Tic Toc, Arcade Bakery could live on after Macy’s leaves Downtown site
Store offers rights to city at no cost
If the city gets its way, Tic Toc restaurant and the Arcade Bakery will live on, at least in name, even after the two tradition-soaked eateries shut down Friday ahead of the Downtown Macy’s store they anchor.
Kevin Acklin, chief of staff to Mayor Bill Peduto, said the city is working with Macy’s to secure the rights to the Tic Toc and Arcade Bakery names in hopes that both will rise again in the redevelopment that will replace the department store, which is scheduled to close for good around Labor Day.
The agreement under consideration would assign the names, branding and intellectual property
rights of the restaurant and bakery to the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority, he said. Macy’s has agreed to do so at no cost to the city.
With the rights in hand, the city intends to work with Philadelphia developer Core Realty and local restaurateurs in hopes of resurrecting the restaurant and the bakery, at least in name, as part of the proposed Macy’s redevelopment, which includes two floors of retail as well as a 155-room hotel and 311 apartments.
“The mayor felt that was a way to pay homage to those two iconic Pittsburgh eateries so that future generations could harken back to the days when those restaurants were part of Kaufmann’s,” Mr. Acklin said, referring to the much-loved department store that occupied the historic building at Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street before Macy’s.
Mr. Acklin said the deal could involve rights to menus, particular dishes, or types of cookies. The city, he noted, would want to give the new restaurant and bakery operators the flexibility to reuse them.
Hours after Macy’s announced July 13 that it was closing the Downtown store and selling the building to Core, Mr. Peduto tweeted that he was working to save Tic Toc and the Arcade.
In a statement Wednesday, the department store chain acknowledged that it was in talks with the city about transferring the trademarks.
“From the onset of our recent sale of the historic downtown store, Macy’s shared mutual interest with the City of Pittsburgh to preserve as much of the building’s legacy and traditions as possible,” it said.
“Knowing its historical and sentimental value to Pittsburghers, Macy’s has offered to transfer its rights in the trademarks Tic Toc Diner and Arcade Bakery to the City, at no cost to them, for their future use as the site is redeveloped.”
Michael Samschick, Core owner and president, said he’s interested in reviving both eateries. “I think the Tic Toc is part of the fabric of yesteryear. I think it’s important to try to keep that historical piece moving forward. I think it would be a wonderful complement to what we’re trying to do in the building,” he said.
He also has vowed to preserve the building’s famous clock.
Core plans to devote two floors to retail in the 13-story building it bought for $15 million. It is considering fashion retailers, restaurants and entertainment, including a possible bowling alley, for the space.
Mr. Samschick said the response from retailers so far as been “pretty enthusiastic. It really has opened up a real plethora of opportunities.”
He envisions the retail component involving one or two larger anchors surrounded by local boutique or specialty retailers.
As customers filed into Tic Toc on Wednesday for one last meal before its closing Friday, most were supportive of the city’s efforts to keep the restaurant alive in some form in the new development.
“It would be wonderful. I think the city needs that. We certainly should have the bakery and the Tic Toc. It’s synonymous with Downtown Pittsburgh,” said Carolyn Dvorsky, who has been patronizing the restaurant since the 1950s.