Marked for Deletion

If you don't mind a bit of walking there are 7-elevens here - http://tinyurl.com/3ym678l
And Giant Eagle over here - http://tinyurl.com/32v9rdf

And for the couple of Walmarts, you can catch the bus - http://tinyurl.com/3676fr4 http://tinyurl.com/3xpuv83
Noy

The Dining guide http://www.anthrocon.org/node/5457 also has several descriptions of walking-distance stores, including drugstores such as CVS/Riteaid. Anthrocon is very much in a downtown/business district, where discount stores tend not to be.

--Chi

There's also a shop inside the hotel with snacks and drinks like that, though I'm not sure of the prices compared to other convenience stores.

An Indian came to me in my sleep and told me of the wonders of the Giant Eagle. I will seek out this large bird when I arrive.

The "Big Bird" aka Giant Eagle, on the North Side is less than a mile away just across the 9th Street Bridge and under the railroad tracks. It's a relatively flat half mile walk.

Compared to their suburban stores this is a small supermarket, however, it will have all your basic needs covered.

Word to the wise...make this trip in the daylight and do it in a group. (Safety in numbers and you'll need extra paws to help carry your stuff back.) Pittsburgh's North-side is not the worst neighborhood in the metro area, but it's one to be cautious around.

If you're looking for beer, you're not going to find it at this Giant Eagle. The nearest Beer Distributer is Northside Beer 1304 Federal Street, Pittsburgh, PA‎ - (412) 322-5111‎ which is exactly a mile away from the hotel. Hard stuff can be picked up just down Liberty Avenue.

TMI I know. I was covering all the bases.

Swift

Google maps is your friend. I'm sure you can search for grocery stores.

Pittsburgh is infamous for having no grocery store downtown. However, Right By Nature opened in the Strip sometime last year. It is a nice store. http://rightbynature.net/HometownMarketPressRelease.cfm

Looks to be about the same distance from the Westin as that Northside Gian Tiggle (THAT'S how we say it in Pittsburgh), but with way better selection of all-natural foods, and still at good prices (i.e. NOT like Whole Foods.)

Jen

If you're willing to spend $2 up and $2 back, want to undertake a longer adventure, and don't want to walk that much, you can catch a 71A Negley bus outbound from Grant and Forbes. Grant is the brick lined divided street near the hotel; you'll turn right onto it to get to Forbes. Maybe three blocks, then left onto Forbes.

Wait at the bus enclosure next to the old jail near Ross Street and catch that 71A Negley away from town. On the way, you'll pass through Oakland and the University of Pittsburgh. It is a longer ride, but you'll eventually wind up at the Giant Eagle I personally shop at in East Liberty. Much nicer neighborhood, and much less of a walk for those who don't want to hoof it over a bridge. I do *not* recommend the North Side Giant Eagle; the North Side is a tough neighborhood.

The return bus stop is just across the street. Approximately a 30-40 minute ride one way. Keep your eyes peeled; there may be something in Oakland you want to see, like the Dirty O's Original Hot Dog Shop, also a famous local watering hole where the college students go.

By the way, bus schedules for the entire system can be found at the Wood Street T station on Liberty Avenue past Fernando's by about two blocks, on the opposite side of Liberty. If you're still squeamish about the local transportation system, you can turn left on Smithfield, and on the left side of the street is the Downtown PATransit office where you can get all the local travel information you need, complete with schedules.

Enjoy the town I call home, the Biggest Small Town in America!
- Zax

Kittynoy, the easy trick to know if you should pay entering or leaving is, if you get on the bus and the driver has his/her hand over the farebox, you know you pay when you get off.
I think transfers are up to 75 cents now, but still a deal over paying full fare for your return trip.
Also, it has been my experience that the PAT drivers are always very helpful. As long as you are very polite and appreciative of the job they do, I've found them very willing to explain when to pay and how much, how to get a transfer, if they are going where you want to and if not which bus is, and so on. (I have seen drivers get really mean, but only when a rider starts off by arguing or treating the driver like a servant.)
And you can use the website to plan a trip. http://www.portauthority.org/paac/default.aspx
their "trip planner" does not always give the best route! I was trying to get to a store in Oakland the other day so I typed in the intersection near the store. The "trip planner" came up with a route that involved two transfers and going from the east end to downtown and then to Oakland! All so it could get me to the exact intersection I typed in. When actually, the bus I catch a few blocks from my house goes right through Oakland and stops TWO BLOCKS from the store I was going to. Why didn't it just tell me to get off at that stop and walk? Who knows? But anyway, the site is useful, just be sure to look at the PDF of the ACTUAL route schedule and see when and where it stops for yourself, don't take the trip planner at its word.
Have fun!

Jen