The Common Good, a new fast casual health food restaurant, has opened in the Union Trust Building Downtown.
The restaurant is the latest concept by Herky and Lisa Pollock and Chef Ed and Amanda Smith, who previously designed Palm Palm in East Liberty and Ritual House, also housed in the Union Trust Building. The new venture — which spans two stories and fronts Grant Street— offers breakfast and lunch with a focus on healthy offerings including smoothies, salads, sandwiches, grain bowls and juice.
Guests can also donate to the restaurant’s Pay it Forward program, which provides “Common Good Meals” to those in need.
Herky Pollock said that The Common Good, his 13th restaurant concept, was also his first foray into fast casual dining, and built from experience operating Ritual House Downtown.
“We’re mindful of who works here, who lives here, and so we know that people want to have a healthy meal, and they want to have a healthy salad or a smoothie or vegan food,” Pollock said. “We’re leaning into all different constituencies that may or may not have had a full representation in the past … so we’re just trying to get different offerings to compliment other restaurants Downtown.”
Mayor Corey O’Connor said The Common Good’s opening contributes to efforts to revitalize Downtown, particularly ahead of the NFL Draft in April. Last month, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership unveiled a new initiative to fill hundreds of vacant Downtown storefronts before the three-day event.
“There’s a lot of momentum,” O’Connor told TribLive. “This is now an anchor tenant that’s right on our main business district. For us, it’s just continuing to build momentum, filling in as many spaces as we can.”