Jennie Reyes and her shop AZ Home Details throw open the doors on Seventh Avenue with an unmistakable warmth, serving up seasonal goodies for residents, employees and visitors.
23%
growth of Downtown’s residential population since 2019
6
open days per week during the holiday season
20
local artisans and makers sourced for small-batch collections
Amid the rise of stately government buildings and the whoosh of buses on Seventh Avenue, AZ Home Details is a welcoming embrace. Warmed by a curated collection of home goods and handmade gifts, downtown’s newest storefront fills a niche for residents looking to accent their homes, workers seeking a special gift to give, and visitors shopping for mementos of their trip to Pittsburgh.
AZ Home Details opened in September, with a grand opening event that included Filipino dancers and Filipino appetizers in homage to owner Jennie Zoe Mater-Reyes’ roots in the Philippines.
“It brings me close to home,” Reyes says, adding that she moved to the United States from the tropical climate of the Philippines 25 years ago. “It gives you warmth, especially in the cold weather.”
Key to AZ Home Details is Reyes’ upbringing surrounded by makers and merchants. Her family has been exporting products from the Philippines since 1972; today, Reyes sells colorful Filipino Christmas lanterns and apparel made of shell at her downtown Pittsburgh store as a nod to her heritage. Placemats, trivets and flower arrangements on the salesfloor are hand-crafted by Reyes herself using traditional weaving techniques. Even the name of the store honors her parents, Alfredo and Zenaida.
Beyond the imports, Reyes sources goods like purses, clothing, housewares, kitchen items, and ornaments from local vendors and artisans. With a changing room and a nook in the back offering a collection of sweaters, dresses, and tote bags, AZ Home Details is larger than it looks from the outside and offers a comfortable browsing experience. The merchandise assortment feels fresh and of-the-moment, the prices are reasonable, and the overall vibe is cheerful, yet elevated.
“This is a really big opportunity for someone like me,” says Reyes, adding that she originally opened a store in Mt. Pleasant before branching out to sell products at pop-ups such as Markets at the Terminal in the Strip District and the Night Market events hosted by Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP). That’s how she connected with Project Pop-up, a PDP initiative that offers grants to entrepreneurs who want to launch a pop-up retail shop in a vacant downtown storefront.
Selected participants can occupy and transform these spaces for up to 12 months, contributing to a more vibrant and dynamic street-level experience in the heart of the city. Supported by downtown property owners and the Hillman Foundation, Project Pop-Up aims to turn vacant storefronts into thriving, activated spaces. At the corner of Seventh Avenue and William Penn Place, AZ Home Details occupies the space of the former Pittsburgh Career Institute.
In the past year, Project Pop-up retailers including PAIR Charcuterie and The Refillery have opened new shops catering to neighborhood residents while keeping their eyes fixed on the shopping habits of downtown visitors and employees.
Lately, Reyes says she sees AZ Home Details offering an additional function beyond retail therapy: the midday pick-me-up. Reyes recalls a shopper who happened upon the store by happy accident. The woman admitted to having a tough day at work and started reading the quirky sayings on the tea towels and wall décor inside the shop. The browsing brightened her day, and Reyes says it reinforced her view that she’s offering something special to the downtown landscape.
“I walk through the neighborhood, and there is not much of a gift shop that’s the same as the product that I’m offering,” Reyes says. “What I have here is me.”
