Pittsburgh Cafe Serves Much More Than Coffee

PITTSBURGH, PA — Dasawn Gray operates a Hazelwood coffee shop but he insists it's much more than that.

"We try to be a community hub," Gray, 23, told Patch of The Hazelwood Care on Second Avenue. "We try to be a community asset."

The cafe walls are adorned with paintings by local high school students that are for sale. When they are purchased, the student who created it gets 100 percent of the money.

The cafe also has frequent open microphone nights, paint and sip days and special events for various holidays. The shop has pastries and sandwiches for sale as well.

A former truck driver and soy candle maker, Gray received the assistance of the U.S. Small Business Administration to transform what had been a closed street-corner shop into a now-thriving operation. He now runs one in which people can relax, sip java, browse artwork and relax in a pleasant neighborhood environment.

Gray locally sources the sauces and milks and also makes his own tea blends. He hopes to do the same with coffee and name the various flavors after Hazelwood streets.

"We work a lot of hours here, but it's worth it from a community standpoint," he told Patch. "The people who come in here support each other."