Commonplace Coffee SouthSide Works is Open!

GRAND OPENING: SOUTHSIDE WORKS

7.21.23

Learn more about our SouthSide Works cafe featuring an interview with the team that helped to open it!

We’re excited to announce the grand opening of Commonplace Coffee and The Speckled Egg in the SouthSide Works! This project is the culmination of more than a year’s worth of planning and buildout with friends and business partners Jacqueline and Nate Schoedel, co-owners of The Speckled Egg. We first met Jacki and Nate at Smallman Galley, a restaurant incubator in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, where we built a connection over shared meals and freshly brewed coffee.

428 S. 27th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203

We sat down with Braden Niblock, Shop Manager at Commonplace Coffee SouthSide Works, and Jacqueline and Nate Schoedel, co-owners of the Speckled Egg, to learn more about what makes this collaboration so special.

Interview with Braden Niblock

Shop Manager of Commonplace Coffee SouthSide Works

Commonplace Coffee: Tell us about your experience in the coffee industry.

Braden Niblock: I helped to open and subsequently manage a coffee shop outside of Sacramento, CA.

CP: What’s your favorite part about being a Shop Manager at Commonplace Coffee?

BN: I love to help drive improvement, making things faster and higher quality. There’s something so satisfying about crushing a rush with your team and knowing your guests received the best service you can provide.

CP: What’s been your favorite part of the SouthSide Works community so far?

BN: There seems to be a lot of excitement for the future of this area, including us opening. I’m so grateful for the reception so far.

CP: What plans do you have for the cafe in the future?

BN: I’d love to hold some manual brew workshops. Going to one at the cafe in my hometown is what originally got me interested in coffee.

CP: What’s your favorite item on the Commonplace Coffee menu?

BN: Espresso. The coffee is the best in the region, and our rotating offerings keep you interested. The shortbread cookie is such a nice surprise and really tops off the experience!

Interview with Jacqueline Schoedel

Co-Owner of The Speckled Egg

Commonplace Coffee: Tell us a little bit about your history in the restaurant industry.

Jacqueline Schoedel: Nate and I met in culinary school, and we’ve both been cooking for 12 years. We’ve had multiple great cooking jobs, mostly fine dining and fast casual.

CP: How did you first meet the Commonplace Coffee team, and what inspired your idea to open a shared space with us?

JS: I met Commonplace Coffee when I was working at Smallman Galley. They had the coffee counter across the way. They’re incredibly friendly people who were just easy to have a professional and personal relationship with. When it came to opening a space this big, we couldn’t take it on ourselves. The only way we could do it was if it was attached to a coffee shop, and I didn’t have the capacity. It only made sense that we would phone a friend. When they were excited about it, we just went full force. Three years later, here we are!

CP: What’s your favorite part about your job?

JS: After the trauma of working places where I was not being appreciated, my favorite part of my job is creating a place where people can feel appreciated. Whenever I want to quit, I think, “You can’t quit because you are providing a place for people to work where they feel appreciated and feel safe.”

CP: What’s your favorite part of the SouthSide Works community so far?

JS: Everyone’s been really friendly. We love our friends in the Downtown neighborhood at our first location, and it feels like we picked a really great neighborhood again. We can’t wait to get to know the people!