With high visibility, a concentration of stores and restaurants and two parking garages, Uptown, on Washington Road, remains the engine of Mt. Lebanon business. The main street’s low turnover reflects the desirability of this central business district, which has been serving residents since our founding in 1912. Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find there:

Vinyl Remains
Owner Greg Anderson sees his store, opened in 2018, as an extension of his own record collecting. ”I opened the store because I was collecting too much and needed to sell some of it off!” he confessed.

A lifelong lover of music and recordings, Anderson buys records from many sources — including estate sales and people who bring them into the store — but curates his selections carefully. The shop carries between 5,000 and 8,000 records.

”There’s not a lot of filler or junk,” said Anderson. “It’s records of interest in a lot of different genres. I carry jazz, classical, pop and rock. There’s a heavy jazz section, which is my favorite genre. It’s a small space, so it’s important that everything be accessible and easy to navigate.”

Anderson, who also lives on Washington Road, loves the Uptown neighborhood with its foot traffic and restaurants. ”It’s very active. The fact that I’m now between two brand-new businesses — there’s an energy there.”

He said his customers range in age and taste. ”I thought it would be ages 30-50, people who are still listening to vinyl. But I get older people, younger people, teachers — it fluctuates all the time!”

Jade Grille
This restaurant is known for the variety and authenticity of its Asian menu. ”What makes us special? It’s authentic Chinese food, American Chinese food, sushi and a little Thai food,” said owner Justin Liu, who opened Jade Grille 13 years ago in a former bank building. Parties of 10-12 can even eat in the bank vault.

Liu said many of his customers come from all over for the kind of food real Chinese people cook for themselves. Jade Grille’s ”Authentic Chinese Wok Cuisine” menu offers spicy stir-fries featuring wood ear mushrooms, bamboo, cilantro, dried hot chili peppers, traditional Sichuan hot bean sauce, house-pickled chilis and squid.

”The quality of the food is our strength,” said Liu. ”That’s why I’m here sometimes 100 hours a week, making sure of that quality.

”Mt. Lebanon is a special town. It’s a real neighborhood and there are so many restaurants and bars. When people want to go out to eat, they know to come to this stretch of Washington Road.”

Commonwealth Press
Co-owners Shannon and Dan Rugh started their business printing T-shirts for local bands out of their home on the South Side, where they were living at the time.

”We started making some silly Pittsburgh things as well and discovered that local people really love to celebrate this city,” said Shannon. ”Nobody loves Pittsburgh like Pittsburghers.”

Although Commonwealth’s main business is still custom printing and design, the shop in Uptown sells its Pittsburgh items, all designed, created and printed by Commonwealth. ”The fun part is the store, which celebrates its 10th anniversary next year,” according to Shannon.

The Rughs, who now live on Summit Drive, said they are still attracted and inspired by the Uptown community. ”I love the engagement with the customers. If people are new to town, we’ll recommend restaurants,” said Shannon. ”We meet people coming back to class reunions or to clean out their parents’ house, who want something from town. In spring, foreign exchange students stop in to get something to take back home. I figure at this point, we have tea towels all over Europe!”

Empire Music
Although Empire Music offers guitar lessons and repairs, it is the inventory of high-end guitars that draws people. Owner Joe Ravita grew up working in his parents’ Mt. Lebanon piano store and still owns a piano store in the Strip today. But his heart is with his guitars.

”My primary market is people looking for high-end guitars,” said Ravita, Roycroft Avenue. ”By the time they come to Empire, they’ve looked around and know what they’re looking for and what kind of store it is. There are probably only 10 stores in the country like this. It’s one of the largest independent guitar stores.” Ravita also runs a flourishing web business.

The store opened in 2002 down the block from its current location. A few years ago it expanded next door to accommodate the increasing numbers of people taking lessons.

”Mt. Lebanon is a special place. The community loves to support independent stores, and Uptown reflects that,” Ravita said. ”We love guitars, we love retail and customer service. We love to figure out what customers want and need.”

The Golden Beetle
Just off Washington Road, along Central Square, is a gift and home goods shop opened by Meredith Broussard in 2023. Even without a background in retail, she felt there was something unique she could bring to Uptown.

”I brought a bit of Florida, my own style and color palette. And I love home goods and hostess gifts,” she said. ”Mt. Lebanon is a community of families, and I try to make a place where everybody can find something for a feel-good moment.”

Broussard, Roycroft Avenue, carries tableware, jewelry, decorative pieces, linens, cards and artwork, some by Pittsburgh artists. ”Before I opened, I studied what was already here and tried to find a niche that was different.”

Although her location is not as visible as some, her side street location offers convenience. ”My customers can pull up and pause on Central Square if they need to load something heavy. They can’t do that on Washington.

”I love Uptown!” she said. ”There’s always bustle and traffic. And lots of visitors for our fabulous restaurants. It’s a very diverse little district with lots of potential, and I see it happening already.”

Beehive NeedleArts
”I create and buy for the store what I want to make,” said Jessica O’Brien, co-owner of this craft store, along with her mother Jane Burton and sister Kate Fitzgerald.

O’Brien took up needlepoint at the age of 7. ”Needlepoint was something my mom and my sisters and I have always done together,” she reported. ”Wherever we would go, we would visit needlepoint shops. And one day, I said: ‘let’s do a shop!’ I don’t know what I was thinking, because I had a year-old baby, but we just decided to go for it.”

Opened in 2007, Beehive NeedleArts sells needlepoint supplies, hand-painted canvases and more than 100 complete lines of fiber.  ”When I started, the only materials were wool and cotton. One of the greatest innovations is this explosion of materials to work with.”

O’Brien paints her own canvases and does custom designs. The shop also offers finishing services to turn completed canvases into pillows, belts, ornaments, etc. O’Brien reports that their web store
is on pace to fill 1,000 orders by the end of 2025.

Raised in Upper St. Clair but now living in Fox Chapel, she credits some of her success to Mt. Lebanon. ”I like the vibrant foot traffic here. We’re so lucky to be right across from the parking garage — we even validate customers’ tickets.”