Feeling bleu
Seckin Ablak is going from pies to cakes.
Ablak, owner of Vocelli Pizza in downtown Washington, is renovating the back end of his store to accommodate a second business – a crepes shop he hopes to open by July 1.
A soccer aficionado, he is naming it Le Bleu Crepes, after the French national men’s team, Le Bleus. It will take up about one-fourth of the building at 192 S. Main St., on the corner with East Maiden Street, and will specialize in crepes, breakfast/dessert items defined as thin, light, delicate pancakes.
“This is something that I think people will enjoy,” said Ablak, whose first name is pronounced “Setch-kin.”
“This is a good location for this. There is so much traffic in this area, and there are so many activities.”
Ablak is devoting about 500 square feet to Le Bleu Crepes — the section to the right for anyone looking at the building from East Maiden. He said he is renovating part of a storage area he is not using for the pizza operation.
He plans to have a window, with an awning above, where customers will place and receive orders, a la Rita’s Italian Ice. Blueprints also call for a wall against the hill near the back; tables and a flower bed adjacent to that area; and a concrete pad in front of the window where people, not cars, can congregate, converse and nosh.
Crepes won’t be the only item available, but Ablak said last week he is still pondering other offerings. “I may try gourmet coffees and specialty teas. I’m not sure of the demand for espresso and such, but we see what people want.”
A North Strabane Township resident, Ablak is the owner of four Vocelli’s; the others are in Canonsburg, Peters Township and Weirton, W.Va. He is an Upper St. Clair High School graduate who has three children in Canon-McMillan schools and is involved in local youth soccer.
He said Le Bleu Crepes will be open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Cookware shoppers are about to have their mettle tested.
All-Clad Metalcrafters will have its semiannual factory outlet sale Friday and Saturday at Washington County Fairgounds, Chartiers Township. Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Customers can save 30 to 70 percent on pots, pans, spatulas and other items. New stock is supposed to be displayed daily.
All-Clad, headquartered in Cecil Township, was founded in 1967. For more information, go to all-clad.com or call 724-225-9498.
Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services has a significant presence in Southpointe. It leases and manages 700 square feet in Southpointe I and is building two 100,000-square-foot office buildings in Southpointe II.
The Green Tree-based firm also had a significant presence at the annual Society of Industrial and Office Realtors awards luncheon May 15. It won three awards, two of them for a Southpointe project: Ansys Campus/Ansys Inc. – Lease of the Year and Build-to-suit of the Year. It also won Land Sale of the Year for Cranberry Business Park, Principo Advisors, LLC.
Veronica Coptis grew up with coal. Now she is working for the Center for Coalfield Justice.
Coptis, of Carmichaels, is a community organizer for the watchdog organization based on South Main Street in Washington. She is a lifelong Greene County resident who graduated from West Virginia University.
She previously worked as a community organizer for Mountain Watershed Association, and was a volunteer for Coalfield Justice through AmeriCorps Coptis and served on CCJ’s board of directors.
Rick Shrum is a business reporter for the Observer- Reporter.