Joel Borwick has owned Seitz-Agin Hardware in Cleveland Heights for 38 of the store's 56 years. To loyal customers, he and his staff are well-known for dispensing home repair tips, doling out contractor referrals, and selling only what shoppers need.

The store has proudly survived the onslaught of big box stores. When Home Depot and Wal-Mart opened at nearby Severance, Seitz-Agin trundled on, propelled by a loyal fan base and friendly personal service. Years of customer ... Read more >

Salty Not Sweet, an independent boutique and letterpress studio, opened this month in a storefront on West 25th Street in Ohio City. It is one of several new businesses that have opened this year in the Market District, adding to a redevelopment trend in the area.

The store, which first opened a year ago in the Waterloo Arts District, features unique wares that are carefully sourced by co-owner Candra Squire, including merchandise from Megan Lee Designs (a screen-printed ... Read more >

A recent study by the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) examines where artists are living in Northeast Ohio. Perhaps it's no surprise that artists tend to populate urban neighborhoods where they can find spacious, affordable housing (including space for studios), walkable streets, diversity and public spaces that foster social interaction.

The report shows that Cleveland Heights is Northeast Ohio's top community for artists -- collectively, the Cedar-Fair... Read more >

It's a well known fact that institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals are growth engines in Cleveland's economy these days. A lesser-known fact is that these institutions and others have emerged as leaders in greening Northeast Ohio's economy.

In recent months, Case, University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, Tri-C, Kent State, Oberlin College, Cleveland State University and the Fowler Center for Sustainable Value at... Read more >

"Flour Girl" Bridget Cavanaugh Thiebault creates artfully decorated cakes, cookies and pastries that are as dreamy to gaze upon as they are to devour. In the past, however, her delectable confections were available only through custom orders or at special events. You practically had to get married to have a taste.

That will change later this month when Thiebault opens Luna Bakery and Café in the Cedar-Fairmount district of Cleveland Heights. Partnering with Stone Oven ow... Read more >

Explorys has formed one of the largest healthcare databases in the world, helping medical professionals provide better patient care and diagnoses. Spun off from the Cleveland Clinic in 2009 by Charlie Lougheed and Stephen McHale, Explorys has become one of the world's largest data platforms with over three billion clinical events and partner agreements with major healthcare systems that span over 10 million patients nationwide.

In its short life, Explorys has gotten six m... Read more >

Old Brooklyn has long been considered a hidden gem by its residents. Minutes from downtown and within walking distance of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the neighborhood boasts quiet, tree-lined streets and a bevy of independent shops and friendly taverns.

Yet neighborhood advocates are hoping it won't be a well-kept secret much longer. That's why they've organized Pop Up Pearl, a one day block party that will fill the empty storefronts on Pearl Avenue with shops, entertai... Read more >

Pedal for Prizes is a two-wheeled treasure hunt through Cleveland's Old Brooklyn neighborhood that will offer participants a chance to win more than $2,000 worth of prizes simply by visiting neighborhood businesses. The event takes place this Saturday, May 21st at Loew Park.

Here's how it will work: Upon check-in, bicyclists receive a map of 20 destinations and points of interest in Old Brooklyn. While exploring the neighborhood, riders make pit-stops at local landmarks l... Read more >

After 35 years in the ad game -- and induction into the Advertising Hall of Fame -- Alan Glazen retired, looking forward long days spent swinging on his Lake Erie island hammock. But that's not what happened. Despite not knowing the first thing about running a restaurant, Glazen reluctantly found himself doing exactly that. As the owner of three successful concepts, Glazen wants others to join him.

What started as a business plan competition at Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 2003 has today turned into a thriving pet insurance business for CEO Laura Bennett and chief marketing officer Alex Krooglik. Embrace Pet Insurance offers comprehensive insurance plans for pets with a focus on customer service.

"It came about when a friend's cat got sick," explains Bennett. "She spent $5,000 to take care of it. We saw pet insurance had huge poten... Read more >

As a law student at CSU's Cleveland Marshall College of Law, Art Geigel noticed a flaw in the way he and his fellow students took notes in class. Almost everybody took notes using their laptops and Microsoft Word, compiling seemingly endless documents with no way of organizing the information.

"I kept thinking to myself, 'There's a better way to do this than to keep taking notes in one constantly growing Word document,'" says Geigel.

That "better way," says G... Read more >

Tucked between University Circle and Cleveland Heights, Little Italy is one of Cleveland's most charming and historic neighborhoods. Aluminum-sided doubles nestle against modern pastel-colored townhomes, while art galleries and Italian restaurants dot Mayfield and Murray Hill roads.

Although Italians no longer are the neighborhood's predominant ethnic group, much of the real estate is still owned by the Italian families that settled here nearly a century ago. Popular wit... Read more >

When Murray Hill Market opened in Little Italy in January, owner Michelle Iacobelli Buckholtz revived the tradition of the small neighborhood market that existed when her father grew up in the area.

This summer, Buckholtz will bring back another grand neighborhood tradition: the sidewalk cafe and alfresco market. Having obtained her peddler's license, she plans to add outdoor seating and sales displays this summer.

"We want to be different from Whole Foods and ... Read more >

COSE members will bring their causes to Columbus on Wednesday, May 25, for COSE Day at the Capitol. For the past five years, COSE members have used the day to meet with policy makers, network and bring their issues to the table.

"People don't have to be political," says Brynn Allio, director of government and external relations for COSE. "They just have to be willing to share their stories."

About 50 participants will board a bus in Cleveland at 6:30 a.m. at the ... Read more >

When Tyler Elevator moved its facilities to the 'burbs, it left behind over one million square feet of vacant warehouse space. A labyrinth of two-dozen brick buildings spread across 10 acres, Tyler possessed more than its share of challenges when it was acquired by Graystone Properties. Today, Tyler has been reborn as a thriving entrepreneurial district -- a bona fide urban village on the fringes of downtown.

Architect David Ellison had been watching the dilapidated cluster of buildings at the southwest corner of W. 41st and Lorain fall apart for years. His dismay only grew as copper thieves looted the property, rainwater poured through the roof, and illegal activity soared in the shadows of the boarded-up building.

When Ellison learned that the City of Cleveland had granted a permit to tear the buildings down, he decided to do something. "One way to improve real estate value... Read more >