It's a match made in culinary heaven, to be certain. Bursting at the seams of their respective home-based kitchens, an artisan cookie maker and a scratch baker have joined forces to open a cozy bakeshop and catering kitchen at 4261 Mayfield in South Euclid.

"It's busier than I expected -- we've got nice foot traffic and neighborhood traffic," says Bob Sferra, owner of the full-service catering company Culinary Occasions, who partnered with Christine Mehling of Better Bit of Butter Cookies to open the Better Occasions Shop. Sferra, who got his start under famed Cleveland chef Parker Bosley, has studied French pastry arts and sources many ingredients locally.

Mehling is known for her creative, artisan cookies, including the cranberry-coconut with lemon glaze and apricot-cashew with lime glaze. She uses only natural products, including real butter and eggs from free-range chickens.

Sferra's business is up about 20 percent from last year, something he attributes to his growing referral-based business and the storefront. "The front is nice. It opens up the conversation to someone wanting to cater a party for the holidays," he says, adding that the shop is "somewhere in between homey and a little bit hip."

Adds Sferra: "When you take butter, eggs, sugar, chocolate and dried fruit and make something without adding any junk… For me, it’s almost like when I was a kid growing up in an Italian family. It’s just good. It’s good and it’s uncomplicated."

The Better Occasions Shop is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.


Source: Bob Sferra
Writer: Lee Chilcote

To be truly successful at neighborhood redevelopment, CDCs must change how they do business, says Joel Ratner, president of Neighborhood Progress Inc. They must adopt a holistic strategy that combines bricks-and-mortar development with high-performing schools, social services, and other amenities that residents need and want. 

The musCLE house may not be a gym or cable-access bodybuilding show, but it does give Cleveland students the opportunity to flex their musical talents in exchange for a bit of their free time.

Students taking part in the program receive one hour of free music lessons in exchange for volunteering one hour toward philanthropic involvement or community service, says musCLE house co-founder Eric Kogelschatz.

The Detroit native created the program with his wife Hallie Bram Kogelschatz and Cleveland Institute of Music alums Ariel Clayton and Carlos Javier. The musCLE house works with students from Cleveland Municipal School District, although its co-founder would like to expand the program to other districts.

"Music is a basic building block of intelligence," Kogelschatz explains. Due to school districts cutting music programs, "not enough young people have exposure to it."

The musCLE house launched its fundraising campaign this week. Kogelschatz aims to raise $55,000 over the next two months to finance more than 600 hours of music lessons from paid instructors, along with the procurement of instruments, sheet music and more.

With its volunteerism aspect, the program has the tenet of community building at its core, says Kogelschatz. Adding music to the mix is a bonus for the Shaker Heights resident, who grew up playing the saxophone and clarinet.

"We're encouraging kids to get involved with their communities," he says. "Students get to see the change taking place around them, and they're getting a reward."

 
SOURCE: Eric Kogelschatz
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Amplified Wind Solutions, a Cleveland State University company behind a wind amplification system that can produce up to six times more electricity than a typical wind turbine, won second place and $600 in the student business competition at JumpStart’s Entrepreneur Expo November 13.
 
The AWS founders are targeting the telecommunications industry. “This system can be placed on top of cell phone towers in remote and urban locations, and be used to power the equipment on site,” explains CEO Niki Zmij. “In today's world, wireless communication is growing explosively and as a result more and more towers are going up in the U.S. and abroad. Each new tower has to be powered.”
 
Amplified Wind Solutions was founded in February 2012, based on technology invented by Majid Rashidi, chair of CSU’s engineering technology department. Zmij is working on her MBA. Other company members include Terry Thiele, director of sustainable product strategies at the Lubrizol Corporation. The team recently added Jon Stehura, financial manager at Laird Technologies and former CFO of ParkOhio.
 
AWS has two prototypes -- one at CSU and one at Progressive Field -- and a third prototype in the works that will be the version marketed to the telecommunications industry.
 
Zmij was so busy at the Entrepreneur Expo that she didn’t sit down all day. “It really helped AWS gain exposure within our community as well as make important connections that will support our business development,” she says, adding that she might have found some investment leads as well. “I did speak with a few individuals in the venture capital space who thought our idea was a compelling one and are interested in learning more about our plans.”
 
In addition to the $600, AWS has the opportunity to receive mentoring from JumpStart. “The mentoring alone has an incredible value for our business development,” says Zmij. Student teams from CWRU and Kent State were also winners in the competition.

 
Source: Niki Zmij
Writer: Karin Connelly

Caley Coleff first began collecting vintage furniture from flea markets with her grandfather when she was a little girl. Once the furniture was home, she'd watch her grandfather refinish it, absorbing his techniques even when he thought she wasn't paying attention.

This month, Coleff unveiled a vintage store that pays tribute to those early experiences while adding her own unique twist. Located at 11102 Detroit Avenue in Cudell, Heck's Revival is named after her grandfather, whose last name was Heck.

"I started doing stuff from my home because you can't afford nice, well-made furniture anymore," she explains. "If you buy something it's the cheapo [stuff] that falls apart. I had a lot, so I started doing custom orders and selling to friends. I never realized I was actually good at it, I was just making stuff that I liked."

Then Coleff met her business partner, Jill Krznaric ("It's Croatian, even though I'm not"), and a business idea was born. Krznaric is into retro items like old barstools, while Coleff likes to take French Provincial furniture and paint it with cool designs. Together, they found a space with hardwood floors that they liked and signed a lease.

"A lot of our stuff comes out of the trash," says Coleff, who is 26 years old and also tends bar. "It's beat up and broken and people think it's out of style. We stain it, prime it and put it back together. Then I paint it with cool colors and designs."

The most expensive item in Heck's Revival is a $400 dresser that Coleff painted with a white background and a black outline of Marilyn Monroe's face. The least expensive items are old retro kitchen stuff that sell for a buck apiece.

"As new as we are, I thought it would have taken a lot longer to pick up. We've been doing really, really well," effuses Coleff, who aims to create a younger, more accessible kind of vintage retailer. "People like it enough to tell their friends."

Heck's Revival, which opened in mid-November, has regular hours on Mondays from 12-7 p.m., Wednesdays-Fridays from 12-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 12-4 p.m.


Source: Caley Coleff
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Soldiers are trained to not leave their comrades behind on the battlefield. That commitment shouldn't be relinquished by the public once combat veterans return from war, say supporters of housing solution organization Purple Heart Homes.
The City of South Euclid is partnering with the North Carolina-based nonprofit to build a home for Clevelander Demond Taylor, a veteran of the U.S. campaign in Iraq now suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The city, along with Purple Heart Homes, One South Euclid Community Development Corporation, and the Cuyahoga Land Bank, will renovate the home located at 1171 Avondale Road. While Purple Heart Homes was founded in 2008 by two Iraq combat veterans, the idea to use their services locally was that of retired South Euclid service director and Vietnam veteran Ed Gallagher, says director of community services Keith Ari Benjamin.

The home has not been lived in for several years and needs new windows, flooring, interior walls, plumbing and more. South Euclid is taking cash donations as well as in-kind donations like paint. Contractors willing to help rebuild the home on a volunteer basis are also needed

South Euclid held a mission kickoff event on Monday, November 12, with the eventual aim of  raising $60,000 to $70,000 to refurbish the house. The program drew over 100 people, some of whom have already stepped forward to give of their money or time. "It's great to see so many folks wanting to get involved, but we're going to need more," says Benjamin.

South Euclid has set up a website and Facebook page for those wanting to contribute. Purple Heart Homes immediately contributed $20,000, which will allow work on the house to begin as soon as next week. Construction should be completed by the spring.

The city has implemented several home rehab projects since the housing crisis began. Says Benjamin, It's an honor for South Euclid to give the dream of home ownership to someone who's sacrificed so much.

"Our goal is to welcome veterans like Demond," he says. "We want to take care of him like he took care of us when he served our country."

 
SOURCE: Keith Ari Benjamin
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

"Wayfinding,” the use of signs, maps and other graphic sources of information to navigate one's surroundings, has become a vital issue in the redevelopment of our city thanks to splashy new developments and the increasing popularity of old ones.

Doug Katz, chef-owner of the popular Fire Food and Drink at Shaker Square, has purchased the defunct diners on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights and plans to use them as home base for his growing catering operation and open a funky, artisanal deli.

"It's a perfect catering kitchen," says Katz of the 3,000 square foot kitchen in the rear of the diner cars. "In one of the diner cars, I'm going to create a Fire-quality diner that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the other one, I'm going to create a space people can use for a catered function."

Katz, who lives in Cleveland Heights, fell in love with the diners 10 years ago when one of his neighbors, Big Fun owner Steve Presser, bought them in Maryland and New Jersey and then opened Dottie's Diner and Sweet City Diner. Although the project was unsuccessful, Katz hopes to realize some of Presser's original vision.

"We want to do something that the neighborhood really could use," he says. "The location is just sort of sleeping right now. The Bottlehouse is there. We're going to create a little district for ourselves and extend the Cedar-Lee District north."

The yet-to-be-named diner will offer egg dishes, locally roasted coffee, housemade baked goods that may include sticky buns and donuts, and classic diner items like hot and cold sandwiches, soups and salads that can be ordered in or made to go.

"This will not be the dollar-ninety-nine, blue plate special diner," he says, citing prices in the $10-15 range for main dishes. "It's going to be all about supporting local farmers and offering people the kind of diner experience I can be proud of."

Katz will also offer deli trays for parties. "We're going to do it in a really awesome house-made way," he says. "If we do a club sandwich, we'll make our own bacon."

Katz is shooting for a March opening.


Source: Doug Katz
Writer: Lee Chilcote

It can be said that not only did Buck Harris live and work in Cleveland's Detroit Shoreway neighborhood before it was cool, he also had a hand in making the community cool in the first place.

Harris, a Lakewood native, has lived in the near west side neighborhood for 35 years, opening in 2002 a yoga studio called There’s No Place Like Om. Running a business at that time was a risk, but it wasn't the first Harris has taken when it comes to his beloved community. In 1992, he founded Bridge Brigade, "a guerilla-type community action group" created to push back against the crime that was inundating Bridge Avenue between W. 45th and W. 58th streets.

In those days, street corners were manned by gangs, drug dealers and prostitutes, while the surrounding neighborhood was blighted with dilapidated homes. Bridge Brigade members would patrol the streets in specially marked cars, using a CB radio to inform police of blatant criminal activity. Members also put up signs throughout the neighborhood to let drug dealers know they were being watched.

"We got chased a couple times," says Harris. "Things could get pretty hairy."

This year marked two milestones for Harris and his Bridge Brigade. The block group celebrated its 20th anniversary last summer with a street festival. In early November, the group's founder received an award for his good work from the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization.

Harris, who shared the community service award with life partner and fellow Bridge Brigade member Michael O'Connor, is proud to be one of Detroit Shoreway's "urban pioneers," he says. Along with the yoga studio, Harris also owned a restaurant in the neighborhood, and he's been thrilled to have been at ground zero for such area revitalization efforts as the Gordon Square Arts District.

Bridge Avenue, in particular, has seen an upswing with new townhouse projects and more. "I never would have believed the street would look like what it does today," says Harris. "There are people out jogging and walking. There was a time when people were afraid to walk around."

Ironically, the community's renewal is doing well to make Bridge Brigade nearly obsolete. "Attendance has definitely dropped," Harris says. "There's no longer a threat to fight."

That is not a bad problem to have, notes the block group founder. "I love the diversity here, and the proximity to West Side Market," says Harris. "Helping to create a neighborhood is a nice feather in my cap."

 
SOURCE: Buck Harris
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Daniel Cuffaro has been working in design for 20 years. He knows how an inspiring, eclectic workspace can act as fuel for creative minds, promoting interaction among those who essentially use their imagination for a living.

Such was the idea behind Cuffaro's founding of Abeo Design, a Lakewood-based company that builds aesthetically distinctive office/studio workstations with a sustainable bent. Unlike your typical office furniture, the spindly "Hive" workstations are designed with both functionality and adaptability in mind, Cuffaro says.

Each station is comprised of a work surface and storage shelf embedded with LED lighting. The entire unit is on wheels, making a studio or office easy to reconfigure as projects or teams change, notes Cuffaro. This is not something you could readily do with a set of hard-to-move cubicles.

"Our product is a dynamic and customizable alternative,” he says.

The workstations also fulfill a practical need. They are made of wood and other building materials reclaimed from abandoned Cleveland houses deconstructed during the foreclosure crisis. Cuffaro, head of the industrial design program at The Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), first got the idea for Abeo in 2009 when he was developing the layout for the school's design studio. At the time, there was a growing market for raw materials harvested from foreclosed homes, so why not build CIA's studio furniture with those resources?

"I had a desire to turn a bad situation into something salvageable," Cuffaro says.

His first customer also happens to be his current employer. CIA recently purchased a handful of the $6,000-and-up workstations from Abeo, which works with Northeast Ohio companies A Piece of Cleveland and Benchmark Craftsmen to make the product a reality.

A portion of Abeo's profits will support CIA programs. Meanwhile, Cuffaro will continue to live by the company's name. In Latin, Abeo ( pronounced "a-bay-o") means "change" or "transformation." Turning trash into something of value is good for both the company and a sustainable Cleveland, he says.

 
SOURCE: Daniel Cuffaro
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Last summer, leaders of the Flats Forward initiative assembled a diverse group of area stakeholders and sent them in a boat down the Cuyahoga River to talk about how they could solve their problems together.

If ever a vivid metaphor was needed, the experience provided one. "It was the first time that people from Cargill Salt were able to talk to people from the bike community in a real, honest, transparent way," says Dan Moulthrop of the Civic Commons, which helped to facilitate the event. "This was not a meeting up on the 24th floor somewhere."

The boat ride was part of an inclusive process designed to spur the revitalization of the Flats Corridor. For years, Cleveland's historic birthplace lacked an effective advocate. Now, after more than a year of work, a new group has formed.

Flats Forward Inc., Cleveland's newest community development corporation, will oversee the redevelopment of the Flats District. The group has a diverse board of stakeholders and a search is underway for an Executive Director. The group is currently housed within the offices of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority.

At a recent meeting, Flats Forward representatives touted the East Bank project, the Port Authority's stewardship of the lake and river, the steadily advancing Towpath Trail and Rivergate Park as signs of positive progress in the area.

"When I got here, I was immediately drawn to the Flats and the industrial river valley, and I knew that the Port would get involved," said William Friedman, CEO of the Port Authority, of his organization's commitment to the Flats. "This is one of the most unique maritime environments in the world, and we can tap into that."


Source: Dan Moulthrop, William Friedman
Writer: Lee Chilcote

That's no crass come-on, but rather an effort to advocate for a Cleveland-based bike-sharing network that has become popular in a number of U.S. cities. For a small fee, bike sharing allows patrons to rent a bike at self-service sites scattered about a city, then return the bike to another site.
 
Cleveland's Office of Sustainability recently issued a request to conduct a feasibility and implementation study on the service. Minneapolis, Chicago and Chattanooga, Tenn., are among the cities that have recently launched a bike-sharing network.
 
The local push is being fronted by Bike Cleveland, a group that advocates for the rights of the local cycling community. Earlier this year, the organization teamed with University Circle Inc. and other groups to form a Bike Share Task Force.
 
By providing greater access to bikes, bike-share programs can help increase the number of people biking, decrease the amount of pollutants in the air and improve community health, says Jacob VanSickle, executive director of Bike Cleveland.

"The city has stepped up," he says of the effort. "We have to determine the model that would work in Cleveland."
 
VanSickle would like to see bike-sharing docks placed at locations with high-density populations and job rates, including rapid stations, Public Square, college campuses and the Cleveland Clinic. The bikes would typically be used for short trips -- an office worker taking a bus to Public Square, for example, could use the automated bike station instead of taking another bus to his ultimate destination.
 
Trips of less than 30 minutes would be free of charge. Those using the service more frequently could pay $50 to $70 become annually. They would be charged a fee for treks longer than a half hour.
 
Promoting bike sharing is part of creating a culture that makes a city more attractive, says VanSickle. Along with the bike-sharing program, Bike Cleveland has been advocating for bike lanes and other cycling-friendly amenities. The group plans to keep the wheels turning until more progress is made.
 
"Cities with the bike-sharing program are seen as more livable and friendly," says VanSickle. "That's something we can gain from in Cleveland."

 
SOURCE: Jacob VanSickle
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

A school garden is a real, living world, a type of lab that offers teachers a way to embed creativity, collaboration and love for nature into their curriculum, believes Carlton Jackson, a farmer, self-described "food evangelist" and proprietor of Tunnel Vision Hoops, a provider of hoop houses that allow for year-round food production.
 
The Cleveland-based company is offering Cuyahoga County public school students grades K-8 a chance to win a hoop house for their school. The Gardens that Teach contest, which runs through February, asks students a series of questions about the preparation, construction and maintenance of a theoretical school garden. Answers will be reviewed by a panel of experts from the realms of food policy, botany and community gardening.
 
The winning school will receive the greenhouse-like hoop house, while the other participants will learn about the benefits of plants, year-round gardening and healthy eating, says Jackson. "We wanted kids to use their math skills," he adds. For example, "how many pounds of tomatoes can they get? What will the do with the food once it's grown?"
 
Hoop houses provide a high-temperature environment that protects crops from strong winds, cold and frost, allowing fruits and vegetables to grow during gardening's so-called "off-season," Jackson says.
 
The concept also is in line with the city's Sustainable Cleveland 2019 project, a movement that in part aims to increase the percentage of locally produced food. Mayor Frank Jackson also proclaimed October 24 to be Food Day, a national venture with the overriding objective of "eating real" and promoting healthy diets among the population.
 
The Gardens That Teach contest is certainly a nourishing exercise for Northeast Ohio's young students, says Jackson.
 
"There's a wonderment in watching something grow," he says. "If we can kids back to that, it would be a beautiful thing."
 

SOURCE: Carlton Jackson
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

The Cleveland-based developer The Foran Group has announced plans to convert a pair of historic buildings on W. 25th Street in Ohio City into 70 market-rate apartments. The game-changing project, in the works for several years, is the first big new housing project to get off the ground here since the Great Recession.

Positioned between the success of Ohio City's Market District and the popular Stonebridge apartment, office and condo complex, the new West 25th Street Lofts will bring fresh life and vibrancy to a critical dead zone in the heart of Ohio City.

"There is huge demand; we estimate that occupancy will be 93 to 97 percent," says Rick Foran of The Foran Group, who has partnered with developer Christopher Smythe to complete the project. "We're closing the gap between the established Ohio City area, Stonebridge and the Warehouse District."

The project, located at the corner of West 25th and Church, incorporates both the historic Baehr Brewing Company building and the former Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority on Church. It will include first floor garage parking, an interior courtyard that offers outdoor space, and 9,000 square feet of commercial space.

The Baehr Brewing Company, a two-story brick building that dates back to the 1870s -- and once housed horse stables, a powerhouse and a saloon -- will be completely restored on the exterior to federal historic standards.

Inside the buildings, existing historic features will be reincorporated into the apartments. For instance, the former CMHA building features a wood ceiling and iron girders, and these elements will soon become design accents in the suites.

Getting to this point wasn't easy. The project has complex, layer-cake financing from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), state and federal historic tax credits, and Cleveland's Vacant Property Initiative.

Foran expects to close on his HUD financing early next year, start construction immediately afterwards, and begin moving renters into suites by May 2014.

Foran hopes the project will prove catalytic for the neighborhood. Over the long term, a major new park is being planned on the hillside that slopes down to the Cuyahoga River from W. 25th -- an amenity for residents and the entire city.



Source: Rick Foran
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Doug Katz, chef-owner of Fire Food and Drink at Shaker Square, has partnered with Bon Appetit Management Company to open Provenance, a new restaurant and cafe at the Cleveland Museum of Art that blends locally sourced food with world cuisine.

"The name is so perfect for what I'm trying to create here," says Katz. The word provenance refers to the history of the ownership of an object. "We want to know where our food comes from just as the museum knows the lineage of its art, where it comes from and its authenticity."

Katz, whom museum head David Franklin calls CMA's "curator of food," says that Provenance actually is two venues in one. The 200-seat cafe offers quick service, while the 76-seat restaurant next door is a fine-dining establishment. Yet both offer made-to-order items carefully orchestrated by the celebrated chef.

The restaurant offers a limited menu of seven items emphasizing world cuisine. For instance, in tandem with CMA's exhibition "Wari: Lord of the Ancient Andes," Katz has designed a three-course prix fixe menu of Peruvian dishes. The cafe features world cuisine as well, but with a decidedly local flair. Right now, for example, visitors can order a Moroccan skewer platter with autumn vegetables. The chef makes a concerted effort to source much of his produce from area farmers.

The pastries are made from scratch by Luna Bakery, and Rising Star provides the coffee. "We're able to do all these things fresh, yet also support local businesses."

When asked about the source of his inspiration, Katz says, "We want it to be the quality of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, or of some European cafe somewhere. Yet I don't think there's a concept like this anywhere, to be honest."

The cafe's sleekly designed interior is attractive, but likely the best seats are at the tables near the museum's vast new atrium. "It's like a town center in University Circle. To see it come alive, it's such a great community spot."


Source: Doug Katz
Writer: Lee Chilcote