One of Pittsburgh’s favorite breakfast sandwich shops is back for another season.
Thyme Machine, the seasonal takeout spot in Bloomfield, is now open every Thursday through Sunday, serving up to-go breakfast favorites like bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, and assorted doughnuts from owner and head chef Ryan Chavara.
Thyme Machine first launched in the spring of 2021, working out of the space that formerly housed Bitter Ends Food, Becca Hegarty’s supremely-local luncheonette, where Chavara was working as head chef.
“At Bitter Ends, I was working with the best possible ingredients, and it was also very approachable, and, I thought, good for the neighborhood,” Chavara says. “During that time, I randomly bought a hot dog cart, and just put it in the garage for a few years and thought that one day I would do something with it. So, it was in storage… and then COVID hit.”
Bitter Ends was doing takeout only at that time, and, while on his way to work on day, Chavara got a craving
“I was driving around the East End, and I couldn’t find a breakfast sandwich. I was literally just driving around for like 20 minutes, and then I saw a sign for Dunkin Donuts on Liberty, and they had ‘chef-inspired sandwiches.’ So, I went in and got one, and took it back to Bitter Ends, and took one bite and was like, this is the worst thing I’ve ever eaten in my life,” he says. “And I just couldn’t get out of my head that I couldn’t find a good breakfast sandwich to go.”
And that was the beginning of Thyme Machine. It first launched as a joint project with Hegarty, but as other work took her away, Chavara became the sole owner. The plan, at first, was to do more than breakfast sandwiches, and have lunch pop-ups across the city. But, as the breakfast sandwiches took off in popularity, Chavara realized that giving people exactly what they wanted was a pretty solid business strategy.
“We sell out, roughly like 75% of the time, especially on weekends,” he says. “It’s always quite a scene on Saturdays and Sundays, and I wish I could do more, but I’m baking as much as I humanly can – and, of course, I want to keep things as fresh as possible.”
The menu is tight, with a handful of breakfast sandwiches, doughnuts and drinks available every week – and typically, lines along Liberty Avenue.
“The breakfast sandwiches and doughnuts are always going to be the bread and butter and the soul of the business. There are always going to be classics that I leave on, primarily the bacon, egg and cheese – that’s not going anywhere,” he says. “The Mortadella is such a staple now, I feel like I can never take that off.”
Chavara also says that there’s always going to be a vegetable option on the menu, mostly based off of what produce is available locally from Verona’s Coldco Farms (but, you can usually find a mushroom avocado sandwich), and the eggs from courtesy of Mickley Oragnic’s Howard Mickley (“Those are really the star of the sandwich,” Chavara says). And the bread? Thyme Machine’s homemade, perfectly-prepared soft bun has legions of fans across the city.
“When we were working on this concept together, I was telling Becca exactly what I wanted for the bun – I said, in my mind, I know that it’s kind of like a Kaiser. It’s kind of brioche, but it’s vegan. It’s crackly on the outside… and I’m just giving her all these crazy parameters for this vision that I had,” he says. “And the next day, I came back, and said, ‘I’ve made this trial batch based on what you told me,’ and I took one bite and I knew that this was it. It was amazing.”
And even though the season is busy, Chavara says that he’s excited to get back to work, and to see his regulars again.
“The nice thing about being on the street and being so face-to-face with my customers is that there’s so many that are friends now,” he says. “I know their dogs, they bring their babies by after they’re born. It’s so great to catch up with everyone every spring, and just see how their lives have been.”
Thyme Machine is open Thursdays and Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to noon, and Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Thyme Machine (4613 Liberty Avenue)
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