Penn Ave. businessman may need a superhero
Greg Eide long ago found the right place.
In two weeks, he'll be there at decidedly the wrong time.
For the past quarter-century, the right place for Eide has been the 1100 block of Penn Avenue, Downtown. That has been the home of Eide's Entertainment, a shop of regional renown known for its array of comics, music and pop culture ephemera.
The shop's location at 1121 Penn also serves as Eide's home.
He has a loft in the three-story building he bought for $725,000 in 2001, and then managed to pay off just three years later, in part from the sale of two rare comic books for $65,000.
It's the right place, but the wrong time is coming.
It will arrive with the Group of 20 international financial summit at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. President Obama heads the list of global heavy hitters who will attend.
Among the thousands of people destined to be inconvenienced by the G-20, Eide stands out. He is among a small demographic who live and work so close to the summit that he could spot lint on the French finance minister's chapeau without the aid of binoculars.
Eide's business and residence sit in the restricted traffic zone in which civilian vehicles will be prohibited. The building is less than a block from the restricted pedestrian zone that will require passage through metal detectors to enter.
How will he cope?
"It's going to be interesting," said Eide, 58. "I don't think they're going to evict me from my home (for the summit), but getting some bread and milk could be challenging."
Although law enforcement agencies have talked with nearby businesses about the logistics of remaining open during the summit, Eide said no one contacted him.
"I'm totally in the dark," he said. "I feel like Helen Keller before she met Anne Sullivan."
In addition to vehicular and pedestrian restrictions, significant public transportation detours around the summit will be announced next week. Eide is justifiably concerned about the potential impact on his business.
"We'd certainly like to have people in here, and that includes the dignitaries," Eide said. "We'd like to have the President in here. They say he collected Spiderman and Conan the Barbarian (comics) when he was a kid."
Eide is optimistic the summit will successfully showcase Pittsburgh. He isn't worried about protesters disrupting either the event or his business.
But with the G-20 rapidly approaching, Eide said he wishes someone from the city, county or Secret Service would stop by and let him know what to expect.
"We had a guy in here a couple of weeks ago who claimed to be from Homeland Security," Eide said. "He didn't tell us anything useful, but he did end up buying $300 worth of old Wonder Woman comics."
