I'm sure there's someone with access to this data who could quantify it, but my general observation is that Pittsburgh is sorta under-represented when it comes to chains. Not saying that's good or bad--just that when I travel to some US cities, I notice way more chains that either we don't have or that I've never heard of.

Columbus is the city to go to if you want chain restaurants. Holy mackerel, do they have a lot of variety! They've been a test market and/or HQ for a number of them over the decades, so I guess there's some kind of very generic, average-ness to Columbus that we don't have here.

I have been on the hunt for Gibbles myself (original, not hot), and a family member tipped me off that Naser's market in Apollo sells them. Seems the chains around here can't be bothered to sell them, so you have to go to independent grocery stores. This was a few months ago, so I'd call before going out there.

Hear hear. The half-assed attempt at making Smallman St really gets me--it added a bike lane that doesn't feel safe, it created angle parking that makes the street feel like a strip mall parking lot, and they painted bump outs for "traffic calming" that people just drive over or park in. They rebuilt the whole street from scratch and put in crappy temporary-feeling materials.

All that concrete and asphalt (with no Belgian block, brick, or stone) makes it feel so cheap and soulless. Combined with the focus on chain establishments, it's a real missed opportunity.