HANS GRUENERT

Our Featured Downtown Recognition Recipient

Hans Gruenert is the managing director of Off The Wall Productions in Carnegie. He converted a former 7,000 square foot office building into the theater. Off the Wall Productions is a Resident Professional Theater offering a 96-seat intimate seating environment where one is not more than four rows from the stage as well as state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems. It is a small actor equity company not a community theater. The types of productions they do differ from community theaters. Hans' wife, Virginia Wall Gruenert encouraged him to open the theater. She is artistic director for the theater and acts in productions. She is also a playwright.

Off The Wall encourages and supports artists and the appreciation of all arts. Off The Wall offers a minimum of four plays per season. They have recently added a new member to their family as well, the fireWall Dance Theater.

We are pleased to recognize Off The Wall Productions as a Downtown Recognition Recipient. Please click here to learn much more and to see a schedule of upcoming events.

BOB'S CARNEGIE DINER

Our Featured Downtown Recognition Recipient

We are delighted to recognize Bob's Diner as a Downtown Recognition Recipient. Bob's Diner located at 211 Mansfield Blvd., is a traditional style diner. Bob's serves breakfast as well as home-style dishes like meatloaf sandwiches, pork chops, and burgers for lunch and dinner. Catering is also available.
 

Bob Marshall is the owner of Bob's Diner and he also has locations in Kennedy and on one on Painters Run Road on the border of Scott and Upper St. Clair.  Bob was inspired by the diner business in the late 70's while visiting a diner in Ft. Lauderdale, FL with his dad. His passion became a reality when he opened his first diner in 1999. Over the years, he's opened and closed a few businesses but got back into it and his businesses now continue to grow. 

Please visit Bob's Diner Monday through Friday 6 AM to 8 PM; Saturday 7 AM to 8 PM; and Sunday 7 AM to 3 PM. 

TOYS FOR TOTS COLLECTION

Because of your past generosity, Carnegie has been one of the top collection points in our area. We are starting early this year because of the increasing need. Please help us in making this another successful year.

ANNUAL CARNEGIE VOLUNTEER FIRE & RESCUE BUREAU HOLIDAY TREE SALE

 

Please come out and support our annual holiday tree sale located at 201 West Main Street on Saturday, November 30 through Sunday, December 21, 2014. We will be opened evening hours during the week and all day on weekends. Delivery is available for residents. Proceeds benefit the Carnegie VFD & Rescue.

December 5-7, 11-14
Tickets available at the door.
For group sales or information call 412-279-8887 or visit
www.carnegieperformingartscenter.com

 DOWNTOWN CARNEGIE CALENDAR OF EVENTS

December 1

Pittsburgh New Works Script Readings

3 Street Gallery, 220 3rd Street

7 PM

December 5

Meals on Wheels Fundraiser/Holiday Vendor Show

St John's Lutheran Church, 601 Washington Avenue

5 to 9 PM

December 6

Art, Crafts & Food Bazaar

Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church Hall, 730 Washington Avenue

9 AM to 1 PM

December 6

Light Up Night

PNC Parking Lot

6 PM

• Family activities at the ACFL & MH including tree lighting and a visit from Santa from 12 to 2 PM
• First annual Carol Covi Cookie Break at Bob's Diner from 3 to 4 PM
• Salvation Army bell ringing at the intersection of Broadway and Main St (across from PaPa Js). They will have maps for the Wassail Walk.
• Window and business decorating contest
• Wassail Walk through downtown Carnegie (similar to The Crawl)
• Light up Night Festivities in front of PNC Bank from 5 to 6 PM (5:30 PM actual lighting of the tree)
• Entertainment at Off The Wall Theater at 6 PM includes dancing Christmas elves, candy and coffee
• Caroling throughout the day (Carnegie Collier Rotarians at their finest!) among other groups
• Nutcracker performance at the ACFL & MH (go to carnegiecarnegie.org for tickets) 8 PM

REGISTER FOR YOUR WEDDING OR SHOWER...LOCALLY!

Allison Grappone was frustrated when she got married and was unable to support local favorite businesses through the traditional gift registry model. Grappone and her husband decided to create their own local business registry. The registry was so popular with her guests that she then went on to research how she could expand her concept to reach local businesses in other areas.

The Nearby Registry that she has since created provides the opportunity for businesses to post products that they have available for sale, via a gift registry model. Nearby is just another new means for helping people to support local businesses and organizations in their communities.

Visit "Nearby" to learn how you can add your downtown businesses to this local registry. It's another great idea for buying local! Also, please remember that anytime you're looking for a particular local business, be sure to visit www.DowntownFirst.net. 

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY: 

Saturday, November 29th   

Saturday, November 29th marks the fifth year for Small Business Saturday, begun by American Express in 2010 as a day to support small and local businesses. Small Business Saturday is promoted as an American shopping holiday and is held the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

For more information and downloadable resources, please click here. Do your part to support your local downtowns first by shopping small on Small Business Saturday and every day. To find local small businesses, please visit www.downtownfirst.net. 

CREATIVELY ENHANCING A VACANT STOREFRONT

Have a vacant property in your downtown, or are you the owner of a vacant storefront? Start thinking about it creatively! Perhaps you can rent the storefront window out to another business in town to use for a window display - or even let them use it for free. Or maybe you can simply clean it up; dress it up; put up holiday lights; or create a display about the town's history. Another creative idea could be to show people the building's potential. For example, paint the windows so that it appears that you are looking into a real business showroom, or display a conceptual architectural drawing of what the restored building could look like so that others get a feel for the possibilities. Often times, ideas like these will draw people or even draw a buyer to a building that otherwise would have remained unoccupied.

Don't forget DowntownProperties.net has available property listings for sale or lease in all participating Allegheny Together towns. Please visit DowntownProperties.net if you're looking for a building or if you have a property that you would like to have listed. Also, please consider linking the site to your own site to help spread the word and bring potential new tenants or buyers to our available downtown buildings!

STOREFRONT IMPACT

 

Communities with vibrant central business districts enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. They attract window-shopping pedestrians, provide vital products and services to local residents, create jobs, and contribute greatly to the character of our region.
 

Despite their importance, many of the buildings that give these places their unique feel are not in good shape; facades have been altered and architectural details eliminated all too often. But if you look up, you'll frequently see the upper fa�ade of the building intact. This is a great place to start when considering making improvements. Painting the building in an historic color palette, appropriate for the building, is a low-cost, high-impact project that can make your building stand out in the right way.  Lighting and signage are also improvements that can make a big impact for a relatively small investment. Storefront windows are an opportunity to draw in customers, so make sure your displays change often to capture the attention of shoppers.

If you aren't sure where to start, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation has created Design Guidelines specifically for your town to help get you thinking and on the way to a good storefront. So take the time to "look up" the next time you're walking along main street to see a glimpse of the past, and get inspired for your renovation.

STAY UP TO DATE ON DOWNTOWN CARNEGIE
With Our E-Newsletter  

You are reading the Carnegie FOCUS: your downtown e-newsletter. By using e-newsletters instead of print newsletters, we can send the information about our downtown revitalization efforts to a greater number of people and save paper--a win for the community and the environment!    

To receive your copy of the e-newsletter via email, simply send an email to [email protected] and indicate your email address, as well as the name of the town or towns for which you'd like to receive the e-newsletters. You can also call Town Center Associates to sign up at 412-577-7447.

Please also take a moment to forward this email along to your friends, colleagues, family and neighbors, and encourage them to sign up today! This will help to inform (and involve) more citizens about the revitalization efforts taking place in our downtown.