The long-vacant Rite Aid at Forbes and Murray avenues in Squirrel Hill has a new tenant lined up, and it's a full-service grocery store built around kosher offerings. Murray's Market has leased the space inside The Brandywine, the 52,000-square-foot building at 1700 Murray Avenue, filling what its developer calls one of the property's largest remaining vacancies.
The announcement comes from Brandywine Communities, a Pittsburgh-based real estate owner, developer, and property management company, which says the 12,000-square-foot grocery store will serve as the building's anchor tenant. According to azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic, the store will feature fresh produce, premium meats, baked goods, prepared foods, kosher grocery offerings, and household essentials. Owner Yitzchok Glassner described it as both a kosher market and a community grocery store open to everyone.
The Rite Aid that previously occupied the space shut its doors on June 25, 2025, one of hundreds of Pennsylvania closures tied to the pharmacy chain's Chapter 11 bankruptcy liquidation, as Patch reported at the time. The building itself, now branded The Brandywine, was originally redeveloped out of a former gas station by ex-Rite Aid real estate executive Craig Cozza, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times. That outlet also reports the new grocery store is expected to employ roughly 10 full-time and part-time workers once it opens, helping replace some of the retail jobs lost when Rite Aid pulled out.
Zoning Board Sets the Rules for the New Store
Pittsburgh's Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a special exception on July 20, 2026, allowing the space to operate as a grocery store, according to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. The six-page decision sets operating hours between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., caps customer seating at 10, requires 23 on-site parking spaces, and lays out specific waste and ventilation standards. Those conditions cleared a key municipal hurdle standing between the property and its commercial conversion.
Per the same account, all prepared foods and deli offerings at Murray's Market will be certified kosher under the supervision of the Vaad Harabonim of Pittsburgh, even though the store itself will operate as an open community grocery rather than a fully certified kosher facility. Glassner has also said he's marketing the store to halal community members given the shared dietary standards, alongside the broader non-kosher population in the neighborhood.
A Montreal Transplant Building for a Jewish Stronghold
Glassner, a Montreal native with a background in close-out retail and food distribution, moved to Pittsburgh after marrying into a local family with long-standing merchant roots in Squirrel Hill, the Jewish Chronicle's reporting notes. His plans for Murray's Market include a kosher deli, fresh produce, a butcher, a bakery, a sushi master, cafe seating, and pharmacy items.
The site sits in a neighborhood where the demand for kosher retail runs deep. Roughly 40% of Squirrel Hill's estimated 28,105 residents identify as Jewish as of 2026, making it the center of Pittsburgh's Jewish population, according to the Jewish Chronicle. Despite nearly 80 restaurants operating in the neighborhood, only a small fraction carry formal kosher certification, the outlet reports.
The Brandywine's Broader Transformation
Murray's Market is one piece of a larger overhaul at The Brandywine. Brandywine Communities acquired the property in 2025 and says the building is transforming into a mixed-use destination combining neighborhood retail with professional office space, with renovations underway throughout. Jamison Combs, the company's director of marketing and communications, said the grocery store provides an everyday service that strengthens the neighborhood and serves residents from every background.
The building's second floor is now fully leased, with Pittsburgh City Paper, Generation Dental, Techstra Solutions, and an affiliate of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation all set to occupy newly remodeled offices later in 2026. Upper floors of the building still have room to fill, though: commercial real estate firm CBRE is currently marketing Class A office space in the building at $35 per square foot per year, with 4,813 square feet available on the second floor and 17,333 square feet on the third, alongside amenities like a rooftop deck and direct transit access.
Brandywine Communities says it plans to restore the building as a destination for businesses, residents, and visitors alike, with construction on Murray's Market expected to begin in the coming months. Regionally, Rite Aid's collapse has reshaped pharmacy access across Western Pennsylvania, with Giant Eagle acquiring prescription files from 78 closing Rite Aid locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio by July 2025, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Many other shuttered suburban Rite Aid sites in the region have been converted into uses like Dollar General stores. Murray's Market has not yet announced a specific opening date.
