Oakland gets a few new eateries

Oakland got a lot sweeter this summer.

With the opening of a Dunkin’ Donuts on Forbes… Oakland got a lot sweeter this summer.

With the opening of a Dunkin’ Donuts on Forbes Avenue and a Dozen Bake Shop on South Craig Street, students have more options to satisfy their sugar cravings.

The spiking local glucose levels seemed to raise one question: Whose cream will reign supreme?

In the blue corner, there’s the Dozen Bake Shop at 417 S. Craig St.

Manager Tanya Bielski-Braham said Dozen is Pittsburgh’s premiere cupcake shop, although it’s also famous for its rice crispy treats, pies and lunch fare. The bakery brings 32 cupcake varieties to our sugary bout.

In the orange corner, the newest Dunkin’ Donuts, located at 3907 Forbes Ave., will have the most seating of any Dunkin’ Donuts in the area.

The student-friendly restaurant has about 60 cushioned chairs, free Wi-Fi, a downstairs seating area called “the Panther Den” and a midnight closing time every day.

Robyn Frederick, vice president of marketing and operations for the Heartland Restaurant Group, said the restaurant might extend its hours around finals week and offer beverage deals in a “fuel for finals” program.

The new restaurant also features a fireplace, a small conference room, two flat-screen TVs and a garage door that gives the dining area an open-air environment.

Corrie Anderson, an applied developmental psychology grad student at Pitt, enjoyed her blueberry coffee and the feel of the restaurant on its opening day.

“I feel more likely to come to Dunkin’ Donuts vs. other chains because it seems happy and bright,” she said. “I like the open window. I’m sure it’ll be entertaining on a Friday night.”

On July 20, opening day, people waited outside the door to get their coffee and donuts. Stacked orange and yellow balloons alerted passersby that the store had finally opened.

The week before, the staff practiced making about 250 dozen donuts per day and gave them away to local businesses and offices. Countless people pulled on the store’s fuschia “D” door handle only to be denied doughy goodness.

Frederick said the store sold 300 dozen donuts, 500 cups of hot coffee and more than 600 iced beverages to about 1,800 guests on opening day.

Already a Pitt football and basketball sponsor, Dunkin’ Donuts wants to play a bigger role in the Pitt community, Frederick said.

The Oakland restaurant offers a special Pitt donut, which has white frosting and blue and yellow sprinkles. The donut is available every day, but the restaurant will have special promotions for Pitt fans on game days.

Pitt Athletics donated jerseys that Pitt basketball player Ashton Gibbs and Pitt running back Dion Lewis signed. The jerseys will be displayed in the restaurant.

Four more Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants will open around the city this year — in Pleasant Hills, West View, Greensburg and Downtown on Grant Street.

Dozen Bake Shop on Craig Street has also seen a recent and rapid expansion. The Oakland location is the store’s sixth, but like most of the other locations, baking will not take place there. All the cupcakes are made at the Lawrenceville location in the morning and shipped to the Dozen stores in Squirrel Hill, the South Side, Downtown and the Andy Warhol Museum.

Each day of the week, a different cupcake is on the menu, so manager Bielski-Braham said it’s hard to pick out a top seller.

She said Dozen wants to get more involved with the universities by offering fundraising and catering.

“We do great pies come Thanksgiving. We anticipate that faculty members will buy the pumpkin pies and cinnamon rolls,” she said. “Cosmo cupcakes and pina colada cupcakes would be really good for parties.”

Each day, the bake shops feature seven cupcakes — six regular and one vegan. They also offer two flavors daily: the vanilla vanilla cupcake and the milk chocolate. Some other flavors are key lime pie on Tuesdays, peanut butter cup on Thursdays and margarita on Fridays.

Oakland’s Dozen Bake Shop is scheduled to open Aug. 12 in the former location of Mark Anthony Beauty Bar.

Schenley Plaza: the place for smiles

Plans for the new Eat’n Park Hospitality Group restaurant — which will not be an Eat ’n Park — in Schenley Plaza are moving forward. The group has been going through the public process, clearing plans with the zoning board and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

Mark Broadhurst, director of concept development, said the company hopes to break ground on the grassy area close to Hillman Library in November and open in April or May.

“Our goal was to have as little impact on the plaza when it’s being used,” he said.

The late start in construction could be a gamble because if the construction workers don’t start in November, the company must wait until February or March to start building.

Broadhurst said the company has yet to choose a name for the restaurant. He anticipates the food will be primarily American bistro food that can be made quickly from scratch.

The restaurant will utilize a wood-burning oven and a rotisserie to prepare the food on the restaurant’s changing menu.

It will offer an on-the-go breakfast menu, as well as late-night dinner options with a beer and wine menu.

The restaurant design allows for about 140 seats inside, as well as a patio area for outdoor dining.