Where to Find Two New Coffee Shops and a Breakfast Joint
The fledgling businesses offer more than just a great cup of joe.
PHOTOS BY KRISTY GRAVER
I am not a morning person, but my mood improves with a strong cup of joe or a good conversation. So, I was downright delighted to visit three new places in Pittsburgh that offer both of those things and more. Increase your caffeine level and record collection at Needle & Bean, take action at Abolition Coffee and pile on the pancakes and potatoes at The Breakfast Spot.
After years spent working as an engineer in the plastics industry, Michael Butala decided to narrow it down to vinyl.
“I only engineer coffee drinks and records now,” he says while pouring a cup of joe at Needle & Bean, his new shop in Mt. Lebanon.
Longtime album collectors, Butala and his wife, along with their enormous assortment of tunes, moved to Pittsburgh in 2019 to make a fresh start.
(record scratch)
Then the pandemic happened.
Butala whiled away the quarantine hours by ordering coffee and records from some of his favorite spots around the country. He wondered if he could spin this caffeinated hobby into a business.
Needle & Bean opened in August at 320 Castle Shannon Blvd. Former tenant Northside Carpet & Oriental Rugs moved its operation next door.
You can certainly still cut a rug inside of the space. Music is in constant rotation. Butala isn’t in competition with big box stores such as Barnes & Noble; he likes to support indie artists and small record labels, obscure gems that don’t get a lot of mainstream radio airplay.
Spending his paychecks on records is an occupational hazard for barista Reed Andrews, who was a paying customer before he became an employee.
While browsing the selection, customers can sip a drip from Wisconsin’s Just Coffee Cooperative, one of Butala’s favorite brands. The roasts offered are darker than a lot of other shops in the area. Needle & Bean also serves tea and hot chocolate. On the food front, patrons can fill up on Leona’s ice cream sandwiches, goodies from Potomac Bakery and organic, plant-based stroopwafels from Austin, Texas-based Stroop Club.
Drop by for pastries, punk rock and a pour-over from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.
Butala enjoys Introducing people to new music, dusty gems and the world of record collecting, which can be just as addictive as caffeine.
“We try to make everyone happy,” he says. “I’m much more satisfied in my work now.”
Tyler Phan is an anthropology professor at the University of Pittsburgh and the owner of Abolition Coffee, a Lawrenceville shop that’s a classroom of sorts.
Inside the space at 3410 Penn Ave. there is a collection of books for sale on topics ranging from classism and racism to prison reform and legal aid.
“It’s a meeting spot for activists and people who are trying to get into community engagement and learn about social justice causes in the city,” the 38-year-old says. “It’s a safe space for people to engage in the issues that are really pressing in the area. I think if you have patience and listen and engage, you start to open new realities.”
The coffee, like the subject matter, is strong.
With help from Manager Nikie Belliveau and Banyan, who volunteers an hour a week through City of Bridges High School, he roasts 50 to 80 pounds of Vietnamese Robusta beans on-site each month. Phan, who is Vietnamese, started drinking the highly caffeinated beverage at age 5.
The affordably priced menu includes the usual suspects, such as drip, espresso, cappuccino, chai latte, cold brew and hot cocoa and some locally made pre-packaged goods. One of Abolition’s biggest sellers is Dr. T’s Magic Tea, a mix of five different mushrooms that provide an energy boost without the caffeine jitters. Phan says it’s a big hit with the folks at the yoga studio next door.
In addition to his Ph.D in anthropology, Phan is a practicing acupuncturist who began roasting beans at home during the pandemic.
The shop, which opened last August, is an extension of the do-it-yourself ethos he learned as a homeless teenager on the streets of Los Angeles and the knowledge he gained in university lecture halls. It’s open daily from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In the future, he’d like to open other businesses, including a vegan fast-food restaurant, that encourage social engagement.
For now, he’s using bold coffee to get people to wake up to the world around them.
If the most important meal of the day is also your favorite, head to 2605 Brownsville Road in Carrick, a location that was made for mornings.
On Dec. 3, 2023, The Breakfast Spot opened its doors to a sea of familiar faces.
For more than 30 years it was known as Gary’s Restaurant, a friendly place where locals could grab a hearty bite and a bottomless cup of coffee. COVID put that daily routine on hold until new owners stepped in to restore the local landmark. Regulars lined up around the block on that first morning of a new era.
The original eatery’s owner, the late Gary Morosetti, has a sandwich named after him and the staff vows to carry on his breakfast-and-lunch legacy.
Hopefully, The Breakfast Spot has replenished its potato supply since my January visit, when I wolfed down a hearty helping of spud-heavy corned beef hash, a double-side of home fries and a gallon of coffee. I also had flapjacks.
February is National Pancake Month; I had to pre-game.
The eatery, which was transformed from a dark, wood-paneled diner into a bright and cheerful cafe, will feature different short-stack specials each week. Flavors include Apple Pie, Bananas Foster, Strawberry Shortcake, Red Velvet, Triple Berry, Oreo and Cinnamon Roll. That’s a lot of pancakes to eat in a month, especially during a Leap Year.
Other menu items I want to try at The Breakfast Spot: a Belgian waffle and the Becks Run Benny (a toasted English muffin topped with Canadian bacon and a poached egg smothered in hollandaise sauce). I’ll probably try the cheeseburger, too. Home fries will accompany all of these dishes, of course, because I won’t be satisfied until I eat half of Idaho.
