{"id":274172,"date":"2026-08-28T20:38:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T20:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/274172\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T20:38:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T20:38:07","slug":"idas-sandwich-shop-in-pittsburgh-receives-216k-loan-for-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/274172\/","title":{"rendered":"Ida\u2019s Sandwich Shop in Pittsburgh receives $216K loan for expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four years into running Ida\u2019s Sandwich Shop in Perry North, Erica Sumpter still feels the pressures of owning a small business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI dream about this stuff,\u201d Sumpter said. \u201cIt\u2019s constant, but it\u2019s a good stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Sumpter and her wife, Charla Thomas, comprised the idea for Ida\u2019s Sandwich Shop in 2018. Sumpter was in charge of making the business plan.<\/p>\n

She has her own business consulting firm \u2014 Envision You \u2014 which made planning easier.<\/p>\n

When it came to funding, Sumpter knew she needed help.<\/p>\n

A loan from the Neighborhood Community Development Fund helped Sumpter get Ida\u2019s Sandwich Shop off the ground in 2020, at the height of the covid pandemic. The sandwich shop on Perrysville Avenue opened in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Neighborhood Community Development Fund was very good during that time frame,\u201d Sumpter said. \u201cThe main challenge was just trying to get through construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday morning, Ida\u2019s Sandwich Shop<\/a> celebrated receiving another loan for construction as they expand their business into a parlor next door \u2014 this time in the amount of $216,000 \u2014 from Pittsburgh-based nonprofit and community lender Neighborhood Community Development Fund, which provides loans to small businesses through federal and state grants.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Ida\u2019s expansion was highlighted by state representatives and organizations partnering with the Neighborhood Community Development Fund, and officials announced a broader state effort to provide more than $14 million in funding and assistance to small businesses across Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Lindsay Powell, D-Lawrenceville, said she was grateful to the state and for the partnerships between the Neighborhood Community Development Association, the Community Development Financial Initiative, and Historically Disadvantaged Business Assistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing like the pride that you have \u2014 the community member, or neighbors \u2014 being able to just walk down to a local sandwich shop,\u201d Powell said. \u201cThank you for believing in small businesses\u2026 for believing our communities deserve beautiful spaces that we can all enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Sumpter, the money means being able to bring even more opportunities for community gathering and small businesses to Perry North.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest things we\u2019ve learned of small businesses: you do not know what you do not know,\u201d Sumpter said. \u201cAs your business grows, the financial commitments get bigger\u2026 and trusted guidance is essential to making that difference between simply having a great idea, and actually building a sustainable business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sumpter said the parlor where Friday\u2019s event took place will be an extension of the restaurant, but with more of a sit-down, cocktail bar feel. Her vision for the space includes plush couches, chess tables, TVs and pool tables.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur tagline is \u2018Where culture, cocktails, and community meet,\u2019\u201d Sumpter said. \u201cSo we want to make sure all of that is filled up in one parlor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sumpter said the loan will cover all of the construction costs for the expansion of Ida\u2019s Sandwich Shop, which is expected to be completed in late October or early November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four years into running Ida\u2019s Sandwich Shop in Perry North, Erica Sumpter still feels the pressures of owning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274173,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-274172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274172","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=274172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}