Tourism took an eccentric turn when Sherris Moreira-Byers got into the business.

She doesn't stop for the iconic places. She digs into crannies to showcase the unsung, grassroots charm of neighborhoods -- and helps small businesses along the way.

A magazine editor from Porterville, she founded Sole City Tours earlier this fall after returning inspired from a walking cuisine tour in Boston. She didn't want to replicate a cuisine tour here; besides, Sylvia McCoy had already started a Strip District tour called " 'Burgh Bits and Bites" this past summer.

"I love quirky places and I love Pittsburgh," said Ms. Moreira-Byers, 40. "I am always dragging my friends around the city. So an idea started brewing."

In September, after researching the history of city neighborhoods that intrigued her, she gathered a few friends and guided them along Penn Avenue in Garfield. She called it the "art walk" and timed it to coincide with Friendship Development Associates' "Unblurred" -- a gallery crawl and sidewalk event -- on the first Friday of every month.

In her trademark pink Crocs shoes, she has brought a small group back for subsequent first Fridays.

Kristen Doerschner, of Monaca, went along last week with seven women who visited Global Links, a nonprofit organization that donates cast-off medical supplies to hospitals in Latin America; the Modern Formations Gallery, a bare-bones art showcase; a pizza tasting at Spak Brothers; and a tango lesson that attorney Richard J. Walters gives to passers-by on the sidewalk outside his office on "Unblurred" Fridays.

"I traveled abroad with Sherris once," said Ms. Doerschner, who works on the South Side. "And even though she didn't know the city, she was a great tour guide. I did her Lawrenceville tour a few weeks ago and thought it was neat that someone can point out things you don't even notice."

Angela Garcia, deputy director at Global Links, is grateful. Located upstairs in the building it shares with Attack Theatre, Global Links gets donations from hospitals, clinics and nursing homes, but it doesn't get foot traffic. Now that it gets to host a small group of tourists one evening a month, its staff also is meeting potential donors.

"We are trying to not be Pittsburgh's best-kept secret," said Ms. Garcia about the 19-year-old organization that each year ships 200 tons of supplies.

So far, Ms. Moreira-Byers offers three tours that also include a small business-inspired walk through Lower Lawrenceville and a saunter through Ellsworth Avenue shops in Shadyside. She sprinkles her narrative with history and trivia, taking clients in to meet business owners.

She charges $35 per person but is offering holiday specials of $15 through the end of the year. College students with IDs can tour for $10. Parents accompanied by children ages 12-18 pay $10 plus $5 for each child.

In Lower Lawrenceville, where entrepreneurship is spreading, Ms. Moreira-Byers is pitching to potential entrepreneurs.

Shelly Maiese, owner since 2002 of Elements, a vintage furnishings and clothing store on Butler Street, said the tour has provided great exposure for her business.

"She is bringing people from outside Pittsburgh and people have come back for a day with family members. It's great to get more people to come down here and see what we have to offer," Ms. Maiese said.

Ms. Moreira-Byers, whose main job is editing "Views and Voices" for the Sharon Herald newspaper, said her passion for the city makes her want to share it.

"To get the soul of the city, you have to walk it, and I like pushing the idea of being a tourist in your own city, especially with people traveling less," she said.

"Entrepreneurs are struggling, and this is their life. I want to introduce people to them, so they might feel vested and support them."