Greg Eide, owner of Eide's Entertainment in downtown Pittsburgh, dead at 69

Greg Eide, who owned and operated the popular Downtown emporium Eide’s Entertainment, died Thursday. He was 69.

Eide opened the store in 1972. The Penn Avenue business flourished and expanded over the decades, selling comics, music and pop culture ephemera and serving as a meeting point for various fan bases.

“It was his life,” said Jim Turoczy, a manager at the store who worked with Eide for over 40 years. “He put a lot of blood and sweat of his own into his business.”

Eide had no wife or kids, Turoczy said, but the people at Eide’s Entertainment served as his surrogate family. Eide had customers who were so loyal to the store that, even after moving away from Pittsburgh, they’d be sure to visit the four-story entertainment department store every time they were in town.

Turoczy described Eide as being “very hands-on” in his business. He always took care of his employees, Turoczy said.

“He was a very, very smart businessman,” Turoczy said. “There was never a time — even when times were bad — that we didn’t receive a paycheck. He did a lot for us over the years.”

Eide enjoyed analyzing movies, television shows and books, Turoczy said. He was also an avid outdoorsman, who enjoyed hiking and skydiving.

Turoczy shared the news of Eide’s death on the store’s Facebook page yesterday, writing, “With heavy hearts, we lost our fearless leader this morning to covid.”

Over 100 people left comments on the Facebook post, many offering condolences and reminiscing on memories they shared at Eide’s Entertainment.

“We’re all just in shock,” Turoczy said. “This is quite a shock to us, quite unexpected.”

The store is currently operating as usual and Turoczy said he believes it will remain open.

Per Eide’s wishes, there will be no viewing or funeral, according to the Facebook post.