Shop Around Robinson and Moon on Small Business Saturday

Just what is Small Business Saturday and why should you support it in Robinson and Moon?

Big-name national retailers take the spotlight on Black Friday as their deep price cuts pull in shoppers in droves. What about those mom-and-pop businesses all over Robinson and Moon townships, Coraopolis, Sewickley and beyond that are the backbone of America’s economy? When do they get their day? That’s basically the question that was asked back in 2010 when the concept of Small Business Saturday was born. Small Business Saturday is “a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities,” the U.S. Small Business Administration explains on its website. American Express gets the credit for founding the shopping holiday, which got its official start on Nov. 27, 2010, according to the Small Business Saturday …

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Around the Rivers

News Nearby: You Asked the White House. The White House Answered

Sewickley Patch reader John Luff had a question. Here's the answer from the office of the President of the United States.

In January, the White House Office of Digital Strategy reached out to Patch to obtain questions from its users. In return, Sewickley Patch put out the call for questions from Sewickley and neighboring communities. One of the responses chosen was directed to John Luff, a television technology consultant who opened his home Jan. 24 in Sewickley for a local gathering to view the president's State of the Union address. His question to the White House: "I ran a small business for 20 years but am concerned about the long-term prospects for American innovation and manufacturing. What can we do to change the downward trajectory that could leave the USA as a second-class consumer economy?" In the video above, you can see the response from National …

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Jenna Staul

1:08 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Hi David, I just heard back from Sewickley's Patch editor Larissa Dudkiewicz. She said Sewickley-area Republicans were contacted about responding to the article, specifically several community members and registered Republicans who were hosting events to view the president's State of the Union address.   more ›

Holiday Shopping: Local Gifts Around $25

You don't have to be crafty to fall for this nifty gift trio, and neither does the person who will unwrap the box. We found just the perfect thing in West View.

Do you really want to give Grandma another scented candle? If you were the type who snoops in closets (and we are definitely not), you would see all her candles of Christmas past. It is just so hard to guess what smells another person would like. So wrap this up for Grandma instead. Chances are if she's older than age 40 (and we can't imagine your family history if she's any younger than that and you are mature enough to be buying her a gift), Grandma has friends who feel under the weather or are in the hospital. Go to Stamp Fanci in West View, and pick up this friendly threesome. There's a rubber stamp that says "Get Well," and another that stamps a band-aid. Add an ink pad, and you have everything a well-wisher would need to add some …

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Thankful for Sausage!

Columnist Gab Bonesso is very thankful for local business: this holiday it's Ricci's Italian Sausage.

One of the stars of my family’s Thanksgiving feast had nothing to do with poultry. I suspect Italian sausage is not necessarily a staple of your holiday meals, but you might want to rethink that, particularly if you can make it out to Ricci’s Italian Sausage on Steubenville Pike. My grandparents began shopping at Ricci’s back in the late 1940s. Back then it was located on Island Avenue in McKees Rocks. Before that Ernest and Stella Ricci were making their sausage out of the basement of their McKees Rocks home. How old-school/awesome is that? My grandmother always said, “Ernie Ricci’s sausage is the best in the world and it’s made right here in the 'Rocks! We only buy Ricci’s!” My grandmother had a temper and a powerful right hook. You didn…

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Holiday Shopping: Local Gift Ideas Around $25

Now that Thanksgiving's over and the turkey's all in pieces, we'll be looking for gifts that won't cost a wing and a leg. We're out poking around the area shops for just that perfect thing.

Remember when $25 would get you a fine pair of winter boots? Neither do we. We do know that $25 is about right when it comes to buying a holiday gift for a friend or helpful co-worker or the neighbor who brings the trash cans back from the curb when you're on vacation. We've been out looking around, and here's what we found. At House 15143, the new shop in Sewickley Village, they have a bunch of rocks. But these are special rocks. Whiskey Stones are soapstone cubes that keep your drink cold without diluting it with melting ice. Store the rocks in your freezer and toss them into drinks as you would ice cubes. Just be careful that some bleary morning you don't toss the rocks into your mango-banana smoothie. We hate to think what that might …

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Rockin' the Suburbs

'Tis the Season ... For Gobblerito!

Gab Bonesso explores how one suburban chain eatery has taken Thanksgiving gluttony to a whole new level with the "Gobblerito."

What on earth is a Gobblerito? Think Mexican food meets Turkey Day.  One of my favorite perks about living in the Moon/Robinson area is that I don’t have to drive into the city to get tasty, hep food because we have a Mad Mex perfectly centered between the two communities. Mad Mex is a California/Mexican restaurant owned by the regional chain Big Burrito. These folks really step up their game in the month of November. It’s the season of Gobbleritos! “Huh?” you say?   Well, a Gobblerito is basically a burrito filled with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and corn with a side of cranberry sauce. That’s right. An entire Thanksgiving meal rolled into one, tidy, perfect burrito. Yum! To me, the Gobblerito exemplifies exactly what I adore…

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