PITTSBURGH — Ruckus Cafe is expanding from Shaler to downtown, inking a lease at 625 Liberty Ave., a space previously and colloquially referred to as EQT Plaza.
The cafe, co-owned by business partners Christine Rauktis and Daryl Kuczynski, serves up coffee, breakfast specials like waffles and avocado toast and lunches including paninis and salads. Rauktis said that the two “had been looking for a second location for about a year,” working with real estate firm JLL.
“The agent that we were working with said ‘I have a property that you might really want to look for, it’s been empty for a while so they’re really motivated’ and I said sure and here we are,” Rauktis said. “The key for us is to be somewhere where we’re needed. I don’t want to put my cafe next to another cafe or another coffee shop. From what we’ve heard and our own research is that downtown is really lacking in some of the things that we offer, so we think that will be key to success. It’s a really cool space, so that’s also a positive.”
Rauktis said that they hope to open the space this summer, likely in July or August. Ultimately, this will depend on permitting and build out time.
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