new coffee shop in wilkinsburg - biddle's escape (Pittsburgh: sale, buying)

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by sskink

The place in Morningside sourced good coffee but had lousy baristas and, IMO, an antisocial owner. Small space and very 'hippy-ish' which perhaps turned off the mostly Italian residents. It's currently being marketed as a storage space (?).

The place in Blawnox (if it's the one I'm thinking of) has (or had when I was there) pedestrian coffee, but Keeley is amazing. She bought the place right out of college. Guessing she's all of 25 now? Solid entrepreneurial and customer service skills.

Joe Davis, owner of Biddle's, is an interesting character and seems to be well-liked by his neighbors. However it ends up, it's unlikely to be a standard cookie-cutter coffeehouse.

Seems as if you are the resident coffee expert. A few years ago there was a thread where people listed their favorite coffee shops.

Me, I am boring. I like the Coffee Tree if given the choice but my wife likes Starbucks which means I drink a lot of ............ Starbucks.

With two young kids, the drive thru Starbucks is a great invention.

[groar]

Originally Posted by sskink

The place in Morningside sourced good coffee but had lousy baristas and, IMO, an antisocial owner. Small space and very 'hippy-ish' which perhaps turned off the mostly Italian residents. It's currently being marketed as a storage space (?).

i don't think morning glory closed due to lack of business; the owner moved out of the city for personal reasons.

i do have concerns about the lack of foot and car traffic around the location of biddle's escape. but it would be really cool if it became an anchor for that little business district. and there are definitely a lot of potential clientele living right in that area. i don't think anyone who actually went to that area (rather than just hearing "wilkinsburg" and turning tail) would be scared to be there. and i haven't really paid attention but i bet they're marketing themselves as being in regent square.

[squarian]

Originally Posted by groar

i bet they're marketing themselves as being in regent square.

At least according to the Rgt Sq Civic Assoc, Biddle & Trenton is in Rgt Sq; the very eastern edge, but Rgt Sq all the same.

Apparently, the chief barrista (um, barrista-jefe?) has a middle-European connection, so the coffee menu includes all these interesting authentic Hungarian and Viennese concoctions. I'm looking forward to giving it a try this weekend.

[sskink]

Originally Posted by groar

i don't think morning glory closed due to lack of business; the owner moved out of the city for personal reasons.

The two are not mutually exclusive. I was only there a few times, but I'd never seen more than one other person in the shop.

[groar]

Originally Posted by squarian

At least according to the Rgt Sq Civic Assoc, Biddle & Trenton is in Rgt Sq; the very eastern edge, but Rgt Sq all the same.

oh yeah, you're right! weird that the neighborhood boundaries are apparently partway through a block in a bunch of places.

[BrianTH]

It actually makes sense to include the houses lining the east side of Trenton, because they are west of the creek/valley that topographically defined the eastern edge of Regent Square.

In general those topography-based boundaries help explain why boundaries along streets don't always work in Pittsburgh.

[greg42]

Ah, so this is the other project. Interesting. If nothing else the coffee should be very good if they stick with it. https://twitter.com/#!/RichWesterfie...98435057401857

See also On Getting Back Behind Bar - Accidental Roaster There's a little reference to it in there, not by name at that point.

[SteelCityRising]

Suddenly I really want a Starbuck's Venti Mocha Frappuccino.

[groar]

i finally went and checked this place out - it is really, really nice. very inviting place, friendly owners and staff, great coffee. i will definitely be spending a lot of time there in the future.

it was hopping, too, especially for a monday night. nmrwa was holding some kind of class/meeting there.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Suddenly I really want a Starbuck's Venti Mocha Frappuccino.

Trying to use a week's worth of calories in a morning?

With my less than stellar eating habits, my inability to consistently exercise, oh and the fact that I hit 40, I gotta stick to regular cofee.

I switched to diet coke this year and have dropped 8 pounds so far.