Weekly Pointers From Whiskey Point – 24 March 2023

More Clothing Being Sold

Mon Valley Cycle has added a line of garments, primarily the ones one wears when riding a motorcycle. Stop in and check it out on Park Avenue, across Main Street and the Dierkens Parking lot from Sheetz.

Our Newest Stores

Have you noticed how much our newest stores “light up “ West Main Street, both day and night? We have four completely new stores that have opened between mid-December and mid-February: Mon City Smoke Shop, Mon Valley Outdoors, Monongahela Mini Mart, and Treasures and Tattoos (the last of which is actually two shops: Rustic Home Treasures and T. Lewis Tattoos).

In addition, M&R Chocolates is in the process of opening at a new location on 10th Street. Two other stores might have been open by now but were set back due to the water main break a couple of weeks ago: Ezzy Mart and Wool and Wick. But they should still be opening soon. Work has been progressing at Wool and Wick, at least. This will be a shop selling knitted goods and candles.

Have you stopped in to welcome the new shops yet? As I did my rounds a little over a week ago, I ran into Councilman Daryl Miller, who was doing precisely that. We visited Mon City Smoke Shop together and also Treasures and Tattoos. When I dropped in at Mon Valley Outdoors one evening, I couldn’t believe how many people filtered in behind me as I talked to Jim.

These shops light our town up in the evening, as does the City Mission store and others. Mon Valley Outdoors is open primarily in the evenings, and Mon City Smoke Shop is open 13-14 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s a far cry brighter at night, not just lighting-wise, but more colorful than it was two or three years ago.

I’m amazed at how much light can come out of a tiny space like the Mon City Smoke Shop space. The Smoke Shop space has been a tricky spot for retail for some time because it’s so narrow. The light flowing out of these stores is also because the stores keep long hours. Although the owners of Mon City Smoke Shop currently live in Swissvale, they open the shop early every morning, seven days a week, at 8:30 AM Monday through Friday, 9:30 on Saturday, and 10 AM on Sunday, and they are open each night till 10 PM except Saturdays when they stay open till 11 PM.

But I like that Mon City Smoke Shop is a “tobacconist” shop and sells more than just tobacco products and smoking supplies. They have convenience items like potato chips, beverages, and canned goods. This could follow the pattern I’ve seen in Italy, for instance, where there are many things that you go to a tobacconist store to pick up because no one else carries them. This was the kind of store Odelli’s was in the 1960s, and especially Polaski’s Newsstand, which was the only store in town of its kind after about 1965. Odelli’s was started as a fruit market by a couple of Italian immigrants. By 1925, these proprietors had done well enough selling candy bars and popcorn, fruit, and tobacco that they set out to build one of the largest business blocks in town, the building that now houses Angelo’s II Restaurant.

At Mon City Smoke Shop, 2012 West Main, say hello to Abdou or his cousin Cheikh, whichever is working that day or shift. At Tattoos and Treasures, 214 West Main, you may be greeted by Tabitha Lewis, who does tattoos and paints paintings, or Rhonda Yevcinez, of Rustic Home Treasures, or maybe by a clerk (Luann Allen, who was working the other day, said hello to me, saying that she remembers me from high school!). At Mon Valley Outdoors, 234 West Main, the owner, and operator are Jim Scagline and his wife, Sheri. At Monongahela Mini Mart, 310 West Main, you will most likely be greeted by Jim Kimmel. At M&R Chocolates, 1001 West Main, the owner/operator is Michelle Chomas.

Active Transportation

The City’s consultants have been gearing up for the WalkWorks project to develop an “Active Transportation Plan” across the next six months. City Planner Mark Lazzari of the EADS Group, design and engineering consultants, will be the principal planner. Mark is a Monongahela native who now lives in Johnstown. He will work alongside John Turack of Penn State Extension’s Economic and Community Development division, Barbara Hauge of Upstreet Architects of Johnstown, and several others. The same team is also developing an Active Transportation Plan for Delmont Borough in Westmoreland County.

The funding for the project comes from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, managed through a special division of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center. The purpose of the project is to identify barriers and solutions to encourage kinds of transportation other than driving an automobile, such as walking, bicycling, using a wheelchair, and use of the public transit services we have (we have excellent public transit along West Main Street in Monongahela, from both the Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority, which routes 57 busses a day through our City, and the Washington County Transit Authority, which provides ride-sharing and accessible transportation, especially for trips access the county). All of these are likely to lead to better health among the local citizenry, as well as fewer conflicts between vehicles and people using our Downtown, people who walk for exercise, or children using our streets.

The format for the project has several highly prescribed components to create a uniform planning document from community to community. This includes a Steering Committee that will consist of planners and other professionals from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (regional planning commission), Washington County Planning Department, Monongahela Planning Commission, PennDOT District 12, and various health planning agencies both local and at the state level, as well as local citizens.

The plan includes holding focus group meetings to discuss wheelchair accessibility, adult/athletic/transportation bicycle use, use of bicycles and other wheeled devices by younger people, sidewalk accessibility, and so forth. One of the project’s outcomes should be to identify projects that PennDOT can incorporate into any future work it does in our City.

Handmade Right Here

If you’re looking for unique gifts with an artsy touch, things crafted right here in our community or the immediate area, here are some shops you should stop by:

Try Noel’s Primitives, where Monongahela Main Street Program member Karen Langol has her widely varied and very attractive crafts on display, from rag rugs to Christmas ornaments to porch décor to candles, soaps, and other scented items.

If you haven’t been to “Craft ‘D’ Owl” yet (where Goody Two-Shoes Tea Room used to be, just two doors down West Main Street from the Monongahela Volunteer Fire Department’s fire station), you really should stop by and say hi to Becky. I’m not sure I have this right, but I think Craft ‘D’ Owl” has at least four rooms with merchandise on display (Noel’s Primitives, BTW, also has several back rooms with items on display that you should make sure not to miss). While at “Craft ‘D’ Owl,” check out the event space where Goody Two-Shoes used to have their tea parties.

While you’re at it, check out Sweets by Mrs. C, or the primitives at Industrial Farmhouse Living on Main Street in New Eagle, plus …oh, I’m sure if I keep going, I’ll still miss three or four others like these. Make sure you check out the beautiful clothing and related items at Alpha Equine, and the T-shirts and hats, etc., at Sparkles by Shell.

And make sure to stop at Uncommonly Beautiful (another Monongahela Main Street Program member), which has beautiful women’s and children’s clothing, household items, and a host of interesting other things. And don’t overlook Dusty’s Discounts, which now has mountains of toys and household items on display, and be sure to drop by next door at Rabe’s Trading Post and Leighanna’s Closet (children’s clothing), …oh, and so many other fine shops. What a great shopping city this little place is becoming.

Sambol’s Daily Specials

Have you been watching the daily specials advertised by Sambol’s Bakery & Candy Shop. Sambol’s typically has a meal each day on special, which is so popular that they sell out before their 5 PM closing time. Sambol’s meal specials were a key component in developing this very popular business. I credit that we even have a downtown bakery to the popularity of the meal specials that used to sell out daily at their prior location. Watch for Sambol’s specials, especially on Fridays in Lent this year. We have a wonderful City!