Pizza shop celebrating new McCandless location, half of grand opening proceeds to benefit breast cancer research
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A McCandless pizza shop is celebrating the grand opening of its new location by donating half of its grand opening day proceeds to a local nonprofit supporting breast cancer research.
Large Plain Pizza and Pints — formerly known as Large Plain Pizza — is celebrating the opening of its new Duncan Avenue site on Friday, July 22.
Half of the proceeds that day will benefit A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, a Western Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that supports local cancer research.
“I wanted to do something special for the grand opening, so I figured we would do some fundraising,” owner Paul Powell said. “We picked a cancer foundation, because my mother died of breast cancer in 2009.”
The grand opening date coincides with his mother’s birthday.
Powell said his mother, Wendy Powell, had given him a loan to help him launch his initial pizza shop in 2008.
“She helped me get started,” he said.
Powell said it felt good to now use his business to help support others going through similar struggles.
“It’s nice to be able to help others — to have people help you a little, and then you turn around and help others,” Powell said.
Powell first opened Large Plain Pizza on Babcock Boulevard, but wanted to relocate to the new Duncan Avenue location for a larger setup. He purchased the former Luciano’s Pizza property — a step up from renting his prior location, he said — and got a liquor license so he can sell alcohol.
The pizza shop offers dine-in, carry-out and delivery.
Their menu now includes local craft beers, Powell said.
He said the restaurant is going to “stick with the local Pittsburgh theme” including black and gold decorations and Pittsburgh sports memorabilia.
His favorite pizza on the menu also keeps with the Pittsburgh theme, he said. It’s the black and gold pizza, which is topped with cheddar cheese, barbeque sauce and pulled pork.
A graduate of Shaler High School, Powell grew up in the North Hills. He also attended the University of Pittsburgh.
Powell said he hopes people will feel at home having pizza at the new location.
“We’re usually pretty good for starting up a conversation,” he said. “We try to treat everybody the way we want to be treated.”