If you’ve spent any time in Oakmont, Pa. lately, chances are you’ve heard the buzz. There’s a new hangout on Allegheny Avenue that’s serving lagers, stouts, and stories in equal measure.
It’s called Local Remedy Brewing, and it’s the kind of place where the beer is cold, the tables have their own backstories, and the folks running the show all share one big thing in common: Allegheny College.
That’s right. Local Remedy is powered by six Gators. They include Dr. Matthew Synan ’03, a co-founder; Joe Vickless ’03, the brewer and co-founder with an English degree and a love of woodwork; and Maria Synan ‘04, taproom manager, marketing pro, and Matt’s partner in both life and business. The ownership team also includes Brian Stanley ’07, Liz Lemley Stanley ’05, and Mike McGrath ’03. Then there’s Steve Orkis ’08, of Orkis Woodworking, who helped craft the brewery’s ornate bar tops.
Being a physician requires a balance of working with people and science,” says Matt Synan, who is a pulmonary and critical care physician at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). “Brewing is the same. At its core, it’s science, and I have fun using that background to brew the best beer possible. If I’ve learned anything in medicine, it’s that you’re only as good as the team around you. And that’s what makes Local Remedy so special.
The idea started the way many good things do; just friends brewing in a basement. “It wasn’t one big moment,” says Vickless, who was an English major with minors in psychology and classical studies.
“It was little sparks, winning awards, beerfests where people told us, ‘We’ve heard we have to try your beer.’ That’s when we realized this could be bigger.”
Then came the COVID pandemic, and for Matt Synan, who was a chemistry major and economics minor
it was a “now or never” wake-up call. Why not take the leap? Why not turn a fun hobby into a community hub? So the team did just that, opening the brewery in January 2025, leaning on the skill and friendships they’d been building since their Allegheny days.
The taproom itself is a love letter to Oakmont. The bar top? Carved from trees cut down at Oakmont Country Club before the U.S. Open. The tables? Made from local trees, complete with little plaques naming each one.
“Joe’s a wood nerd,” Maria Synan says with a grin. “It’s in his blood, his dad’s a master carpenter. He saw an opportunity to tie Oakmont’s history into the tap room space.”
Then there are the beers. Some are straightforward, like a crisp lager or that crowd-pleasing Oktoberfest. Other brews give a nod to Oakmont landmarks or literature. But every name has a story. Vickless still laughs about their first Oktoberfest batch, which he dubbed Hochzeit, which is German for “wedding.” “It tied into family, history, language, it was perfect,” he says. “Except nobody could pronounce it. Everyone just called it Oktoberfest. So we gave in. But it’s still my favorite beer we brew.”
The people behind the brewery are just as interesting as what’s in your glass. Vickless, the English major turned brewer, credits Allegheny professors, including Jennifer Hellwarth and Jim Bulman, for giving him the writing skills to describe beer with flair.
Maria Synan, who was an English major and biology minor, built a powerhouse career in marketing at UPMC, the University of Virginia Health system, Allegheny Health Network, and then the baby-gear brand 4moms, before pivoting full-time to the brewery after 4moms was acquired. “It was serendipity,” she says. “Perfect timing to put 100 percent into Local Remedy.”
If you ask them what really set the stage, they’ll point back to Allegheny. “It’s where we found our people,” Maria says. “Twenty years later, we’re still working with the same friends, building something together. That sense of belonging, we want everyone who walks into Local Remedy to feel it.”
That community-first mindset shows up everywhere, from their welcoming taproom to their promise to donate 1 percent of sales each year to local nonprofits. “We’re still figuring out which groups we’ll support,” Maria Synan says, “but giving back is always part of the plan.”
Local Remedy is about beer, but it’s also about roots. The kind planted at Allegheny College in 2003, and the kind dug deep into Oakmont soil.
The next time you’re wandering down Allegheny Avenue, pop in. Order the Oktoberfest (don’t worry, no German required), run your hand over a table with a story of its own, and raise a glass to what happens when a few Gators turn passion into pints.
