Jax

Guess this should go here since it mentions the East Ninth Phoenix should be opening the first week in May -- Link to Crain's blog entry Here a link to the ad itself

You can call (216) 664-2474 to make a complaint regarding poor sidewalk maintenance. They require a specific address and (supposedly) will send somebody out to "talk" with the business owner regarding clearing their sidewalk. I say supposedly because I'll bet my last dollar these businesses will get a pass because of the big-bad-ECP going on right now (IMO, that's just all the MORE reason to keep your sidewalks immaculate :roll:). I was kind of hoping, as MayDay said in his OP, that the visibility of the forum might spurn people to pro-actively begin clearing their sidewalks since it feels kind of snitchy to just call the City on them. That being said I just lodged a complaint for this particular stretch as well as submitted a strongly worded complaint for Euclid sidewalks in general to the Mayor's Action Center online (link HERE). My cynical side doubts either will have an effect.

^ I could certainly forgive a dusting, yes. It does not seem unreasonable to me to expect a business to clear its sidewalk ever hour or two, though.

I really can't believe this isn't being taken more seriously by whatever organization is responsible for enforcement. If I owned a downtown business that depended on foot traffic I would be going bananas over the people that don't clear their sidewalks. It simply adds another roadblock to getting people off their butts and into my establishment. Man, having a clear walk from E12th to Tower City to workout is like one of my wildest fantasies. I think I need to get out more.

I found this Crain's article interesting and reassuring: Cleveland law firm big winner in Medtronic trial I won't copy and paste the article text since it's more about the Cleveland-based lawyers who successfully defended a German biotech company against a frivolous patent claim by Medtronic (who got the smack down from a judge). I thought it was relevant to the thread since, with the growth of biotech in Cleveland, legal expertise in this area will be absolutely vital given today's litigious climate. It would be nice if the legal sector could grow locally right along side with the technical expertise.

Yeah, I nearly posted something about this very stretch myself. I've seen several people slip the past few days here; it seems like a liability nightmare. If City Blue can maintain a clear sidewalk, why can't Theresa's and Jimmy John's? :-P It's also frustrating that the (currently) empty buildings along Euclid are not clearing their sidewalks either. Surely there has to be a city ordinance which requires them all to, regardless of occupancy level, no?

Maybe a landmark in the sense that it obstinately refused to close despite being empty every time I passed it by? I just commented the other day to a friend it baffled me how they were still open after all these years.

For anyone interested I scanned and uploaded a Saigon menu (I'm really bored this afternoon). You can download the PDF file HERE

I agree; I was lucky enough to be at the game and people were definitely stoked about the new guys. Weirdly there was one guy standing at the base of an elevator shouting "SLAP MY HAND IF YOU AGREE DANNY FERRY IS AN IDIOT AND SHOULD BE FIRED!!!!".. nobody slapped his hand.

So here's my brain dump on the whole internets dating thing -- I've tried internet dating several times and have absolutely no horror stories. Sure, some slightly uncomfortable encounters but nothing different from more typical dating. I've met one long-term partner and am currently seeing someone else who has promise. In total, over the years, I've probably met (in person) ~20 women online. About 50% resulted in a second date, maybe 25% a third and only a few went beyond. Somewhat to my surprise, most of the women I've met have either looked as good or better (what a nice surprise that is) than their online photos. I take a pretty relaxed approach and am basically willing to meet just about anyone once, save a few tell tale sign in their profile like the people who TYPE IN ALL CAPS, have 50 billion pictures of themselves or answer the "do you want children?" question with an emphatic "Definitely, 5+" (only because I don't want children and it clearly wouldn't work). Personally I try not to become email buddies beforehand just because it's happened several times to me where I'll really get along with a girl but when you meet within 2 minutes you can tell there's simply no chemistry. That can take an emotional toll. In other words I usually ask a girl out after 3 or 4 emails max and prefer not to chat on the phone before going out but will do so if she expresses a desire to. I'm a big fan of a verrrry casual first date, limiting it to an hour or two over drinks (preferably alcoholic, for many of the same reasons listed above). Oh, and of course the age old advice of just being yourself always applies. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, no hard feelings and best of luck. Match.com is definitely the juggernaut of the sites, and although I've used it the most recently it's not exactly my crowd. I've dabble with OkCupid.com, which seems to be more my kind of people but also seems to have fewer people truly motivated to meet someone. Eharmony.com blows, not only because of their bigotry towards same-sex relationships but the site itself just sucks. Salon.com used to have a great one but it's just dead now. *shrug* Hope that helps.

^ Be sure to get a michelada style beer. I think that's what it's called. Kind of like a bloody mary with beer. <3

^ Open to the public? Or one of those private grand openings?

Well it seems to be the cool thing to do these days, so I hit the Tremont Tap House last night with about 8 friends. Who would've thought there'd be two other large groups taking up all the tables in back on a Sunday evening? It wasn't a problem though, we just congregated around the bar for about an hour until one of the groups left. I kind of feel like the grinch for saying this but I guess I'm a stickler for good service and thought it was a bit lacking (maybe because it was Sunday?). The owner was tending bar and he was fairly slow (but a nice guy). There was another guy there that got a little weird when we switched to the tables; it wasn't a huge deal but enough for us to pause and say "wtf was that about?". They were out at least 2 beer selections we tried to make, which I guess speaks to their success. Finally a couple people not familiar with the area had trouble finding it due to lack of a sign (I think there's a slow scrolling LED sign out front, hmm). But these were all minor details and everyone was really happy with the food, beer and space. It will definitely go on the rotation list for us.

[Moved from where I previously posted this in the wrong thread] Hit up Cheddars for the first time last night. I really enjoyed the space itself -- comfy, a bit upscale but not overly so and really quiet (but again, not in an intimidating manner). I'd say my mac & cheese was okay, but not fantastic. I went with the Barcelona. Unfortunately I definitely found the service to be very poor. The young woman who served us was a bit snippy and seemed really unhappy to be there. I'll go back, but am not in a hurry to do so because of that. PS, Boy MayDay that sure was a harsh review of Tremont Tap House. I'll be sure not to go this weekend.

Edit: moved to correct thread. Mah bad.

^^ i lol'd.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse with the Panera closing, but saw this Crain's article today and thought I would share. Apparently they just got spooked from the other store closings and pulled out; no mention of a rent increase. Odd. Link to article

i think i just threw up a little bit. oof.

While they're not the prettiest signs I've ever seen I personally don't HATE them. If I was an out of towner I think I would really appreciate them. I was just thanking in my head the designers of the large & clear street name signs downtown since it makes it so easy to give directions to people coming in from out of town. meh.

I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but it's been confirmed by several sources (including cle2032 now I guess). Apparently they just vanished like a fart in the wind. Should we start a TC death pool or is that too macabre at this point (my money is on Johnston & Murphy).

Supposedly Panera Bread has closed in Tower City as well. I'm not sure how, as it was always jammed when I went there. But then again so was my favorite salad bar in the food court until they jacked the rent unreasonably high according to the manager. Again, I know nothing about maintaining a retail space, but this strikes me as just absurdly stupid.

With the disclaimer that I'm totally naive in the business aspects of retail -- going outlet malls certainly sounds like an interesting suggestion to me, anyway. Or at least a big Target.

I was afraid the Godiva closing was foreshadowing for something along these lines. It really saddens me to see how far Tower City has fallen. Calling Dunkin' Donuts non-traditional is quite a stretch. Take a trip to Boston, there's a Dunkin' every other store front.

Speaking for myself my laziness knows no bounds, so the more "turn key" the better. That being said I suppose I could wrangle up some good references for people to do the work for me if they're reasonably priced. Maybe we need a UO-List akin to Angie's List for such folks :wink:

With Lakewood the only word of caution I can lend is watch the taxes. I'm looking to buy as well, and would love to go with Lakewood but I'm having a hard time justifying paying a couple grand more a year relative to Cleveland proper or even some further West suburbs (gasp! string me up :wink:)