SQUIRREL HILL
5827 FORBES AVE,
PITTSBURGH, PA 15217
MON-FRI: 7AM - 6PM
SAT-SUN: 7AM-6PM
(412) 422-0404
INDOOR & OUTDOOR SEATING AVAILABLE
We opened our shop in Squirrel Hill in May of 2010. We didn’t seek growth into Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh came looking for us. We weren’t sure we could make it work when a wholesale client approached us with the opportunity to use the space. Thankfully at that time, a friend needed full-time work and with the help of a few more friends (and Andre, Phil, and Brad) we had an address in Pittsburgh.
Being in Pittsburgh was an exciting new prospect for us. We had wholesale clients in the city who would make the trip to our flagship location in Indiana (Pennsylvania) for training at our roastery. Suddenly, we were close to them, and opportunities we had not dreamed of before opened up. We employed more people, grew our wholesale program, and made friends and connections in the city. It was also our first store front. Those who have visited our Indiana shop are familiar with how it is tucked away and hidden from street view. The Squirrel Hill shop sits on Forbes Avenue, a busy street within a tight-knit community.It was always a secretly romantic dream of ours to have a shop, where you could drive a motorcycle right up to the front door, park, order a coffee, and sit along the window looking out at the world. Squirrel Hill still embodies this dream for us. As one of our highest volume cafes, a diverse group of people visit the shop each day and bring new energy to the bar — a bar that was designed by artist, iron worker, jokester, and all around friend, Mark Nicoll.
Each day our baristas stand behind that bar and greet guests with years of developed skill and passion. Our staff is made up of caring people, who hold our shop in their hearts and are committed to furthering themselves in all realms of life, keeping Commonplace a shared space for growth and positive experiences. It’s the kind of shop where the barista will serve you a 10-layer tulip and tell you about the event they’re going to later that week. This shop has always represented the humanity that hides within the formality of specialty coffee.