Square Café returns to Regent Square with new name
It’s back to square one for the Square Café.
The restaurant reopened a second store – Square One — in the spot where it all began.
Square One is located inside My Goodness Market on Braddock Avenue in Regent Square. The café is an addition to the market.
The larger East Liberty restaurant will remain.
Guests can get food and drinks to go or dine in, and there is a counter for ordering.
Owner Sherree Goldstein and employees, as well as people from Hello Neighbor, spent Friday morning handing out biscuits to motorists who beeped their car horns as they drove past. For every “beep,” Square One planned to donate $1 to Hello Neighbor, a nearby nonprofit that helps refugees assimilate to living in the Pittsburgh area, plus a percentage of sales from opening day.
Goldstein said she chose April 1 purposefully to create conversation about Square One.
“The neighborhood has really wanted this,” she said.
It hasn’t been easy making ends meet with just a small grocery store, she said. Being able to do both—sell grocery items and also have some dine-in and takeout availability for favorite Square Café foods — offers customers more choices. The café has homemade pastries made by an in-house chef and plan to rotate food items.
As is the case with most restaurants, it has been challenging to find employees, said Goldstein, who lives in East Liberty. Some have left the food industry or gone to other restaurants, with Pittsburgh being a hotbed for food.
“I have always worked to pay a fair wage and offer benefits,” she said. “The staff I have is wonderful. The customers today have been great.”
Jack Rosenzweig of Regent Square was enjoying a breakfast sandwich. He said the sandwiches and oatmeal are his favorites. He was chosen as customer of the month for being such a loyal diner. Square Café announced it was moving to East Liberty in August 2020. My Goodness Market moved from across the street into the vacant space.
“It was a big loss when they left,” Rosenzweig said. “They know me by name. That is nice. Local businesses like this one are a neighborhood gathering place.”
About the April Fool’s Day opening, Square One director of operations Jess Porter issued a statement that in part said:
“We wanted to do something playful and fun for the neighborhood, but also something that gives back to our community. We are passionate about our neighbors, and that includes our global neighbors. Hello Neighbor creates an incredible support system and meaningful opportunities for the people they serve, and we are excited to support them in any way we can.”
Hello Neighbor founder and chief executive officer Sloane Davidson said in her own statement that true change happens when communities come together.
“We are so honored to be a part of this special day of supporting an amazing local business while simultaneously giving back to our neighbors in need,” Davidson said.
The Square One menu will include the breakfast burrito, brussels sprout hash, corned beef hash and the BALTO, a bacon, avocado, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. There will be biscuits, deli sandwiches and soup specials. The vegan-friendly Fern Hollow Muffuletta on ciabattini is made of hash spicy tofu, zucchini, vegan cheese and olive tapenade. The roast beef sandwich on ciabattini comes with cheddar, lettuce, pickles and house horseradish sauce.
Square One also will offer local brewed coffee, fresh fruit and vegetable juices, and smoothies.
“We’ve always listened to our customers’ needs,” Goldstein said. “We are so excited to be back to our roots in this amazing neighborhood. We decided to go back to basics, ‘square one,’ so to speak.”
Hours will be 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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