North Huntingdon's Korner Tavern looks back on 60 years of memories, family business

For 60 years in the North Huntingdon village of Hahntown, the Korner Tavern has served drinks and food to locals — from coal miners to everyday regulars who are considered family.

Manager Victor Pilipovich, 74, grew up in the business. His family took over operations in 1962.

“It’s hard to believe,” the North Huntingdon native said of the milestone. “It was more than just a tavern to the family — it was what we all grew up with.”

After celebrating its 60th anniversary June 5, the business is giving away themed glasses and hosting special karaoke events this month.

At the corner of Main Street and Laurel Avenue, the building first housed the company store of the Westmoreland Coal Company. Then after Prohibition, it became Stanley’s Tavern. Pilipovich’s parents and another family bought the bar and changed the name.

No one knows for sure where the “K” came from in “Korner” rather than spelling it with a “C.”

According to Pilipovich, his parents would never give him a straight answer, and the story changed many times over the years. Donna McDonald, 55, a former bartender and current patron, said one story was that whoever named the bar accidentally spelled “corner” incorrectly and decided to keep it.

Pilipovich helped his family and especially his mother, Helen, run the bar. She passed away in 2019, and he took over.

He’s heard a lot of customers’ stories over the years, and has become friends with many regulars.

“You get to know the people who come in, and you hear about their kids graduating high school, off to college, getting married, they come in and celebrate with you … which is really kind of a tribute and a nice thing,” he said.

When the coal miners came in for drinks and food, Pilipovich would sit and listen to their stories, and since then, the tavern has paid tribute to the miners, who were its first customers.

The tavern’s menu is branded “Miner’s Pail Grub.” Back in the day, Pilipovich said, coal miners would rent sleeping space above the tavern, where there were cots available.

Kurt Morningstar has lived just three doors from the Korner Tavern for about 22 years, and his favorite food is the “grub dogs.”

“I’ve been drinking down there for years, years and years,” Morningstar said. “It’s like a family — everybody knows everybody.”

Janine Kovack, 31, has been tending bar there for almost two years, and said “you couldn’t ask for a nicer family to work for.”

“People come in here just to talk (about) their problems,” Kovack, of North Huntingdon, said. Her favorite part of the job is meeting and talking to so many “everyday people.”

One of the friends she’s met, McDonald, worked as a bartender at the tavern in the 1990s and again in the 2000s.

“Probably when I was 24, 25, I started coming here, and I haven’t stopped,” McDonald, of Herminie, said. “I love coming here … this is my favorite bar.”

A recent attraction for the tavern, Pilipovich said, has been its modernized jukebox, since “jukebox karaoke” has become a “new thing.”

“We’ve had wedding parties in here. After the reception, they come here for the follow-up reception,” Pilipovich said. “On the opposite end of the scale, we’ve had people come in from the funeral home.”

He said his family would hold parties on holidays, and at Christmas, people came in to see the decorations.

“My mother made sure the place was always decorated,” Pilipovich said. “My mom was such a kindhearted person — she’d help people’s families for Christmas.”

Pilipovich said in the heyday of the trucking industry in the region, the Korner Tavern would cater to the truckers’ odd schedules. Since many drivers worked all night, he said they’d come in about 9 a.m. for food, and “that was their five o’clock.”

Decorations on display, including old beer bottles, signs and mirrors are a testament to the tavern’s rich history.

“We’re still gonna keep going as long as we can and see what happens,” Pilipovich said.

Kovack said the tavern’s history helps to define its future.

“The 60th was just honestly to celebrate (Pilipovich’s) mom and all the hard work that she put into the place and all of the people that she brought here,” Kovack said. “Hopefully, it’ll be here another 60 years.”