Pittsburgh’s restaurant scene continues to endure losses as Larder of East End and Mt. Lebanon’s The Fairlane will close their doors permanently this weekend.

Larder is a collaborative venture between chef Justin Severino and his partner Hilary Prescott, and East End Brewing Co. owner and head brewer Scott Smith. The casual, counter-service restaurant opened in July 2019 as a separate business within East End’s brewpub, located in Larimer.

“We have no potential for Larder: There’s no opportunity for us to make any money, period,” said Severino. “We have to use all of our resources and pull them into the things that do make sense, and I’m talking not just financially but I’m talking the time that I have.”

The closure of Larder also hits the Severino/Prescott/Smith group hard for more reasons than financial.

“They brought so much to our beer-focused operation in terms of their understanding and knowledge and expertise around service,” said Smith. “That doesn’t even speak to the personal side of it and having to say goodbye to those folks that we spent so much time and energy building something with.”

The end of Larder also presents a logistical problem for East End Brewing. Because Pennsylvania’s coronavirus restrictions require food service for on-site alcohol consumption, Smith needed to find a new way to remain compliant.

Prohibition Pastries’ Eliza Bowman, a longtime friend of Smith’s, will be the first food provider, starting today, in an anticipated series of pop-up food vendors at East End Brewing.

While Severino describes his remaining restaurant, Morcilla in Lawrenceville, as “just hanging on,” Severino and Prescott operate a successful charcuterie subscription service, Salty Pork Bits. Some meats are prepared in the Morcilla space and all are sold for pickup at a new storefront in upper Lawrenceville.

“Up until now, we’ve all been trying to make the best out of it, but now we’re like six months into it and now we’re saying to ourselves, ‘What do I have to do to protect my home?’ ” said Severino. “That’s the reality of where I’m at, and that’s the reality for every restaurateur that I know.”

“Even if from the street or from the curb, you look into a restaurant and it has the perception of success, it’s not. There’s not a restaurateur that I know of out there that is comfortable or is not worried about losing everything they have right now.”

Larder is taking online orders for tonight’s final service.

Mt. Lebanon’s The Fairlane will serve customers for the last time this Saturday. The announcement was made via an emotional social media post on Wednesday.

“It’s with a broken heart that we announce the permanent closure of our little restaurant,” the statement reads.

“Over the last several months we have tirelessly stretched ourselves creatively, financially and physically to find a way to adapt our restaurant to a post-covid world,” it continued.

The Fairlane opened in December 2018 in the space previously occupied by Block 292. Chefs and owners Lauren Zanardelli Foster and Graham Lee Foster reworked the space by replacing Block 292’s market area with a bottle shop and offered a menu of accessible main dishes — like fried chicken and pork chops — with intriguing small plates.

Customers can enjoy discounts at The Fairlane’s bottle shop through Saturday night. Reservations are recommended for those dining in, due to expected high volume and covid-19 restrictions.

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