The Strip District Investment and Business Guide

Strolling down Penn Avenue is like walking back in time, to a turn-of-the-century neighborhood where vintage storefronts stand side-by-side, parking lots are located just beyond view, and visitors peruse outdoor stalls and kiosks, haggling over prices or sipping late-afternoon cocktails beneath shading parasols.

For small-business owners, the Strip affords a rare opportunity: To start a shop or eatery where pedestrian traffic is already strong, and discriminating shoppers have congregated for over a century. The Strip is convenient to Downtown (and satellite neighborhoods), a Saturday tradition for thousands of Pittsburghers, and one of the city’s most attractive and lucrative tourist draws. Museums and clubs bring the people in; small, sometimes quirky businesses get them to stay and look around. For people with vision and dreams, the Strip is a place to consider.

“Property values were higher in the dot-com days than they are today,” says Richard Beynon, president of Beynon & Co. “We see a real value today in the Strip. People always ask us about growth areas. The strip is always in the top three.”

Prime retail space is hard to find on Penn Avenue but bargains can be had further up Penn or on Smallman, he says, from a low of $13 a square foot to a high of $20.

Un-Chain My Heart

It says a lot for a neighborhood to host both a Starbucks and a Panera Bread, then watch them both lose business and close for good. Chains can survive in the Strip – the McDonald’s on Penn Avenue has been serving for years – but the Strip’s caché comes from its wealth of original retailers and their fresh, one-of-a-kind stock. While some businesses, particularly nightclubs, have come and gone, savvy entrepreneurs who find a niche can stay in business indefinitely, thriving on a daily rush of discriminating shoppers. You don’t find regulars more committed than Strip-fans.

And there have never been so many: With the introduction of the Brake House and Cork Factory lofts, the Strip’s population is likely to double in the next few years. Plus there’s the new Hampton Inn and Suites, now under construction, which will offer 143 rooms, at reasonable prices, as early as May, 2007.

Moreover, the neighborhood has experienced a financial renaissance in very recent years, with the construction of renovated loft spaces, the newly expanded History Museum, a $150,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Dept. Of Community & Economic Development (for pre-development activities on a 30,000 square foot market hall in the Pennsylvania Fruit Auction and Safes Building) and Portal Project, an initiative designed to  encourage pedestrian flow of traffic between Downtown and the Strip, sponsored by a federal gift of $345,000. Thanks to the interest of Gov. Ed Rendell, U.S. Congressman Mike Doyle, and the tireless advocacy of Neighbors in the Strip, the nation’s largest inland ports is on its way to becoming one of the hippest as well. It’s already the most authentic.

Where Dream-Jobs Come True

A lot of new business owners in the Strip tell the same inspiring tale: Years ago, they had lucrative but static office jobs. They always had a passion for a certain craft. They found a cheap storefront somewhere around Penn Avenue and set up their small business. Now they’ve cornered a niche market, and everybody comes to the Strip to buy their wares.

Larry Lagatutta, owner of the hugely popular Enrico Biscotti, spent over a decade working for Lucent Technologies before he decided to entertain his childhood pastime, baking. In 1992, Lagatutta rented a humble space on Penn Avenue. “I got it for a ridiculously small amount of money,” he says. On his first day, he baked 30 pounds of biscotti. His first major customer was La Prima Espresso, the beloved local coffee company, which had just lost its biscotti supplier and was buying out-of-state.

Today, Enrico Biscotti produces 800-900 pounds of biscotti a day – among countless other baked goods – and sends fresh batches to cafés and groceries all over the city. Enrico has become a household name and has gained national recognition, cited by Gourmet Magazine as a must-stop in Pittsburgh. Even now, Lagatutta is personally involved in the baking process – and he even lives in an apartment above Enrico’s – his daily commute to work takes under a minute.

Alexis Shaffer, co-owner of the brand-new Caffe Intermezzo, has a similar story. When Shaffer lived in New Jersey, she worked as a high-profile engineer and supervised a team of what she calls “direct reports” – 30 workers who looked to her for instruction and management.

“I liked my job,” Shaffer says. “But what I liked most of all was interacting with people every day.”

If you slice out the office, the engineering and the state of New Jersey, and replace it with an intimate little coffee shop on Smallman Street, you get a life that has all the benefits and none of the drawbacks: Shaffer still interacts with people everyday, albeit while slinging coffee, tea, pastries, Panini sandwiches and bottles of juice and water. Sharing the counter with her husband, Lucas, Shaffer welcomes customers with a good word and a smile, and since its opening on March 29, Cafe Intermezzo has attracted a small corps of regulars that grows larger every day.

The store began with a fortuitous real estate classified in the Post-Gazette, advertising a small space that was already equipped for a café. “When we came down here,” she says, “and met the owners, it just fit.” Caffe Intermezzo has an on-the-go charm, with tables laid out on the sidewalk in the summer, and a simple take-away policy in the winter.

A True Outdoor Market

“I’ve been in the Strip all my life,” says Lagatutta proudly. Back in the day, his father used to unload supply trains, and even as a child, Lagatutta’s mother used to drop him off at DeLuca’s, where he would devour greasy breakfasts and make friends with the DeLuca family. “In this country,” he observes, “there are open markets. But there is nothing like the Strip District. You can talk about South Philadelphia and places in New York, but they don’t look anything at all like the Strip.” Lagatutta credits the ages-old blue-collar tradition for the Strip’s uniqueness. “These guys [local owners and workers] are elitists, purists. These guys are unloading boxcars and pushing dollies. These are working men. And that’s an amazing feature of the Strip. I think the products that you get here show that. We’re not like the earring shop at the mall.”

Most owners seem to agree that it takes patience, a keen sense of quality, and inimitable wares to survive in the Strip. “It’s sometimes tough to be the new kid on the block,” Shaffer says. “It takes a little time to break into it.” But Shaffer welcomes competition from other cafés on nearby Penn Avenue. “If you go to New York, there are a thousand coffee shops, one on every block.” Shaffer serves different coffee, from the Chicago-based Intelligencia, a company that “wants people to understand coffee like they understand wine.”

The same could be said of Café Richard, a cozy little shop with gold-tinted walls, framed local photography and a reputation for outrageously good sandwiches – such as Jambon & Brie, the Prosciutto and the Muffaletta, plus a wealth of desserts. These places can be small, sometimes teensy, but gourmet fare and balanced pricing allow theme to survive – and accrue a certain level of old-school, word-of-mouth fame. Stores like the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company have thrived for over a century, fed on such good words.

Ah, chocolat

When it comes to quality, no one is more passionate than Amy Rosenfeld. Boasting the quiet intensity of a connoisseur, Rosenfeld’s life is chocolate – and Mon Aimee Chocolat, a large, one-room store filled with displays of nature’s finest goodies, is her tribute. A 15-year veteran of the confectioner’s trade, Rosenfeld established Mon Aimee nearly five years ago. “I knew I wanted to get into the specialty aspects of the business,” Rosenfeld says. “You don’t usually see my kind of store in this country.” Mon Aimee’s European flair is not limited to the decor – vintage signs and an Ecuadorean cocoa bean bag hanging from the walls – but also the craftsmanship of her stock. “Most people are used to local candy-makers making pecan pies,” she says. Mon Aimee seeks the finest and most discriminating flavors, serving them in their traditional boxes, and also as cordials from glass containers, and as cocoa from the Hot Chocolate Bar in the back.

Rosenfeld likes the Strip for its “central location” and “diverse selection of small businesses. For good quality products, it’s the best place in the city.” And with such a strong influx of regulars, “I get to know people.” Such a customer base might imply expansion, but Rosenfeld is dismissive of the idea. “I don’t want a franchise,” she says. “I believe that you can lose touch with your customers. Right now we’re very happy here.”

The Potluck Market

Local merchants will tell you what the neighborhood lacks and that spells opportunity for the entrepreneur. Here’s what’s needed: A standard gas station (the closest is on the tip of Lawrenceville, about a mile away); a general or drugstore to buy day to day necessities and Kaya-caliber restaurants to complement the dance club scene (in a sense, there is an economic siesta between 5 p.m., when the markets close, and 10 p.m., when the clubbin’ starts).

In the past couple of years, interest in the Strip’s real estate – both residential and commercial – has ignited a flair for adventurous entrepreneurs with dependable capital and a long-term plan, as there are new opportunities opening every few months: The Potato & Onion Building, formerly a warehouse space for spuds and scallions at 2200 Smallman Street, is now soliciting businesses to take over its floor-space – from two 1,875-sq. ft. retail spaces to a cluster of office units. The same goes for the Otto Milk Building, which, with a lot of TLC and extensive rehab, could furnish a buyer with five stories and 15,750 sq. ft. of former storage space for dairy products, all on the well-trafficked corner of Smallman and 25th Street. Or there’s space for rent in places like the Crane Building, newly renovated spaces, 15-ft. ceilings, energy-efficient windows, wireless Internet, and free parking – located a stone’s throw (literally) from Pittsburgh’s most ambitious new loft project, the Cork Factory.

For now, entrepreneurs who don’t mind eccentric neighbors will find that the Strip is still an affordable inner-city option, and its increasing popularity in coming years is a sure thing. Like the Farmers Market @ the Firehouse that shows weekly in the Strip, the neighborhood has become an amalgam of disparate dreams and imaginations, affording visitors – and proprietors – a range of local flavors, whether it be coffee, chocolate, cheese, antiques, steel sculpture, spices, wholesale seafood or DJ spins.

For more information on the Strip District visit the PopCity:
- Moving Guide
- Visitor Guide

Directions to Strip District

From the North:
Take 279 South and take the East Street exit, Exit 8B, toward PA-28 North. Stay straight to go onto East St and then turn left onto E Ohio St. Turn right onto Chestnut St, which becomes the 16^th Street Bridge. Cross over the river and arrive in Strip District.

From the East:
Take I-376 West toward Pittsburgh and take Exit 1C on the left for Grant St. Turn slight right onto Grant St, which becomes Liberty Ave. Arrive in Strip District.

From the South:
Take PA-51 North toward Pittsburgh and take the ramp toward I-579/Downtown/South Side. Turn right onto West Liberty Ave and turn slight right onto Liberty Tunnels. Liberty Tunnels become Liberty Bridge. Stay straight to go onto Crosstown Blvd and take the 7^th Avenue exit on the left toward Convention Center. Turn slight right onto Grant St. Grand St. becomes Liberty Ave, arrive in Strip District.

From the West:
Take I-279 North toward Pittsburgh. Take the Ft. Duquesne Blvd exit, Exit 6C, toward Convention Center/Strip District. Take the ramp toward the Convention Center/Strip District and stay straight to go onto 10^th St. BYP. 10^th St. BYP becomes 11^th St. Turn left onto Smallman St and arrive in Strip District.