Stay up-to-date on what’s coming, going, and changing in the Northside business community with The Northside Chronicle’s monthly Northside Business Briefs. This month’s briefs feature ShadoBeni, artist Quaishawn Whitlock, and A Thrills Market.

By Ashlee Green

Photo: The ShadoBeni team poses for a picture on their soft opening weekend: April 8-10, 2022, via the ShadoBeni Facebook Page

ShadoBeni open for business in Allegheny City Central

Vegan Trinidadian street food spot ShadoBeni, a popular Northside Farmers Market pop-up, has now opened a storefront.

Located on Brighton Road in Allegheny City Central, the eatery hosted a soft opening the weekend of Friday, April 8 through Sunday, April 10. Friday’s “Bake and Not Shark” was a “Vegan Trini version of a Lenten Fish Fry,” according to the business’ Facebook page. Brunch food including “hot doubles, fresh coconut bake, and lots of other Trini treats” was served April 9-10.

Full lunch and dinner menus are now available at shadobeni412.com and business hours are Wednesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

ShadoBeni is located at 1534 Brighton Rd.

Quaishawn Whitlock teams up with BOOM Concepts for East Ohio Street’s ‘Episode 1’

Quaishawn Whitlock, a Pittsburgh-based interdisciplinary artist, educator, and business owner, has debuted his mixed media collage installation “Episode 1” at 406 East Ohio St.

The temporary installation is part of a larger art program, “Activist Print,” which can be seen along the 400 block of East Ohio Street. Activist Print is a collaborative series of work between Whitlock, BOOM Concepts artist Bekezela Mguni, and cofounder DS Kinsel that uses, according to a press release, “silkscreen and print-based media to raise awareness of contemporary issues and inspire change through agitational propaganda.”

Originally founded in 2015 with the first commissioned Black Lives Matter mural in Pittsburgh, Activist Print began as a joint effort of BOOM Concepts, The Andy Warhol Museum, and Artists Image Resource (AIR). It “engages a variety of styles of work that include painting, high quality vinyl prints, and wheat paste.”

Whitlock’s work specifically revolves around the “discovery, identity, representation, and struggle of Blackness…” As part of the greater Activist Print program, it is “meant to be in conversation with new industries and demographic targets of reemerging business corridors.” 

Supporters of the program are The Pittsburgh Foundation Racial Justice Fund, Duquesne Light Community Impact Grant, The Bloomfield Garfield Corporation, and The Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh Grant.

A Thrills Food Market opens this month in Spring Garden

Aleaise Thill grew up in the Northside and remembers the joy of freshly grown food from the weekly farmer’s market and neighbors sharing their garden bounties. Now, with her new business venture A Thrills Food Market in Spring Garden, she is sharing her passion for quality food with the greater Northside community.

Thill’s mission with her local health food store is to “enrich the whole value of a person” and “promote a healthier lifestyle within the local community” through her quality, body nourishing products such as herbs and essential oils, grab-and-go deli soups and sandwiches, and fresh juice and smoothies. It’s a way to “close the gap” between underserved communities and access to quality food.

A Thrills Food Market “seeks to meet the increased demand for a better way of living, by offering fresh and quality products all the time,” according to their website.

A Thrills Food Market is located at 1924 Spring Garden Ave. Daily business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit https://www.athrills.com/ for more information.