RENDERING COURTESY OF ROTHSCHILD DOYNO COLLABORATIVE

Sharpsburg has long been considered a food desert, but that’s about to change.

In early 2026, Harvest on Main Community Market will open in the former Brother Tom’s Bakery at 808 Main St.

Bonnie DeMotte, executive director of Second Harvest, the nonprofit organization that also runs a community thrift store in Sharpsburg, says the new initiative is to give residents a neighborhood grocery store (currently, the nearest one is 2 miles away) and provide access to fresh, healthy, affordable food to all Pittsburghers.

Harvest on Main will be a nonprofit, full-service, small-scale grocery store with a deli and a bakery. Prepared foods will be made by an in-house chef.

Overstocked items and unsold, perishable goods will go directly to Second Harvest’s Community Free Fridge, located outside of the thrift store at 624 Clay St. It’s open to anyone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is stocked with fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, dairy, pet food and personal hygiene items.

Second Harvest purchased the 3,000-square-foot building last May and hired Strip District-based Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, the firm that designed the thrift store, to tackle the renovations.

DeMotte says folks can expect a bright, clean, modern and organized shop that will also serve as a community hub where people can make meaningful connections the way they did at Brother Tom’s. Due to an illness, Brother Tom Hartman decided to close the bakery, deli and eatery last year.

Local artists’ work will also be part of the new space. A local maker is working on a design that will be printed on Harvest on Main’s reusable tote bags.

The market is already fully staffed and they’re starting to get their initial inventory and select recipes for prepared foods. Although there is no parking lot, Second Harvest is working with the borough to dedicate two spots outside the store from 4 to 6 p.m. each day.

Harvest on Main plans to accept SNAP and Food Bucks, part of Allegheny County’s Fresh Access program that gives food stamp shoppers an extra $2 to spend on fruits and veggies for every $5 they spend.

DeMotte says the best way to support the market is to shop there.

“The phrase I keep going back to, she says, is ‘Buy local or bye, local.’”