A lot of people are freaked out by dark empty cities. I blame Hollywood, which gives a false picture of urban dangers. Actually 5 AM is pretty safe as all the crooks have gone to bed and aren't out on the street. Nobody else is on the streets either, so there's really nobody to mug. And on the other side, when the Pennsylvanian comes in at 7-ish PM, even though it might be dark during a lot of the year, it's at a time when lots of people are out and about. OK, maybe not by midnight when 29 comes in, but there's enough time to walk over the the Strip District to get a dinner and then come back to the station before it gets too late. Plus there's always Uber/Lyft, taxis and such.
I took a trip that involved an overnight in Pittsburgh and stayed at a hotel about 2 blocks from the station. I arrived on the bustituted Pennsylvanian at about 7, and after I checked in, I walked over to Primati's to get some dnner. OPart of the walk was in the dark, but I didn't feel too uncomfortable. In the morning I had to catch 30, so there I was at 4:30/5 AM hauling my rollerbag down the street. It was really no problem. I hung out in the station until 30 came in, and then I got breakfast in the cafe car, which was open.
It might be nice to have a snack stand in the station, but then, given the size of the crowd I saw, I don't think there would be enough business for one. I don't think there's even enough traffic for a food truck to hang out in the evening when the Pennsylvanian comes in. The crowds aren't that big, and most of the people aren't really interested in getting something to eat. Maybe if they start running more trains out of the place all through the day, there might be enough foot traffic in the station to justify such a business.