Kitchen Hardware is a small, family-run business based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, specializing in kitchen knives and tools for both professionals and enthusiastic home cooks. The business grew out of years spent working in restaurants. My name's Mike Allison. I'm the managing partner and executive chef of a local restaurant, and my wife Stella also spent time in restaurants and bars before our first child was born.
Whenever we travel, we often make a point of stopping at restaurant supply and culinary stores, including places like JB Prince in New York and District Cutlery in Washington, DC. I've often thought it would be nice if Pittsburgh had a place to browse carefully chosen knives and professional kitchen tools in person—something that might also have a small rising-tide effect on the local restaurant community. When the Michelin Guide announced it was coming to the Great Lakes region, it felt like the right time to pursue that idea and start building Kitchen Hardware, with the long-term goal of opening a brick-and-mortar store by the end of 2028.
Our philosophy is straightforward: stock products that deliver exceptional value for the money. We admire retailers like ChefKnivesToGo, MTC Kitchen, Japanese Knife Imports, and Korin, but our focus is on working quality rather than boutique quality. Think less heirloom jewelry and more heirloom hammer—the kind of tool that's meant to earn a living before it's passed down or retired. That means well-made carbon monosteel knives, Japanese restaurant supply-grade knives that often outperform their Western commercial counterparts, and exclusive imports from outstanding manufacturers that haven't yet established a presence in the United States.
We're just as passionate about the small tools that make life easier in a working kitchen—spoons, probes, writing utensils. (For what it's worth, I've personally converted more than twenty line cooks to Japanese-style hand can openers.) Over time, we hope to introduce kitchen smallwares and specialty equipment that are common in more established restaurant scenes but difficult to find throughout the Great Lakes region.
Kitchen Hardware is a long-term and growing endeavor. We'll continue expanding our inventory intentionally, building relationships with manufacturers and suppliers around the world, and adding high value-for-dollar products we genuinely believe deserve a place in both professional and home kitchens.
