Grandma B's in the Hill District serves breakfast with a side of personality

On any given morning, laughter, jokes and smiles fill Grandma B’s Café in the Hill District. The smell of bacon cooking fills the air. A sign on the wall reads “Always Be Grateful.”

Customers say they feel the warmth and love when they walk in. The atmosphere truly feels like being at grandma’s house: everything feels just right and, of course, the food is exceptional.

The space is a narrow aisle with black and white tiles, a cash register and a black and white countertop. Guests who sit at the countertop can see their food being made. In addition to the counter, there are a few tables for dining on the left side.

Dorian Moorefield knows most of his customers by name. Throughout the day, many people come through the door of Grandma B’s Café in the Hill District and it’s as if he knows them all — he asks how their mom is doing or about family members and friends.

Moorefield often wears a Grandma B’s shirt that reads “Not just a café … But a culture” on the back.

Ashlee Knight, 36, of Garfield, used to come by frequently, but her nursing school schedule has only allowed her to pop in occasionally. She graduates in May of 2025, a date Moorefield has already noted.

“I was coming here every day for a while, just for the banter,” Knight said. “It’s like coming home.”

Knight’s order is usually steak and cheese eggs with sauce … “And on the side?” Moorefield chimed in, pretending not to know she likes more sauce on the side, as he simultaneously added it while they both laugh.

“It’s not just a restaurant. It gives the community hope — it’s a community center, it’s a psych ward sometimes, it’s a rehabilitation. Even more than cooking, you are giving advice to people,” he said.

The restaurant is named after Moorefield’s grandmother Eula Beatrice McCamery, known around the neighborhood for her sweets. Moorefield said she had always wanted to open up her own restaurant but never got the chance to, so it was an homage to her — when it opened in 2010, she was still alive and gave away some of her baked goods on opening day.

“We’ve been flowing ever since. We came in with some pretty good momentum — we caught a wave,” he said. “I never knew we were going to get this type of attention.”

One morning prior to to the 2016 election, a broadcast journalist came in unexpectedly and set up camp in the café interviewing people about voting and talking about the Steelers. People started calling Moorefield, saying they saw him on TV.

Later, the late Anthony Bourdain came and Grandma B’s was featured on “Parts Unknown,” which created a buzz.

Moorefield grew up in Hazelwood, one of 12 children. He said both of his parents and Grandma were good cooks. He learned how to cook in the ’80s when he was about 16 — he would be responsible for grilling all the meats for cookouts.

Moorefield said he loves working. His days will often start at 4 a.m. It’s when he is not working that he actually gets tired.

He’s been working since he was 11, assisting in selling fruit from a mobile fruit vendor in Black neighborhoods like Hazelwood and Glen Hazel. He said a good work ethic is part of his lineage and something he prides himself on. His grandfather, Joseph Moorefield, worked in the steel mills in Homestead for 30 years and never missed a day. Some days, he will close so both he and his best friend and business partner Ahmed Brazil — who also cooks, takes orders, and waits tables — can reset.

Today he is moving, he has a few orders going — chicken-loaded fries with a special sauce, wings, fish sandwiches and eggs.

The hot commodity is Grandma B’s tea, an iced tea with just the right amount of sweetness that comes in a jug with a blue top. He said they go through about 80 bottles or more per day because it is a top request, made in-house.

The menu at Grandma ‘s is double-sided with everything from salmon patties to French toast and shrimp fried rice. The café is cash only, but Moorefield said no one will ever leave here hungry.

Some customers get a little creative with the menu, like Drekie Bailey, 55, a longtime friend and customer who likes to add peanut butter and jelly to his French toast. He’s vying to get it added officially to the menu.

Moorefield immediately replies, “Man, if no one has ever asked for it in the past 14 years, we don’t need to add it to the menu,” and they both burst into laughter. But, Moorefield keeps a secret stash of peanut butter just for Bailey.

Bailey often comes in before the café opens or after it closes to help clean the cook stations and scrub the floors.

“All these dudes in here are childhood friends. If I haven’t seen them in months or even years, I know I’mma catch ‘em here,” Bailey said. “You catch everyone here. It’s a meeting spot for old friends.”

“Pittsburgh is a majority white city and it’s really difficult for Blacks to become successful here, so to have this type of success, I am really grateful, ” Moorefield said.

Moorefield usually finishes around 2 p.m. The Café is open on weekdays starting at 8 a.m., Saturday 9 a.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. It is located at 2537 Wylie Ave. in the Hill District.