DISTRICT, TRAFFIC IS TIGHT. PARKING IS A PREMIUM. SO TOO IS THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE. EVERYTHING. THE DIFFERENT ASSORTMENTS OF CHEESE, THE PEOPLE, THE SMELLS, THE MUSIC, THE LAUGHTER, EVERYTHING. IT’S JUST MY DAUGHTER JUST SAID TO ME, I LOVE COMING DOWN HERE BECAUSE OF THE MUSIC. ALL THE DIFFERENT PEOPLE. 64. ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE EXPERIENCES IS INSIDE PENN MAXX. MORE THAN 400 CHEESE SELECTIONS, MORE THAN 100 DELI MEATS, EVEN A HAND-CRANKED SLICER IMPORTED FROM ITALY AND AN INFINITE NUMBER OF STARRY EYED CUSTOMERS CAUGHT UP AND PATIENTLY WAITING THEIR TURN TO ORDER. IT’S AN EXPERIENCE AND A TRADITION, AND IT’S A TRADITION TO COME HERE BEFORE THANKSGIVING. ABSOLUTELY, YEAH, I’VE BEEN DOING IT SINCE I WAS A LITTLE KID. MOM’S ALWAYS TAKING ME DOWN TO THE STRIP DISTRICT, AND THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE PLACE. YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE GO TO OTHER PLACES, BUT NEVER SKIP PENN MAC. SO MY COUSINS CAME IN FROM LA TO DO A JOB HERE, AND THEY BROUGHT A COWORKER WITH THEM. AND WE’RE IN HERE AND HE’S FILMING EVERYTHING. AND I SAID, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? AND HE GOES, MY WIFE WOULD KILL FOR A PLACE LIKE THIS IN LA. IT’S A SIMILAR EYE OPENING EXPERIENCE AT WOOLIES. I MEAN, YOU WALK OVER THESE ITALIAN MARKET, THERE’S THIS PLACE, WE SAW SOME ASIAN STORES AND MIDDLE EASTERN STORE, AND YOU SAID THAT YOU NEED SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN JACKSONVILLE. YEAH. SO YOU GUYS MOVED HERE TO PITTSBURGH FROM PHILLY. FROM PHILADELPHIA? YES. WHAT’S THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE LIKE FOR YOU HERE IN THE STRIP DISTRICT? WELL, IT’S ACTUALLY A LITTLE BETTER THAN PHILADELPHIA. YOU GET A LITTLE MORE EXPERIENCE. SO YOU’RE HAPPY YOU’RE SHOPPING HERE? I’M VERY HAPPY I’M SHOPPING HERE. I WO
Pittsburgh’s Strip District delivers a tasty experience for Thanksgiving shoppers
Updated: 5:51 PM EST Nov 26, 2025
Visitors to Pittsburgh are amazed by the Strip District, while the locals are proud of what it offers, especially on the eve of Thanksgiving.Marla Saikali brought her mother, who is visiting from Jacksonville, Florida, to the Strip.”It’s a cultural mix. You walk over, there’s this Italian market, there’s this place, Asian store, middle eastern store,” she says.Penn Mac and Wholey’s are two of the neighborhood’s iconic markets, with Penn Mac offering more than 400 cheese selections.”My cousins came here from L.A., and they brought a coworker with them, and we’re in here and he’s filming everything. He said, ‘My wife would kill for a place like this in L.A.,” said Mary Louise Fowkes.Traditional grocery stores will always have their usual flow of shoppers the day before Thanksgiving, but people like Mary Jo Goodrich, who crave that unique Strip District experience will always make it a priority on their to-do list.”Different assortments of cheese, the people, the smells, the music, laughter, everything,” Goodrich said. “My daughter just said to me, she loves coming down here because of the music, all the different people.”
PITTSBURGH —
Visitors to Pittsburgh are amazed by the Strip District, while the locals are proud of what it offers, especially on the eve of Thanksgiving.
Marla Saikali brought her mother, who is visiting from Jacksonville, Florida, to the Strip.
“It’s a cultural mix. You walk over, there’s this Italian market, there’s this place, Asian store, middle eastern store,” she says.
Penn Mac and Wholey’s are two of the neighborhood’s iconic markets, with Penn Mac offering more than 400 cheese selections.
“My cousins came here from L.A., and they brought a coworker with them, and we’re in here and he’s filming everything. He said, ‘My wife would kill for a place like this in L.A.,” said Mary Louise Fowkes.
Traditional grocery stores will always have their usual flow of shoppers the day before Thanksgiving, but people like Mary Jo Goodrich, who crave that unique Strip District experience will always make it a priority on their to-do list.
“Different assortments of cheese, the people, the smells, the music, laughter, everything,” Goodrich said. “My daughter just said to me, she loves coming down here because of the music, all the different people.”