Starting Friday, Ross Park Mall patrons can head to Threadbare Cider & Mead’s tasting room when they need a break from bargain-hunting.
The North Side-based business, a sister company to Wigle Whiskey, opened in 2017. At the new tasting room, it will sell its wine-style alcoholic ciders and mead in flights and by the bottle.
The 1,500-square-foot space is located next door to Wigle Whiskey’s bar, where Threadbare products are also available by the glass. Although connected by a doorway, the two spots have their own mall entrances.
Patrons at Threadbare can stand and sip at tasting bars until comfy seating arrives in the coming weeks. (Don’t worry holiday shoppers: you’ll have seats by the time Black Friday gets here.)
The addition of yet another tasting room is in keeping with Ross Park Mall’s evolution from a retail hub to a mix of retail and entertainment spaces. Les Morris, director of corporate public relations for Simon Property Group (Ross Park Mall’s owners), told NEXTpittsburgh last spring that the company is focused on adding “experiential entertainment components” to their properties in response to changing shopping tastes.
“We are thrilled to provide cider and mead lovers another way to get a hold of our local products, and just in the nick of time for holiday shopping season,” says co-owner Meredith Meyer Grelli, a North Hills native.
To celebrate its opening weekend, Threadbare will offer complimentary pours of cider and $2-off bottles of cider at its Ross Park Mall tasting room — and also at their cider house on Spring Garden Avenue.
To make its ciders, Threadbare ferments a variety of flavors from regional apples, pears, berries and honey.
Made from regional apples, pears, berries and honey, Threadbare ferments a variety of flavors. In May, it racked up nearly a dozen awards at the Great Lakes International Cider & Perry Competition, including a best-in-class medal for its Rose Cider.
Threadbare tells us they’re the 14th most awarded cider company in the world.
