Pittsburghers and FOOD!!!!!! (Washington, California, Oakland: home, buying, organic)

[guylocke]

I have lived downtown for over five years now and I can't help but noticing a funny fact.

My boyfriend works in retail and he knows so many companies that have had their eyes on Pittsburgh for a while, including Armani Exchange, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Tiffany, and many more. But many high-end stores that have taken a chance with Pittsburgh all over the city, including Robinson, Pittsburgh Mills, and SouthSide Works are really struggling. Pittsburghers just do NOT want to pay big bucks for ultra designers. I guess we just don't care enough and it's definitely known throughout the high-end industry. Pittsburgh is a major gamble when it comes to high fasion.

And then you have food. Do you have ANY idea how many new and EXPENSIVE places to eat have opened on every single side of the city from SouthSide, to Oakland, to the Northshore, to StationSquare, to Downtown, to North Hills, to Pittsburgh Mills, to Mt. Washington and ON AND ON AND ON and even bigger ones yet to come!!!

And do you see how crazy PACKED THEY ARE ALMOST ALL THE FREAKING TIME???????

My god, a Pittsburgher won't spend a few hundred bucks for a Coach bag but has no problem plopping down $80 bucks for the best steak of your life!

LOL

[Hopes]

I recall reading somewhere that Pittsburgh is mail order catelog heaven, and Pittsburgher's adopted well to online shopping as a result.

Plus, we're so close to NYC that most affluent people simply fly to NYC to shop.

[guylocke]

I go to Toronto Even Cleveland has a great shopping district (I know, right?)

[elfgirl]

Well I guess we're more of a "put your money where your mouth is" kind of a town, lol!

[guylocke]

HAH! Good one!

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by boylocke

I have lived downtown for over five years now and I can't help but noticing a funny fact.

My boyfriend works in retail and he knows so many companies that have had their eyes on Pittsburgh for a while, including Armani Exchange, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Tiffany, and many more. But many high-end stores that have taken a chance with Pittsburgh all over the city, including Robinson, Pittsburgh Mills, and SouthSide Works are really struggling. Pittsburghers just do NOT want to pay big bucks for ultra designers. I guess we just don't care enough and it's definitely known throughout the high-end industry. Pittsburgh is a major gamble when it comes to high fasion.

And then you have food. Do you have ANY idea how many new and EXPENSIVE places to eat have opened on every single side of the city from SouthSide, to Oakland, to the Northshore, to StationSquare, to Downtown, to North Hills, to Pittsburgh Mills, to Mt. Washington and ON AND ON AND ON and even bigger ones yet to come!!!

And do you see how crazy PACKED THEY ARE ALMOST ALL THE FREAKING TIME???????

My god, a Pittsburgher won't spend a few hundred bucks for a Coach bag but has no problem plopping down $80 bucks for the best steak of your life!

LOL

Your grocery stores are AMAZING. Look -- I live in California where a lot of the freaking food is grown.... and our grocery stores SUCK. No one cooks out here anymore, so most of the food space is prepared foods beautifully shown off. (As in space wasting!) Whole chickens, sides soups and salads -- all done for you to take home and nuke.

We have aisle after aisle of paper products, cleaning products, cards magazines make up books pet food.... and in a regular grocery store a 16 aisle store is way less than half food items. And the soup aisle? Rows of SmakRamen.... which people buy by the case. Cheap food.

We have racks and racks of bagged salad greens that are way over twice more expensive than buying a head of lettuce, and half of them are rusted and wilted (yuck...) my thinking is they want you to buy the premade Safeway Salads -- with dressing... and spork!

I like to use frozen blueberries in my oatmeal in the morning -- you want expensive? Safeway -- 16 ounces -- 4.89... Organic is CHEAPER by 20 cents.

And if you want to go to a good produce market, it's a major big hassle -- bad or non existant parking, far drive to get there... but if you go to Monterey Market you get the best fresh out there!

I went back home and marveled at the markets....

[Drover]

Oddly enough, I thought the grocery stores in the Pittsburgh area sucked. Tough to beat the Midwest where a) we're also in an area where a lot of our food is grown, but b) it's not all prepared crap like apparently it is out in California.

I'm not at all surprised that high-end retail stores struggle in Pittsburgh. That reflects one of the things I like about Pittsburgh: it's not a very class-conscious city. People who have a little extra money show it off by building a deck in their back yard and putting a high-end grill on it or buying a Harley instead of carrying a goofy little handbag that costs hundreds of dollars. Suits me just fine.

[Stonecoldharbours]

People in Pgh are traditonally blue collar workers who think spending hundreds of dollars on a purse is outragous but value family time and a good dinner out. Most people there are not spending 80 dollars on a dinner trust me, they are paying their mortages and heating bills. Maybe some do have that kind of money but even they are rather conservative and invest wisely.

[Hopes]

Pittsburghers aren't quick to embrace trends---in fashion, decorating, etc.

By the time a Pittsburgher is willing to try a new fashion trend, it's available as a cheap knock off in all the stores!

The downside is Pittsburghers have a hard time letting go of a trend once they've embraced it!

We're a special group, us Pittsburghers!

[airstrip]

I agree with Drover, Pittsburgh is not a class concious town and that is one of its best attributes. It is the missing ingredient in several of the other, very nice places I've lived. It can vary a bit from township to township, of course, but on the whole the people place more emphasis on who you are not what you own. Suits me just fine too. I wish it hadn't taken me so long to identify that missing link. I have to laugh at Hopes, though. Once we embrace a trend, we keep it forever.... LOL