PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Commonwealth Press is a little shop on the South Side with a distinctive Pittsburgh touch.

Though owner, Dan Rugh, competes with online screen printers, a laid back atmosphere lures customers to his old-time brick and mortar shop.

Speaking of bricks, he arrived Tuesday morning to find a smashed display window.

“The brick had come through, hit the display and knocked some of our posters and whatnot over,” Rugh said, gesturing toward the rear of the store. “Glass was as far back as here.”

Faced with an estimated $500 replacement cost, he said, “I was just joking around about putting it on Facebook, and said we’re going to auction off this brick. And we have an event coming up, tickets haven’t gone on sale yet, it’s for Craft Beer Week, so it’s pretty big. And I said, we’ll auction it off and wrap the ticket around it. And some tee-shirts and stickers and just stuff that we have here.”

To his amazement, the Facebook auction took off. And it’s not just customers. Other store owners have come through with gift certificates to sweeten the pot.

Rugh says the list keeps growing.

“Eljay’s Used Books, Rock Bottom Brewery, the Steel City Roller Derby, Yinzburg Barbecue. Turner’s Tea has kicked in some stuff, too. It’s just amazing,” he said.

Within hours, they receive a high enough bid to cover the cost of a new window.

Whoever broke that front window may be one brick shy of a load, but the owner says, “Whatever faith you lose in a busted window, you make up for in the kindness of friends and strangers.”

To learn more about the auction, visit Commonwealth Press’s Facebook page here!

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