May 5, 2018 3 min read

My Girls Restaurant on McKean Ave. in Charleroi has been serving homemade meals to locals and out-of-towners since 2012.

Home cooking is owner Charisse Adams’ specialty, as is the friendly service and reasonable prices.

“We serve, basically, the meals my mother made for us as a family,” said Adams. “I’m Hungarian, and my mom made awesome cabbage rolls. It’s real home cooking.”

Every day of the week, the doors open at 7 a.m. My Girls serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and breakfast is available all day.

Diners can select from a wide menu that includes daily specials ranging from stuffed peppers and creamed chicken over biscuits to breaded pork chops and liver and onions.

The hand-breaded cod, a signature recipe of Adams, is served with macaroni and cheese or haluski, for $6.95. 

A lively lunch menu offers specialty sandwiches – hot sausage, pizza burger (a juicy burger topped with spaghetti sauce and provolone cheese for $5.95), Philly steak and cheese, and a chicken rancher.

The diner is also a gathering spot for breakfast eaters, where cleverly named dishes like the Barge Hand (country sausage gravy over biscuits), the Glass Worker (two eggs and country fried steak with country gravy), and The Cougar (bacon, egg, cheese, lettuce and tomato on a choice of toast) pay homage to the Mon Valley’s history.

Adams said everything is made from scratch, with the exception of mashed potatoes.

“Soups, gravies, everything is homemade,” she said.

Adams is no stranger to the restaurant industry.

She began waitressing at age 16 at a restaurant in Perryopolis, where she still lives.

In 2004, the owner of Bev’s Place in Perryopolis, where she was waitressing, decided to retire and wanted to sell the restaurant.

“It was my daughter’s idea to buy it,” said Adams. She said it would be the perfect thing because I wouldn’t have to waitress anymore.”

Adams enjoyed waitressing, but knee issues were making it difficult for her to walk.

“I’ve had both knees replaced since then, but at that time, I was always hobbling and hurting,” said Adams. “Owning a restaurant is a much bigger responsibility, and it’s a lot more work, but it has always been a dream of mine to run a restaurant, and I’m very happy.’

So, Adams bought the restaurant.

My Girls is the third eatery Adams has owned.

She bought the former Pizza Hut restaurant in 2012, and now employs a staff of 18.

Why did Adams decide to call the restaurant My Girls?

“I had two female Huskies, and when my girlfriend and I were done waitressing, we’d sit and have a cup of coffee and we’d talk until I’d say, ‘Well, I’ve got to go home and see my girls,'” said Adams, laughing.

She is proud of the food she serves, and the friendships she has formed with patrons.

“The one thing I like most is how I please people with the food. Making people happy makes me happy,” said Adams, whose food also connects her with her past. “I like to say that the food we make here are the things my mother taught me. I was her little helper. I always used to help her in the kitchen. She taught me how to cook and it went from there.”

If you go:

My Girls 300 McKean Ave

Charleroi, Pennsylvania

724-483-5660

Menu available on Facebook page