{"id":160369,"date":"2026-04-08T11:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T11:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/160369\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T11:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T11:32:09","slug":"editorial-lets-shop-small","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/160369\/","title":{"rendered":"Editorial | Let\u2019s shop small"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a world full of conglomerates and big business, it\u2019s important to recognize that we as consumers hold a lot of power. This power isn\u2019t necessarily that we can disband these conglomerates or put a stop to the Paramount and Netflix battle<\/a> to control Warner Bros., which effectively leaves all media outlets in the U.S. in the hands of\u00a0 five companies<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s much simpler than that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We decide where our money goes. We decide which companies get our money and how much of it they get. In a way, through the transitive property, we decide whether or not small businesses stay alive, just as we decide the capacity of the conglomerates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We should wield this power carefully, and we should start wielding it by supporting small businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Small businesses<\/a> create local job opportunities, benefit local economies, strengthen community identity and promote diversity. The small businesses in Pittsburgh are absolutely not an exception to this notion, and here are some favorites \u2014<\/p>\n

Redhawk<\/a>, Shibam<\/a> and Delanie\u2019s<\/a> are charming coffee shops located either on or right outside of Pitt\u2019s campus \u2014 each offering a diverse array of coffee and tea, with Shibam incorporating Yemeni influences into their menu.\u00a0
\nGroceria Merante<\/a> is a small, Italian-style deli in South Oakland that offers premium meats and breads, sandwiches and an array of Italian sweets.\u00a0
\nThe Colombian Spot<\/a> offers authentic Colombian cuisine like empanadas, arepas and mondongo, with the majority of their menu being gluten free, vegetarian and allergy friendly.\u00a0
\nGida\u2019s Flowers<\/a> allows buyers to build their own bouquets or to pick a premade one and has a large selection of potted plants and small knick knacks as well.\u00a0
\nTwisted Vintage<\/a>, a relatively new thrift store on Forbes Avenue, has everything from vintage Pitt merchandise to bags and bandanas.<\/p>\n

Supporting small businesses also doesn\u2019t mean you have to rush to cancel your Amazon Prime or Spotify subscriptions. To extrapolate the convenience of big business from our lives is not only a nearly impossible feat, but it\u2019s also an unrealistic one. That being said, maybe throw small businesses in the rotation the next time you decide to order out. Check out Manor Theatre<\/a> instead of AMC the next time you decide to go to the movies. On your next coffee run, swing by Redhawk instead of Dunkin\u2019 or Starbucks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These seemingly insignificant or small changes are what keep our local small businesses thriving. Pittsburgh\u2019s charm doesn\u2019t come from the number of McDonald\u2019s or American Eagles our city has \u2014 it comes from the small and family-owned businesses where the owners know you by name and greet you with a smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Pitt News editorial is a weekly article written by the opinion editors in collaboration with other desk editors. It reflects the collective opinion of the current Pitt News editorial staff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a world full of conglomerates and big business, it\u2019s important to recognize that we as consumers hold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[72435,73,75,74,12516],"class_list":["post-160369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-consumerism","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-small-businesses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}