Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Rauktis.
Hi Christine, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Ruckus began because of we felt our township was lacking a coffee shop. We searched for a property in & near our town that would work and ended up finding a space that had a full kitchen & event space. Because of that our concept expanded to a cafe. Shaler was really lacking a local coffee shop & breakfast lunch restaurant. We worked hard to involve the community in our cafe offering our walls for local artists and a place for local musicians to play. We offer fresh and wholesome food, good quality coffee & a great environment for people to hangout with friends or just their laptop.
Once our event spaced opened up, which was about 8 months later, we became a destination. Our spaced not only is available for people hosting baby showers & bridal showers but we hold our own events like Breakfast with Santa and Valentine’s Brunch. Our space creates memories where people come together to celebrate & have a great time. These events bring new people into our cafe each week and has made our business grow successfully over the past 5 years. Last year (2025) we decided to open a second location in downtown Pittsburgh. We believe our great coffee & good will be a great addition to the downtown neighborhood.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road! Learning the ropes as a restaurant owner was a challenge. Managing staff that had more restaurant experience than I did was a challenge. Learning about coffee was a challenge but I was excited to learn that part of the business. This really all stemmed from my love of coffee!
Staffing in general, has been the biggest challenge but I am happy to report that four years in we now have a great chef at each location that plan on sticking around a while. They will help each location grow & thrive. Our lead barista, Paula, helps me train new baristas and get new employees off on a good footing.
Food costs and maintenance costs are a constant hurdle. Those two costs are the main reason the restaurant business is tough financially. Food costs keep rising and equipment needing repaired or replaced seems to be a constant issue. But, we persevere and do our best to keep costs down where we can. It’s a labor or love for sure!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have mainly worked as a graphic designer for most of my professional career. When I started having kids, I quit that career to focus on being a mom. Once I could return to work I mostly stuck to jobs that would give me flexibility and I ended up working on food service on various levels. While keeping up with design in volunteer work in my kids’ schools and teams I worked at an events center and catering businesses which gave me the confidence and experience to open my own cafe. That event experience has been invaluable for both event planning & the catering side of the business. I am proud to say I have learned a lot about cooking, baking & managing from my staff and the 5+ years of owning a restaurant. I feel I have grown as a business owner and am on a good path moving forward. I am grateful for my design experience to create our logo, menus & promotions.
My partner has an MBA and works in IT. He also had a side gig doing remodeling. All of his professional experience has been a huge asset to our business.
What matters most to you? Why?
Our reputation as a quality cafe offering wholesome food and quality coffee is most important. We also are adamant about being good stewards of the earth. We use as much compostable containers as possible, we have a compost service collect from both location each week and we do our best to eliminate food waste where possible.
We are passionate about music & art in our community so I’m happy that we are becoming known for hosting local art events (visual, performing and more!) and local musicians.
Pricing:
- We offer many menu items $10 and under
- Our downtown location has many grab & go options under $8.
- Get a NY bagel with cream cheese for $6 downtown
- We are on the Too Good Too Go App.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://RuckusCafe.com
- Instagram: @RuckusCafe @Ruckus.Downtown & @Ruckus.Eventroom
- Facebook: Ruckus Cafe – Ruckus.Downtown – Ruckus Room Event Space
