GREAT YOGLI MOGLI Here’s one more reason to stroll Uptown this spring. Yogli Mogli, a frozen yogurt store, will open this month in the Washington Road space formerly occupied by Ann Taylor for the Bride. Owner Brian Hall, who moved back to his native Pittsburgh three years ago when he retired from the Air Force, lives in the Hoodridge area with his wife, Ellie, and daughter, Sarah Johnson, a Mt. Lebanon High School senior (two other children are grown).
It’s a change of pace for Hall, who also is a partner in a leadership development and consulting firm based in Colorado Springs, where he formerly lived. He’s excited about the store, which will feature 16 flavors of probiotic self-serve yogurt, including kosher, nonfat and sugarless, and offer 45 toppings.
[1]Thanks perhaps to inside info from his daughter, Hall notes that there aren’t many local places for teens to hang out. So he’ll welcome them at Yogli Mogli in the cozy back of the store that will offer soft seating, a big screen TV with Wii and events such as occasional open mike nights.
There also will be a special room for younger kids’ birthday parties, Hall says.
Cafe Nikki Dee has now closed.
CAFE NIKKI DEE Denise Beloncis and Nikki Short met as managers at Starbucks but thought it would be great to use their years of food service experience to open their own place. Now, their Nikki Dee Cafe is open in the Executive Building, 615 Washington Road, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We are very excited,” says Beloncis, a lifelong South Hills resident, who knew the Washington Road spot was right for a new business the minute she saw it.
The cafe has seating for 35 and also offers catering and takeout.
[2]The menu, which you can see online at nikkideecafe.com [3], includes signature breakfast and lunch sandwiches, traditional breakfast fare and creative meals, like the “weedeater,” a healthy vegetarian sandwich with a side of hummus in a whole wheat wrap. Another feature is the Nikki Dee sandwich: a toasted baguette with mozzarella, provolone and pepperoni topped with marinara sauce. Salads and soups, plus unusual dishes, like cheese-filled blintzes, round out the menu. Details online, on Facebook, or call 412-668-0079.