On the recommendation of a friend, we tried Fruit Whip – a smoothie sour beer from Cellar Works. If you’re looking for a summertime sipper, this one fully lives up to the hype. We’ve also got updates from Pita My Shawarma on their upcoming Lawrenceville restaurant, and a video on diversity and inclusion in the historically (very) white beer industry.
🌽 HARVIE FARMS: Bringing technology to your CSA
This week on The Slaw, our guest is Simon Huntley – founder of Harvie. The local company is using technology to improve the community-supported agriculture (CSA) experience. “Eating local food grown on local farms should be as easy as ordering from Amazon.”
🎧 You can download this episode or listen via iTunes, Spotify, or Stitcher. Join the conversation in our Facebook group for The Slaw.
🍺 FRUIT WHIP: The smash hit beer from Cellar Works
We catch up with John Lasher, the head brewer at Cellar Works about the smoothie sour beer and plans to expand the brewery.
🎥 VIDEO: Diversifying the beer industry
Exactly one year ago this week, Very Local partnered up with Fresh Fest on a panel discussion and beer tasting event in the Hill District. Watch our video for some key takeaways from the discussion.
🏬 PITA MY SHAWARMA: Scaling up to a storefront
It’s a challenging time in the world of food and beverage. We sat down with Jason Taylor, owner of Pita My Shawarma, to hear about what it’s like to level-up a food truck into a full-blown restaurant during COVID.
🚙 HIT THE ROAD: No car? No problem.
We take a look at the car-sharing apps in Pittsburgh and suggest the most affordable way to borrow a set of wheels.
Small Business Shoutout: Neighborhood hardware stores
Here are three Pittsburgh independent hardware stores to check out.
Salik Hardware // Homewood
This family-owned business is located in Homewood and receives rave reviews for customer service. Salik’s also offers affordable screen replacement. Note: they don’t have a website. If you have a question, give them a call (412) 731-2882.
Rollier’s Hardware // Mt. Lebanon
Rollier’s Hardware is more than just your mom and pop hardware store. It is more like a general store, offering everything from clocks to cookware, as well as paint and hardware supplies.
Williams Ace Hardware // West Newton
If you are looking for barbecue supplies, this is the place to go. We learned about Williams Ace Hardware from Doug Derda aka Yinz Love BBQ (take a listen to episode 30 of our podcast for the full interview). Not only is Williams a hardware store, but Doug tells us this is one of the best places to find barbecue rubs and sauces in western PA.
Know of a small business that needs a shoutout? Let us know here.
House/Home
Vaulted ceilings, a wood-burning stove, stained glass and more (the only thing we’re not so sure about is that furnace). This church in Mckeesport has been converted into a house and is on the market for $60,000. [This week’s house came from the Affordable Historic Homes Facebook group. If you love old homes under $180k, this is the group for you.]
