SUNFRESH FOOD SERVICE | PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

It’s 7 a.m., and Jarett Catanzaro is just getting to work.

As president of Sunfresh Food Service, one of the last remaining produce wholesalers in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, Catanzaro starts his days early, overseeing a supply operation that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to restaurants, shops and grocery stores throughout the region.

The business has been in the Catanzaro family for three generations. Even before Sunfresh officially launched in 1978, his father and uncles had been fixtures in the Strip’s produce trade for decades. Now, for more than 40 years, Catanzaro has faithfully made the morning commute from his home in the North Hills to the neighborhood he knows like the back of his hand.

And in that time, the Strip District has changed dramatically.

“I worked here before school, during the summers,” Catanzaro says. “You could always make money in produce here. There were always so many people around, and there was a lot of action. But it’s changed.”

Gone are many of the industrial warehouses and sprawling parking lots. In their place: luxury apartments, mixed-use buildings and high-end retail. The gritty, bustling Strip — long defined by iconic businesses like Wholey’s, Penn Mac and Stamoolis — has shifted into something sleeker, newer and undeniably different.

“I never thought I’d see the magnitude of what’s going on,” Catanzaro says. “And I have no problem with it. It’s just different here now. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

ROBERT WHOLEY CO. | PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

A Neighborhood Reimagined

According to the latest annual report from neighborhood organization Strip District Neighbors, a volunteer-led community organization, the population has surged by 425% since 2010. Thousands of new residents now call the Strip home, settling into glossy apartments and brownstone-style homes that line once-industrial streets.

“There are a lot of young people that are making big money here, and I think this is a great area to play in,” Catanzaro adds. “Even retired people. If you’re retired and you want to have fun, the Strip’s a great place to be.”

Just ask Jan Receski, founder and CEO of OnPar Now, an indoor golf facility that welcomes beginners and seasoned players in a non-intimidating environment. Receski moved to the Strip 11 years ago with one of her adult sons, after raising her family in Plum. Eventually, she retired from her 30-year corporate career at The Hillman Co. and started looking for what her next chapter would be.

JAN RECESKI, CEO OF ONPAR NOW. | PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

“Working in corporate, I always saw golf as such an integral part of business,” Receski says. “But as a woman, I always felt on the outside of that circle. It’s so much more than a game. It’s business development. It’s the best way to network that exists.”

So she un-retired and started building OnPar Now. But finding the right space wasn’t easy.

“I knew that if I opened in the South Hills, I’d only get South Hills people,” she says. She was looking at new construction on 33rd Street in the Strip when the broker said, “I want to show you The Terminal. From the outside, it looked like a war zone. Fences, dirt piles, dark and low. I thought I was wasting my time. But when I walked inside, it was perfect.”

THE TERMINAL | PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

The Terminal’s Transformation

Few developments have shaped the Strip’s recent transformation as significantly as The Terminal, a five-block-long building originally constructed in 1926 as a rail-to-truck transfer hub for wholesale produce. For nearly a century, its fortunes rose and fell with the produce industry. By 2010, only eight distributors remained, down from dozens at its peak.

In 2020, the development firm McCaffery (also behind projects like The Cork Factory apartments in the Strip) launched a $62.2 million renovation. The result is the vibrant, mixed-use dining, service and retail destination that The Terminal has become today.

“It was a longtime dream for the company,” says Dean Welch, who leads Pittsburgh operations for McCaffery.

“We spent six or seven years building out The Terminal,” he says. “It’s all about creating that mix. Residences need services, services need restaurants, restaurants need offices, and they all fuel each other. It’s what helps a neighborhood blossom.”

When The Terminal officially opened in 2021, OnPar was among its first tenants. Starting a business mid-pandemic wasn’t easy, but Receski has stuck with it.

She’s usually up at 6 a.m., and works out at Solidcore, her neighbor in The Terminal, or takes a run along the Allegheny River. And then … it’s just work. The shop is open 11-12 hours a day, seven days a week and is run by a “very small but mighty staff,” she says. Receski manages every aspect of the business, helping the team provide excellent customer service.

“When it’s your business, you have to be there,” she says. “But knowing that I can walk to work, and there’s so much to do in between, has been amazing.”

On her days off, she sometimes slips away to go kayaking, often winding up at Redfin Blues across the Allegheny River on Washington’s Landing. She enjoys dinner at Luke Wholey’s Grille (Luke takes her son fishing), and heads to Grandpa Joe’s Candy for ice cream. She also likes shopping at Hot Haute Hot.

“It’s just like you’re on vacation. There are so many of these little gems.”

She doesn’t mind spending most of her time in one neighborhood. Receski has lived at the Cork Factory since 2014 and credits the building for fostering a true sense of community.

“It’s unique,” she says. “There are people in their 20s and in their 80s. There’s camaraderie. Every Thursday is happy hour, and everyone gathers. It’s special.”

Old Roots, New Rhythms

Creating that sense of closeness — of community — is something Catanzaro understands deeply.

He’s a regular at Pamela’s Diner (“They’re a customer,” he says), spending more mornings than not ordering over-easy eggs and (always, always) a fruit cup for breakfast. He used to be a runner, going up Liberty, down the 31st Street Bridge, making his way across the bridge and then back, two or three times a week for years, until his partner got him a series of sessions with a personal trainer, and he started working out with her a few times a week instead.

He spends a few hours every day at the warehouse, overseeing accounts, paying bills and keeping an eye on receivables, usually a couple of times a day.

“One of the greatest things I learned as a kid was you’ve got to collect your money,” he says. “I know what’s coming in the door every day.”

And he spends time with his employees, many of whom have spent decades working for Sunfresh. “You can’t operate a business with a revolving door,” he says. “I’ve got 40 people working for me now, and we have very little turnover. I take care of my people. I’ve had people who have worked for me for over 40 years, drivers who have been with me for over 25 years. It’s important.”

By early afternoon, Catanzaro is off, sometimes for a motorcycle ride, sometimes for lunch at a client’s restaurant. The hours have changed, but his connections run deep.

The only other produce warehouse in the Strip, Consumer Fresh Produce, is relocating to Braddock by the end of next summer, making way for potential riverfront development. “We’re the last one standing,” he says. “There’s a lot to think about.”

Developers have made offers for years. He’s considered them. And he’s thinking about his 28-year-old son, now working at Sunfresh.

“My feelings are, I just don’t know what I want for him,” he says. “I’m on the fence. It’s not that I don’t feel my son is capable — he’s working his ass off. I’m proud of him. He’s doing a great job. But I also know I could sell. I have time. It’s a good position to be in.”

Tech, Talent and the Next Wave

As Catanzaro considers his next steps, tech companies are stepping into the Strip. In early 2024, Excelitas Technologies, an advanced photonics company, relocated its headquarters from Massachusetts to a sleek, glass-lined building on Railroad Street. The new office features river views, soundproof pods and a startup vibe. With more than 30 employees working onsite and plans to more than triple that number, Excelitas represents a new chapter for the Strip.

Diana Ruhe, an executive assistant at Excelitas, lives just two blocks away at the Edge 1909 apartments.

“It’s very, very cool,” says Ruhe, who’s 62. “I’m probably one of the oldest people living there, but I love it.”

After decades in Gibsonia and a long marriage that ended in divorce, Ruhe moved Downtown and later into the Strip, a move that, she says, helped her to reset.

“I lived through COVID Downtown, and eventually I just didn’t recognize that place anymore,” she says. “The Strip was such an easy transition.”

Now, she walks to work in the summer, drives the 5 minutes in winter and loves the flexibility of being so close.

“I get to work all day, and go home if I want, and I have my whole lunch hour to spend at home if I want to. I couldn’t ask for a better commute,” she says.

The neighborhood opens up to her after work, too.

“I can walk to get my coffee. I take yoga at the yoga place above De Fer. I can walk Downtown. It’s really in the heart of everything I want, and everything I need,” says Ruhe. “I love DiAnoia’s, Pane e Pronto, Coop de Ville. I feel so lucky to be right here.”

But life keeps evolving. Ruhe recently found love again and plans to move to the North Side later this year.

“I loved it here, and it kind of saved my life,” she says. “But I’m ready to move on.”

PENN AVENUE | PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

A Balancing Act

The Strip District has long been considered one of Pittsburgh’s most eclectic neighborhoods, a vibrant mix of cultures, businesses, and experiences. Today, that mix is more dynamic than ever.

Pamela Austin, president of Strip District Neighbors, says the biggest challenge is balancing the neighborhood’s rich history with ongoing growth. “We have a historic avenue shopping district that people love going to, and then we have all of these new things that are popping up,” she says. “The Terminal has created a completely different feeling on Smallman Street. And now we have tech companies coming in and so much more residential units being built out and people moving here — there’s a lot, a lot of different stakeholders to think about.”

One flashpoint in that evolution is the city’s intended redesign of Penn Avenue. The plan would reduce the one-way traffic to one lane and add a parking-protected bike lane between 22nd and 31st streets. Some local business owners have pushed back, launching a “Preserve the Strip” campaign urging city officials to reconsider.

Parking also has long been a challenge, and continued development and traffic changes mean it likely will be for years to come. Even so, Austin remains optimistic about the Strip’s future.

“Any time you’re adding residents around businesses, it’s good. That’s your lifeline,” she says. “But we also have people coming in from all over, just to find the cheese only Stamoolis sells. So there’s always that balance, too, between residents and visitors. We’re working to keep that harmony.”

But that balancing act sometimes leads to curious consequences, like two indoor mini golf bars (Puttshack and Puttery) opening within blocks of each other. Or two infrared sauna studios (MindFuel Method and Aura Sauna Studio) setting up shop right next door on Smallman Street.

That kind of overlap is something De Fer Coffee & Tea knows well. The café and roastery, which opened in 2017 on Smallman, has watched the coffee scene explode around them.

“We’re really close with quite a few of the other coffee shops that have opened in the Strip, and it’s been awesome,” says Owner Matt Marietti. “There’s a really tight-knit community here.”

DE FER COFFEE & TEA | PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Still, he’s also seen firsthand just how saturated the neighborhood is becoming. “Since we opened, I think we’ve counted 12 new spots with espresso machines within five blocks,” he says. “I’m a big believer in the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats, and the more people drinking specialty coffee, the better. But there’s probably a point where it’s too much. Maybe we’re starting to see that now.”

Past, Present and What’s Next

The Strip District has always been a place in motion.

“Back in the day, do you remember the old clubs? Like Metropol?” Catanzaro asks. “I’d come to work at 2 a.m. on a Saturday, drive down Smallman Street, and it was wall-to-wall people. The Strip, it used to be all produce people. Then it was the club crowd. Then retail. Now it’s apartments and tech. It’s always changing.”

He pauses and smiles.

“You know what it shows me? The Strip’s not going away. There’s always going to be action here.”

Emily Catalano is a writer and founder of Highly Social Media, a creative content agency. She also runs the website Good Food Pittsburgh.