President Obama came to Cleveland on Tuesday to hear what small business owners say they need to grow their businesses and thus strengthen the U.S. economy. But the President took the time to praise the region for its growth in biotechnology, sustainability and other innovations.

"Cleveland is a city founded on manufacturing," the President said during his closing remarks on the Winning the Future Forum on Small Business, held at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Cent... Read more >

The Capitol Theatre, a three-screen movie theater at Detroit and W. 65th Street that opened in late 2009, has met its projections by attracting 45,000 patrons in its first year.

The pioneering venue is the only indie movie theater on Cleveland's west side. The Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DCSDO), the nonprofit developer, secured financing and broke ground on the project just a few months before the collapse of the financial markets in 2008. The the... Read more >

Justin Husher graduated with an MBA from Cleveland State University in May of 2008 -- just in time for the collapse of the financial markets.

Instead of wringing his hands, Husher considered his bleak job prospects as a sign. "I never wanted to be a banker," he told the audience at last week's forum on vacant land reuse at Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs. His college major had been botany, and he'd always dreamed of tending the soil.

... Read more >

Rachel Talton, Ph.D. was one of the entrepreneurs invited by the Obama Administration to attend Tuesday's Winning the Future Forum on Small Business. Talton, co-founder of Cleveland-based Trust, a marketing and management consultant agency, and founder and CEO of Fairlawn-based Synergy Marketing Strategy & Research, joined about 20 other small business owners and entrepreneurs in a discussion on entrepreneurism. They had the ear of President Obama himself, who took the time to... Read more >

For Jonathan Husni, founder and president of Cleveland-based IT development firm Acendex, It's not enough to sit back and reflect on how his company emerged from the recession relatively unscathed. The fact that Acendex had no layoffs and managed to gain an impressive list of clients over the last few years motivates Husni and his team to set impressive goals for 2011.

"We are focusing on making raving fans of a number of new customers this year," says Husni. "Acendex ant... Read more >

The stately Tudor Arms has been vacant since 2007 when its last tenant, Cleveland Job Corps, moved to a new home. Now, thanks to a $22 million restoration project, the landmark property appears set to reclaim some of its former glory when it reopens this spring as a Double Tree Hotel. The project is the latest in a string of successful urban developments by local firm MRN Ltd.

A new Mediterranean-themed restaurant will open this April in the Tudor Arms, a landmark at East 107th and Carnegie Avenue that is undergoing a $22-million makeover to a Double Tree Hotel.

The restaurant will be operated by Samir Khouri, owner of Somer's restaurants in Cleveland, Bedford and North Ridgeville, and Serge Elias, owner of Cedarland at the Clinic, a popular Middle Eastern Restaurant.

Tentatively called the Canopy, the restaurant will feature a menu o... Read more >

Artist Nicolette Capuano has spent the past year painstakingly restoring the ornate plaster trim and low relief sculptures in the Tudor Arms building.

Yet she's doing more than simply recreating the past; she has worked closely with building owner Rick Maron and designer Cindy Rae Cohen to create her own masterpieces -- original, hand-painted murals -- that will grace the landmark structure.

"We wanted to highlight the beauty of this historic building while addi... Read more >

Winners of a new entrepreneurial contest will have the opportunity to develop a novel idea or product that embodies the innovative spirit described in President Obama's State of the Union address. Cleveland's recently launched Manufacturing Mart has announced a competition called "The Export Experiment," a new-product competition designed to grow business for American component manufacturers.

To be eligible, a product must be manufacturable in the United States and design... Read more >

Valerie Mayen may have left Season 8 of Project Runway prematurely, but she won't be leaving Cleveland anytime soon. In addition to headquartering her burgeoning fashion label Yellowcake here, the Corpus Christie native will soon launch an innovative sewing co-op for budding designers. And that is just the beginning.

Northeast Ohio's ingenuity in polymers and advanced materials is having a positive impact on the region's production of flexible electronics products for the global market. FlexMatters, a cluster of businesses, suppliers, service providers and institutions within the flexible electronics industry, has attracted a significant amount of capital from public and private sources in the last several months.

NorTech, which launched FlexMatters to address low-cost manufacturing o... Read more >

Inspired by one of Mahatma Ghandi's famous mantras -- "we must become the change we wish to see in the world" -- Open Yoga Gallery, a yoga studio with a mission, will launch this weekend at 4736 Lorain Avenue in Ohio City.

"One of our goals is to get people onto the yoga mat for the first time," says April Arotin, the studio's founder. To that end, Open Yoga offers several classes per week that merely suggest a donation. During the opening weekend, the studio will offer ... Read more >

Two weeks ago, we told you about the many jobs likely to develop in the area over the next several years thanks to a wind turbine project on Lake Erie. Lorry Wagner, Ph.D., president of Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo), which is overseeing the project, says that Cleveland's growing expertise in the wind energy industry could reach well beyond the local shores.

The wind turbine pilot project, which is in its infant stages, will be a learning process for th... Read more >