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Gnocchi from Ritual House, another restaurant operated by Legacy Realty, chef Ed Smith and Amanda Smith. Photo courtesy of Ritual House.<\/p>\nIn just over a month, Downtown\u2019s Union Trust building will host a new breakfast and lunch spot supercharged by the same culinary forces behind Ritual House.<\/p>\n
Legacy Realty Partners announced yesterday that The Common Good would open in the space previously occupied by international chain Freshii.<\/p>\n
Herky Pollock, Legacy\u2019s president and CEO, says the eatery\u2019s name, The Common Good, is equal parts title and promise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to have a component of our menu where people will be asked to \u2014 if they want \u2014 either round up to the next highest dollar or even pay for a meal for the common good,\u201d Pollock says. \u201cThen, people \u2026 who can\u2019t afford a meal can simply press a button for the common good and be able to have a free meal paid for by people giving back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to help those who might be in need of temporary help, and we also want to be part of the fabric of Downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Common Good is \u201cjust down the hall\u201d from Ritual House \u2014 Legacy Realty\u2019s highly Instagrammable concept that is especially popular for brunch \u2014 and will similarly be supported by chef Ed Smith and front-of-house lead Amanda Smith.<\/p>\n
Gnocchi from Ritual House, another restaurant operated by Legacy Realty, chef Ed Smith and Amanda Smith. Photo courtesy of Ritual House.<\/p>\n
The Common Good will serve salads, grain bowls, soups, sandwiches, smoothies, acai bowls and baked goods. Pollock didn\u2019t divulge any menu specifics, but says the food quality will be on par with Ritual House and Legacy\u2019s Shadyside restaurant Palm Palm<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aWe\u2019re trying to tap into what some of the hot trends are nationwide \u2026 and provide a little different offering that truly complements Ritual House, but we\u2019re also going to have different daily and weekly features that our chefs at Ritual House can work with us on that we can carry over to The Common Good,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cMore and more fast-casual concepts are skinnying-down their menu, having less and less items. We\u2019re going the other direction \u2014 we keep adding things to give people more variety \u2026 and even customization, which may be crazy, but we\u2019re going to do it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n Conceptualization for The Common Good began about three to four months ago, according to Pollock, and was expressly created with the Downtown storefront in mind.<\/p>\n He says the Union Trust building\u2019s management, The Davis Cos., had created a wishlist of items for the space after polling tenants. When Pollock \u2014 who had listed the space for them \u2014 caught wind of what the tenants wanted, he told The Davis Cos., \u201cno one really does that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, why don\u2019t you do it?\u201d he recalls them responding.<\/p>\n