A new shop offering cheese and charcuterie boards, coffee, and community events, is now open downtown.
PAIR Charcuterie opened last month, serving beautifully-designed grazing boxes, meat and cheese boards, brunch boxes, and a full coffee bar (serving up their signature Sweet Potato Lattes).
The concept was created by Shaquala Swinton-Betts, who began running her Instagram-based charcuterie business in 2022.
“I started PAIR back as a way to really try to expose the people around me to new experiences and new foods,” she says. “I’m a Pittsburgh native, and grew up on the South Side, but I left to go to college – and I’ve been gone since.”
Swinton-Betts, whose full-time job is consulting with global financial institutions, was working in Portugal in 2020. When the pandemic began, she returned to the States, and decided to move back to her hometown to be closer to family.
“I thought it would be a short stay, but it ended up being for good,” she says. “It took a while, but I started to get into my groove here. I started having little events for the people around me, and started making charcuterie boards. And it just evolved into me making boards for parties, and then I took the leap to start selling them to the public.”
The business grew steadily, and PAIR began taking on more and more orders.
“I was trying to scale, and it became something that I couldn’t just do out of my house,” she says. “And I couldn’t find a commercial kitchen space that worked for me. So, I just decided to branch off and find my own location.”
Swinton-Betts connected with The Greenwood Plan, a Pittsburgh non-profit that supports the growth of Black businesses, and became the first tenant to sign at Greenwood Smithfield, located in the 200 block of Smithfield Street.
“Eventually, I would love for PAIR to be a space where other culinary creatives can come together and create, and really use it as a community gathering space,” she says. “Opening the shop is just the beginning of us partnering with other small business owners, especially women-owned businesses, and giving them a platform for their products.”
The shop will feature a full coffee menu, grab-and-go items and small bites, along with products from other local businesses, like Blis 23 Candle Co.
“We’re really catering to the lunch crowd, and we’ll have charcuterie and pastries, but a lot of convenient healthy food options,” she says.
The airy space includes a few tables, and garage windows that open up to Smithfield Street.
“It’s a really cool place to come and have a little charcutier, and a coffee,” she says. “And, we’re right downstairs from a co-working space, and so I think it will bring in a really interesting crowd.”
And if you stop by for a visit, Swinton-Betts, says, be sure to pick up a grazing box.
“Hands down, they’re my favorite thing,” she says. “The just give you a little taste of everything. It’s an opportunity to really try a few difference cheeses, and get exposure to something new – we’re always throwing something unique in there.”
PAIR also offers event catering, and grazing tables (starting at $250, with an unreal amount of meats, cheeses, and accompaniments), and the space can also be rented out for private events.
“We’re really passionate about bringing people together through food, and encouraging people to share their experiences,” says Swinton-Betts. “Come, check us out – and partner with us, too. We want to work with other Pittsburgh businesses. We love that we’re all going through this together.”
PAIR is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
PAIR (201 Smithfield Street)
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