New Kensington's small-business owners reflect on how they have succeeded

The owners of a New Kensington ax throwing business are making a joke of their second anniversary.

Brothers Brian and Zach Heidenreich and longtime friend Brian Mangone opened Las Hachas on Fifth Avenue in downtown New Kensington in 2021. They will celebrate their anniversary Saturday with their first comedy show featuring New Kensington native Don Arner.

Las Hachas has been among several small businesses that have opened in New Kensington’s downtown in recent years, most along Fifth Avenue, with some on Fourth Avenue. Others are on Ninth Street, which is the entry into the city from the New Kensington Bridge.

In addition to ax throwing, the city’s growing business district offers several restaurants, a concert venue and record store, two breweries, specialty bakeries, a coffee shop, shoe store, women’s clothing store and more.

Not every business that opened in recent years has succeeded, but the ones still open outnumber those that have failed.

New Kensington’s mercantile tax collection reflects business activity across the entire city. While not a straight increase, the city’s total collection increased by about 14% from 2018, when it was $291,887, through 2022, when it reached $332,339. As of August, the city had collected $261,924, outpacing 2022, according to figures provided by the city’s tax office.

Brian Heidenreich said business is going well at Las Hachas.

“We’re really building the ax throwing community locally, which has been a fun and rewarding thing,” he said. “We got into it looking to learn, have fun and do something productive for the community. We accomplished those goals.”

They’ve made it work by putting out a consistent product and being personable to customers, Heidenreich said.

“We have a great staff of dedicated coaches,” he said. “The ecosystem downtown on Fifth Avenue has been great, with Voodoo and Strange Roots and Preserving down the street. We’re trying every day to come up with new ideas and make Fifth Avenue a destination.”

While there are always unknowns with a new business, Brian Heidenreich said they were never worried it wouldn’t work.

“We had a lot of faith in the community and the need for an entertainment venue,” he said. “We were pretty confident we’d have support.”

Opening in 2017, Knead Community Café could be said to have been at the forefront of New Kensington’s latest downtown business boom. When it opened, there wasn’t much else in the area, said Kevin Bode, who launched Knead with his wife, Mary.

In six years, the business climate “has certainly come a long way,” Kevin Bode said.

“There’s a lot more foot traffic up and down Fourth and Fifth Avenue in the last two to three years than I’ve ever seen before,” he said. “There were days I could go out and lay down on Fifth Avenue and never get run over by a car. Now sometimes when I go out, I can’t find a parking space.

“I still think we have a little ways to go yet,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s perfect, but it’s much better than it was previously. You hear people talking about coming to downtown New Kensington.”

As a nonprofit, Knead is different from the businesses around it. Most of its staff are volunteers. In addition to its “pay what you can” eatery, it has a meeting room and banquet hall.

Bode credits the quality of the food and service for their success.

“Like anything else, some days are really slow and you wonder why. Overall, everything’s been going great,” he said. “Our revenues have been very good. We’re giving away more meals than we ever have before, and our finances still are fine. The banquet facility is getting a lot more use since covid.”

Even newer businesses have found early success. Jim and Christine Radeshak opened their tabletop gaming store, The Feisty Goblin Gamehouse, in April on Fifth Avenue and quickly found themselves needing more space to meet demand.

They chose the storefront at 938 Fifth Ave., in part because it had more space in the back going toward Barnes Street.

“We didn’t think we would need it for at least a year or so,” Christine Radeshak said. “We didn’t think it would take off so quickly.”

They nearly doubled in size, adding 1,140 square feet to their initial 1,250 square feet, with their shop now extending from its Fifth Avenue front to a back door on Barnes Street.

“We were full for gaming. People would come in for our bigger events, and there wasn’t enough room for everyone,” Christine Radeshak said. “We wanted to make sure we had enough space for everyone to come and enjoy their hobbies.”

She said they have found a great community of businesses on Fifth Avenue.

“We all talk to each other and try to cross-promote things. We share other businesses’ events, and they share ours,” she said. “It’s been a really nice experience to work with everyone and for the common goal of making a happy, safe, inviting place to come and spend time.”

Fridays on Fifth, a once-a-month food truck event that started in 2021 and this year was held on the fourth Friday of each month from April through September, always has translated to good nights for Kim Waltenbaugh’s women’s clothing store, Chlo’s Boutique. It opened in November 2021.

“There have been more and more events that are drawing people to the city. The word’s getting out,” she said. “(But) I still have people who say they didn’t know I was here.”

Waltenbaugh also expanded a bit in her shop, going back another 10 feet, allowing her to offer more merchandise, which mostly follows a black-and-white color scheme.

Waltenbaugh could have launched her business elsewhere, she said, but she has faith in New Kensington. While there have been recent violent incidents, including shootings, in other parts of the city, downtown hasn’t had those problems, she said. She credited the city’s police.

“I grew up in this area,” Waltenbaugh said. “I’m really happy with the activities and things that are going on in the city.”

A grocery store is something many say downtown New Kensington still needs and hasn’t had since Shop’n Save closed in 2020. Waltenbaugh said a “mini Whole Foods”-type market would be good.

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” she said. “Hopefully, it starts expanding more, especially on the Fourth Avenue end of it because that would be great.”

Friday’s on Fifth first brought Jose and Bernice Tecuanhuehue and their Mexican food truck, Taqueria El Pastorcito, to New Kensington. Since opening a restaurant on Fourth Avenue in April 2022, he added a second truck earlier this year and recently added Sunday hours that include a breakfast menu. They also operate the kitchen at Strange Roots Experimental Ales in West Deer, serving burritos, tacos and quesadillas.

“It’s all about marketing — social media,” Jose Tecuanhuehue said, adding that they also rely on satisfied customers recommending them. “I think a lot of my customers, they say, ‘You are more authentic.’ ”

Denzel Carter also has expanded his business, the shoe store Deadstock & Dandies, which he opened on Fifth Avenue in December 2021. In September, he opened 412 Toe inside Monroeville Mall.

“This store has helped me get to there,” he said.

The growth of New Kensington’s business district is bringing more people to the city, notably on weekends.

“I like to see the new faces that we see down here,” Carter said, adding that more are needed on weekdays.

When he first opened, Carter played up shoes that could command several hundred dollars. He since has started offering more affordable and accessible shoes and clothing.

“As a business owner, I’ve had to readjust my game plan,” he said.

Ashley Bodycombe selected Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street when she opened Ashley’s Kitchen in April 2021. She specializes in stuffed breads, salads and soups.

“There’s so many new things. It’s exciting,” she said.

Bodycombe cited Re:Build Manufacturing moving into the New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park with the promise of creating 300 jobs over the next three years.

“There’s a lot of hope for things to really start to pick up here,” she said.

Maintaining consistent hours and food have been important for Bodycombe, who conceded that the restaurant business can be great one day and not so great the next.

“Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not,” she said. “We’re doing catering now. That’s really helping.”

Being on the bus line helps with foot traffic. So does good weather.

“More and more people are out walking around,” Bodycombe said. “I’ve had a lot who have never been here. That’s great. It’s all word of mouth for us.”

Sean Watson is happy with the direction of SoCal Mexicali Grill, which opened in February 2022 on the far end of Fifth Avenue at Seventh Street.

Since the departure of Jeff Cieslewicz, his original partner and chef, Watson said, he has reworked the menu to have more of what the town wants, such as burgers, and has built a new staff over the past six months.

Watson said he has made the business work by being as hands-on as possible and relying on good people.

“Consistent effort makes it work,” he said. “We just love seeing all the other businesses opening up, and we want to support them as much as possible.”

It’s not more retail but also more industrial jobs, such as at the manufacturing park, that would help further boost the business district, Bode said.

“The more they keep bringing good-paying industrial jobs into the industrial park, the more that will help feed into downtown,” Bode said. “People will have money they can come into downtown and spend.”