The concept for new restaurant Joe & Pie seems pretty simple: coffee and pizza. But there’s more on the menu at this new Downtown eatery than the two named items.
Run by co-owners Kairat Ussenov and Symbat Sarin, Joe & Pie offers a slew of breakfast, lunch and dinner options, including omelets, chicken and lamb shawarma, and eggplant parmesan.
But, of course, coffee and pizza are the main draws. With a background serving traditional pizza-shop fare, opening a similar shop seemed like a logical step for the pair, until they noticed a gap in Downtown’s current food offerings.
“It’s a new concept in Pittsburgh — coffee and pizza in the same place,” says Sarin. “When you go to other places, you don’t get quality coffee with your food. So that’s why we came up with the concept.”
Joe & Pie’s espresso and coffee menu includes traditional café staples like cappuccinos, lattes and macchiatos. But if you stop in for lunch or dinner, you’ll also catch the aroma of their gourmet pizzas, calzones and fresh wings wafting from the kitchen. (A vegan menu is in the works.)
Ussenov and Sarin join the many business owners committed to local suppliers. Their coffee comes from Commonplace Coffee, and their pastries are from Paddy Cake Bakery, in Bloomfield. When the weather gets warmer, they’ll also add locally sourced gelato to the menu.
“We decided to choose the best brands in Pittsburgh and put them all together to better serve our customers,” says Ussenov.
