Communities get retail boost
Shoppers spend on Small Business Saturday
Megan McGinnis doesn’t doubt that Mt. Oliver’s business district is on its way to becoming the bustling street it was during its prime.
While empty storefronts still line Brownsville Road, eight new businesses have sprung up since 2021, including Ms. McGinnis’ store, The Cheese Queen, which opened in July.
“It’s only going to make Pittsburgh a better place to travel to and for the neighborhood,” Ms. McGinnis said Saturday of the community’s revitalization. Small businesses in Mt. Oliver and Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood were highlighted this weekend as part of Small Business Saturday and also through efforts by the nonprofit Hilltop Alliance, which created a cookie tour and other incentives to attract shoppers to the communities.
“We’re hoping that people will come and see the list of businesses, explore new businesses they haven’t been to, check out what’s here since Mt. Oliver’s business district on
Brownsville Road is so close to Allentown’s on East Warrington Avenue — kind of connecting the two neighborhoods and having people travel across,” said Meg O’Brien, Hilltop Alliance’s director of economic development.
According to Ms. O’Brien, several new businesses have opened in the borough with the help of programs focused on rent abatement, marketing and façade improvements.
Similar programs have also been used in Allentown, where the business district is currently at 95% capacity, a drastic increase from 2017, when it was 50% occupied, said Nancy Lomasney, vice president of the Allentown Community Development Corporation.
Support for that business district showed Saturday afternoon as customers filtered between stores, found new restaurants and explored specialty grocery stores.
Mary Arlia, of Easton, a city in Northampton County, was shopping with her father, Phil, of Irwin, at Dr. Tumblety’s Time-Inspired Specialty Shop. Their goal was not only to support Small Business Saturday but also to find a gift that couldn’t be purchasedat a big-box store.
“This is important because my father had a pharmacy and he instilled in us to shop small always,” Ms. Arlia said.
“That’s your bread and butter of society, and if you don’t support them, then who are you really supporting? Just a mega-corporation, and you’re really not giving back to your community. He had a pharmacy for 52 years, Phil’s Pharmacy in Pitcairn, so he’s instilled in us to always shop when we can at small businesses. So that’s why we’re out today.”
Small Business Saturday typically attracts support across the nation, garnering $23.3 billion from U.S. consumers who shop at independent retailers and restaurants, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
At Dr. Tumblety’s, several customers roamed past an assortment of products as the national event kicked off.
Catherine McGough, whose nephew owns the store, noted that several new businesses in the area are attracting more customers to the shop.
“I’ve lived here all my life,” Ms. McGough said. “When I was younger and I was growing up here, it was vibrant, it was kicking. … It was really nice. And then it hit a period of nothing. Now it is starting to come back again.”
Similarly, Kelly Braden, owner of The Weeping Glass gift shop that opened in 2017 and Black Forge Coffee House, has seen the regrowth of Allentown’s business district.
“I’m happy about it,” Ms.
Braden said. “It’s nice that it’s no
longer empty. We have a lot of young business owners moving in, and that’s always nice whereas before it was a lot of convenience stores every 5 feet. Now there’s a lot of creative, young business owners moving in and doing some really cool stuff for the neighborhood.”
Back in Mt. Oliver, Small Business Saturday proved to be busy at TC Candy along Brownsville Road, said Jeanine Terreri, whose mother owns the shop.
“It has grown,” Ms. Terreri said of Mt. Oliver. “There’s a lot more new businesses. I feel like there’s a lotmore young people that’s coming in, trying to rebuild the business districtfrom what it used to be.
“Back in the day, in like the ’80s and ’90s, Mt. Oliver was a booming place, and then it kind of died off. They’re trying to build it back up. Slowlybut surely it’s coming back.”
April Tantalo and her husband, Rob Doerzbacher, were shopping at The Cheese Queen on Saturday afternoon as they made their way through businesses in several hilltop neighborhoods.
Ms. Tantalo, who grew up in Mt. Oliver, was excited to see the changes as new businesses continue to move in.
Mr. Doerzbacher agreed.
“I hope that people in Pittsburgh come to visit the community” and find “hidden gems all around the area,” he said.