Midtown Market opens in Canonsburg
Andrew Andronas was awake until 4 a.m. Friday. It wasn鈥檛 his mind working overtime.
He was.
Andronas was applying the proverbial final touches to Midtown Market ahead of its ribbon-cutting a little more than eight hours later at 48 W. Pike St. in downtown Canonsburg.
He was the driving force, and almost everything else, behind the development of this project featuring a mix of dining, retail shopping, an events center and the inclusion of duckpin bowling.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long 14 months,鈥� Andronas said, with a broad smile, of the building of this dream. 鈥淚t has taken an absolute volume of work. I was the developer, general contractor, leasing agent, you name it. But I feel great about this.鈥�
He was buoyant as well, despite a lack of shuteye. 鈥淚鈥檓 running off adrenaline now.鈥�
The Midtown Market is the latest addition to a revitalized downtown that continues to evolve. 鈥淭his is not the first new development on this street,鈥� said Andronas, a Canonsburg native who now resides in North Strabane Township. 鈥淲e鈥檙e cranking on all cylinders.鈥�
About 80 people appeared for the event, despite the frigid temperature, and got to stroll through the first floor of a revamped building that was once a locally iconic location. This was where McCrory鈥檚, a five- and 10-cent shop, operated for decades.
A hot dog shop and a soda shop, the latter also featuring ice cream, are on that floor. So is the train station for the Canonsburg Old Fashioned Christmas celebration, Dec. 5 and 6. Gary Phillips of McDonald runs the massive, colorful display, using a fraction of his trains.
The events center, which isn鈥檛 quite complete, will operate on the floor above.
Andronas鈥� AJA Co. was the developer of this project, which was serviced by Cuccaro Plumbing of Pittsburgh.
The ribbon-cutting was mercifully conducted indoors, during which five spoke glowingly of Midtown Market: Canonsburg mayor Dave Rhome; county Commissioner Larry Maggi; the borough鈥檚 director of development, Lisa Scarmazzi; Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce; and Andronas, who was accompanied by wife Dolly, daughter Christiana and son Frankie.
Kotula lauded Andronas and the Midtown Market endeavor, saying 鈥渢hey will be economic drivers in this region.鈥�
Following the gathering, Kotula said by telephone that he has known Andronas for a while and is impressed with him. 鈥淗e does have a style to make it happen,鈥� the chamber leader said.
鈥淎 lot of times when a project or an idea proves to be successful, it came from the mind of one individual. In this instance, Andrew had a vision to build not only in his hometown, but to invest in his hometown.鈥�
After working into early Friday, Andronas did scurry home to take a nap. Literally, a nap. He was up by 8. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know whether I鈥檇 fall down or be OK.鈥�
He will try to catch up on his sleep this weekend.