Carrick Community Council

🌱 CARRICK, DON’T THROW AWAY NEXT YEAR’S FLOWERS.

Look around your garden before you clean it out this fall.

Those dried up flowers you’re about to cut down?

They’re holding next year’s Carrick. 🌻

Right now, all across our neighborhood, thousands upon thousands of seeds are sitting in gardens, flower beds and yards.

And most of them are about to be thrown away.

What if we saved them instead?

What if Carrick collected seeds this fall, shared them with one another, and next spring we started planting?

Not just on Brownsville Road.

On our streets. On our blocks. In our yards. In planters. In adopted spaces. In those little forgotten corners that could use some love.

A handful from my garden.
A handful from yours.
Some passed to the neighbor down the street.

Suddenly, something that costs us almost nothing could produce thousands of flowers throughout Carrick.

🌸 That is something every single one of us can be part of.

You don't have to sit on a board.
You don't need a grant.
You don't need hundreds of dollars.

You need a few seeds and a little piece of Carrick you're willing to care about.

And please follow Gardeners of Carrick. Our own neighborhood gardeners already share knowledge and hold seed swaps, exactly the kind of neighbor-to-neighbor sharing that can make an idea like this grow.

Save what you have. Swap what you don't need. Share with someone who doesn't have a garden yet.

Then when spring comes, let's see what happens when an entire neighborhood plants together.

There is a reason I keep coming back to this...

“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed…”
— Matthew 17:20 🌱

A seed is tiny.

So is picking up one piece of litter.
Planting one flower.
Taking care of one planter.
Cleaning one block.
Getting one neighbor involved.

None of those things seems big enough to change a neighborhood.

Until hundreds of us do them together.

Bloom on Brownsville may have started on one corridor, but the spirit of it belongs on every block in Carrick.

So before you toss those dried flowers this fall...

SAVE THE SEEDS.

Put them in an envelope. Write the flower name on it. Keep them dry.

Because next spring, we're going to need them. 😉

🌱 One seed. One neighbor. One block at a time.
🌻 Let’s Bloom Carrick.

Spring Carrick starts now.

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🍂 OCTOBER 2026

CARRICK BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

HOME NEVER LEAVES YOU

Just One More Saloon🍺

One Brownsville Road bar. Generations of Carrick roots. A neighborhood that still feels like home.

📍 1613 Brownsville Road • Carrick

Long before Richard Warnock ever owned a bar on Brownsville Road, 1613 Brownsville Road was already part of his Carrick story.

A bar has occupied the address since his father, Rick Warnock Sr., was a kid growing up in the neighborhood. Rick Sr. was raised on East Meyers Street before buying a home on West Meyers, the same part of Carrick where Richard would later grow up.

Richard’s mother was not originally from Carrick, but she made a life here too, raising Richard alongside his father in the neighborhood. Rick Sr. is still here today along side his mother Marcy.

“He never left,” Richard says of his dad.

Richard eventually did move, settling in Jefferson Hills. But there are some places you leave without ever really leaving behind.

For him, Carrick is one of them.

His memories are not grand ones. They are better than that. They are family dinners at Anthony’s Pizza, nights at the St. Basil carnival, familiar streets and the people who made those streets feel like home.

“Carrick is home. Even after moving away, it’s still home. It’s a great neighborhood with great people.”

Years later, that connection would bring Richard back to Brownsville Road in a different way.

He had already owned other bars when the owner of the saloon at 1613 Brownsville approached him about buying it. Richard wasn’t looking for another one.

Then he thought...

What’s just one more?

And with that, Just One More Saloon had its name.

Richard has now owned the business for six years.

There is no attempt to make Just One More something it is not. It is a neighborhood saloon in the most traditional sense, unpretentious, affordable and built around the people who walk through its doors. Richard proudly points to some of the cheapest drinks on Brownsville Road, but price is not what he talks about most when he talks about the bar.

He talks about the people.

The regulars. The friendships. The familiar faces who came through often enough that they became part of the place, and the ones who are no longer here.

“I’ve met some great people here. Some who have passed on. Owning the bar makes me feel connected to them still.”

That is the part of neighborhood businesses that rarely shows up on a sign.

From the sidewalk, a bar is a building. Inside, years accumulate. Someone has a usual seat. Someone tells the same story every Friday. Someone walks through the door often enough that eventually their absence is noticed.

Those are the things Richard remembers.

And just as he has watched people come and go, he has watched Carrick change around him.

He is candid about seeing decline in the neighborhood over the years. But he is equally interested in what is happening now, what he describes as Carrick’s rebound and what the neighborhood is becoming.

His hopes are straightforward: more small businesses filling Brownsville Road storefronts, less blight, and more people taking pride in the place where they live.

That same belief in neighborhood support is something he sees every day in the neighborhood.

“Without the regulars and the people who support the business, there is no business.”

And for anyone who has passed 1613 Brownsville Road a hundred times but never stepped inside, Richard has a simple message:

“Don’t judge a book by its cover. Come on in.”

There is something fitting about that invitation.

Carrick itself has often been judged from the outside. Yet behind the storefronts and front doors are generations of families, memories, businesses and people who continue to choose this neighborhood.

Richard is one of them.

His favorite saying is:

“Success is never owned. It’s rented. And rent is due every day.”

But perhaps the simplest thing he said tells his story best.

Asked to finish the sentence “Carrick will always be ____ to me,” Richard filled in one word

HOME.

His father grew up here. His mother helped raise him here. Richard grew up here. And today, while his father still calls Carrick home, another piece of the family’s story continues at Just One More Saloon on Brownsville Road.

Because you can change addresses.

You can watch a neighborhood change around you.

You can even move away.

But home never leaves you.

🍺 JUST ONE MORE SALOON
📍 1613 Brownsville Road • Carrick
💚

🌼 BLOOM ON BROWNSVILLE ~ SIGNS OF WHAT’S NEXT 🌼

There is something quietly powerful about seeing fresh yellow mums appear in front of a property with plans for the future.

At 1532 Brownsville Road, these planters are more than decoration.

They are a signal.

A signal that the property is being looked at with fresh eyes. That someone is thinking beyond what is there today. That care can begin before construction does, before the ribbon cutting, before the big reveal.

That is what Bloom on Brownsville has always been about.

Not pretending flowers fix everything.

Not waiting for every building to be restored before we begin.

But creating visible signs of care now, while the bigger work is still taking shape.

Because when a corridor has been through years of disinvestment, even small acts of attention matter.

They change what people notice.

They change how a block feels.

They remind us that a property can have a next chapter.

And this is not the first time Kelly Hogle has stepped up.

Kelly was one of the first people to join in with Bloom on Brownsville, adding planters along the corridor and helping carry the idea beyond one location. Now, seeing that same touch appear again at 1532 feels like something bigger than flowers.

It feels like consistency.

Like belief.

Like someone continuing to put time, resources, and care into Carrick even when much of that work happens quietly behind the scenes.

That deserves to be recognized.

Thank you, Kelly, for continuing to invest in this neighborhood and for helping show what it looks like when people do not wait for Carrick to become something better before they start treating it like it matters.

That is how change begins.

One planter.

One property.

One person willing to believe a little earlier than everyone else.

Carrick has spent enough time talking about what used to be here.

Now is the time to start noticing what is beginning to grow.

Today, 1532 Brownsville Road is blooming.

And we have a feeling this is only the beginning. 💛🌼

Back after a couple years away, community favorite José Quiroz Farm will be at the market all of October.

Come by tomorrow to say hi and peruse their large produce selection.

Purus Pantry and Jodikinos Family Farms will also be there along with all the partner vendors of the CCC:

Third Space Bakery - Sourdough bread
Catalpa Lane Farm, llc - Beef cuts
Hilltop Urban Farm - St. Clair produce
Bee Boy Honey - St. Clair honey
Spirited Extracts - Whitehall vanilla extract

Volunteer opportunity with Friends of Phillips Park this Saturday 10am-12pm!

🍂✨ BLOOM ON BROWNSVILLE ~ BLOOMING FROM THE INSIDE OUT ✨🍂

Some storefronts decorate for the season.

Teresa's Shear Design, turns the whole window into a tradition.

Year after year, Teresa’s brings color, warmth, personality, and a little bit of magic to Brownsville Road. This fall display is another beautiful example 🎃 pumpkins across the window, scarecrows tucked into the scene, autumn flowers, glowing lights, and the kind of care you notice before you ever step through the door.

And this isn’t new.

Teresa’s has long understood that a storefront can do more than advertise a business. It can help shape how an entire street feels.

We’ve featured Teresa’s before in our Carrick Business Spotlight, and it’s easy to see why this longtime business means so much to the neighborhood. It isn’t only the years behind the chair, the loyal customers, or the history here. It’s the way this storefront continues to show up for Carrick ~ season after season.

And when the weather doesn’t exactly cooperate with blooming outside, Teresa’s reminds us that Brownsville Road can still bloom from the inside out.

Through the window, you see flowers, color, seasonal touches, creativity, and warmth. During the day, it adds charm to the block. At night, the lighting around the window gives the whole storefront a glow.

That glow matters.

It adds life after dark. It makes the street feel warmer and more welcoming. It tells everyone passing by that this space is loved, cared for, and still creating something beautiful here.

That is Bloom on Brownsville too.

Blooming doesn’t always have to mean a planter on the sidewalk. Sometimes it’s a window full of flowers in the colder months. Sometimes it’s lights glowing on a dark evening. Sometimes it’s simply refusing to let a gray season make the neighborhood feel gray.

When we can’t bloom outside, we can still bloom inside.

And Teresa certainly knows how to do that.

Since Carrick Community Council began its Christmas decorating contest in 2023, Teresa’s Shear Designs has held onto the trophy, and it still sits proudly inside the shop. 🏆

To Teresa and everyone at Teresa’s Shear Designs, thank you for continuing to decorate, create, care, and give Carrick something beautiful to look forward to.

And to the rest of Carrick’s businesses…

Teresa has had that trophy since day one. We would LOVE to see someone give her a run for her money this year. 👀😂🏆

Carrick Community Night, the new format for our public meetings, worked out really well. Thank you to all who made it out to give their voice to community matters.

Join us for our next Carrick Community Night on November 17. Free dinner is served at 5:30 and the meeting starts at 6:00.

Thank you again to Jessica Benham, Anthony Coghill and Jay Costa for their generous donations, giving all attendees to enjoy the delicious food from Rincon Oaxaqueno.

Some topics that were covered:

Short Updates
Carrick Strategic Plan
Berg Place
Pittsburgh Water New Debt Forgiveness Program

Breakout Groups
Brownsville Commercial District Improvement
Love Your Block Site Design
Farmers Market Feedback

Offers/Requests/Declarations
Monica: of Carrick Club - Follow the Facebook Group for next library meet up date

Anna: Carrick Halloween Party Saturday - October 24th 1-3 pm at Phillips Rec Center

Imma: Clean Carrick Friday Group - Meet at 9 am at the Shopping Center; supplies provided

Becky: Love Carrick Food Distribution - 1st Saturday of every month at the Love Carrick Pavilion

Thomas: Last PGH 2050 Meeting at West End HAL Center on September 23

Housing Resource Fair October 14 9a-4p at the Commonwealth Charter Academy in Homestead!

The One Roof Housing Resource Fair is in just over two and half weeks! We have a terrific line-up of agencies joining us to help all of us find new opportunities to make our housing more affordable!

We're looking forward to seeing you at the Commonwealth Charter Academy in Homestead, Wednesday October 14, 9a-4p!

✨ Sometimes a neighborhood begins to change when someone decides to turn the lights back on.

At night, Old Soul Furniture and Decor gives Brownsville Road a different kind of glow. Warm lighting spills through the windows. Seasonal details catch your eye. Every display feels thoughtful, intentional, and cared for.

And there is something especially fitting about where it is happening.

Beth has brought Old Soul into the former Carrick Hardware building ~ taking a longtime Carrick storefront and giving it another chapter. She restores old furniture for a living, finding beauty and possibility in pieces others might overlook. In many ways, she is doing the same thing here.

Beautification does not always bloom from the ground. Sometimes it shines through a window.

It can be the lights left glowing after dark. A carefully dressed storefront. A freshly cleaned entrance. A restored building. Someone deciding that their little piece of the neighborhood deserves to feel beautiful.

Those choices matter.

They change what people see when they drive down Brownsville Road. They change how a block feels when someone walks past at night. And they quietly send a message:

Someone is here.
Someone cares.
Someone still sees possibility in Carrick.

That is what Bloom on Brownsville is really about. Not just flowers ~ but pride made visible.

To Beth, and to every business and property owner who cleans, paints, plants, decorates, restores, lights up, and cares for their space, thank you.

When enough people care for one storefront, one building, one planter, one block at a time, a corridor begins to feel different.

Keep the lights on. Keep the pride visible. Let people see that Brownsville Road has a future. 💚✨