Beyond Pittsburgh’s pretty downtown, transformation and momentum reign, with former industrial areas giving way to restaurants, shops and art venues.
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Tag Archives: Shopping / Dining
No Holiday Cheer At The Philadelphia Gallery
MOHAMMAD HOSSAIN has sold jewelry from his Gold Center kiosk in the Gallery mall on East Market Street for 10 years, and yesterday he wore a weary expression.
Despite the holiday season, Hossain and other merchants weren’t feeling cheerful. PREIT, the owner of the Gallery, has told them to vacate by either Dec. 31 or Jan. 31.
PREIT has plans to redevelop the Gallery, which means the stores and kiosks will be moved out for at least a year.
George Thomas, who has operated a jewelry kiosk there for 20 years, said merchants are angry.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20141214_No_holiday_cheer_at_the_Gallery.html#4y8Ur2uzxQh6rLqw.99
Easton Business Owners Excited About Parking, Patrons From Intermodal Center
The photographer was snapping, the baby was smiling and the mother was beaming. Everything was running smoothly at Time Photo Studios in Easton’s Centre Square until the mother brought the shoot to an abrupt halt.
“She had to run down to Second Street to feed the meter,” said studio co-owner Tara Hawthorne.
Customers won’t have to worry so much about parking when the new intermodal center opens at 123 S. Third St. The 350-space parking deck is blocks away from businesses like Hawthorne’s, and the business community says its customers and employees will appreciate new parking options.
“People can go Downtown and not worry about getting a parking ticket,” agreed Pasquale Crisci, owner of Antonio’s Pizzeria across South Third Street from the new intermodal center.
Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/easton/index.ssf/2014/12/easton_business_owners_excited.html
Business Owner Stays True To Roots Of Skippack Days
Location of Skippack Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
SKIPPACK TOWNSHIP, PA – When it comes to Skippack Days, Butch Kaelin is a purist.
Visitors strolling through Skippack Village during the two-day festival — set for Oct. 4 and 5, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — a time the town welcomes vendors from all over the country, will find only true craftsmen setting up shop outdoors on the Victorian Carriage Shops property, 4039 Skippack Pike, which is owned by Kaelin.
If you’re looking for all things artisanal, authentic and guaranteed to be fully twenty-four carat, genuinely, unequivocally handmade, this is where you’ll find them.
Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/business/20141003/business-owner-stays-true-to-roots-of-skippack-days
Downtown Inc Using “Destination Branding” To Market York Neighborhoods
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting York County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If you name it, they will come.
Sonia Huntzinger, executive director of Downtown Inc, said that’s the theory behind York’s recent push to brand pockets of its 26-block downtown business district, creating a patchwork of neighborhoods that will each offer something different to regional visitors.
In the last two years, the nonprofit, which promotes revitalization of the city, has partnered with grassroots groups to demarcate several sections, including Royal Square, the Market District, Beaver Street and the latest, Weco.
The growth in destination branding, as the strategy is called, has coincided with Downtown Inc’s “Who Knew” campaign, a YouTube ad effort that highlights shopping and eatery options with the goal of bringing more foot traffic into local businesses.
Restaurants Renew Farm-To-Table Dining Concept In York County. Has Its Time Come?
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting York County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The walls of Tutoni’s in York are covered with chalkboards — one displaying cuts of a pig, another showing different types of cheese — each with a description of where the food came from.
The pork loin, for example, was once a Heritage pig that roamed free on Rettland Farm in Adams County.
Bright green arugula leaves, one chalkboard says, were grown in the greenhouses of Brogue Hydroponics in Chanceford Township.
Soft, silky mozzarella was made at Caputo Brothers Creamy in Jackson Township.
Read more: http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_26566765/farm-table-dining-has-failed-york-county-before
Downtown York Boutique Owners Look To Offer A Unique Shopping Experience
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting York County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When Alex Chiaruttini was looking for the perfect little black dress to take with her on an overseas trip, she found it at Indigo Bleu, a recently opened boutique on York’s West Philadelphia Street.
The 43-year-old environmental attorney and Springettsbury Township resident said she doesn’t shop at malls and prefers shopping at downtown York boutiques because their owners know Chiaruttini’s style and what she might like.
“It’s more fun than shopping online,” Chiaruttini said Wednesday evening while shopping with a friend at Elizabeth & West Fashion House, another downtown York boutique.
Wednesday was the second day of York’s annual Boutique Week. Downtown Inc. and a committee of downtown merchants launched the event in 2012 to give shopkeepers a chance to show off their merchandise and attract new customers. The week includes a fashion show Friday evening at Central Market. Boutique owners like Zarah Brooks, owner of Indigo Bleu, say they offer their customers a more personal experience and different merchandise than can be found at a mall.
Downtown First Awards – York PA
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting York County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Editor’s note: We like how they roll in York. Their Downtown Inc. organization has been doing some awesome things and downtown York is becoming a destination again. Color us impressed.
The Downtown First Awards recognize businesses, organizations, and individuals who put downtown York first through their commitments of time, advocacy and resources.
See the list of nominees: http://downtownyorkpa.com/downtownfirstawards/
Here’s The ‘Pittsburgh Is Beautiful’ Commercial That’s Running In Times Square
New Solar-Powered Car-Charging Stations Unveiled In Robinson
The Mall at Robinson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Editor’s note: When we were on assignment in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, we stayed across the street from the Mall at Robinson and walked right by these very charging stations. Should have taken a picture….drat! Oh well, hindsight is 20/20 but if you read the whole article the Post Gazette took a nice picture for your viewing pleasure.
In the parking lot outside the food court at the Mall at Robinson, a silver Chevy Volt sat in a space painted with a green and white electric vehicle decal, waiting for a jolt. Inside, representatives from Eaton and Wesco gathered by a gray kiosk that monitors the amount of energy being generated by the new 8 kilowatt solar panels on top of the mall.
By 11 a.m. the panels had generated 4.11 kw of energy, enough to power 46 laptops. They also generated enough power to give an electric car a full charge in two hours. That’s a perk for hybrid drivers because the mall’s newest car charging stations are connected to the panels.
The charging stations were officially unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, but they have been operational since June. Beth Edwards, the mall’s general manager, said she has been surprised by the response.
“I’ve seen several cars using it. We actually had a mall walker who went out and bought an electric car so they could charge it when they’re walking in the mall,” she said.
Boscov: Mall Price At Sheriff’s Sale Probably Too High
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lackawanna County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Department store owner Al Boscov is unlikely to bid when the Mall at Steamtown goes on the block at a sheriff’s sale next week, saying he anticipates the asking price will be too high.
The businessman has been unable to strike a deal with LNR Partners, the real estate company representing the mortgage holder, to acquire the mall but hopes to renew negotiations if the lender finds no takers for the property at the sale Tuesday, he and his lawyer said.
“At that point, it would be just as if we were buying a property in a private sales transaction,” said attorney Scott M. Esterbrook. “The (sheriff’s) sale is not the be-all, end-all. It’s one step in the process, and where we’re at today is we just haven’t reached an agreement yet.”
The mall entered foreclosure March 7 after owner Steamtown Mall Partners defaulted on a principal balance payment of $37.1 million due last July on its 2003 mortgage, setting up the sheriff’s sale. Mr. Boscov is a principal in Steamtown Mall Partners.
Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/boscov-mall-price-at-sheriff-s-sale-probably-too-high-1.1718214
Lancaster City Alliance Moves Toward New Phase Of Revitalization
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Stadium: Check.
Arts district: Check.
Convention Center: Check.
Tourism: Check.
Sixteen years after business leaders tried to revive Lancaster city with an economic development plan, many of the plan’s major components have come to pass.
Lancaster is a very different city than it was in 1998.
Cost Of Costco, Whole Foods Project: Tax Plan Adds Up To Small Percentage Of Developers’ Share
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lehigh County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In the ongoing debate over whether the Hamilton Crossings shopping center should be financed with tax money, a common question is why developers can’t make do without it.
The proposed tax-increment financing plan is expected to stack up between $6 million and $6.5 million for the roughly $140 million project, or less than 5 percent of the total.
Some TIF plan opponents have said the developers, Tim Harrison, of Staten Island, N.Y., and The Goldenberg Group, of Blue Bell, Pa., ought to be able to come up with the relatively small sum without reaching into taxpayers’ pockets.
Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/lehigh-county/index.ssf/2014/06/tax_plan_adds_up_to_10_percent.html
Website Launched By Nazareth Economic Commission Seeks To Revitalize Downtown
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A website launched by the Nazareth Economic Development Commission aims to fill empty storefronts and attract more visitors downtown.
The website,www.nazarethnow.org, was launched last week.
Those navigating through it will see a video about the Nazareth area, highlighting the borough’s downtown, Moravian history, Martin Guitar and a tour of the home of race car legend Mario Andretti. There are tabs about food and shopping destinations, a monthly calendar of events and how to get more involved.
Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2014/04/new_website_launched_by_nazare.html
$60-$70 Million Chestnut Street Residential Development Set To Begin
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In what would transform a bedraggled slice of central Philadelphia, demolition crews are weeks away from dismantling nearly an entire side of the 1100 block of Chestnut Street, part of a $60 million to $70 million redevelopment tapping the soaring apartment market and surging appetites to shop and live east of Broad Street.
Zoning approvals and permits are in place, additional property was acquired as recently as Thursday, and a large section of sidewalk has been closed as lead development partner Brickstone Co. prepares to build a complex of loft-style apartments above towering, three-story retail spaces.
The development will stretch almost the length of the south side of Chestnut between 11th and 12th Streets, Brickstone managing partner John J. Connors said.
Connors would not discuss what tenants are being courted, but the project could include a supermarket if rumors swirling among civic activist circles are true.
Open Mike Night at the Brick House
FYI .. Every Tuesday there is live music and open mike night at the Pottstown Brick House on the corner of High and Hanover Sts. in downtown Pottstown. It’s a good time and if you like crab legs I recommend the all you can eat special on Tuesday for $21.95! Such a deal! Stay and rock out after dinner.
Target and Starbuck’s
Whoever came up with the idea of putting Starbuck’s in Target is a friggin’ genius! Two addictions, one great location! OMG!
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