Fudge Farm closes South Side location amid surge in violence

Fudge Farm is closing its location on East Carson Street on Pittsburgh’s South Side amid a spike in violence that the owners said makes them worry for employee safety.

The gourmet fudge, chocolate and ice cream shop announced on social media that Sunday would mark the last day for their East Carson Street site.

The closure came “due to the uncontrollable shootings and violence as well as other circumstances on E Carson Street,” Fudge Farm wrote in a Facebook post. “We can no longer ask teenage children, or no one for that matter, to work for us in this environment.”

This comes after two men were shot in an apparent exchange of gunfire outside the store around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Three firearms were recovered at the scene.

On Saturday, a man ducked into a restaurant about a block away after being struck by a bullet, police said

“We can no longer ask people to jeopardize their safety,” Fudge Farm’s post reads. “Anyone that personally knows us, knows that our employees are like family, we wouldn’t allow our daughters to work in this environment as we wouldn’t want your son or daughter to do so either!”

They thanked customers for their support of the business, and urged people to visit their Waterfront location or food truck.

Fudge Farm added another comment to the post early Monday morning showing an image of a gun on the ground, which they said they found around 5 a.m. at the back door of their East Carson Street storefront.

City Councilman Bruce Kraus, who represents the area, said the violence is nothing new for the corridor. The issue, he said, has grown over about 20 years to become “overwhelming,” leaving officials “paralyzed with what we can do” to combat the violence escalating in the area.

“The gathering of largely underage [people] that are not participating in licensed businesses deter from those businesses,” Kraus said. “It harms local residents who are living there, and it doesn’t serve the customers who are coming to the street to participate in properly-licensed businesses.”

He said he is hoping to reduce the crowds that gather there, and said he has spoken with the city’s legal department to determine what local officials can do to restore order. He said he believes proper planning and management should be the priority for restoring safety to the area, rather than expecting law enforcement to solve the problem with added policing.

Kraus called the scenario in which people are often in the area intoxicated and armed an “unbelievably dangerous situation.”

Kraus declined to comment specifically on Fudge Farm’s decision to leave the street, as he had not yet spoken with the owners.

Fudge Farm owners did not immediately respond to a request for comment about their decision to close.