Ever since they caught wind that their go-to neighborhood bar, Giordano Bros., might close, Rudi Rughoonundon and Ollie Pender realized they weren’t ready to let it go. 

And so, when Giordano Bros. announced its closure officially in February, the two bar-goers shook hands and decided to go into business together. 

“It’s been a dream of mine to open a bar,” said Rughoonundon, a computer chip engineer who, like Pender, quickly became a regular at the Pittsburgh-themed sports bar when it first opened 10 years ago at 3108 16th Street near Valencia Street. 

Rughoonundon and Pender have been neighbors in the Mission District since the early 2000s, but met and became friends over beers and hoagies and the hum of ballgames on screens around the bar. 

And even though they have no connection to Pittsburgh and have never even visited — Rughoonundon was born in the United Kingdom and raised in Mauritius, and Pender hails from Ireland — Rudi’s Sports Bar and Restaurant will maintain its ties to Pennsylvania’s second-largest city. 

“We both feel like they had a good product here, they had a good following,” Pender said. “And a lot of people come from the East Bay and all around just to be here for the games.” 

Much of Giordano’s Pirates and Steelers decor, staff, and even its menu featuring french fry-filled sandwiches will remain intact, and Rughoonundon and Pender expect the Pittsburgh-loving regulars to return. 

“The Pittsburgh crowd that comes in here, they are like basically a big family,” Rughoonundon said. But he said he wants to make it clear there will be some changes: The 49ers will be featured more prominently at Rudi’s, and a hamburger is making its debut on the new menu.