Pittsburgh Downtown Community Development Corporation | (412) 235-7263 | info@downtowncdc.org
100 Fifth Ave, Suite 614
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
 
124 Sixth St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15 222

Alihan's is a family owned restaurant which brings the authentic taste of Turkey to Downtown. Alihan is not only the owner, but he is the head chef as well: using family recipes,  making sure all meals are prepared in a traditional way, from fresh ingredients, and of course, in healthy Mediterranean style. 

Come to experience the hospitality of a Turkish family who welcomes every guest with a smile and cares of every customer's needs. 
We are BYOB, so don't hesitate to bring a bottle of your favorite brand to accompany our fresh meals. 

We are open every day from 11am-11pm , Fridays and Saturdays until midnight , serving lunch specials, dinner, and brunch on weekends. Also, we offer kids' specials, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free menus.



In this Issue:
DowntownCDC hosts the 2019 Annual Dinner  

Last Thursday, March 21, the we hosted our Annual Downtown Experience Awards Dinner with 500 of our closest friends.

The night started out with a few remarks from DowntownCDC board member Robert Fragasso of Fragasso Financial Advisors. Then, Bob Wolfinger was announced as the recipient of this year's "Small Business Person of the Year". Wolfinger owns six restaurants Downtown, but his most recent is Wolfie's Pub on Forbes Avenue. Guests also heard remarks from Neil Parham of Highmark Healthcare.

The Honorable Jake Wheatley gave a brief, yet entertaining introduction to this year's "Public Servant of the Year," Councilman Daniel Lavelle. The DowntownCDC also awarded County Executive Rich Fitzgerald the title of "Public Servant of the Decade" for all he has done for our community. The County Executive was introduced by Senator Wayne Fontana.

Aside from recognizing the award winners, the DowntownCDC also discussed some of our accomplishments from 2018 and what to look forward to as we continue into 2019.

In 2018, the DowntownCDC continued the work of Pittsburgh Fashion Week, held the Northwest Bank Developers Forum, created the marketing channel for the Downtown Activity Network (D.A.N.), shared drinks with you all at Third Tuesday Happy Hour, and organized the Highmark Italian strEAT Festival.

Our 2019 initiatives include the following: create new content for D.A.N., start a program called Local Pittsburgh First that will drive traffic to independent local businesses, hold a Business Member Breakfast, continue creating the Pittsburgh Fashion Alert newsletter, organize a Pittsburgh Fashion Summit, host the Highmark International strEAT Festival, hold a Huntington Bank Lunch and Learn, create a Pittsburgh Fashion Week Designers Website that will place designer creations in boutiques, and continue spearheading the Music City Downtown project with a 2020 Downtown Music Festival.

In regards to Music City Downtown, Jessica Lee spoke about some new venues and the rise of Downtown's music scene. Guests also heard from Mayor Bill Peduto via video stream thanking the DowntownCDC for all the work they've done along with remarks about the great things County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has done for our community.

The night ended with some discussion on the residential development projects happening throughout the downtown area and those who are spearheading those projects. Executive Director of the DowntownCDC John Valentine wrapped up the dinner by thanking our wonderful Board Members for all they do to support us.
Verve 360: A fitness gem in Downtown

According to Micah Grubbs, co-founder of Verve 360, the Verve 360 Fitness Center is the hottest new studio in Downtown Pittsburgh. Located in an original Carnegie Steel building on 6th Street, the studio recently hosted its grand opening after being rebuilt due to a fire. The studio features variety of equipment and services, including yoga mats, aerial yoga, a rope wall and pilates mat classes, as well as personal training. "I love having the ability to help clients in any way we can," says Aubre Stacknick , co-founder of Verve 360 and massage therapist/pilates instructor.

"It's really Downtown's best kept secret," says Micah Grubbs, who runs the business side of the company. "We have a lot of space and can host larger groups than any other center in the area." The studio boasts enough space to host large parties for aerial yoga and pilates, some of their most popular services.

Members and guests are also able to utilize the other parts of Verve 360, such as the chiropractor, massage therapists, salon, and nail spa. Verve 360 offers discounts to monthly fitness members on their other services, such as half price haircuts, BOGO couples massages, and 10 percent off all other services. In addition to ongoing membership perks, members receive sign-up bonuses such as a complimentary eyebrow wax, facial, and spray tan. To sign up for the Verve 360 membership and visit the studio, visit theverve360.com.


Photo credits: Pixabay
The Abridged Biography of Mark Clayton Southers

Mark Clayton Southers has earned much notoriety as a director, a playwright, and the founder of The Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, though his education and career have taken him across the United States and beyond.

He first pursued the world of visual art as a student at Schenley High School. "We won the state championship when I was a junior," he recalls, "[but] no one was able to get to the playoff games because they were far away. I said [I could work] as a photographer - they gave me a crash course, and I got on the bus."

After graduating from Schenley, Southers began his undergraduate career at the University of Alabama. He continued to develop his skills as a photographer, but less than a year into his studies, his equipment was stolen. He left Alabama and worked in Detroit for several months, saving money to replace the equipment and continue a career in photography. His next stop would be the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where he refined his skills, and then The Pittsburgh Courier, where he landed the role of Head Photographer. After that, his photography career took pause and he moved on to become a steelworker, a job that would last 18 years.

Even while working at a steel mill, Southers maintained his love of the arts. He began to pursue theatre and discovered his talent for playwriting. In 1998 he took part in a production in South Africa at the Grahamstown Arts Festival. There, he attended a master class in playwriting under August Wilson. Wilson would go on to serve as a mentor to Southers, reading and critiquing his work and suggesting that he pursue playwriting further. Just 4 years later, Southers would found The Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company.

"When I first started writing plays, they got picked up by [other theatre companies] in other cities," says Southers, "In Pittsburgh, nobody would do anything. It was hard to get plays done." With The Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, Southers wanted to create a space for local playwrights to have their work produced.

Today, The Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company is celebrating its 15th anniversary season. In February and March they produced one of Southers' earliest works, Savior Samuel. Southers now works full-time at the company, having left the steel mill in 2010. Reflecting on his own motivations as an artist, he notes that he is drawn to the emotional impact theatre can have on its audiences. "I like the idea that you're able to express yourself in different forms in the arts," he says. "What I like about playwriting is that I can bring people together through different scenarios and situations. I try to give people hope through those situations." Southers also has advice for others interested in pursuing an artistic career: "Always push your craft" ... " [and] don't limit yourself in your expression. Stay on your grind, grind it out."

More information on Mark Clayton Southers' bio and work can be found at www.markclaytonsouthers.com .

Racheallee Lacek: A Reflection of Pittsburgh
 
As a real estate agent, Racheallee Lacek works hard to identify trends in Pittsburgh's housing market. As a result, she knows all too well about the benefits and drawbacks of living downtown, like she herself has since 2011. Since she has lived in New York City in the past, Laceck is able make reasonable comparisons between a mid-sized city such as Pittsburgh and a world-class metropolis like NYC. A self-identified city-girl, Lacek enjoys "the hustle and the bustle, the traffic, the noise, the people [and] the diversity especially". While Pittsburgh may not be a 24-hour city, she is satisfied with it being an 18 hour one that's improving.

Lacek has been particularly satisfied with the variety of people she has gotten to know since moving downtown. While she says the median age of downtown residents is in the mid-40s, her "friends that [she has] made here are anywhere from 25 to 75". As the years pass, Lacek has noticed the population downtown getting younger. Additionally, the number of residents has more than tripled, rising from 5,000 in 2011 to 17,000 in 2018. With more people comes more business, and Lacek is excited about the rise in progressive businesses. She cites Altus Human Performance Optimization, "a performance training gym for athletes," which she found "super fascinating because no one has done that here yet". She predicts that with more of these niche companies popping up Downtown, larger ones will follow.

Like most who move Downtown, Lacek appreciates the  walkability of the city center and the variety of activities to choose from. She relishes "that you can walk out your front door, you can go shopping, you can go to any theater, you can go to any sporting event [or] you can go read a book at the park" without having to drive as you would in most other parts of the city. However, this does not mean that Downtown is perfect yet. Lacek still thinks retail options are lacking: "I personally don't have time to shop and I know that a lot of my friends feel the same way, that they would rather order online, but I know that people still like the traditional style of touching and feeling and looking at things before they make a purchase." Lacek would love to see more department stores in the downtown area, such as the two-story Target that resides in Manhattan. As more families move in, there's also a need for child-friendly infrastructure. Although The Goddard School exists for families with kids in the preschool to middle school age range, it is concerning that as the number of family-appropriate residencies grows, opportunities for children have stagnated.

Despite its shortcomings, Lacek would rather live Downtown than anywhere else in the city. It fit her lifestyle when she first moved in, and she thinks that "it's only going to get better."

More Than Just Downtown: Weekly Roundup

Check out Good Food Pittsburgh's weekly roundup. All the best stories and guides you missed! Click here for more articles!


Music City Downtown Weekly Calendar


Andys @ Fairmont Pittsburgh
Thursday, March 28 - Maura Minteer - 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.
Friday, March 29 - Peg Wilson - 8:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Saturday, March 23 - DJ Malls Spins Vinyl - 5:00 p.m. -7:30 pm
Saturday, March 30 - Trudy Holler - 8:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Eddie V's 
Tuesday, March 26 - Symmetry - 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 27 - George Heid 3 - 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 28 - Reggie Watkins Quartet - 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Friday, March 29 - Alex Peck Trio - 6:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 23 - Symmetry - 6:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Nola on the Square 
Friday, March 29 - Rick Matt - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 30 - Flow Band - 8:00 p.m.

Howl at the Moon 
Live music on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at  8:00 p.m. and Fridays at  6:00 p.m. For more information, visit Howl at the Moon's website here .

Olive or Twist
Live music every  ThursdayFriday, and  Saturday at  9:00 p.m.

Redbeard's on Sixth
Billy Schneider live acoustic music every Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Free JukeBox every Saturday from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

Rivers Casino
Friday, March 29 - Michael Christopher Band - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 30 - Tony Janflone Jr. - 9:00 p.m.

Rivers Club
Wednesday, March 20 - WNL- Jessica Lee & Friends  - 5:30 p.m.
Downtown Events this Week:

Check out our DowntownCDC Website for this week's events. Don't miss out on what is happening in your area! For more information and events, click here.

Ongoing Events
Larrimor's Trunk Shows, now through Fall 2019
Pittsburgh Improv Jam, Cabaret at Theater Square, Thursdays at 10:00 p.m.
Worth New York and W by Worth collections for women sizes 00-20 in The Diamond Building. Text style strategist Bear Brandegee for your appointment at 412-877-0464.
Visit our Website!
220 5th Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
412-394-3400

An enticing menu comprised of Vallozzi family traditions such as homemade pastas (including Helen's gnocchi) and the pizza that made them famous, as well as fresh steaks and seafood. The menu also boasts a number of Italian meats and cheeses flown in from Italy weekly and served from their 'Fresh Mozzarella' bar.