Retail shops, community centers and yoga studios can be found readily enough on their own around the area, but The Center of Harmony's owners are taking those concepts and sticking them all under one roof. Add to that a location inside a century-old building within the heart of Historic Harmony, and you’ve got a rare combination. “There’s really not anything else like this in the Pittsburgh area,” said Dana Lowers. Along with Josh Meeder, Lowers is cofounder of The Center of Harmony, a onetime opera house on Mercer Street built in the 1880s that has been reconfigured to house a variety of …

Two summers ago, Don Haefner operated a temporary concession stand at the corner of Rowan Road and Route 19 selling his brand of authentic smoked barbecue. The stand was a hit, but Haefner wasn’t able to set up shop near the highway last summer because of work commitments, said Shawn Bittel, his nephew. “It has been a passion of Don’s,” Bittel said of his uncle’s barbecue. Now it’s a business. On Saturday, Pork-n 'Nat will hold its grand opening at the former El Sombrero location on Rowan Road in Cranberry. Haefner, a Cranberry resident, smokes the barbecue, Bittel is executive chef and …

Sometimes it seems as though there’s just not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that needs to be accomplished. Allison Beresnyak, Denise Richards and Jennifer Sikora know the feeling. The multi-tasking moms and neighbors from Seven Fields have been there. Now they’re lending their time to others in similar situations. In July, the women, who have children about the same age attending Rowan Elementary School, launched 48 Hour Day, a personal assistant service. Besides the usual running of errands, grocery shopping and pet-sitting, the women's business offers holiday decorating, …

From dance classes to their choice of college and even living arrangements, sisters Jessica Bajoras and Jamie Malinowski have taken on many of life’s milestones together. Now that includes owning a business. “We always wanted to open something together,” Malinowski said. On Sept. 27, the Penn State grads and former roommates opened Prima Yoga on Route 19 in Cranberry, fulfilling their dream not only of working in business with each other but also of being their own bosses. “It’s something we love to do, so it doesn’t feel like work,” Bajoras said. Prior to operating the studio, which …

Even when times are tough, people need birthday presents. That was Mary Elwell’s thought when she started formulating the idea for her shop, Plumberry Gifts in Cranberry Township. Elwell is one of a growing number of entrepreneurial women who have opened local businesses, despite the troubled economy. Pine businesswoman Sharon Scheidemantle, a real estate broker with ACHIEVE Realty who specializes in finding business locations for entrepreneurs as well as residential properties, said that she has helped several women find “the perfect” spot for their new ventures. “Many people don’t even know…