Mancini's Bread Company and Prantl's Bakery

Pittsburgh bakeries Prantl's and Mancini's make it permanent

Two Pittsburgh bakeries’ joint venture now has a new permanent home near the city's Market Square.

Prantl’s Bakery, a landmark in the city's Shadyside neighborhood, and Mancini’s Bread Company, based in the city's Strip District and affiliated with long-time McKees Rocks mainstay Mancini’s Bakery, have reopened at 438/440 Market Street, just around the corner from the former Jenny Lee Bakery spot in which the two Pittsburgh bakeries first joined forces in Market Square in September of 2008.

The location is in the newly renovated Buhl building on a street that extends between the new Three PNC Plaza, with the Fairmont Hotel, and Market Square, which is expected to reopen under a newly renovated piazza design this summer.

The owners of both bakeries, which started in the former Jenny Lee space operating under short-term leases because of the risk, are declaring the joint venture a success, signing a five-year lease that comes with three five-year extensions.

“We hope to welcome lots of visitors walking from the Cultural District through Market Square towards PPG Place,” said Lara Bruhn, co-owner of Prantl’s Bakery.

Nick Mancini Hartner, owner of Mancini’s Bread Company and a third generation baker, is looking forward to the completion of the construction in and around Market Square so their businesses can reach their full potential.

“Our loyal customers have stuck with us through all the inconvenience, but the result will be a beautiful destination for those who live and work downtown as well as the increasing number of visitors coming to the city,” he said.

The two bakeries teamed up on a trial basis in 2008 expecting to complement each other with different product lines that catered to different customers at different times of the day. Prantl’s, best known for its burnt almond torte, focuses on sweets and pastries, catering more to a morning and evening crowd. Mancini’s attracts more of a lunch crowd with its pepperoni rolls, handmade Italian twist bread and other items.

The new location, although smaller, is better designed for their dual uses, with doors on each side corresponding to Mancini’s and Prantl’s counters and POS systems, said Bruhn,

“The experiment worked,” said Bruhn. “Our businesses are very complimentary. Customers come in for a Mancini’s lunch roll and grab a sweet treat, or they come in to pick up a Prantl’s cake for an office party and pick up some bread for dinner.”

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Tim Schooley

Prantl's, Mancini's opening joint store in Market Square

In a business environment that has burned plenty of independent bake shops to a crisp, the prospect of two local bakeries taking over a Market Square storefront left vacant by the closure of the 70-year-old Jenny Lee Bakery business might seem far-fetched.

But that is whats happening.

Two local baking icons Prantls Bakery, of Shadyside, and McKees Rocks-based Mancinis Bakery have reached an agreement to take over the former Jenny Lee location, where they plan to offer what each does best.

For Prantls, that means various desserts, including its signature burnt almond torte, muffins, cookies and other cakes. Mancinis will sell its well-known breads, along with its pepperoni rolls and an expanded selection of rolls filled with roast beef, turkey club, ham and cheese, and spinach and cheese, among other ingredients.

Lara Bruhn, an owner of Prantls, and Nick Mancini Hartner, an owner of Mancinis, said they saw too much financial risk to take on the location alone, but each saw the opportunity to reach a larger customer base of Downtown office workers and residents with product lines that complement one another.

It was made easier by the decision to do it together, Bruhn said. You take two Pittsburgh baking icons and put the best of both of them in (one store).

Mancini Hartner, who is a cousin of the Baker family that operated Jenny Lee, plans to target a lunch trade, while Prantls expects to do more morning and evening business. I think its going to have a lot of synergistic affects, he said. Were going to create new customers for each of us. Prantls has been an institution on Walnut Street in Shadyside for more than 40 years. Its new owners bought the business in 2006. Mancinis started in 1926, selling its well-known breads wholesale from its McKees Rocks bakery.

It is the kind of local flavor that Nick Nicholas, owner of the property, said he was looking for.

We want Pittsburgh traditional business down there. Hopefully this will be the beginning of some more, said Nicholas, who also operates Nicholas Coffee Co. in Market Square. Nicholas helped to bring the two bakeries together, offering a shorter-term lease in acknowledgement of the risk. Ken Zeff, owner of Crazy Mocha Coffee Co., which operates a shop in Market Square, said demand in Market Square is strong and that chains such as Moes Southwest Grill and Dunkin Donuts, which have new locations there, are finding that out. Its a shame that the whole square isnt (local) because its unique to the city and it?s the heritage of Downtown, Zeff said. The more locals have the opportunity to go in there, the better it can be for everybody.

tschooley@bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3826

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