In the mood for a unique dining experience?

Uptown has a new gourmet toast, juice and coffee bar, called Toastique, 700 Washington Road.

Toastique is a new, fresh take on quick casual food with vibrant flavors. The concept was developed in Washington, D.C., in 2018 by founder Brianna Keefe, a former cheerleader at James Madison University, with a passion for healthy food. Keefe began franchising the business in 2022. The “toast” in Toastique is not what you might think. Rather, it stands for open-faced sandwiches, with names like Avocado Smash, Smoked Salmon, Tuscan Tuna and PB Crunch, to name a few.

Convinced that Pittsburgh was looking for healthier food options, Chrissy and Brad Sileo, from Upper St. Clair, knew right away this was the business for them. “I fell in love with the concept and the flavors and the food. I thought that’s what I’d want to eat for lunch or breakfast,” said Chrissy.

Chrissy, a certified yoga instructor and Brad, a scuba instructor and consultant to startups, began looking for their next chapter when their youngest son left for college. Coming from a long line of small business owners, Chrissy always hoped to open her own business one day.

As frequent visitors to Mt. Lebanon for their sons’ hockey games or meeting friends, Uptown was the perfect choice. “I feel like it’s my neighborhood,” Chrissy pointed out.

The Washington Road location was exactly what she envisioned. With the ability to seat between 30 and 35 people, it offers plenty of room for customers to set up their laptops and work, come in with strollers or just visit with friends.

There’s a lot of training involved with a Toastique franchise. “You’re taught your toast doesn’t leave here until it looks like the pictures in the brochure,” Chrissy said.

Everything’s made in-house, from scratch, with fresh, responsibly sourced ingredients.

Cold juice, pressed on site, smoothies and acai bowls are all made with actual fruit, not a pre-made mix, with no sweeteners or color added. At Toastique, they scoop up fruit and blend it right in front of you. You can add protein or collagen or seeds, if you’d like.

If you’re in a hurry, there are grab-and-go options like salads, cut fruit, chia seed pudding and yogurt parfaits.

Peanut butter, almond butter, granola bars, hummus and all the salad dressings are made from scratch. There are plenty of gluten-free options and plans for homemade soup in the winter and an Asian spiced pear juice in the fall.

“We also have a very good collection of coffee drinks, like your standard espressos, cappuccinos, lattes and macchiatos. We also have nitro cold brew on tap,” said Brad.

When you walk into Toastique, you’ll notice the open and airy feel, as well as the living plant wall and murals done by Pittsburgh artist Julia Cahill.

While Toastique Uptown is the flagship location in western Pennsylvania, the Sileos intend to open several more in the coming years in other parts of the region.

For now, you can visit the Washington Road location in person, order takeout over the phone, or download the Toastique app to place a mobile order or join the loyalty program for rewards and other perks. toastique.com/mt-lebanon