PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

On Nov. 13, National Kindness Day, I put on my favorite skull-print cardigan in honor of Mister Rogers and went out for a cup of coffee. Caffeine makes me kinder, especially in the morning.

Luckily, there are plenty of places to choose from in Pittsburgh.

In this post-pandemic world, these businesses stand like percolating beacons of positivity, providing customers with food and beverages, as well as a sense of community. I’ve recently written about Lemon Tree, Dragon’s Roast Cafe, Ghost Coffee Collab, Grim Wizard Coffee, 802 Bean Co., Perk & Brew, Abolition Coffee and Needle and Bean. Now I’m adding Kinder Being Cafe and Hilltop Coffee to my list.

Coffee gives me the jitters, but these friendly, hard-working business owners give me hope.

Kinder Being Cafe

North Side, 715 East St.

Kindness often seems like an alien concept these days, but you can find it at The Government Center.

Last month, Max Wheeler opened Kinder Being Cafe inside of the North Side record shop. (There’s a bar, too, if you’d like to chase your java with a cup of cheer.)

The Colorado native’s been working in the coffee industry for 15 years, most recently at Espresso a Mano, the first coffee shop he patronized while visiting Pittsburgh. He fell in love with the business and the loving community that owner Matt Gebis has created at spots in Lawrenceville, Squirrel Hill and Dormont.

Kinder Being is open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. There you’ll find Espresso a Mano-brand coffee, as well as tea, hot chocolate, macha, kombucha, a variety of locally made food items and cosmic vibes. You can’t miss the East Street business’ neon-green, UFO-laden logo, the handiwork of Christian Shaknaitis of Brush & Pounce Signs.

I stopped by the cafe on Nov. 6 for a little pick-me-up and found Wheeler chatting with patrons as he poured Lavendar Lattes and popped “Plan 9 From Outer Space” into the VCR. I slurped down coffee while watching the Ed Wood classic on a tiny, knob-and-tube television — just like I did in high school!

Wheeler plans to utilize a small, on-site kitchen to make sandwiches and other eats, but, in the meantime, local purveyors Driftwood Oven and Pigeon Bagels provide the baked goods. The Pittsburgh Taco Boys of Oakmont deliver breakfast burritos that are out-of-this-world.

After devouring the flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, cheese, black beans, fried potato and salsa verde, I immediately contacted the “Boys” to thank them for creating a snack that beamed me up and out of a seasonal depression. Look for a full story about the taco shop (and a new Oakmont brewery!) soon.

Kinder Being, in addition to its usual business hours, opens for evening events, including craft fairs, art shows, book club gatherings, DJ sets and concerts. In a corner of the cafe, there’s a free community resource center where folks can get Narcan, emergency contraceptives and other supplies provided by THE AUTOnomous BODY SHOP. A community free fridge is in the works.

And don’t forget about the albums!

The Government Center will soon expand its vinyl offerings to the second floor, a space that started out as a green room. Owner Josh Cozby soon realized that the performers who rocked his stage preferred to mingle with fans at the bar.

With the arrival of Kinder Being, night owls have even more non-alcoholic beverage options to choose from. Personally, I can’t wait to drink The Head Banger, a shaken espresso lightly sweetened and served on ice, while listening to DJ Rave Mustaine spin tunes on the first Wednesday of every month.

When he was contemplating what to name his business, Wheeler imagined a benevolent green alien serving coffee to Earthlings all in the name of intergalactic peace. He also was inspired by William Shakespeare, who wrote “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”

“We can all be kinder beings,” Wheeler says, “if we want to be.”

Hilltop Coffee

Arlington, 2400 Arlington Ave.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HILLTOP COFFEE

Decades ago, in Pittsburgh’s Arlington neighborhood, the business district was dotted with dozens of vibrant storefronts. Now there are just a handful of businesses along Arlington Avenue, including Hilltop Coffee.

The small shop debuted during the pandemic in a former five-and-dime that was built in 1910. After their original roaster, Creative Coffee & Supply, shut down earlier this year, Hilltop owners Dan Gladis and Jami Szalla took a six-month hiatus to find a new partner and update their business plan.

The married couple — who both have full-time careers in addition to running Hilltop Coffee — re-opened the shop on Nov. 2 with Thomas & Fisk, Ltd. roasting the beans on site.

“There’s a lot of great coffee in Pittsburgh, but not a lot that we can sell at a price we needed to,” Gladis says. “We wanted to find someone who would be willing to partner with us more closely, not only on roasting, but on the day-to-day operations of the business.”

Tim Blosser fit the bill.

He was born in America, but moved to the Arabian Peninsula when his civil engineer father was contracted to help build a hospital in what is now United Arab Emirates. In that part of the globe, coffee is so ubiquitous, there are coffee pot statues on practically every corner.

When he returned to the States, Blosser found it nearly impossible to find a cup of joe that could match the stuff he grew up drinking. During quarantine, he started roasting coffee at home. The pandemic hobby turned into an obsession that lead him to take a specialty coffee training seminar in Illinois. His instructor was Mike Ebert, former president at Specialty Coffee Association of America. Blosser also received guidance from Andrew Delgado, co-founder of Dynamic Coffee Roasters.

Last fall, Blosser combined his grandmothers’ maiden names and launched Thomas & Fisk. The company’s coffee subscription club is a tribute to his grandfathers, Roscoe and Floyd.

During a stint at Fulton Commons’ Packaged Food Incubator & Accelerator program, he heard about Hilltop’s roasting dilemma and offered his assistance and coffee expertise. Blosser just moved into the neighborhood and is working to build a dedicated roasting facility at the Hilltop space.

“Our plan is, as Tim embraces the roasting and front-of-house baristaing, Jami and i will scale back what we do,” says Gladis, who lives on the South Side Slopes. “We will be advising and assting as Tim makes the business his own. We’ve got the expertise and ideas, but not the time and energy to do the shop the right way. We live down the hill. This is our local coffee shop. We have a vested interest in it continuing to succeed.”

In addition to coffee and pastries from Grandview Bakery in Mt. Washington and sweets from nearby TC Candy, Hilltop Coffee will sell goods made a few blocks away at Batches Bakehouse.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BATCHES BAKEHOUSE

Hannah Olsen, who sells her hand-made macarons online under the name Aycho Melange, opened the shared kitchen in June. Hilltop Coffee was her first wholesale customer. Now she supplies nearly a dozen area businesses with the infamously hard-to-make French pastries.

In addition to Aycho Melange, Batches Bakehouse is home to other sweet start-up businesses and other small food producers, including Mainely Dipped, The Scone Ranger and Evanly Bakes.

“We are flexible in terms of pricing,” Olsen says. “If you only need one day a month, you shouldn’t pay as much as someone who is using the space 40 hours per week. The tiered system lets them invest money into their business. By giving some of the smaller, often overlooked, food producers an avenue to grow will only improve Pittsburgh’s food scene.”

The 1,200-square-foot, production-only facility features seven multicook ovens that do the job much faster than an average convection oven; a time-saver for tenants who are holding down a full-time job while pursuing their culinary dreams.

Olsen is hosting an open (bake)house on Nov. 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. so Pittsburghers can stock up on Thanksgiving treats.

She plans to offer tenants assistance with marketing, accounting, business law and photography so they can be in the best position to thrive once they outgrow the Arlington space.

“I tried to think of all the things that were hurdles for me when I started my business,” Olsen says. “I want to help great businesses show how great they really are.”