Owner James Tyler has unique—and rare—practices that prioritize human connection.
By Atiya Irvin-Mitchell
Surrounded by the City of Pittsburgh, Mount Oliver Borough is known for refusing the city’s annexation attempts. For some, it’s also known for being a bit “rough around the edges.” Mount Oliver is also the home of a coffeehouse that doesn’t offer its customers Wi-Fi. This isn’t because there’s spotty reception but is an intentional choice by its proprietors. While many believe the internet fosters community, James Tyler, co-owner of Echt Coffeehouse, observed that online access in coffeehouses led people to disengage from those around them. His vision for Echt is to create the opposite: a place where people can make new connections.
Echt draws a great deal of inspiration from European coffeehouses, where people meet up for conversation. Tyler splits his time between Berlin, Germany, and the States, working with his husband, Jorg Gerlach, a physician and professor, who operates Echt with him. The duo wants customers to walk into the coffeehouse and experience the best parts of Pittsburgh while enjoying what global coffeehouses offer, too. The European influence is not only in the no-internet policy but in the name itself. Echt is a German word that means “real.” The name reflects Tyler’s desire for customers to be able to be their most authentic selves.
“As we have matriculated through the years and [the] internet has become a primary source of communication, you have a lot of people going to coffeehouses, connecting to the internet and disconnecting from person-to-person contact,” Tyler says. “Our goal is that when you come to our coffeehouse, you disconnect from the internet, and you reconnect with people or with yourself.”
Tyler began his entrepreneurial journey with his love of black coffee and traveling the world visiting coffee shops. Pictured here (left) outside Echt Coffeehouse and Bistro and (right) inside his shop with a sack of coffee beans. Photo Credit: Kitoko Chargoi. Photo Credit: Kitoko Chargois
Initially, when Tyler and Gerlach purchased the 15,000 square foot building in the pre-COVID world of 2015, they weren’t sure what they were going to do with the former fire station. Ultimately, they decided that opening a coffeehouse seemed like the most enjoyable pursuit. Tyler’s aware that most Pittsburghers would expect to see a place like Echt among the businesses on Carson Street or even in Lawrenceville. But no area of the city is perfect, he says. And with that in mind, Tyler and Gerlach decided to take a chance on a building they love. At Echt, which opened for business in March 2022, they try to ensure there’s something for everybody.
“What we tried to do is a cross between Southern cuisine and European flair,” Tyler says of the cuisine at Echt. “There are some dishes like a European dish of cold oats. And you can have greens and grits with catfish, bacon, or sausage. We try to cater to people [with] dishes that are vegan in nature, [or meals] that can also be turned up a notch by adding other food to them like bacon.”
Tyler, a retired critical care nurse, notes that while he has a deep appreciation for coffeehouses, much of the knowledge he’s acquired through the years has been self-taught—like the fact that Ethiopia is the place where coffee originated, and that it made its way to the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade. As Tyler got deeper into coffee lore through YouTube and reading books about the industry, he found it odd that the annual millions made off the coffee industry often do not make it into the hands of Black and Brown people.
Our goal is that when you come to our coffeehouse, you disconnect from the internet, and you reconnect with people or with yourself.
James Tyler, co-owner of Echt Coffeehouse
A part of what he hopes will make Echt Coffeehouse memorable, aside from its offline policy, are the personal touches.
“I love coffee. Particularly, I love black coffee — since I was 13 years old having coffee with my mother,” Tyler says. “What distinguishes us is that we do small batch roasting here. So, our coffee comes out of Africa. We do the roasting here. We let it rest here and we brew it here and I think we’re doing a pretty good job.”
In the future, Tyler and Gerlach hope that in addition to Echt, the building can be a refuge for upcoming artists in the form of an apprenticeship that offers a stipend and housing. Although the program remains in the planning and fundraising stages, they envision a future in which the building would become a haven for artists, craftsmen, ceramicists, welders, and woodworkers.
Tyler, who opened the coffeehouse and microdistillery with his husband Jorg Gerlach, says they consider Echt their love letter to Pittsburgh. Pictured here with some of Echt’s handcrafted liquor displayed in his shop. Photo Credit: Kitoko Chargois
“Our goal is to (hopefully) bring some artists from Africa, provide them with housing and a stipend, so that they can work here and produce their work and sell it,” Tyler said about his plan for a unique type of artist residency at Echt. “It’s not [for] somebody who’s in college. We’re looking for people who are moving forward. You could be a college graduate or maybe [have] no college experience at all. Just an artist who needs a place to grow their talent.”
Ultimately, Tyler says that he doesn’t just want Echt to be a place to dine but a sliding glass door that gives visitors a taste of other parts of the world—passport or no.
“There are many people who may not ever make it to Egypt or Beirut, Lebanon or to Turkey. And [our] coffee shop is kind of a combination of all these beautiful coffeehouses that we’ve been to in Budapest, Berlin, and others,” Tyler says. “I consider this my love letter to Pittsburgh and to my community so that they can experience some of the nice things about having experience.”
Atiya Irvin-Mitchell is a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected] and you can follow her on Twitter @AtiyaWrites.