I wonder if the recent storms contributed to the failure or if it was just bad maintenance. I drive past there every so often and I never got the impression that the building wasn't being maintained. Lucky that it happened while no one was walking underneath. 

The Fairmount posted pictures on their Facebook page.  They're crazy.

 

https://www.facebook.com/100063792302858/posts/pfbid0LKoEKZmnRLgGXsRNXdQryuZv6x9tqFZyJnK48nWignz8N1J6QmsrUCBHMETTGDGBl/?app=fbl

21 hours ago, rwashington89 said:

I wonder if the recent storms contributed to the failure or if it was just bad maintenance. I drive past there every so often and I never got the impression that the building wasn't being maintained. Lucky that it happened while no one was walking underneath. 

Apparently the owner of the building is very cheap.  So likely deferred maintenance contributed.  

21 hours ago, willyboy said:

Apparently the owner of the building is very cheap.  So likely deferred maintenance contributed.  

:( Figured. 

^ I thought cornice inspections were mandatory if you wanted insurance on old buildings, no?  This isn't the first time a cornice has fallen.

20 hours ago, Dougal said:

^ I thought cornice inspections were mandatory if you wanted insurance on old buildings, no?  This isn't the first time a cornice has fallen.

The Mayor is promising more stringent inspections

https://www.cleveland.com/community/2024/08/proactive-inspections-on-the-way-after-retro-building-failure-cleveland-heights-council-recap.html

Cleveland Heights wins state grant for demolition of former Hillside Dairy building in the Mayfield Triangle.

https://www.cleveland.com/community/2024/08/cleveland-heights-gets-state-demolition-grant-for-hillside-dairy-along-noble-corridor.html

After only ten months, Nighttown is closing 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2024/08/iconic-nighttown-restaurant-bar-closing.html

It's a shame they couldn't make it work right next door to the new Ascent apartments.  They spent years (and maybe too much money) renovating the restaurant and also the two floors of apartments above it.  Have those apartments been leased?

2 hours ago, Quilliam said:

It's a shame they couldn't make it work right next door to the new Ascent apartments.  They spent years (and maybe too much money) renovating the restaurant and also the two floors of apartments above it.  Have those apartments been leased?

They said they wanted to keep the essence of Nighttown but then ditched the world class jazz and spruced the place up. I know some upgrades were needed, but other than the name and the art on the wall, it was nothing like Nighttown. NT was never about the food  - it was a grungy old place with character (and a few rats) and great jazz. 

Even with the renovation, it still was not about the food. Very disappointing menu and spotty service.  They even got rid of the veal meatloaf.

Yeah. Even back in the day you didn’t go there for the food. It was basically the atmosphere. The food wasn’t awful, but it was certainly nothing to write home about. Never went there after the new owners took over after the renovation.  I am sure someone will take over the space given its location and history. Hopefully someone with a lot more restaurant experience.

The Marquee at Cedar and Lee 8/22/24

 

 

 

18 hours ago, Quilliam said:

After only ten months, Nighttown is closing

Sorry to hear it.  I wish they could have made more of an effort to bring in musicians. 

Comfort food, great jazz, and a well-worn atmosphere made the Old Nighttown great. I really liked the patio addition for when the weather was nice too.  But that was the old Nighttown.

 

Despite some opinions, the owners of Red the Steakhouse are experienced restaurant operators and a decent choice to take over the business.  I'm sure that the improvements to the building structure were necessary and the kitchen is undoubtedly better.  But unfortunately, the renovations also removed a lot of the character of the place, and (news flash!) the restaurant business continues to be a very difficult endeavor, even for the experienced, and is probably harder post-COVID.

 

I don't think anyone could compete with customers' memories of the old Nighttown -- whoever the next owner is, I hope the next owner can make the place their own and not try to and not have to compete so directly with hazier-by-the-day memories of Nighttown's greatness.  A name change might help. I think there is still a weekend-brunch and evening-jazz customer base that needs satisfying, and I hope someone steps up to give it a go. 

17 hours ago, Htsguy said:

Yeah. Even back in the day you didn’t go there for the food. It was basically the atmosphere. The food wasn’t awful, but it was certainly nothing to write home about. Never went there after the new owners took over after the renovation.  I am sure someone will take over the space given its location and history. Hopefully someone with a lot more restaurant experience.

 

My last meal there was on MLK day in 2020 and I thought the food (steak and mashed taters) was very tasty. Hope a new proprietor can make a go of it, perhaps it might be wise using a name other than Nighttown so customers don't expect the old-school jazz spot.

Cleveland has a need for this type of live music venue. People used to come from all over to go to Nighttown. Allegedly they were eventually going to bring back  the music, sounds like they never did. 

1 hour ago, mu2010 said:

Cleveland has a need for this type of live music venue. People used to come from all over to go to Nighttown. Allegedly they were eventually going to bring back  the music, sounds like they never did. 

I think the guy who did all the booking never came back.

I never went to the OG Nighttown, but from an outside perspective it seems like they kind of fumbled the roll out. I wasn't sure what this place was when it opened, a jazz club, a restaurant, etc. Whatever they wanted it to be, they should have been clear from the start, and to the extent that music was going to be a part of that plan, it should have been from the start. Not bringing in live music until several months after it opened was a mistake. 

 

I think a jazz club could still be successful at this location. I have no idea what caused the original Nighttown to fail, but there are few jazz clubs in Cleveland. I'd love if the next owner leans into the history and goes full on jazz club, no confusing halfway nonsense. 

One of the issues is that when Nighttown did the renovations for the apartments upstairs, they are now not allowed to have music more than one night a week.  Something to do with permitting. This is information I heard from one of their food distributors who told me today about the closure and who works closely with them. 

13 hours ago, jeremyck01 said:

One of the issues is that when Nighttown did the renovations for the apartments upstairs, they are now not allowed to have music more than one night a week.  Something to do with permitting. This is information I heard from one of their food distributors who told me today about the closure and who works closely with them. 

If that’s the case, that’s incredibly dumb.

The Marquee (from Cedar) 

Whatever happens; if it's Jazz, I hope it's still Nighttown.

 

This local allusion to Nighttown reflects upon the red light district of Dublin, Ireland in James Joyce's modernist novel Ulysses, from the chapter Circe.

Ulysses was published in serialized form by the woman who created Shakespeare & Co (Sylvia Bach) in Jazz age Paris (1914-1940).

 

• IMO - Bungled as this whole scenario was, there's just too much that's iconic and Cleveland-cool about this place and the Nighttown name to let that legacy pass away without some extra consideration.

 

I've been dying for it to reopen so I could return and bring visitors the next time I'm in Cleveland. I guess now I'm glad I missed this series of missteps and mistakes there. 

I might have been saddened and embarrassed to bring a visitor after hyping it for many years and maintaining my excitement for Nighttown's triumphant return. 😦

 

 

Edited August 23, 2024Aug 23 by ExPatClevGuy

3 hours ago, Ineffable_Matt said:

If that’s the case, that’s incredibly dumb.

yeah, nobody went for the food, period. if anything it would just be confusing to people familiar with the brand.

There were so many reasons why the new incarnation of Nightown didn't make it, a few from my handful of experiences there this year:

 

1. The front bar was reasonably similar to the previous setup, however the sidebar to the east was a disaster. Nothing on the walls but ethernet wires, lighting was always incredibly bright.

 

2. The Dublin Lawyer dish, historically its most famous, was not what it used to be and actually subbed out the rice, which soaked up the delicious flavor of the rest of the dish, for gnocchi. When asked for a side of rice they said they no longer had rice so that customers couldn't patch together the old dish.

 

3. The formerly loungy performance area, with its worn carpet and good acoustics, is now LVT flooring, had noticeably terrible acoustics,  and walls painted blue that seemed to allude to a nautical theme. Tables and chairs were more aesthetically suited for a Chuk-E-Cheese.

 

4. Seems like staffing was a problem as there wasn't one time the bartender could make a decent cocktail.

 

Really sad to see it close because I had such high hopes, but it truly was a shell of its former self. Hopefully someone can make a go of it in the future, such a great location.

Edited August 23, 2024Aug 23 by w28th

" . . . I have no idea what caused the original Nighttown to fail . . ."

 

If I remember correctly, it didn't fail.  It was doing fine until the covid closing.  After reopening for a few months later that year, then-owner Brendan Ring closed it again, saying he didn't want to subject his staff to the risk of covid (pre-vaccine), and also wanted to retire.  Later he sold it to the present owners (he may have been talking quietly with them earlier).  Along with the Nighttown building, he also sold the yellow-brick bakery building to the east, and the former Cardinal Bank (now Chipotle) building on the corner.

40 minutes ago, Quilliam said:

If I remember correctly, it didn't fail.  It was doing fine until the covid closing.  After reopening for a few months later that year, then-owner Brendan Ring closed it again, saying he didn't want to subject his staff to the risk of covid (pre-vaccine), and also wanted to retire.  Later he sold it to the present owners (he may have been talking quietly with them earlier).  Along with the Nighttown building, he also sold the yellow-brick bakery building to the east, and the former Cardinal Bank (now Chipotle) building on the corner.

Correct, that is my understanding as well. 

 

The former bakery building is for sale.

The long-ago former Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips on Cedar Road is about to reopen as . . . Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips.  This is the  small storefront building at 13261 Cedar, immediately west of the Marquee development.  Now vacant, and obstructed by the Marquee's construction barriers, it was most recently the Barber & Beauty Supply Outlet.  Since the old Arthur Treacher's closed in the 1990's, I think, it has also been a Pizza Hut carryout and a check-cashing place.  (I remember when the original restaurant was built in the early 1970s; they tore down a one-story 3 or 4-storefront building that had housed Michael's diner and Al's Cedar-Lee Bicycle and Lawn Mower.  As a kid, I had two bikes from that shop.)

 

The story linked below says they plan to open before year's end.   It is behind a paywall.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2024/08/arthur-treachers-plots-comeback-with-third-location-in-cleveland-heights-set-to-open-in-2024.html

Hot diggity dog.

 

Here's a nonpaywalled article:

 

https://www.clevescene.com/food-drink/arthur-treachers-fish-and-chips-coming-back-to-cleveland-heights-after-35-years-44995853

^ Embarrassed to say, but this will actually drag me out of the westside.  

I miss Arthur Treacher's!  I don't think there's any on the westside anymore, but I get to Cleveland Heights more than I get to Garfield.  I am going to have to hit them up when they reopen.

11 hours ago, X said:

I miss Arthur Treacher's!  I don't think there's any on the westside anymore, but I get to Cleveland Heights more than I get to Garfield.  I am going to have to hit them up when they reopen.

There are none on the westside. There are only 2 other stand-alone restaurants, Garfield and Cuyahoga Falls. There are also franchises in Salvatore's Pizza in Rochester NY and The Twin Oaks Convenience Store in Pomeroy OH.  Thank you, Wikipedia.

7 hours ago, Growth Mindset said:

There are none on the westside. There are only 2 other stand-alone restaurants, Garfield and Cuyahoga Falls. There are also franchises in Salvatore's Pizza in Rochester NY and The Twin Oaks Convenience Store in Pomeroy OH.  Thank you, Wikipedia.

 

The one in Niles, Ohio (Youngstown area) closed in 2013 and the one in Austintown (also Youngstown area) stayed open a little longer but is now called Captain Arthur's.

On 8/23/2024 at 9:34 AM, Ineffable_Matt said:

If that’s the case, that’s incredibly dumb.

 

On 8/22/2024 at 8:33 PM, jeremyck01 said:

One of the issues is that when Nighttown did the renovations for the apartments upstairs, they are now not allowed to have music more than one night a week.  Something to do with permitting. This is information I heard from one of their food distributors who told me today about the closure and who works closely with them. 

 

So basically they killed Nighttown. 

I knew when they no longer had the veal meatloaf on the menu that it was only a matter of time....

Heard a rumor that Rising Star Coffee is moving from the old diner on Lee to the former bike shop on south Taylor (just south of Quintana's).  Seems like a good move.  Can anyone confirm?

On 9/19/2024 at 10:25 AM, Foraker said:

Heard a rumor that Rising Star Coffee is moving from the old diner on Lee to the former bike shop on south Taylor (just south of Quintana's).  Seems like a good move.  Can anyone confirm?

Just heard the same rumor. Not sure that's quite a full confirmation, but it is something

CHUH Library declines offer from Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Campus nonprofit to buy the former Coventry elementary building for $1 (what the library system paid to obtain it).  More study. 

 

Quote

News 5 asked [Library Board President] Turakhia after the decision what factors ultimately led to the unanimous rejection.

 

“To just give it to them for a dollar would be a massive loss from money that should be going towards library things,” he said. “The main thing is when we first got the building from the school district, and they transferred it for a symbolic $1. That's very different than what's happening now. Over the years we have put in over $500,000 towards maintaining and upkeep of that building.”

 

Turakhia added that the Board is looking at every option aside from selling the property.

 

“There were rumors we were going to vote to demolish the building tonight and that's nowhere near where we are. We passed a resolution tonight to basically study options. And one of the options is what would demolishing include? What would be the cost? What would be environmental factors? We are also looking at possibilities such as repurposing the building or repurposing part of the building,” Turakhia explained.

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/we-follow-through/would-be-a-massive-loss-heights-libraries-unanimously-rejects-1-purchase-of-coventry-p-e-a-c-e-building

 

The nonprofits in the building predominantly have leases that expire on December 31, but there are a few leases that run into 2025.  HeightsArts is particularly desperate to retain their space in the building for their artists as there is no other comparable space available in the Heights. 

 

My own opinion is that there is no way that the library can recoup the $500,000 they claim to have put into maintenance since their purchase, that's ridiculous. The nonprofits do not have the resources to take on maintenance AND pay the library for their past expenses.  (They bought the building because they wanted the parking lot and the playground. The building was not really something the library wanted, and it is understandable that they wouldn't want to be a landlord.  But demolition is not going to be cheap either.  Selling the building would leave them with the parking lot and the playground that they want while unloading the future maintenance expense and avoiding the demolition expense.  Just consider the $500k to be the purchase price for the parking lot and the playground, and let the building go!)

Edited September 24, 2024Sep 24 by Foraker
added link

39 minutes ago, Foraker said:

CHUH Library declines offer from Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Campus nonprofit to buy the former Coventry elementary building for $1 (what the library system paid to obtain it).  More study. 

 

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/we-follow-through/would-be-a-massive-loss-heights-libraries-unanimously-rejects-1-purchase-of-coventry-p-e-a-c-e-building

 

The nonprofits in the building predominantly have leases that expire on December 31, but there are a few leases that run into 2025.  HeightsArts is particularly desperate to retain their space in the building for their artists as there is no other comparable space available in the Heights. 

 

My own opinion is that there is no way that the library can recoup the $500,000 they claim to have put into maintenance since their purchase, that's ridiculous. The nonprofits do not have the resources to take on maintenance AND pay the library for their past expenses.  (They bought the building because they wanted the parking lot and the playground. The building was not really something the library wanted, and it is understandable that they wouldn't want to be a landlord.  But demolition is not going to be cheap either.  Selling the building would leave them with the parking lot and the playground that they want while unloading the future maintenance expense and avoiding the demolition expense.  Just consider the $500k to be the purchase price for the parking lot and the playground, and let the building go!)

I don't understand how the library is being made out to be the bad guy here. The way I see it the library aught to be thought of as a corporation whose shareholders are the taxpayers of Cleveland Heights. As such they have a fiduciary duty to make decisions that are best for the taxpayers unless there's a mandate from the voters to do otherwise. While the media seems to be on their side, it isn't obvious the voters are. The library giving away the building would be just as unethical as a CEO giving away company assets to another (nonprofit) company, they simply can't ethically make the decision the (imo biased) linked article wants them to make. 

 

The libraries fault lies earlier, possibly in managing the building at all, but certainly in renting it out at charitable rates that were too low to cover their maintenance needs. That was irresponsible and unethical. 

 

Moving forward the library should investigate selling the building to a developer, or they could consider repurposing the building to serve a more core library need. Given the financial situation, it sounds like selling it would be best. I'm sure there's a developer who would love to put a mixed use 3/4 over 1 in this location. 

4 hours ago, Ethan said:

I don't understand how the library is being made out to be the bad guy here. The way I see it the library aught to be thought of as a corporation whose shareholders are the taxpayers of Cleveland Heights. As such they have a fiduciary duty to make decisions that are best for the taxpayers unless there's a mandate from the voters to do otherwise. While the media seems to be on their side, it isn't obvious the voters are. The library giving away the building would be just as unethical as a CEO giving away company assets to another (nonprofit) company, they simply can't ethically make the decision the (imo biased) linked article wants them to make. 

 

The libraries fault lies earlier, possibly in managing the building at all, but certainly in renting it out at charitable rates that were too low to cover their maintenance needs. That was irresponsible and unethical. 

 

Moving forward the library should investigate selling the building to a developer, or they could consider repurposing the building to serve a more core library need. Given the financial situation, it sounds like selling it would be best. I'm sure there's a developer who would love to put a mixed use 3/4 over 1 in this location. 

If you don't understand how the library is being made out to be the bad guy, consider that the Cleveland Heights community doesn't want to be run by bean-counters and the history of this building.  Also there is a deed restriction on a portion of the property that would make commercial development much more difficult (and a creek and ravine on one side).  That deed restriction might have to be removed in court before any development could occur.  Who wants to incur that expense when construction is already expensive?

 

That deed restriction also meant that the library could not rent space to commercial organizations, which is part of the reason why they couldn't charge higher rents (and even so only 60% of the building is leased).  The Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Campus nonprofit has ideas for improvements to the building that would make it more desirable (fixing the HVAC and renovating the elementary-school bathrooms for one), and they dispute the library's cost estimates for necessary repairs. They have a funding source lined up, but cannot apply for the loans without control of the building.  (Frankly, I think they did a poor job of setting forth how they would manage the finances after a take-over in their application to the library, and the library doesn't trust them to be able to do what they say they can do.) 

 

So far the library hasn't wanted to make more than the minimal investment in maintenance, which contributed to the inability to fully lease the building.

 

When the school system decided to close the Coventry Elementary building, the community outrage was really intense.  Under Ohio law a school system cannot divest itself of property without first offering it to a charter school.  To avoid doing that they sold the property to the library at the very generous price of $1.  (We also could say that the school system violated their fiduciary duty in doing so, if financial considerations should have been the primary consideration.) 

 

I'm not a fan of the building and its unusual layout (I don't think the library will be able to reuse it without substantial investment that to date they have been unwilling to make). I can understand that the library does not want to be a landlord (and it appears that they weren't good at it). But tearing it down is going to be unusually expensive as well due to its unusual construction, and we do not know what that cost will be yet.  Tearing it down also is going to create bad feelings on the part of the arts community that has formed in the building.  Cleveland Heights thinks of itself as a "Home to the Arts" and thus the community support for the artists extends beyond the artists in residence. 

 

To the extent that the library is the "bad guy" here, it's in the fact that they have now decided to think only in financial terms and only what is best for the library, not on what is best for the community (as it did when it bought the building), and not on finding a win-win for everyone who will be directly impacted by their decision.   I don't really understand why they aren't willing to talk to the Coventry P.E.A.C.E. group.  That makes no sense to me.

 

Unless some other roadblock appears, I fully expect the library to conclude that maintenance costs are greater than a tear-down, all of the tenants will be evicted by July 2025, and the building will be mothballed until the library can find the funding to tear it down.  Community outrage will fade over time.  And what happens next is unknown.  Maybe it will all be a park.

^ I wouldn't mind a few more bean counters tbh... But anyways...

 

Cedar Lee Dora launches Friday! 

 

https://www.cleveland19.com/2024/09/26/cleveland-heights-dora-launches-friday/

4 hours ago, Ethan said:

^ I wouldn't mind a few more bean counters tbh... But anyways...

 

Cedar Lee Dora launches Friday! 

 

https://www.cleveland19.com/2024/09/26/cleveland-heights-dora-launches-friday/

 

 

Just in time for the Heights Music Hop this weekend!

 

https://www.futureheights.org/events/2024-heights-music-hop/

3 hours ago, willyboy said:

Just in time for the Heights Music Hop this weekend!

 

https://www.futureheights.org/events/2024-heights-music-hop/

 

Fingers crossed -- I hear the manager of the Hop resigned last week and there are still (!) openings for bands.

Not much exterior work on Lee Meadowbrook apartments lately. But they've been working on the inside. 

 

 

 

 

On 9/19/2024 at 10:25 AM, Foraker said:

Heard a rumor that Rising Star Coffee is moving from the old diner on Lee to the former bike shop on south Taylor (just south of Quintana's).  Seems like a good move.  Can anyone confirm?

Confirmed -- https://www.clevescene.com/food-drink/rising-star-coffee-lands-new-cleveland-heights-location-45228522

I hate that siding, but it seems to be pretty standard on a lot of projects around town these days.  Would have preferred more brick if they couldn’t come up with a more attractive siding option.

16 hours ago, Foraker said:

Confirmed -- https://www.clevescene.com/food-drink/rising-star-coffee-lands-new-cleveland-heights-location-45228522

I loved the diner location, and I do not think S. Taylor will be an improvement. However, since sharing the space with Abundance, the byzantine seating arrangement/schedule made the whole situation untenable for both operations. I had altogether stopped going because it was to frustrating. 

It's a good location. I'm sad because it's a farther walk from my house, but hopefully it can be the start of making Cedar-Taylor feel a little more like Cedar-Lee.

 

Interested to see what the aBUNdance coffee place will be like too.

Does anybody know if the renovation of the Taylor Tudor apartments have begun yet?

3 minutes ago, Htsguy said:

Does anybody know if the renovation of the Taylor Tudor apartments have begun yet?

It has not.  And I have no idea what the holdup is.  If you see CH resident Matt Wymer, ask him and let us know!

I noticed signs at the top of Edgehill stating saving Turkey Ridge, I'm assuming there are more proactive discussions on developing the wooded overlook over Little Italy. And as a lifelong Heights resident that grew up not far from there, this is the first time I've heard of any name for that place.