Lakewood
cle's top attractions get top billing in pop candy
USA Today's popular PopCandy blog recently ran a round-up of Cleveland's most compelling attractions. Titled "The Pop Traveler: 11 Reasons to Visit Cleveland," the regular feature gives insiders a chance to name their city's top pop-culture hot spots.
In the article, which begins "Eleven ways that Cleveland rocks," a writer who goes by the pseudonym Big Business ticks of his (or her?) favorite finds.
Michael Symon restaurants:
The James Beard Award-winning chef brings a lot of pride and excitement to the restaurant landscape in Cleveland. Lola Bistro is the signature restaurant, but for a fun lunch, the B-Spot is a great place to just get a burger and fries.
Beachland Ballroom:
This concert club is a former Croatian ballroom and Cleveland landmark. The two-stage venue hosts up-and-coming local bands like The Suede Brothers, Afternoon Naps, bears and Cloud Nothings; regional performers and national acts.
Christmas Story House:
Located in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood, 'twas where they filmed the exterior and some interior shots from the holiday classic A Christmas Story.
West Side Market:
You can buy small portions of items to eat while you stroll through the more than 100 vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables, fine meats, seafood, baked goods, dairy and cheese.
Big Fun
"Come shopping ... leave smiling." It's that simple at Big Fun. They strive to find the coolest toys and gifts out there, and what you'll find is a veritable cornucopia of delights like G.I. Joe, Star Wars, My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cedar Lee Theatre, Burning River Roller Girls, Chucklefck comedy nights, Machine Gun Kelly and Stadium Mustard also made the list.
Check out the rest here.
In the article, which begins "Eleven ways that Cleveland rocks," a writer who goes by the pseudonym Big Business ticks of his (or her?) favorite finds.
Michael Symon restaurants:
The James Beard Award-winning chef brings a lot of pride and excitement to the restaurant landscape in Cleveland. Lola Bistro is the signature restaurant, but for a fun lunch, the B-Spot is a great place to just get a burger and fries.
Beachland Ballroom:
This concert club is a former Croatian ballroom and Cleveland landmark. The two-stage venue hosts up-and-coming local bands like The Suede Brothers, Afternoon Naps, bears and Cloud Nothings; regional performers and national acts.
Christmas Story House:
Located in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood, 'twas where they filmed the exterior and some interior shots from the holiday classic A Christmas Story.
West Side Market:
You can buy small portions of items to eat while you stroll through the more than 100 vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables, fine meats, seafood, baked goods, dairy and cheese.
Big Fun
"Come shopping ... leave smiling." It's that simple at Big Fun. They strive to find the coolest toys and gifts out there, and what you'll find is a veritable cornucopia of delights like G.I. Joe, Star Wars, My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cedar Lee Theatre, Burning River Roller Girls, Chucklefck comedy nights, Machine Gun Kelly and Stadium Mustard also made the list.
Check out the rest here.
melt, a 'restaurant brooklyn is desperately missing'
In a recent article by The L Magazine, a New York publication devoted to all things local, Cleveland's Melt Bar & Grilled gets huge props.
In this fun feature titled "Ten Restaurants Brooklyn is Desperately Missing," writer and (I assume) Brooklyn resident Kara Zuaro dreams up a wish list of new establishments for her neighborhood. Plucked from locales near and far, indie hot spots like Cleveland's Melt and Columbus-based Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams make the list.
"I’d like to think that Pok Pok is opening a Brooklyn branch because I wished really hard for it," she begins. "So, as I impatiently await the opening of the restaurant I willed into being, I’m making a list of 10 more restaurants -- with original locations across America -- that could be wildly successful if they opened new branches here in Brooklyn."
Of Cleveland-based Melt, she writes:
"The grilled cheese sandwiches at Cleveland’s Melt don’t even make sense. When I visited, I ate a belly-buster that was piled with pimento cheese, collards, fried chicken and cornbread. There was bread on the outside, but then there was cornbread in the sandwich. It ruled. The current sandwich-of-the-month at Melt, the "Hungry Hungarian Paprikash," involves pulled roasted chicken, huge homemade dumplings, creamy paprikash sauce, and Provolone cheese. There’s also a vegetarian version available. What! Also, they have a crazy beer selection, and it’s kind of a sports bar. We need this in our lives."
The article also includes our good friends down south in Columbus, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream.
See the rest of the good eats here.
In this fun feature titled "Ten Restaurants Brooklyn is Desperately Missing," writer and (I assume) Brooklyn resident Kara Zuaro dreams up a wish list of new establishments for her neighborhood. Plucked from locales near and far, indie hot spots like Cleveland's Melt and Columbus-based Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams make the list.
"I’d like to think that Pok Pok is opening a Brooklyn branch because I wished really hard for it," she begins. "So, as I impatiently await the opening of the restaurant I willed into being, I’m making a list of 10 more restaurants -- with original locations across America -- that could be wildly successful if they opened new branches here in Brooklyn."
Of Cleveland-based Melt, she writes:
"The grilled cheese sandwiches at Cleveland’s Melt don’t even make sense. When I visited, I ate a belly-buster that was piled with pimento cheese, collards, fried chicken and cornbread. There was bread on the outside, but then there was cornbread in the sandwich. It ruled. The current sandwich-of-the-month at Melt, the "Hungry Hungarian Paprikash," involves pulled roasted chicken, huge homemade dumplings, creamy paprikash sauce, and Provolone cheese. There’s also a vegetarian version available. What! Also, they have a crazy beer selection, and it’s kind of a sports bar. We need this in our lives."
The article also includes our good friends down south in Columbus, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream.
See the rest of the good eats here.
CitizenGroove has changed the way music schools take applications. CEO John Knific and three CWRU classmates wanted to solve the paper problem involved with applying to music schools.
“We were initially inspired by the problem music school were having -- they were getting 1,500 to 3,000 DVDs with bundles of paper,” recalls Knific. “We thought, every kid who is applying to music school knows how to use YouTube and FaceBook and other social media.”
So, in 2010, CitizenGroove emerged as a streamlined way for students to upload auditions and present them to the schools they were applying to. The idea took off. The company of eight is split between New York and Cleveland -- four of which are located in Lakewood offices. Knific hopes to double his staff this year, and the company continues to launch new tools and improve on its product.
CitizenGroove is continuing to grow in popularity among music schools. “We went from 12 schools to 50 schools and we’re hoping for 100 schools by the end of the year,” says Knific. “We went from using arm wrestling maneuvers to get schools to choose us to now schools are calling us.”
CitizenGroove is a finalist in the Intel Innovation Awards. They are rallying people to vote for them on the company’s FaceBook page in hopes of winning the $100,000 prize.
Source: John Knific
Writer: Karin Connelly
“We were initially inspired by the problem music school were having -- they were getting 1,500 to 3,000 DVDs with bundles of paper,” recalls Knific. “We thought, every kid who is applying to music school knows how to use YouTube and FaceBook and other social media.”
So, in 2010, CitizenGroove emerged as a streamlined way for students to upload auditions and present them to the schools they were applying to. The idea took off. The company of eight is split between New York and Cleveland -- four of which are located in Lakewood offices. Knific hopes to double his staff this year, and the company continues to launch new tools and improve on its product.
CitizenGroove is continuing to grow in popularity among music schools. “We went from 12 schools to 50 schools and we’re hoping for 100 schools by the end of the year,” says Knific. “We went from using arm wrestling maneuvers to get schools to choose us to now schools are calling us.”
CitizenGroove is a finalist in the Intel Innovation Awards. They are rallying people to vote for them on the company’s FaceBook page in hopes of winning the $100,000 prize.
Source: John Knific
Writer: Karin Connelly
LifeServe Innovations, which is developing a percutaneous tracheostomy introducer dilator, recently
received $75,000 from the Lorain Innovation Fund. The device allows medical personnel to place a tracheotomy tube with greater ease and with fewer procedural complications than existing systems.
Co-founders Zach Bloom and Rick Arlow first came up with the idea as a class assignment while attending Lehigh University. “We were looking for problems to solve in emergency or critical care,” recalls Bloom. “We ultimately developed a safer and much more user-friendly approach.”
While they each went on to graduate school, they took their intellectual property and decided to bring their device to market. LifeServe Innovations was born in 2009. Bloom and Arlow chose Cleveland for its balance of medical and entrepreneurial support. “Cleveland is an entrepreneurial community and a medical community,” Bloom says.
The process of developing the dilator was one of trial and error. “It’s the nature of any startup -- the product you ultimately come up with is never the original,” says Bloom. “We kept designing products for surgical airways until we found something that met the need.”
LifeServe will use the grant money to manufacture and test their dilator. “We hope to have the product cleared for market by the end of second quarter,” says Bloom. While the company has volunteers helping them, Bloom hopes to hire two to three people in the near future. “As the growth begins to come and we see success in our investment, we want to bring income to Cleveland.”
Source: Zach Bloom
Writer: Karin Connelly
received $75,000 from the Lorain Innovation Fund. The device allows medical personnel to place a tracheotomy tube with greater ease and with fewer procedural complications than existing systems.
Co-founders Zach Bloom and Rick Arlow first came up with the idea as a class assignment while attending Lehigh University. “We were looking for problems to solve in emergency or critical care,” recalls Bloom. “We ultimately developed a safer and much more user-friendly approach.”
While they each went on to graduate school, they took their intellectual property and decided to bring their device to market. LifeServe Innovations was born in 2009. Bloom and Arlow chose Cleveland for its balance of medical and entrepreneurial support. “Cleveland is an entrepreneurial community and a medical community,” Bloom says.
The process of developing the dilator was one of trial and error. “It’s the nature of any startup -- the product you ultimately come up with is never the original,” says Bloom. “We kept designing products for surgical airways until we found something that met the need.”
LifeServe will use the grant money to manufacture and test their dilator. “We hope to have the product cleared for market by the end of second quarter,” says Bloom. While the company has volunteers helping them, Bloom hopes to hire two to three people in the near future. “As the growth begins to come and we see success in our investment, we want to bring income to Cleveland.”
Source: Zach Bloom
Writer: Karin Connelly
Liz Maugins of Zygote Press remembers the moment in 2008 when she realized just how fragile her own organization's existence was in Cleveland's ever-shrinking nonprofit ecosystem. Like many nonprofit groups, she was looking at fewer philanthropic dollars during the worst recession in decades. Meanwhile, many foundations were stressing collaboration or proposing outright mergers.
"Like a lot of nonprofit leaders, I was freaking out and wondering what would come our way," recounts Maugins, who worried that her small nonprofit would be wiped out by the tidal wave of the national recession. "So I started sending out messages to other arts leaders to see if they were feeling the same thing."
Not surprisingly, other nonprofit leaders were losing sleep over their situations, too. Yet rather than retreating to their own private islands to struggle in maudlin isolation, Maugins and her colleagues banded together for survival.
"The number one challenge was that we had no exposure, especially with the dwindling arts coverage locally," says Maugins. "Yet we knew that our arts organizations were doing amazing things with education and other programming, and we're the economic engines of our neighborhoods."
Today, Zygote and 27 other groups in Northeast Ohio have banded together to form the Collective Arts Network (CAN), received a grant from the Ohio Arts Council, and produced a magazine-style journal touting their work. Ten thousand copies have been distributed to galleries and other hotspots in the city.
Next up, the CAN group is working on other kinds of collaboration, including programming, events and sustaining the journal as a quarterly publication.
Source: Liz Maugins
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"Like a lot of nonprofit leaders, I was freaking out and wondering what would come our way," recounts Maugins, who worried that her small nonprofit would be wiped out by the tidal wave of the national recession. "So I started sending out messages to other arts leaders to see if they were feeling the same thing."
Not surprisingly, other nonprofit leaders were losing sleep over their situations, too. Yet rather than retreating to their own private islands to struggle in maudlin isolation, Maugins and her colleagues banded together for survival.
"The number one challenge was that we had no exposure, especially with the dwindling arts coverage locally," says Maugins. "Yet we knew that our arts organizations were doing amazing things with education and other programming, and we're the economic engines of our neighborhoods."
Today, Zygote and 27 other groups in Northeast Ohio have banded together to form the Collective Arts Network (CAN), received a grant from the Ohio Arts Council, and produced a magazine-style journal touting their work. Ten thousand copies have been distributed to galleries and other hotspots in the city.
Next up, the CAN group is working on other kinds of collaboration, including programming, events and sustaining the journal as a quarterly publication.
Source: Liz Maugins
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Inefficient, drafty homes in Cleveland not only are an impediment to attracting savvy urban homebuyers, they're also a harsh economic reality for those who must swallow high utility bills. Despite the daunting prospect of renovating an old home, there are simple, cost-effective ways to save energy -- and money -- that don't involve notching the thermostat down another degree or donning Eskimo-like clothing.
That's the impetus behind Cleveland Energy $aver, a new program just launched by the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH), Cleveland Housing Network (CHN), LAND Studio and the U.S. Department of Energy. The program aims to make 100 homes in Cleveland energy-efficient by fall of this year.
Homeowners who enroll in this program can obtain a complete energy audit for a mere $50, a tidy sum that likely amounts to a fraction of their monthly heating bill. After the audit has been completed, owners will work with program staff to develop a scope of work, seek low-interest financing if needed, and hire a contractor. When the job is completed, professionals will help evaluate the work to make sure it's been done properly. As an enticement, owners will save 20 percent off the top, and another 20 percent when the work is complete.
“Cleveland Energy $aver will provide homeowners with tools they need to make energy-efficient improvements to their homes,” says Marcia Nolan, Executive Director of Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH). “It will also help Cleveland to become more sustainable and competitive to future residents.”
Source: Marcia Nolan
Writer: Lee Chilcote
That's the impetus behind Cleveland Energy $aver, a new program just launched by the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH), Cleveland Housing Network (CHN), LAND Studio and the U.S. Department of Energy. The program aims to make 100 homes in Cleveland energy-efficient by fall of this year.
Homeowners who enroll in this program can obtain a complete energy audit for a mere $50, a tidy sum that likely amounts to a fraction of their monthly heating bill. After the audit has been completed, owners will work with program staff to develop a scope of work, seek low-interest financing if needed, and hire a contractor. When the job is completed, professionals will help evaluate the work to make sure it's been done properly. As an enticement, owners will save 20 percent off the top, and another 20 percent when the work is complete.
“Cleveland Energy $aver will provide homeowners with tools they need to make energy-efficient improvements to their homes,” says Marcia Nolan, Executive Director of Cleveland Action to Support Housing (CASH). “It will also help Cleveland to become more sustainable and competitive to future residents.”
Source: Marcia Nolan
Writer: Lee Chilcote
trio of cleveland bars make draft mag's 100 best beer bars list
Cleveland bars scored a hat trick on DRAFT magazine’s "100 Best Beer Bars" list for 2012.
Lakewood’s local-brew institution the Buckeye Beer Engine was lauded for its ever-expanding beer list and “topnotch burger menu [that] keeps things interesting with wacky specials like the Xmas Dinner: a patty piled high with ham and sweet potatoes."
Oft-awarded Ohio City staple McNulty’s Bier Markt made the ranks not only for its Belgian and Belgian-inspired beer menu, but for the “test-drive” dynamic it shares with owner Sam McNulty’s new spot, Market Garden Brewery, across the street.
Of Bier Markt, the mag says, "The crowd’s young and cool, the bottle list is long, and the prices are on point: $24 for a 10-beer sampler? Yes, please."
Pulling for the East Side, La Cave du Vin was praised for its hearty collection of limited edition and rarity beers, with editors encouraging a trip to the Cleveland Heights beer bar “when management decides to dip into the archives.” Give us a call -- we locals are never too far away.
Drink up the rest of the good news here.
Lakewood’s local-brew institution the Buckeye Beer Engine was lauded for its ever-expanding beer list and “topnotch burger menu [that] keeps things interesting with wacky specials like the Xmas Dinner: a patty piled high with ham and sweet potatoes."
Oft-awarded Ohio City staple McNulty’s Bier Markt made the ranks not only for its Belgian and Belgian-inspired beer menu, but for the “test-drive” dynamic it shares with owner Sam McNulty’s new spot, Market Garden Brewery, across the street.
Of Bier Markt, the mag says, "The crowd’s young and cool, the bottle list is long, and the prices are on point: $24 for a 10-beer sampler? Yes, please."
Pulling for the East Side, La Cave du Vin was praised for its hearty collection of limited edition and rarity beers, with editors encouraging a trip to the Cleveland Heights beer bar “when management decides to dip into the archives.” Give us a call -- we locals are never too far away.
Drink up the rest of the good news here.
pier w included in list of top restaurant views in america
The Daily Meal, an online publication devoted to food and drink, recently published a feature crowning the "Top 20 Restaurant Views in America." Lakewood's Pier W restaurant garnered the #18 position.
"Some restaurants focus on locavorism, others on great service, and still others on creating unforgettable experiences and signature dishes. But there's a special category of restaurants across the country, one that showcases where they’re situated, creating over-the-top sensory experiences -- allowing diners to see for themselves the beauty that can be found only at that locale, and only from that specific table."
Of Pier W, the article states:
"This chic and stylized Cleveland landmark is placed right on the edge of scenic Lake Erie and across the lake from a stunning city skyline. Enjoy Pier W's romantic view as you sample the New American cuisine focused on seafood, especially the crab cakes and the bouillabaisse with fresh fish, mussels, clams, and shrimp."
Read the rest right here.
"Some restaurants focus on locavorism, others on great service, and still others on creating unforgettable experiences and signature dishes. But there's a special category of restaurants across the country, one that showcases where they’re situated, creating over-the-top sensory experiences -- allowing diners to see for themselves the beauty that can be found only at that locale, and only from that specific table."
Of Pier W, the article states:
"This chic and stylized Cleveland landmark is placed right on the edge of scenic Lake Erie and across the lake from a stunning city skyline. Enjoy Pier W's romantic view as you sample the New American cuisine focused on seafood, especially the crab cakes and the bouillabaisse with fresh fish, mussels, clams, and shrimp."
Read the rest right here.
While we pride ourselves here at Fresh Water in having crisp, professional prose, the truth is, without art, a feature is just font on a page. Pictures tell a thousand words, we're told, but the best ones simply leave us speechless. Every masthead and feature image since we launched this pub over a year ago has been shot by Fresh Water shooter Bob Perkoski. Here is a collection of some of his finest work.
When Fresh Water launched in September 2010, we promised to highlight Cleveland's most progressive and creative people, businesses and organizations. But more importantly, we endeavored to place those subjects against the most compelling backdrop of all: Cleveland and its wonderful neighborhoods. Each Thursday, our readers are invited to dig a little deeper into this city we call home. What follows is a list of the 10 most-read features of the previous 12 months. Looking at the subject matter of those stories, it's clear that the most important topics to our readers include neighborhood development, sustainability and transportation, and, of course, food and booze.
Despite its long-suffering reputation, Cleveland's real estate market seems just fine to Kosta Almiroudis, an entrepreneur who moved last year from New York City to Lakewood to revive dilapidated old apartment buildings for fun and profit. In the past year, he has bought, renovated and fully leased more than 50 once-vacant units.
"I come from a village in Greece that has a 1,300-year-old castle," says Almiroudis, whose wife's family also lives in the Cleveland area. "So I love acquiring these 100-year-old buildings and bringing them back to life."
The first project that Almiroudis tackled is a 45-unit apartment building situated on Detroit Avenue across from the former Phantasy Concert Club. When he first began visiting his wife's family in Cleveland, he was surprised to learn how affordable real estate prices were. "I sold a single-family home in Greece and had a down payment for a 45-unit apartment building," he says with a laugh.
Since then, he has bought and fixed up another 12-unit building and signed a contract for an additional 11-unit building next door. All of his properties are 100-percent leased. He says the key to being a successful landlord is purchasing distressed properties for no more than 60 percent of their current value, investing up to 85 percent of their post-rehab value and overseeing the work yourself.
Even so, getting a loan was no walk in the park. Lenders are still skittish because they're carrying bad loans from investors who got in over their heads during the boom years. Still, the only way out of the current housing mess and the surfeit of vacant, multi-family buildings is through lending to good investors, he says.
"I don't see many people doing what I'm doing now, most likely because the banks are not releasing funds for these kinds of projects," he says. "They have the money. The only way to put this neighborhood back together is with banks releasing funds. Private investors want to put money back into real estate."
Almouridis, who was weaned on interior renovation projects for the likes of Donald Trump while starting out in New York, isn't holding his breath for an avalanche of easy money, however. Instead, he's partnering with a private investor who sees apartments as a safe bet at a time of low homeownership, high apartment occupancy and wild, tough-to-fathom stock market swings. Together, the pair intend to purchase and rehabilitate additional apartments in Lakewood.
The value-laden properties are plentiful, he says, in part because the professional children of Lakewood's middle-class landlords seem to want nothing to do with rentals. "I think maybe it skips a generation," he says with another laugh.
Source: Kosta Almouridis
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"I come from a village in Greece that has a 1,300-year-old castle," says Almiroudis, whose wife's family also lives in the Cleveland area. "So I love acquiring these 100-year-old buildings and bringing them back to life."
The first project that Almiroudis tackled is a 45-unit apartment building situated on Detroit Avenue across from the former Phantasy Concert Club. When he first began visiting his wife's family in Cleveland, he was surprised to learn how affordable real estate prices were. "I sold a single-family home in Greece and had a down payment for a 45-unit apartment building," he says with a laugh.
Since then, he has bought and fixed up another 12-unit building and signed a contract for an additional 11-unit building next door. All of his properties are 100-percent leased. He says the key to being a successful landlord is purchasing distressed properties for no more than 60 percent of their current value, investing up to 85 percent of their post-rehab value and overseeing the work yourself.
Even so, getting a loan was no walk in the park. Lenders are still skittish because they're carrying bad loans from investors who got in over their heads during the boom years. Still, the only way out of the current housing mess and the surfeit of vacant, multi-family buildings is through lending to good investors, he says.
"I don't see many people doing what I'm doing now, most likely because the banks are not releasing funds for these kinds of projects," he says. "They have the money. The only way to put this neighborhood back together is with banks releasing funds. Private investors want to put money back into real estate."
Almouridis, who was weaned on interior renovation projects for the likes of Donald Trump while starting out in New York, isn't holding his breath for an avalanche of easy money, however. Instead, he's partnering with a private investor who sees apartments as a safe bet at a time of low homeownership, high apartment occupancy and wild, tough-to-fathom stock market swings. Together, the pair intend to purchase and rehabilitate additional apartments in Lakewood.
The value-laden properties are plentiful, he says, in part because the professional children of Lakewood's middle-class landlords seem to want nothing to do with rentals. "I think maybe it skips a generation," he says with another laugh.
Source: Kosta Almouridis
Writer: Lee Chilcote
guide book written for new arrivals and those who'd like to rediscover cleveland
A new Cleveland-centric book joins the slowly growing bookshelf of info-packed guides to our fair city. Written and self-published by Cleveland State University urban planning grad Justin Glanville, New to Cleveland: A Guide to (re)Discovering the City is targeted both to new arrivals as well as those who'd like to rediscover their city.
Readers will find general information about various Cleveland neighborhoods, including listings of restaurants, stores and cultural institutions. But also advice on where to send your kids to school, insights on the Cleveland real estate market, and the best neighborhoods for students, artists, professionals, retirees and those who want to live car-free or car-light.
The 250-page book includes more than 50 full-color illustrations by local artist Julia Kuo. The book is also printed in Cleveland.
The guide book is only the second to be written specifically about present-day Cleveland, the other being Avalon Travel's Moon Cleveland, penned by Fresh Water editor Douglas Trattner.
There will be a launch party from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Happy Dog.
Books are available online and at this weekend's Bazaar Bizarre.
Readers will find general information about various Cleveland neighborhoods, including listings of restaurants, stores and cultural institutions. But also advice on where to send your kids to school, insights on the Cleveland real estate market, and the best neighborhoods for students, artists, professionals, retirees and those who want to live car-free or car-light.
The 250-page book includes more than 50 full-color illustrations by local artist Julia Kuo. The book is also printed in Cleveland.
The guide book is only the second to be written specifically about present-day Cleveland, the other being Avalon Travel's Moon Cleveland, penned by Fresh Water editor Douglas Trattner.
There will be a launch party from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Happy Dog.
Books are available online and at this weekend's Bazaar Bizarre.
cuyahoga arts & culture announces this year's project support grants
On Monday, November 14th, the Board of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) approved 88 grants totaling $1,029,164 for its 2012 Project Support cycle. The awards include traditional PS I grants and the new Project Support II, a small grant program that provides awards of up to $5,000. Grants range in value from $625 to $49,333.
This year garnered the largest number of applications in CAC’s history. A total of 131 organizations submitted Intent to Apply materials, of which 118 of were eligible. This is an increase of 45% from the previous year, which was also a record-setter.
The largest recipient is Scenarios USA, a nonprofit that that uses writing and filmmaking to foster youth leadership in under-served teens. The smallest is River Valley Ringers, a community handbell choir in Cleveland Heights. Others include EcoWatch, Building Bridges, LakewoodAlive, and numerous neighborhood development corps.
See all the grants here.
This year garnered the largest number of applications in CAC’s history. A total of 131 organizations submitted Intent to Apply materials, of which 118 of were eligible. This is an increase of 45% from the previous year, which was also a record-setter.
The largest recipient is Scenarios USA, a nonprofit that that uses writing and filmmaking to foster youth leadership in under-served teens. The smallest is River Valley Ringers, a community handbell choir in Cleveland Heights. Others include EcoWatch, Building Bridges, LakewoodAlive, and numerous neighborhood development corps.
See all the grants here.
stop-motion trailer for lakewood resident's book on '80s vinyl art
"Put the Needle on the Record" is a new book by Lakewood resident Matthew Chojnacki. It is available locally at Room Service, Music Saves and DuoHome.
Here are the liner notes:
"From a dream of a vinyl collection, Chojnacki presents and compares more than 250 vinyl single covers that represent nearly every prominent '80s musician. However, this is not just a pop-cultural feast for the eyes. From hundreds of hours of interviews, Chojnacki allows the designers and visual talent behind Madonna, Prince, Pink Floyd, Queen, Adam Ant, Iron Maiden, The Clash, Pet Shop Boys, Van Halen, and more to tell the unheard stories behind the decade’s most iconic images."
Here are the liner notes:
"From a dream of a vinyl collection, Chojnacki presents and compares more than 250 vinyl single covers that represent nearly every prominent '80s musician. However, this is not just a pop-cultural feast for the eyes. From hundreds of hours of interviews, Chojnacki allows the designers and visual talent behind Madonna, Prince, Pink Floyd, Queen, Adam Ant, Iron Maiden, The Clash, Pet Shop Boys, Van Halen, and more to tell the unheard stories behind the decade’s most iconic images."
The odyssey that led Deba Gray and Serena Harragin, the couple behind Gray's Auctioneers, to Cleveland is as fascinating as the work they do. The journey, which ends in Lakewood, meandered through Key West and Chicago. It includes a career change in New York, a heart-wrenching epiphany, and the convincing of a reluctant partner.
msnbc calls melt's monster 'crazy gut-buster'
If you were unaware, October 25th is National Greasy Foods Day, a holiday either filled with fatty foods or, more likely, wholly ignored by the entire population. Regardless, our fun-loving fatty foods provider Melt Bar & Grilled was honored with a mention in MSNBC's listicle of "7 Crazy Gut-Busters for National Greasy Foods Day."
Receiving specific mention is the Monster, a grilled cheese "sandwich" that is more test than treat.
"Grilled cheese might be a guilty pleasure, but you could hardly call it a grease-bomb. Unless, of course, you are talking about the grilled cheese at Melt Bar and Grilled in Ohio. There, the Melt Challenge features a grilled cheese sandwich made with 13 types of cheese, 3 slices of grilled bread, french fries and coleslaw. The plate of food comes out to 5 pounds of gooey melted cheese, deep fried potatoes and carbs galore. If you eat the whole thing, you get a T-shirt, a $10 gift certificate, and your name in the Hall of Fame, so your gluttony will be preserved for posterity."
Read about the other entries here.
Receiving specific mention is the Monster, a grilled cheese "sandwich" that is more test than treat.
"Grilled cheese might be a guilty pleasure, but you could hardly call it a grease-bomb. Unless, of course, you are talking about the grilled cheese at Melt Bar and Grilled in Ohio. There, the Melt Challenge features a grilled cheese sandwich made with 13 types of cheese, 3 slices of grilled bread, french fries and coleslaw. The plate of food comes out to 5 pounds of gooey melted cheese, deep fried potatoes and carbs galore. If you eat the whole thing, you get a T-shirt, a $10 gift certificate, and your name in the Hall of Fame, so your gluttony will be preserved for posterity."
Read about the other entries here.
eater.com runs round-up of can't-miss cleveland restos
Eater.com, a national website that covers restaurants, chefs and food personalities, recently ran an article titled "The Eater Cleveland Heat Map." A regular feature of the publication, the Heat Maps tell readers about "newish locales that have been garnering serious buzz."
For the Cleveland article, Eater's second major heat-check of the 216 in a year, the pub asked local food writer (and Fresh Water managing editor) Douglas Trattner to list 10 new places that have locals talking, drooling and, of course, eating. Singled out for inclusion are Crop Bistro, Flour, Ginko, Market Garden Brewery, Noodlecat, Orale, Barroco Grill, Luna Bakery, Dragonfly and Club Isabella.
Accompanying those listings is an interactive map.
In addition to the national version of Eater, the website features city-specific sites devoted to foodie locales such as New York, Chicago, Portland and Seattle. For now, Cleveland will have to fall under the province of Eater National.
Digest the entire meal here.
For the Cleveland article, Eater's second major heat-check of the 216 in a year, the pub asked local food writer (and Fresh Water managing editor) Douglas Trattner to list 10 new places that have locals talking, drooling and, of course, eating. Singled out for inclusion are Crop Bistro, Flour, Ginko, Market Garden Brewery, Noodlecat, Orale, Barroco Grill, Luna Bakery, Dragonfly and Club Isabella.
Accompanying those listings is an interactive map.
In addition to the national version of Eater, the website features city-specific sites devoted to foodie locales such as New York, Chicago, Portland and Seattle. For now, Cleveland will have to fall under the province of Eater National.
Digest the entire meal here.
With its youth-friendly atmosphere, vibrant arts and culture scene, and main drags lined with restaurants, bars and funky shops, Lakewood has long felt like a college town without possessing a single university.
That's about to change. This week, Lakewood city officials are celebrating the opening of a new University of Akron satellite branch in the heart of that city. It will occupy an 11,000-square-foot space in the newly renovated Bailey Building at Warren and Detroit. Although it will open with only a handful of students, it eventually will offer classes to a few hundred pupils at a time.
"This is going to bring more people into downtown Lakewood, which will add to the urban vibrancy that's already here," says Ian Andrews, Executive Director of Lakewood Alive, a nonprofit economic development organization that will help to the market the branch. "More people on the sidewalk checking out the great amenities Lakewood has to offer will further drive up demand for goods and services."
The University of Akron has said that it plans to concentrate a few specific programs within the space, including health care and education degrees. The branch will also likely offer continuing education and distance learning programs.
This Thursday, the University of Akron and Lakewood city officials are celebrating the opening of the new branch with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5 pm and a public open house from 5-8 pm. Planned activities include guided tours, performances by groups from Lakewood High School and a distance learning technology demonstration. Members of the public are invited to attend.
Source: Ian Andrews
Writer: Lee Chilcote
That's about to change. This week, Lakewood city officials are celebrating the opening of a new University of Akron satellite branch in the heart of that city. It will occupy an 11,000-square-foot space in the newly renovated Bailey Building at Warren and Detroit. Although it will open with only a handful of students, it eventually will offer classes to a few hundred pupils at a time.
"This is going to bring more people into downtown Lakewood, which will add to the urban vibrancy that's already here," says Ian Andrews, Executive Director of Lakewood Alive, a nonprofit economic development organization that will help to the market the branch. "More people on the sidewalk checking out the great amenities Lakewood has to offer will further drive up demand for goods and services."
The University of Akron has said that it plans to concentrate a few specific programs within the space, including health care and education degrees. The branch will also likely offer continuing education and distance learning programs.
This Thursday, the University of Akron and Lakewood city officials are celebrating the opening of the new branch with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5 pm and a public open house from 5-8 pm. Planned activities include guided tours, performances by groups from Lakewood High School and a distance learning technology demonstration. Members of the public are invited to attend.
Source: Ian Andrews
Writer: Lee Chilcote
St. Paul's Lutheran Church couldn't save itself, yet the developer of a new CVS in Lakewood is at least saving it from the wrecking ball. Zaremba Group, a Lakewood-based developer, has recycled 80 to 90 percent of St. Paul's Lutheran Church at 15501 Detroit Avenue, where a new drug store is slated to be built this fall.
Some of the church's finer elements have been rescued from the landfill and soon will gain new life as locally-made furniture or raised garden beds. The bulk of the steel, brick and concrete will be crushed and recycled as fill.
Sean McDermott, Senior Development Manager with Zaremba Group, says that while it's unusual for retail developers to recycle old buildings, the historic character of the church cried out for some kind of creative reuse.
"We found huge timbers in the roof trusses -- eight-inch-square yellow pine that was over 100 years old," he says. "Because of the age of this stuff and the fact that you can't find it anymore, we knew reusing it was the right thing to do."
Zaremba Group partnered with Reclaimed Cleveland, a Lakewood-based company run by Aaron Gogolin, to harvest the church's floorboards, woodwork and oak doors. These materials will be made into furniture.
The developer also donated truckloads of bricks to Lakewood Earth and Food for use in the city's community gardens.
While several large trees on the property are being cut down, that wood will also be used to make furniture. Additionally, Zaremba plans to plant several large trees that will ultimately grow to a height of 35 feet.
The most costly aspect of the recycling project, according to McDermott, was the time delay it caused. He adds that while this the biggest recycling project Zaremba has undertaken, the company would definitely consider doing it again.
The new CVS will also have some green features, including three bioswales that will catch and release storm water into the ground rather than into storm sewers. This will help to reduce stormwater fees, which are rising with the Northeast Ohio Sewer District's new regulations, while also helping the environment.
Source: Sean McDermott
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Some of the church's finer elements have been rescued from the landfill and soon will gain new life as locally-made furniture or raised garden beds. The bulk of the steel, brick and concrete will be crushed and recycled as fill.
Sean McDermott, Senior Development Manager with Zaremba Group, says that while it's unusual for retail developers to recycle old buildings, the historic character of the church cried out for some kind of creative reuse.
"We found huge timbers in the roof trusses -- eight-inch-square yellow pine that was over 100 years old," he says. "Because of the age of this stuff and the fact that you can't find it anymore, we knew reusing it was the right thing to do."
Zaremba Group partnered with Reclaimed Cleveland, a Lakewood-based company run by Aaron Gogolin, to harvest the church's floorboards, woodwork and oak doors. These materials will be made into furniture.
The developer also donated truckloads of bricks to Lakewood Earth and Food for use in the city's community gardens.
While several large trees on the property are being cut down, that wood will also be used to make furniture. Additionally, Zaremba plans to plant several large trees that will ultimately grow to a height of 35 feet.
The most costly aspect of the recycling project, according to McDermott, was the time delay it caused. He adds that while this the biggest recycling project Zaremba has undertaken, the company would definitely consider doing it again.
The new CVS will also have some green features, including three bioswales that will catch and release storm water into the ground rather than into storm sewers. This will help to reduce stormwater fees, which are rising with the Northeast Ohio Sewer District's new regulations, while also helping the environment.
Source: Sean McDermott
Writer: Lee Chilcote
When savvy small business owners with an eye for form and function set their sights on historic Cleveland properties, the resulting atmosphere soars beyond the reach of boxy suburban strip malls and bland skyscrapers. Behold recycling on the most profound level: repurposing spaces created decades ago into modern, functional, and inspiring workplaces.