Ida's Sandwich Shop, the Perrysville Avenue lunch counter known for its Halal-certified meats and marble rye turkey sandwich, is expanding into the storefront next door with the help of a $216,000 loan. The Perry North business plans to turn the adjacent space into a parlor with plush couches, pool tables, chess tables, and televisions, giving the neighborhood a new sit-down, cocktail-bar hangout to go with its sandwiches.
Owner Erica Sumpter has run Ida's Sandwich Shop for four years, and according to TribLIVE, she said the loan will cover all construction costs for the buildout, which is expected to be finished in late October or early November. The shop first opened in 2022 on Perrysville Avenue, but its roots go back further: Sumpter and co-owner Charla Thomas conceived the idea in 2018, and the business plan Sumpter wrote helped land an initial loan from the Neighborhood Community Development Fund in 2020 to get the shop off the ground, per the same report.
The lender backing this second round of financing is not some distant institution — it operates right next door. Ida's Sandwich Shop sits at 3921 Perrysville Avenue, directly beside the headquarters of the Neighborhood Community Development Fund at 3923 Perrysville Avenue, according to the shop's own website. The nonprofit, a Pittsburgh-based community lender, was founded in 2000 as the Northside Community Development Fund by Executive Director Mark Masterson to combat vacant storefronts and post-industrial decline across 14 Northside neighborhoods, per the Neighborhood Community Development Fund.
A Business Plan Rooted In A Mother's Memory
The shop's name and mission trace back to Ida Quinn, a single mother of three and Northside resident for more than 50 years who attended Perry North's Perry High School before her death in November 2017. Her passing inspired her daughter and shop co-owner Charla Thomas to help build a business in her memory, according to Ida's Sandwich Shop's own account of its origins.
That personal history now underpins a menu built for the neighborhood around it, including Halal-certified meats served alongside signature items like The Ida, a grilled turkey sandwich on marble rye. The shop operates as both a breakfast and lunch destination, the fund's project page notes, and this month it was announced as a featured contestant in the annual Northside Sandwich Week competition, a follow-up to its third-place finish in 2025, as reported by the Northside Chronicle.
State And County Dollars Line Up Behind The Corridor
The $216,000 loan lands amid a wave of public investment aimed at small businesses like Sumpter's. Erica Sumpter, who also runs the business consulting firm Envision You, said the expansion money will create more opportunities for community gathering and small businesses in Perry North, per TribLIVE's reporting. She has described owning a small business as a source of constant but positive stress.
The financing arrives through a partnership between the Neighborhood Community Development Fund and the Historically Disadvantaged Business Assistance Program, with Pennsylvania announcing more than $14 million in funding and assistance for small businesses statewide. The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development separately confirmed it invested $15 million in August through that same Historically Disadvantaged Business Assistance Program to build microgrant funds and technical support centers, targeting businesses at least 51% owned by socially or economically disadvantaged individuals. The state's 2026-27 budget increased funding for that disadvantaged business assistance by $3.75 million while holding $20 million for the separate Main Street Matters corridor program, according to the department.
Locally, the loan follows Allegheny County's launch of its $4 million Main Streets Allegheny initiative in February, which channels grants, loans, and technical support to commercial corridors across the county. Beyond capital, borrowers through the Neighborhood Community Development Fund can also tap its Business Boost Initiative, which connects small business owners with vetted marketing and finance experts to support long-term sustainability, the fund says.
Elected Officials Turn Out For The Announcement
State representatives and partner organizations highlighted the expansion, with Pennsylvania State Representative Lindsay Powell among the officials joining the announcement. Powell, who represents Lawrenceville and was elected in 2023 to Pennsylvania's 21st Legislative District, also serves on the board of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's directory. She said she was grateful for the state support and partnerships that made the expansion possible.
