The average distance an Old Brooklyn resident travels to visit a grocery store is 4.2 miles, and Save-a-Lot is the neighborhood’s only true grocery store within boundaries. For these and other reasons, Old Brooklyn is considered a food desert, where one-fifth of the residents report choosing between food and housing in terms of affordability. So beyond the burgeoning dollar menus of the neighborhood's abundant fast fooderies and not-so-abundant grocery stores, how does one navigate this food desert?

From 107 applicants to the lucky final seven, the second installment of Cleveland Chain Reaction has reached its exciting conclusion. This morning at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Fox 8’s Kenny Crumpton announced the seven winning businesses chosen to receive over $700,000 in investment (more than $200,000 over the initial commitment). The announcement also foreshadows the next wave of economic development in Old Brooklyn, this year’s Chain Reaction neighborhood.

Cleveland has long been considered a hotbed of healthcare innovation, but how healthy are its own communities at the neighborhood level? That’s the question that Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation sought to answer by commissioning an ambitious Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) for the Old Brooklyn neighborhood.

Every tree tells a story, but this one is for the (record) books. Aptly located behind the athletic complex at James Ford Rhodes High School, the Jesse Owens Olympic Oak tree pays homage to the track star of the same name who brought home four gold medals from the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin—and, right now, the tree is having a moment.

Driving down Pearl Road from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo to its intersection with State Road, it’s hard not to notice the eight whimsical carrot sculptures that dot the streetscape and ponder their significance. “There has been a lot of curiosity about it,” shares Vince Reddy of LAND studio, which helped bring the project to fruition. “People are always wondering, ‘Where did these things come from?’”
 

Barbershops offer much more than traditional haircuts in Old Brooklyn—where barber chairs double as school desks, as psychologists’ couches, as job counselor offices, and as safe spaces. 

Yesterday, a festive ribbon-cutting celebration feted the opening of William Rainey Harper—replete with drum corps, performances by Pre-K students, and an appearance by CMSD CEO Eric Gordon. The school welcomed its inaugural groups of Pre-K to third grade students on August 13, becoming only the third CMSD school to follow the International Baccalaureate model. It's also the first new public school to be constructed from the ground up in Old Brooklyn since the mid-1960s.

Where chocolate and cheese intersect, there are always plenty of foodies to be found, and this weekend’s joint pop-up between Lilly Chocolates & Confections and Old Brooklyn Cheese Company was no exception. It’s fitting these two businesses would team up at this moment in time—after all, both are poised to do big things in Old Brooklyn in the near future. 

At 10:30 a.m. on September 2nd, Gateway Church Old Brooklyn will hold the first service in its brand-new home at 4542 Pearl Rd. in a shared space with Unity Lutheran Church, located on the southeast corner of Behrwald Ave. It's the hard-earned culmination of five years of community building in Old Brooklyn for pastor Tony Loseto and his wife, Beth.

Originally slated to close yesterday, the Asian Lantern Festival has been such a popular attraction this summer that Cleveland Metroparks decided to extend the luminous, intricate exhibit that winds through the lower zoo ground for two more weeks through Labor Day weekend. That's a testament to the hard work of Metroparks staff, plus the 35 lantern makers who came to Cleveland from China to lend an authentic touch.

Take an in-depth look at the past and present of Old Brooklyn, the site of FreshWater's first-ever On the Ground community reporting project.

113 years after it was first annexed by the city of Cleveland, Old Brooklyn is becoming new again. With a steadily shifting population (including rapidly growing African-American and Latino demographics) and an equally changing economic landscape (with Chain Reaction bringing at least five new businesses into the area), Old Brooklyn is entering a new era. FreshWater Cleveland is excited to cover the neighborhood’s ongoing transformation in its first-ever On the Ground community reporting initiative.

Now that Old Brooklyn has been chosen as the site for the second iteration of Cleveland Chain Reaction, who are the businesses that will set up shop on its streets? This week’s Business Pitch Showcase took Chain Reaction hopefuls one giant step closer to answering that question. With the field narrowed down from 107 initial applicants, the remaining 18 semi-finalists took center stage at COSE’s downtown headquarters to give their “Shark Tank”-style pitches for why they should be one of five businesses chosen to receive at least $100,000 of investment.

Just as there are few things more refreshing than a scoop of ice cream from Ohio City-based Mason's Creamery on a hot summer night, owners Helen Qin and Jesse Mason think perhaps the one thing Clevelanders need to get them though the work week is an early morning dance party.

Kids in Cleveland’s neighborhoods don’t always get a chance to experience all nature has to offer in the summer months. Officials in Old Brooklyn want to change that factor and introduce elementary school students to the abundance of beauty in their own backyards with the brand-new Crooked River Exploration Camp, which will showcase all Cuyahoga Valley National Park has to offer.

Ahhh, to be a kid again—if only to experience the ridiculously cool summer camps available around Cleveland. From golf games to wizardly fun, these six camps go well beyond the traditional to offer unique and unforgettable experiences for local youth.

Some people may instantly think of Seattle—the birthplace of Starbucks—when they discuss leaders of the national coffee scene. Others might point to trendy newcomers like Portland or major metropolitan cities like New York and San Francisco. But there’s a potent coffee scene percolating right here in Cleveland, with new java stops cropping up almost as quickly as breweries and restaurants.

Businesses like City Diner and Vino Veritas Winery are just a few that have popped up in Old Brooklyn in the last 16 months—and now, thanks to Cleveland Chain Reaction, five more businesses will set up shop this year with the announcement that Old Brooklyn will be the location of this year’s business competition.