06/01/2026
🌟 June 2026 Carrick Business Spotlight: Carik Signs 🌟
For June’s Carrick Business Spotlight, we are proud to recognize a business that has quietly helped shape the visual identity of not only Carrick and Pittsburgh, but businesses and organizations across the world ~ Carik Signs.
For more than 50 years, Carik Signs has been a family-owned and operated business rooted right here on Brownsville Road. What many people may not realize while driving past the iconic storefront every day is that this neighborhood business produces signage seen all across the country and even internationally.
The story began with Fran Carik, a draftsman who designed architectural plans for hardware store layouts, shelving displays, and merchandising systems. Through his work, Fran recognized something important: unused space had value, and signage was one of the most powerful ways a business could communicate, attract attention, and build identity.
In 1973, Fran and his wife Terry began making signs out of their basement. What started as a small family operation quickly grew through hard work, craftsmanship, and reputation. By 1978, they purchased the building at 2523 Brownsville Road, where Carik Signs still proudly operates today.
Now led by their sons, Justin, Nate, and Alex Carik, the company continues to thrive while staying true to the family values and commitment to quality established by Fran and Terry more than 50 years ago. Together, the three brothers have helped grow Carik Signs into a respected name in the sign industry while keeping the business firmly rooted in Carrick. Alex describes signage as "business you can see with your eyes," explaining that a beautiful sign can invite people into a business before they ever step through the door.
Today, Carik Signs is truly a multi-generational family business. Alex’s daughter, Charlotte, works at the front desk and helps welcome customers who walk through the doors. Third-generation family member Ethan has also joined the company, continuing the legacy started by his grandparents over five decades ago. The Carik family continues to work side by side every day, making Carik Signs a true family effort built on teamwork, loyalty, and pride in their craft.
Carik Signs specializes in full-service sign manufacturing, design, fabrication, and installation. Their work ranges from local storefronts to large-scale corporate and event signage. Over the years, they have completed projects all over the country and around the world, with signage shipped everywhere from Hawaii and Guam to Costa Rica and beyond. Their craftsmanship can be found on projects for major companies, organizations, events, and many of Pittsburgh’s largest marathons and community gatherings.
One of the most unique and charming things about Carik Signs is the name itself. Many people driving by have thought the business spelled “Carrick” differently, but Carik is actually the family’s last name. In a neighborhood so deeply connected to Irish heritage and culture, it feels almost perfectly meant to be.
The Carik family says they feel fortunate to have built their business in the same neighborhood that provided them with so much stability and opportunity over the decades. Carrick has played a major role in the company’s journey, and in return, Carik Signs has become one of the neighborhood’s longstanding pillars.
Their story is a reminder that some of the most extraordinary businesses are right in front of us every day. The shop you pass on Brownsville Road is not just a local sign company it is a Carrick-born business whose craftsmanship reaches across the country and around the world while remaining proudly rooted in the community that helped build it.
💚 Thank you to the Carik family for more than 50 years of dedication, craftsmanship, entrepreneurship, and investment in Carrick. Your work continues to leave a lasting impression everywhere it goes, and your family's story is an important part of Carrick's story. ☘️🏡✨
