Construction work has begun on a $1 million facelift to W. 6th Street, which will soon be transformed into a more attractive pedestrian-friendly environment that will include wider sidewalks, larger outdoor cafes, new public art and a branding campaign.

Thomas Starinsky of the Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation says that the impetus for the project came when officials realized that most of the buildings in the area had been restored, and that neighborhood... Read more >

The journey that led Adrian and Cosmin Bota to open an organic, self-serve frozen yogurt shop on Coventry was a long, winding one that included illegally trekking across the Romanian border with their family to escape their tumultuous homeland.

The Bota brothers, who recall traveling miles at a time at night with their parents and three siblings, were just kids then. Eventually, the family made its way to the U.S. and was granted asylum. The family moved to Parma, where t... Read more >

Charles Eisenstat thought he wanted to be a lawyer, but after living in Chicago and D.C. and experiencing their "advanced coffee culture," he realized his true passion lies in brewing the perfect cup of java.

Now, after spending countless hours studying the finer points of law as well as watching baristas make coffee in some of the best coffee shops in the world, the would-be entrepreneur plans to open POUR Cleveland. This new coffee shop in the 5th Street Arcad... Read more >

A group of Cleveland furniture makers who have earned national attention for their work plan to open a gallery in the 5th Street Arcades in downtown Cleveland in order to showcase their work.

They believe a downtown gallery can be successful by co-locating with other like-minded retailers, serving the growing base of downtown residents and hosting shows to attract crowds. Thus far, 12 Cleveland furniture designers have signed up to take part.

Soulcraft Gallery wa... Read more >

The final inspections for Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen take place this week, and a customer is planning to come in the next day. The organizers behind Cleveland's first-ever shared commercial kitchen hope that's a sign of good things to come.

The kitchen's goal is to help local food entrepreneurs bring products to market. With so many food truck owners, caterers, urban gardeners and budding chefs making their products in cramped home quarters or churc... Read more >

Sam McNulty has the best kind of problem an owner can have; he's selling so much beer at Market Garden Brewery and NanoBrew in Ohio City that he can hardly keep up with demand. Selling kegs to patrons or restaurants that want to carry popular varieties like Pearl Street Wheat or CitroMax IPA is out of the question.

McNulty and his partners expect to solve their space crunch by early next year with the redevelopment of the Market Culinary Building, a 43,000-square-foot... Read more >

PlayhouseSquare will soon add another delicious restaurant to the district, adding fuel to its quest to become a 24/7 neighborhood that encourages theater patrons to stick around long after the shows end. Entrepreneurs Jiyoung and John Sung will open Sung's House next month, adding a Korean and Japanese restaurant to the downtown scene.

"It's not traditional Korean food -- it's fusion style," says Jiyoung Sung, who moved from Michigan to be close to ... Read more >

Gordon Food Service, a 115-year-old company that specializes in large package food items and kitchen supplies, is opening a new retail location on West 117th Street on a former J.D. Byrider car lot.

The new store, which has been fully approved by the City of Cleveland and is set to break ground this month, reinforces the strength of the west side Cleveland trade area, says Anita Brindza, Executive Director of Cudell Improvement.

"With the density of our popu... Read more >

"Jazz is like the kind of man you wouldn't want your daughter to associate with." That might sound like a curious quote for a pastor to use in blessing a jazz bar, yet these were Mark Giuliano's words at the opening of the new Take 5 Jazz Club in downtown Cleveland. The quote comes from jazz legend Duke Ellington.

"We know how important live music is for gathering people; we're for that kind of community building," explains Giuliano, Pastor... Read more >

Some creative, outside-the-box thinking by the city's leading urban design and cycling advocates has led to the creation of four additional "bike boxes," which are to be installed this spring in various Cleveland neighborhoods.

The newest wave of bike boxes are modeled after a successful pilot project at Nano Brew in Ohio City. That installation transformed a steel shipping container into a colorful curbside bike garage for two-wheeled visitors.

By ... Read more >

This summer, the Tremont neighborhood will have a new gateway welcoming people to the neighborhood: Cleveland's first dedicated hop farm. Boasting 16-foot tall posts laden with vines, the parcel on W. 14th Street, just south of the I-490 bridge, will not only create a dramatic entranceway into the area, it will also be used to grow three to four different varieties of fresh hops.

"Shortly after opening, Cory Riordan [Director of Tremont West Development Corp... Read more >

Although it wasn't obvious to Thomas Fox at the time, losing his job at Go Media several years ago may have been the best thing that ever happened to him. It led him to create Bad Racket Recording Studio with partners James Kananen and Adam Wagner.

Since launching the studio in 2010, the group has expanded its presence in the music scene. Last year, they took on additional space, bolstered sound panels to create a better recording experience, and b... Read more >

The once-dumpy strip mall in downtown Lakewood known as "Drug Mart Plaza" will no longer be boring. Dan Deagan, owner of the popular Deagan's Kitchen and Bar, plans to open a wine bar in the renovated plaza sometime this summer.

"Lakewood doesn't have any wine bars, and we sell a lot of wine here," says Deagan. "Lakewood has been good to us; I wanted to do something close."

Since Deagan named his firs... Read more >

Captain Jeff Sanders has spent the past few decades training ship captains. He operates a training school in Seattle, where he lives full time. Yet the Cleveland native has always wanted a place to stay when he comes back to Cleveland, which he does frequently to visit his 95-year-old mother in a nursing home. 

Recently, Sanders completed renovations on a historic four-unit property that seemed destined for the wrecking ball until Detroit Shoreway Community Developme... Read more >

On March 31st, Cuyahoga County will turn over the Global Health Innovation Center -- formerly known as the Medical Mart -- to its individual tenants so they can begin to build out each of their spaces. 

It will be a landmark moment for the project, says Dave Johnson, Director of Public Relations and Marketing for the GHIC. He expects the project to be majority leased when the ribbon is cut in June.

"The project will open ahead of schedule and under budg... Read more >

With over 11 million visitors expected in downtown Cleveland this year (up from nine million last year), RTA officials sought last year to better connect the city's neighborhoods via public transportation. Their goal was to ensure that RTA is the transportation mode of choice for visitors to downtown. 

Six months ago, RTA was able to launch expanded, free shuttle service downtown on weeknights and weekends, thanks to $2.88 million in federal transit money and $72... Read more >

During a recent address at the City Club of Cleveland, Joel Ratner of Neighborhood Progress Inc. touted recent success stories that the nonprofit has invested in, including a new home for The Intergenerational School underway at the Saint Luke's campus.

Ratner believes that even though Cleveland has been hard hit by the foreclosure crisis, the city can stabilize its population and begin to grow again through promoting thoughtful, equitable, synergistic development tha... Read more >