will eventually be menu additions. Mission Local reports that “a hamburger is making its debut on the new menu,” and SFGate adds that they also plan to introduce “some salads, mozzarella sticks and jalapeño poppers." In a nod to the new owners' UK roots, a full English breakfast with eggs, beans, sausage, and tomato will be coming soon too.

So the new place at 3108 16th Street (at Valencia Street) will be very similar to the old place there, Giordano Bros. But it will still be quite different than the previous tenant before that, the creperie Ti Couz, which closed in 2011.