Shopping, food & fun in store as Tarentum Night Markets resume

Tarentum business owners are hoping people are ready to boogie back into the borough for the nightlife.

The monthly Tarentum Night Market, launched in September, is set to resume in April.

Events are scheduled for the third Thursday of each month — beginning April 15 — and continuing through October or November, said David Rankin, an organizer and executive director of Faith Community Partners.

The bedrock of the markets is that participating businesses stay open until 8 p.m., making themselves available to customers who might not be able to get there during the day. Many will offer specials and promotions.

“That alone is pretty huge as far as I’m concerned,” Rankin said. “To have business activity in the central business district when they would otherwise be closed is pretty special.”

Food, drink and music also will be available at various locations. Rankin said there might be as many as six musicians playing around town.

Gatto Cycle Shop, which would normally close at 6 p.m., will be participating and is planning to have a “bike night,” said Allison Ryan, marketing manager. There will be music and a food truck, in-store promotions and a giveaway, she said.

“Gatto is a staple in the Tarentum community,” Ryan said. “We just want to take part and be a good community partner.”

Dianna Roney is celebrating the 15th anniversary of her shop, Diamond Antiques. For the markets, she’ll be offering a 15% discount, instead of the usual 10%. KingView Meade will be there, offering samples.

“There’s a lot of anticipation,” she said. “I think everybody’s looking forward to it.”

While The Murphy Building, which Rankin owns, had previously been used for crafters and vendors, it no longer can be as the space has been rented to businesses.

“The Murphy Building will not be the center of activity,” Rankin said. “It was never the intent to gather in one place. The idea from the beginning was to spread activity all over town so people are encouraged to walk the town and feel comfortable walking the town again. That’s the main focus of the Night Market.”

The Manos Gallery, which opened on the last Night Market in November, is collaborating with Infuzed Bistro from Brackenridge and Boyd & Blair, a vodka maker from Shaler, for the upcoming market, gallery co-owner Ernesto Camacho Jr. said.

A new art exhibit will open April 3, and Camacho said an open house for the artists will be held April 15.

“We’re hoping to have events every night market for the whole summer and fall,” he said. “I’m excited. I can’t wait. It’s going to be a great thing for people to be able to get out of seclusion and try to go and do stuff.”

Three markets were held in 2020. Roney said they were well received, and there was no doubt they would resume.

“It was wonderful for people to come to Tarentum and see what we have going on down here,” said Desiree Singleton, owner of Harvest Moon Coffee & Chocolates, which opened in early 2020. “The park’s right here. There’s more businesses. People will start to see this as a destination rather than a place they drive through.”

The fourth and final market of 2020, scheduled for Dec. 10, was canceled after Allegheny County advised residents to stay home except for essential reasons because of the covid pandemic. Some businesses stayed open later that day anyway.

“We ended up still having our exhibit for that day,” Camacho said. “For the very little people that did show up, it ended up being OK.”

For the April 15 event, Roney said people will still be asked to wear masks, and hand sanitizer will be readily available.

“Hopefully by mid-summer we won’t have to worry about that anymore,” she said.