Take Your Beer for a Walk: March 2026

Contributed

Take a walk with Jeff McCullor as he celebrates the culinary offerings of the West Bayfront neighborhood. Porky's Pizza and Dinner is Served by Lisa help keep the neighborhood (supported by the nonprofit Our West Bayfront) fed and humming.

Ah, March. It's like spring, but with wind and mud, and a little sun and warmth tossed in. We're on the verge of true blue beer walking weather my friend! And I'm here for it. In fact, I'll hook you up with a custom route through town for both you and a malt beverage of your choosing. Consider this a fun-sized walking tour complete with instructions. Put on your shoes, don your favorite hoodie (or "hooded sweatshirt" if you were born before 1993), and let's take a zip through a sweet neighborhood on Erie's west side.

Let's begin our march (see what I did there?) through the Our West Bayfront neighborhood by beginning at the corner of West 10th and Myrtle streets – position yourself on the northeast corner looking directly west. You'll find yourself staring at the stately Erhart House, 304 W. 10th. Just take a sip or two of your beverage and marvel at all the curves going on here. The front entrance, the multi-story turret, the circular windows! What a great spot. Cheers to you, Erhart House family!

From here we'll zip north on Myrtle exactly two blocks, ending up at the corner along West Eighth Street. You'll notice Porky's Pizza situated on the northwest portion of the corner. They make some pretty solid pizza and wings – delivering within a reasonable range in a short amount of time. One of my pizza shop gripes in this town is that not many are open past "usual" dinnertime, but Porky's bucks that trend staying open until midnight or 1 a.m. depending on the night. As someone that often lives within the rollercoaster timeframes of service industry schedules, the fine folks at Porky's have saved our butts more than once. Cheers to you, Porky's Pizza Pros!

From this intersection, let's take a short walk west along Eighth Street to number 334, home of Dinner is Served By Lisa. Owner and Chef Lisa Heidelberg has been involved in Erie's food scene for quite some time and was one of the O.G. food truck operators at Erie Ale Works back in the day, serving as one half of the innovative food truck, One Farmer, One Chef. Since then, she's made a serious name for herself by cranking out quality meals for catering gigs and her signature "Big Bad Meals," available to order each week for pick up at the Erie Food Co-Op. If you haven't had her food, look her up, it's worth it. Cheers to you, Chef Lisa!

We'll make one last stop on our open container journey and that's a building located one block farther west. The address is 404 W. Eighth St., home of the Our West Bayfront headquarters. The group occupying this office is in charge of beautifying, unifying, and engaging the entire area between the Bayfront Connector and West 12th Street west of Sassafras Street. They organize events and activities like PorchFest, a unique afternoon-long music festival held on neighbors' porches. Or West BayFit, held at Bayview Park in warmer months providing yoga, recreational activities, a farmers market – all alongside beautiful bay views. Or, stop in and ask about the home they've been rebuilding with volunteer power from the inside out to help better the neighborhood literally one brick at a time. Cheers to you, Our West Bayfront!

Thank you once again for taking an uninhibited walk with me and drinking a local beverage along the way. Enjoy the Our West Bayfront!

Jeff McCullor is the co-owner of Erie Ale Works. He can be reached at jeff@eriealeworks.com