8ShadesofGray

Anyone know the status of the feasibility study for a "kitchen incubator" for the nabe? The idea as I understand it is to create a space where local food entrepreneurs could incubate their efforts before taking on their own space. An article on Green City Blue Lake indicated the hope was to have the study done by fall, but I didn't see any updates in the thread. http://www.gcbl.org/blog/marc-lefkowitz/ohio-city-farm-opens-shadow-west-side-market

Fixed.

Agreed. That's what I like about the new marketing campaign ... They're capturing the stories of people who really could set up shop anywhere and have chosen downtown Cleveland. And they're doing a good job of capturing why they made that decision. The Valerie Mayen video in particular speaks to your point about people who come with no long-term intent to stay and accidentally fall in love with the place. I also just love the aesthetic of the videos ... Kind of understated but beautiful and cinematic. Would love to see CDCs mirroring marketing efforts like this outside of downtown, particularly UCI (the only other one I can think of that's done similar video work is Ohio City). My one note for DCA would be that I'd love to see a little more diversity in future video series. The current "We Are Downtown" campaign has 6 spokespeople: 5 white men and one Latina. I would love to see more variation in age, gender and ethnicity that is more representative of diversity downtown. Otherwise, I think this is a really remarkable campaign and a welcome departure from previous attempts to market downtown, the city and the region ... Certainly a step above "Cleveland's a Plum" :D

I'd back just about any proposal that would tear down the strip mall and put in something street-approaching :) That being said, there is ample land for new construction without tearing down existing and populated retail, regardless of how fugly it is. There is a crazy amount of surface parking right there ... somewhat understandably given the volume of people visiting WSM. If I were king developer, I'd love to see incremental in-fill to extend Market Ave., starting with the surface lot between West 26th and West 28th, then meandering down past the new biergarten to W. 24th St. and gradually moving northward to Bridge and the sales point for the urban farm. That'd be a sh*tload of new mixed use without having to tear down any structures. But have to give credit where credit's due ... The CDC is doing a remarkable job of repopulating vacant storefronts and building energy toward the market's centennial. The more vibrant they can make the existing corridor, the more likely it becomes that the private sector will invest in infill.

I've gotta say, I'm really impressed with DCA's efforts ... Downtown Cleveland Alliance touts growing businesses in new Cleveland promotion Saturday, December 25, 2010, 10:00 AM By Michelle Jarboe, The Plain Dealer Ads painting Cleveland as a business destination are popping up in the regional editions of national magazines. During the next few months, that message will appear in local publications, on banners on downtown buildings, on YouTube and other websites and on mobile devices across Northeast Ohio. In the first year of a long-term marketing effort, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance is spending $1.2 million to open a business-development center, highlight growing companies downtown, reach out to businesses across northern Ohio and trumpet a new image of the city ... ... Read more at http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/12/downtown_cleveland_alliance_de.html.

Bearden's restaurant to close Friday, perhaps for good Tuesday, December 28, 2010 By James Ewinger, The Plain Dealer ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- Bearden's, a Rocky River institution that often marked the end of a date or the beginning of a lifelong romance, may serve its last burgers Friday. It's closing then, and the question is whether owner Joe Orange will reopen, sell out to someone else or just throw in the dish towel ... ... Read more at http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/12/beardens_restaurant_to_close_f.html.

The new Vietnamese/Thai place I mentioned looks to be called "Saigon Grille". That's my speculative guess, since there's now a giant and really nice neon sign on the front of the building with chopsticks and the words ... Saigon Grille :) This will be on the 3100 block of Superior, just down from Number 1 Pho and Superior Pho. The windows are still papered, but I've heard talk that the interior is really nice. Can't wait to see this open up!

If I'm looking at the right property, the auditor shows a transfer occurring September 10th to a Frederick Bidwell (which would make sense, as Planning described it as the "Bidwell Building". He's the Executive Chairman of JWT Action and a trustee of both CMA and Akron Art Museum, and it appears he's also launched Bidwell Projects (http://www.bidwellprojects.com/Bidwell_Projects/Home.html), related to his interests in art and particularly photography. Looking at the floor plans that call for a couple gallery spaces, I wonder if this might be a photography gallery?

They're about a block south of the West 25th/Lorain intersection on the west side of the street. Sorry to hear that that was your experience. I've always found them to be really helpful. They have a vertical blade banner up now, so that should make finding it a bit easier. You're right, they are a small staff, which is made even more difficult by the fact that it's a relatively large store (big storefront and big back office), probably three times the size of what they had in Gordon Square. From when I was over there last Saturday, I think they've also been getting slammed by holiday shopping; there was quite a line-up. Definitely recommend trying again sometime; despite that circumstance, they're good people ... And I give them a lot of credit for the recent uptick in hipster-y boutiques opening.

In other Asiatown news, don't think anyone's mentioned it, but East 30th Cafe (http://e30cafe.com/) is now open next to the beautifully named Park2Shop. They're tackling a pretty broad menu, with Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Thai and American offerings. Haven't eaten there yet but will keep you posted. Another restaurant is opening up in the 3100 block of Superior, more or less one storefront down from Number One Pho, and I've heard they'll be serving Vietnamese and Thai. The storefront renovation looks great, and I heard the interior has really nice finishes. That means we'll now have three Vietnamese restaurants in a row and East 30th Cafe serving Vietnamese around the corner. It'll also be what I believe is the first Thai offering in the neighborhood (well, second, after East 30th's pan-Asian take). Yaya Asiatown!

^^^^ I think Asian is the best bet, too. I was in Li Wah earlier this week, and they had a sign indicating that they'd be open on Christmas. I think most of the restaurants in the nabe will be. Your other option is to check out www.delivermefood.com on Christmas and see what the "today's hours" are for various restaurants. Most will be closed, but you might find a random one open. Just be sure to try different delivery areas, so you don't miss anything.

To be fair to Larkin, it seemed like the point of the editorial was to promote the importance of the program and to cut naysayers off at the chase (even if he was doing a bit of naysaying to himself). To be fair to Cleveland, though, I'd say Pittsburgh isn't really "beating" us with this program ... First, because Pittsburgh didn't design this program to compete with Cleveland directly but to strengthen their overall education system and economy, and Cleveland should be thinking about that and not what it means about our relationship with Pittsburgh ... And second, because it's not like Cleveland has just been ignoring scholarship funding to local students until this very minute. Cleveland Scholarship Programs was founded back in 1966. Since then, it's provided more than $45 million in scholarship aid to more than 250,000 students. And THAT program has been replicated across the country, too. We need to stop navel-gazing over the positive press in Pittsburgh!

Thanks!

Uh, what the what? Downtown Cleveland Alliance's new marketing videos are grrrrrreat. Beautiful. http://www.youtube.com/user/DwntwnCLE#p/a.

^ From what I've heard, he's there through at least the end of January, but he's weighing the option of taking the space on for a longer period, as community interest has been high. Fingers crossed; it's a really cool shop ... and I now own a really festive 1940s sweater :)

New pet peeve! I know the vast majority of Ohioans use roads to drive, but for those of us that are car-free, could ODOT please figure out an effing solution for pedestrians. Cleveland has notorioiusly bad sidewalks during the winter, but I've found building owners in Asiatown and downtown (especially with the Clean Team) to be doing a much better job than in past years. Who's not doing a better job? Either the city or ODOT on sections of road over the highway. My pleasant walk this morning consisted of the choice between walking in traffic on a slushy but relatively cleared off road or trudging over about 3 feet of unpacked snow and ice on the sidewalk, where whoever is responsible for these stretches plowed what was on the road all onto the sidewalks. Again, I know the roads need to be the priority, but it really, really p*sses me off that my tax dollars are being used to obstruct my commute. That is all :)

Updated, but it still says that Erie Island Coffee is "Coming Soon".

Not entirely Cleveland-centric, but there is a nice Cleveland focus. Glad to see more attention being paid to the relative advantages of life in the Cleve (and Berlin and Detroit and Minneapolis and Portland). Artists fleeing the city High cost of living, fewer part-time jobs drive them out of New York. By Miriam Kreinin Souccar, Crain's New York Business November 14, 2010 5:59 AM For 25 years, Elyas Khan tried to make it as a musician in New York. The front man for the band Nervous Cabaret, Mr. Khan lived in at least 20 places, from Bay Ridge to Washington Heights, moving each time his lease expired and the landlord jacked up the rent. He worked so many part-time jobs to make ends meet that he barely had time to compose new songs. Two years ago, he and his wife, Melissa, got the boot from their live/work space in Dumbo when the landlord turned the building into luxury commercial space. That was the day Mr. Khan gave up on New York. ... More available at http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20101114/FREE/311149985.

Three thoughts on this: 1. As much as I hate to see us lose an independent bookseller, I've never forgiven them for giving up their space on Shaker Square for Legacy. I know it's silly and self-interested, but that was a heartbreaking loss for me when I still lived in Shaker Square. 2. It's really interesting to me that these mid- to large-sized challengers to Amazon et al seem to be closing pretty frequently right now, while our tiny homegrowns (Loganberry, Horizontal, Visible Voice, etc.) seem to be hanging in there pretty well. I guess it's easier at that size to carve out a specific niche and to generate more brand loyalty (i.e. easier to get people to support something that's organic and unique and harder to develop that same "vote with your dollar" loyalty for a Joseph-Beth). 3. Joseph-Beth has an outpost at Cleveland Clinic and it's performing well? Wow, who knew that was there? I wish the Clinic would promote their stores to a more general, non-hospital audience. Between this bookstore and the 360-5 Wellness Store, those are two underavailable retail presences in the city core that I'm sure a lot more people would take advantage of if they knew they were there.

Yeah, I went past that earlier this week, and not sure what it is, but it seemed huge driving by it ... They were still working on it at like 8 at night.

Do you mean the trolley lines? If so, no. I think the closest they get is Chester and 21st, which is still a pretty healthy walk away. Asia Plaza is served by the 38; the 3 also puts you about a block to the north. Li Wah also has a pretty wide delivery service area, so that's another option. But half the fun of these Asiatown centers like Asia Plaza is checking out all the tchotchke shops :)

Li Wah is at 30th and Payne in Asia Plaza. It's probably my favorite Chinese food in the nabe. A lot of people (including a lot of chefs and foodies) swear by Wonton Gourmet for its authenticity (3211 Payne Avenue), but I've tried it twice and can't get into it ... maybe I prefer Americanized Chinese to authentic Chinese? I'd also keep an eye on Asian Town Center. With 115,000 square feet of space to program, I'd expect to see at least a couple of new Asian restaurants pop up there ... according to their website (http://www.asiantowncenter.com/tenants.html), there's an "authentic Vietnamese restaurant" either already there or planned, as well as "The Crumb" (http://www.thecrumbcleveland.com/TheCrumb.html). The center is pretty extraordinary ... If you haven't been through yet, I highly recommend a walkthrough. There also appears to be a buildout/storefront rehab going on at 3142 Superior, and the interior finishes on the east storefront look like a restaurant or coffee shop to me. Stay tuned!

Very cool. Does anyone know if the building with bay windows immediately to the east of this is part of this rehab or if anyone else has plans for the building? I think that would definitely help the feeling of continuity of the corridor (i.e. make it more likely that people will walk down from W. 65th to W. 74th.

^ :( Bummer. Nonetheless, I would think our position would be stronger if there were some letter of commitment for the funds. I would rather see Kasich have to back out of an existing federal agreement than to be able to get sworn in and then promptly walk to the nearest railroad track and take a sledgehammer to it.

Not to question all the hard work that went into applying for this honor, but it seemed to me like the Federation had some legitimate concerns about timeliness of reporting, adhering to rules about pre-Games events, etc. The most important thing for the Federation and for Cleveland is that the event is put together really, really well, and there were some apparent concerns about Synergy's capacity to do that. Which is not a slight to them ... I think it's rare that the best team to land an opportunity is also the best team to carry out all the prep work for the opportunity ... No more than I would expect the Development Director of MOCA to go from writing successful grants to operating a crane when they build their new home. I think there have also been some legitimate concerns in the LGBT community that, to date, there has not been meaningful engagement of the LGBT community in planning activities for the Games; some, myself included, have suggested that Synergy has been holding their cards very close to their chest. Again, not necessarily a critique of them, as we are talking about an event that's nearly 4 years away. My main hope is that something collegial can be worked out and that Synergy can still be engaged in some meaningful way. For me, though, it's only sensible that our CVBs, Sports Commission, LGBT Center, etc. are engaged. If Synergy didn't already have them at the table, well, that again gives me pause about capacity.