Candle-Making Business Is the Latest Pop-Up to Join Downtown Revitalization Effort

PGH CANDLE’S FLAGSHIP STORE IN THE NORTH SIDE IN 2022. | PHOTO FROM PITTSBURGH MAGAZINE ARCHIVE

With less than a month until the 2026 NFL Draft comes to Pittsburgh April 23-25, city officials continue to promote Project Pop Up, an effort that began in the summer to 2023 to fill blighted and vacant storefronts throughout Downtown. 

Now, as the city finds itself in the national spotlight, the quest to beautify its dormant retail vacancies has ramped up.

Last week, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced the newest addition to the project’s lineup: The Studio by PGH Candle, a hands-on candle-making experience and gift shop scheduled to open March 28 on Wood Street.

“We’re so excited to be part of Project Pop-Up and to bring something experiential and creative to downtown,” The Studio’s team says in a statement. “Having always admired the architectural and historical beauty of Pittsburgh, it’s a dream to call Wood Street our home. Spaces like this are part of what makes Downtown Pittsburgh so special, and we’re proud to bring new life into it.”

The Studio offers guests the opportunity to create their own custom candles during guided experiences at the shop’s centerpiece candle-making bar. Visitors can choose from a variety of fragrances and vessels while learning the process of pouring, decorating and caring for their own candles. The retail side of the shop will feature candles, gifts, stationery and home goods curated by PGH Candle.

PGH Candle has been selling its strong-scented, all-natural candles since 2016, and its flagship store opened at 39 Phineas Street in Pittsburgh’s North Side in December 2022. But the addition of a candlemaking bar is new, arriving with The Studio at the end of the month.

Downtown has seen a number of new businesses open so far this year, many of which are part of Project Pop-Up. Between the opening of the new small retailers and the city’s ongoing beautification effort, which has included the removal of 400 tons of trash so far, Pittsburgh is well on its way to accomplishing many of its pre-draft goals by April, officials say.

All of the effort will not go to waste. According to prior draft numbers, this year’s event is expected to generate between $120 million and $213 million in economic impact — something city officials hope will bolster its commitment to revitalization projects. 

Officials also hold firm that their commitment to beautifying and improving the city will not end once the Draft is over. Earlier this month, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a $3.32 million grant through the Neighborhood Assistance Program to help the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership revitalize the Golden Triangle over the next six years. 

“Here in Pittsburgh, reinvention isn’t some distant goal, we’re living it right now, ” Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, says in a press release. “Through strong public and private partnerships, we’re seeing real progress in the form of cleaner streets, active storefronts and stronger communities.”

The new candle-making shop is located within a historic building at 413–415 Wood Street, owned by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Its location, officials say, speaks to the hope for longevity and success for small businesses within the Central Business District.

“We are delighted to have PGH Candle, our newest tenant, in a historic building our organization has owned in Downtown since 2011,” says Michael Sriprasert, president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, in a statement. “The ornate four-story building located at 413–415 Wood Street is an institutional and traditional retail space, which housed the former J.R. Weldin Co. Stationery and gift store for the majority of the company’s 168 years of operation. We hope this marks the beginning of an equally long tenure for PGH Candle in this historic retail corridor.”

To celebrate opening day, every customer who visits the Studio on March 28th will receive a free gift valued at $20. All customers will also be entered for a chance to win a free candle-making party for up to 10 people. 

Reservations for the candle-making experience are encouraged and can be made at pghcandle.com. Walk-ins are always welcome during regular business hours, which are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon through 5 p.m. on Sunday.