Tag Archives: East Liberty

Cafe Reopens at The Union Project

We are thrilled to learn that the cafe space at The Union Project has reopened as Cafe Ola Appetite! The Union Project is a former church that through a lot of volunteer work has been transformed into a community space.  The cafe closed a few years ago and they have been searching for the right person to take over the cafe space.

The Union Project is located at the corner of Stanton and Negly Avenues in East Liberty.  It is a great place to meet for a lunch or coffee meeting because there is a bus stop right out front and plenty of street parking.

The Union Project

Image by 18brumaire via Flickr

You can read more about the cafe on the Post-Gazette’s Walkabout blog here.

Cafe Ola Appetite Hours:

  • Monday-Friday 8am-3pm
  • Saturday 8am-5pm

Cafe Ola Appetit on Urbanspoon

Register for the 4th Annual GLUE Conference!

First things first, we are not talking about rubber cement or Elmer’s glue – GLUE is about cities, neighborhoods and people. If you are a new reader or new to GLUE ..

GLUE is short for the Great Lakes Urban Exchange.  GLUE is an organization that was founded by a Pittsburgh native and a Detroit native to bring greater awareness to and to share ideas among 16 cities in the Great Lakes watershed areas.

I have had the opportunity to spend time with both of the founders of GLUE and in many ways GLUE is like IheartPGH for a larger geographical area.  But GLUE has done more than just blogging photos.  GLUE has built a community of people who are passionate about their cities across 16 cities.  I attended the 2nd GLUE conference in Milwaukee (the write up of my visit to Milwaukee is here) and I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I left Milwaukee full of ideas, stories and with new friends who are as excited about and advocating for their cities as we are about Pittsburgh.  One of the best things we can do is share stories and learn from other cities successes and occasional failures.

On Saturday, my journey from the Pacific to PGH included a stop in St. Louis.  I had the good fortune to stop by and check out the STL Style House.  STL Style is a pro-St. Louis t-shirt and gift shop run by Jeff and Randy Vines.  They are the St. Louis equivalent of IheartPGH and then some.  Jeff and Randy were out at Lou Fest when I stopped by the shop, but we learned all about their successful Save The Saucer campaign where the rallied other residents to save a local landmark.

2011 = GLUE + PGH

GLUE comes to you!  No planes, trains or hotel rooms needed. September 15-17, 2011 Pittsburgh will host the 4th Annual GLUE conference.  The theme for this years conference is Green-Lighting Neighborhoods.

They have put together an amazing 48 hours of presentations, work shops and tours of Pittsburgh places.

Conference Details

GLUE’s 4th Annual Conference: Green-Lighting Neighborhoods
Thursday September 15 – Saturday September 17 (Click here for complete conference agenda)

  • Thursday – Tour of Pittsburgh, Keynote Addresses, Dinner and Reception
  • Friday – Workshops and Site Visits
  • Saturday – Workshops and Site Visits

Locations – The Kinglsey Center and other locations around Pittsburgh

Registrations and Conference Fees

Online Registration is here.

The costs to attend the conference is $100, a discounted rate of $60 is available for students, non-profits, low-income individuals.

The registration fee includes sessions, site visits, and some meals.

A note about the conference fee – I know that $100 and $60 is a lot to ask.  One of the most valuable parts of my experience in Milwaukee was talking with other people over meals and on the tours.  I know the organizers have worked very hard to make sure to provide that same scenario for Pittsburgh. Your registration fee includes meals and transportation and I strongly believe that is a valuable part of the experience.

If you would like to attend but cannot afford the conference fee – please email iheartpgh-at-gmail.com – IheartPGH wants to make sure that those who want to attend, can do so and we will try to work something out.

Is GLUE for You – Who should attend the 2011 GLUE conference?

The conference is open to anyone who wants to attend.  You do not have to be a blogger or community development professional.  Attendees come from all difference backgrounds.

Are you interested in any of the following…

  • meeting other people who are working to reviatlize their neighborhoods and cities
  • sharing stories and ideas for better communities
  • learning about best practices across the GLUE cities
  • learning more about how community development works
  • green development
  • transportation – transit, bike lanes, parking issues
  • meeting other people who <3 their city and neighborhoods
  • learning about Larimar
  • learning about development in East Liberty
  • blogging
  • meeting young leaders from Pittsburgh and other cities
  • running for office

Then the GLUE conference is for you!

Get stuck on GLUE

There are lots of ways you can get involved with GLUE – as part of the conference and beyond.

For the conference: Register to attend the conference here, Spread the word (Facebook Event for the conference is here) or Sponsor the conference.

Beyond the conference: follow GLUE on Twitter and Facebook.

Conference Poster

The Food Network Stops at The Waffle Shop TONIGHT!

Food Network's Logo used from 2000 - 2005

Image via Wikipedia

Worlds Weirdest Restaurants, a new show that is being taped for the Food Network Canada, will be at the Waffle Shop tonight (Friday, June 10, 2011) from 10pm-3am.  The public is invited to stop by for waffles and to watch the show.  Can’t make it East Liberty – as always you can watch the Waffle Shop streaming live at WaffleShop.org.

Worlds Weirdest Restaurants will be hosted by Bob Blumer – he currently hosts the show Glutton for Punishment.

WWR’s host Bob Blumer will spend the evening cooking, serving, and participating in a packed night of interactive talk shows. The general public is encouraged to come by, dine, and take part!

The evening’s line up will feature local artist’s talk shows designed to instigate intrigue and spur interaction. In addition to waffle cuisine there will be a variety of live interactive shows including Dave English passing his torch as the host of “The Unemployment Show”, T. Foley performing a talk show hosted by a ventriloquist dummy who’s reticent to perform in public, Terry Boyd’s “Anonymous Costumed Guest Hour” as well as cameos from other local favorites.

What is the Waffle Shop? Do they really serve waffles?

From the Waffle Shop website:

The Waffle Shop is a neighborhood restaurant that produces and broadcasts a live-streaming talk show with its customers, operates a changeable storytelling billboard on its roof, and runs a take-out window that sells food from countries engaged in conflict with the U.S. The shop is a public lab that brings together people from all walks of life to engage in dialogue, experimentation and the co-production of culture. The project functions as a classroom for students from Carnegie Mellon University, an eatery, a TV production studio, a social catalyst, and a business. Our customers are our funders, audience, and participants as we film during open hours, inviting interested patrons to express their unique opinions and personalities.

The Waffle Shop is supported by the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University, The Center for the Arts In Society, East Liberty Development Inc, We Do Property, Sota Construction Services, the Sprout Fund, Whole Foods, and the sale of waffles.

So you have always wanted to open a cafe?

Maybe you are sitting at your desk right now – reading IheartPGH and other hilarious blogs – just trying to make it to 5pm.  You have dreams of opening your own cafe – spending your days brewing coffee and talking to regular customers.  Well here are 2 opportunities here in Pittsburgh that might just be the ticket to your own cafe with the support of some great Pittsburgh community organizations.

The Union Project
Image by 18brumaire via Flickr

Open Your Own Business – First up, the Union Project is accepting proposals for their cafe space.  If you are a long time reader of this blog you know that I am a huge fan of the Union Project and was a frequent visitor of their cafe.  For a variety of reasons the cafe at the Union Project has been closed for the past year.  Now the Union Project is accepting proposals for a new tenant to run the cafe space.  The Union Project, located at the corner of Stanton and Negley Ave in East Liberty, is a former church that has been transformed into a community center.  The church offices have been rented out to other businesses and artists, the former sanctuary is a large event space available for rentals and the basement is a ceramics studio that offers classes and open studio hours. Continue reading →

The Shadow Lounge Turns 10! Taking the Celebration to the Streets!

shadow-lounge-10-yearsOne of the places where you can always find something happening in Pittsburgh is the Shadow Lounge.  Located at the corner of Baum Blvd and Highland Ave in East Liberty – what started as a little coffee house has done big things for East Liberty and Pittsburgh. Before Whole Foods, before the yoga studio, before Pizza Sola, before Paris 66 – the Shadow Lounge opened its doors as a place where people can come to meet, listen to live music – from local musicians to national acts and dance to some amazing djs.

Ten years later – the Shadow Lounge has grown from a 1 room establishment to 3 different venues – Shadow Lounge, Blue Room and now Ava on Highland Ave.  The Shadow Lounge is one of those place that always ends up on our list of places to visit in Pittsburgh (we of course included it on our Pittsburgh list for American Airlines Magazine last summer).

To celebrate this big birthday – The Shadow Lounge has planned a big, bad block party with something for everyone.  2 days of bands, performers, djs and more from Pittsburgh and beyond.  Also – Saturday night is Title Town – Pittsburgh’s monthly soul music night. Continue reading →