I disagree.  Completely.  Part of what makes a neighborhood desirable for many people are large book chains.  Big glaring ones like the Borders on Michigan Av. in Chicago or Broadway in New York are always packed with locals and tourists alike.  You're relaxed when going inside, can purchase coffee or any assortment of foods and drinks, can congregate with a study group or simply study in silence, can browse magazines and books for hours without any real need to make a purchase, and so on.  Hitting up one of these large book chains is nice to do when you're bored or feel like coffee or just feel like leaving the house.   

 

Sure it's a business and not a library, but it's also one that has a great many amenities, and little independent bookstores, which I do love by the way and usually go out of my way to find them when I'm on vacation, do not really have that same kind of leisure.  Sometimes you just want somewhere to go and relax on a comfy couch - for that, Borders and Barnes & Noble just work better than Delphi books or that place next to Tommy's.

 

There is simply nothing good about Borders leaving Severance, and I think it is a GREAT loss to inner ring community, Cleveland Heights in particular, who now have to go all the way to Beachwood's branch.  And no offense to Home Depot or Wallmart or movie theater or IHOP, but Borders is the true staple of that mall and it's going to be a glaring vacancy. 

Hey, look, they're gonna build something at Cedar Center finally!  Not sure how I feel about GFS, but we'll see I guess.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/all/index.ssf/2010/09/gf_marketplace_will_be_first_r.html

 

The city of South Euclid has reached an agreement with Gordon Food Service to become the first retailer at Cedar Center North.

 

A purchase agreement between the two entities will be on the South Euclid City Council agenda this evening. Under the agreement, Gordon Foods, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., will pay the city $2.35 million for the purchase of 1.4 acres of the 12-acre site.

 

Hey, look, they're gonna build something at Cedar Center finally!  Not sure how I feel about GFS, but we'll see I guess.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/all/index.ssf/2010/09/gf_marketplace_will_be_first_r.html

 

The city of South Euclid has reached an agreement with Gordon Food Service to become the first retailer at Cedar Center North.

 

A purchase agreement between the two entities will be on the South Euclid City Council agenda this evening. Under the agreement, Gordon Foods, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., will pay the city $2.35 million for the purchase of 1.4 acres of the 12-acre site.

 

 

Boo....where have you been?  We have a dedicated Cedar Center thread.  ;)

Yeah, I know.  It was a 5:00 brain fart, and I happened to be catching up on the Retail News thread when I saw the Cleveland.bomb article.

looks like we're down another bookstore (joseph-beth at legacy)

 

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/11/joseph-beth_booksellers_in_leg.html

 

the barnes n noble at richmond closed too.

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.

I was really surprised at the # of retail outlets in the Clinic when I was there for testing. It actually made me add a job search engine to my daily searches as I thought it would be a good place to work.

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.

 

I have witnessed on numerous occasions, stores that were well carved into the fabric of the community/neighborhoods....leave for so called "greener pastures" only to fail.

 

The bottom line is this... If people want these places to flourish, they need to spend their money with them and forget about price for a second as the big discount they get comes at the expense of losing all that makes a given community individually unique. Many independents offer things that the big chains do not and this has helped them carve a niche.

 

Still, to answer the typical question of "why pay more" I can think of a dozen reasons, but the one at the top of the list is because I do not want to see my city become a ghost town....and I would rather spend my money with those who keep the money here...and not those who end up channeling more out for the satisfaction of their stockholders. I would rather support stakeholders.

 

The experience to me is a forgotten one, one that someday many will regret to have lost...a real experience with merchant to customer, a real interaction with a real body...one who more often than not, knows their product well too. Well, if I go on, I will list the many other reason it pays to support good independents but that could constitute a whole other thread.

 

All in all, we eventually learn that what we thought was such a great deal...isn't that great at all.

i can't say i know what their business model is(was) but i went to the joseph-beth pittsburgh location (also closing) and it was in Southside Works, a crocker-esque area albeit within the street grid, actually in the city, just south of the monongahela river.

The gelato place by Joe Beth is also closed now.

The gelato place by Joe Beth is also closed now.

 

La Gelateria?

Yeah.

I was hoping it wouldn't dilute business from their Cedar-Fairmount location.  Now I guess I don't have to worry about that.

 

Do you know when it closed?

I figure it must have been recent.  I was out there maybe three weeks ago and it was open. 

$3.50 is steep for a sample sized portion, i'm super into the grapefruit gelato tho

Gelato is very dense.  Even their small ($3.50) is a good amount of gelato (especially when the person overflows your cup like they have been lately) and their large is always more than enough ($4.50).

Gelato is very dense. Even their small ($3.50) is a good amount of gelato (especially when the person overflows your cup like they have been lately) and their large is always more than enough ($4.50).

 

Agreed, I've never felt the need to get a large gelato anywhere.  Two scoops, I don't think Ive ever seen anyone just do a regular scoop either always overflowing, is perfect as you can usually mix the flavors.

Here's a nice write-up about the current state of retail on Coventry, focusing on the indie clothing boutiques.  Sounds like a nice scene is emerging there.  Refreshing to read about old storefronts being filled with something other than restaurants and bars.

 

http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/clothes-quarters/Content?oid=2194482

^ Absolutely... Reverting such places to other forms of retail allows for the space to show off what it was designed to do!

Coventry has always been "different".  It and Shaker Square although close and virtually connected by Coventry are like night and day.

 

I hope places like Grums  and Tommy's never change!

 

I could go for a grumsting with hot sauce, extra peppers and jalepenos and a shake from Tommy's right now.

Yes.... the Panini's and Johnny Malloy's of the world come and go.  Tommy's, Grum's, The Record Exchange (or whatever Rich calls it now), Sunshine, Big Fun, etc. are staples.

High Tide Rock Bottom was a staple as well.  I hated to see it close.

I guess that's what I like about these new places on Coventry- they're not the old staples, but they're the making of a nice, indie cluster that's about as far from the generic crap that drifted in in recent years as possible.

I guess that's what I like about these new places on Coventry- they're not the old staples, but they're the making of a nice, indie cluster that's about as far from the generic crap that drifted in in recent years as possible.

 

Agreed!  Coventry has always been a chameleon of street so to speak. 

 

What we see today, will most likely change again in the next 5 years.

Just get rid of the Chipotle and I'm good.

Chipotle and Jimmy John's are the ones I'd like to see replaced.  I don't care for Panini's either, but at least it brings a lot of life to the street and the patio is nice.

I also noticed a couple weeks ago that Kim Crow, the fashion person for the PeeDee left to open a boutique in Tremont: http://evielou.com/

 

Same comment as Coventry, I suppose, but it makes me happy seeing more non-food/drink places open up in our best storefront areas.

The news about Coventry is great to hear.  I lamented the fact that the Grog Shop (I loved their old spot) took over the Arabica, not cause I had any love of Arabica, but it absolutely killed the street traffic on that corner.  I'm glad that there are now more reasons for people to walk around during the day.

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but there is a vintage sweater shop opening in Gordon Square this month.

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but there is a vintage sweater shop opening in Gordon Square this month.

 

That is awesome!

I don't know that anyone has given Aperture in Tremont proper love yet. This is a store at Scranton & Kenilworth, caddy corner from the Tap House, that sells vintage cameras and film. I was in there over the weekend - it's great. They have old Polaroids (and newly produced film), fisheye cameras, all kinds of great stuff. The owner also has his photography studio in an adjacent space.

 

I feel like Cleveland is starting to turn a corner retail-wise, with all of new, indie stores opening up  particularly on the near West Side and on Coventry...

 

http://www.cleveland.com/goingout/index.ssf/2010/10/aperture_photography_in_clevel.html

Great article and a cool looking shop. Thanks!

Did Design Within Reach close on Chagrin?  I thought they had a clearance shop there, but now it is not listed on their website

Did Design Within Reach close on Chagrin? I thought they had a clearance shop there, but now it is not listed on their website

  Sorry, closed. 

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but there is a vintage sweater shop opening in Gordon Square this month.

  It is great but I think it is only open through mid-January.  It went in where Room Service moved out of.

^ 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 :)

Any body have any information on the location of the Lego Store? Will it be downtown or in a nearby city? I really hope it ends up downtown and not in some suburban development like Crocker Park or Legacy Village. Lets hope. If it does end up downtown, the city with this and Dredgers Union, could see the beginning of retail coming back to the city.

^ Beachwood.

Where at in beachwood? That sucks

..probably Beechwood Place..

I'm not surprised.

Lego store?  Say what?  I am like 6 years old when it comes to legos.....

Lego store?  Say what?  I am like 6 years old when it comes to legos.....

 

Who isnt! I think it would have been better if it came downtown though. Thats a store that would draw a crowd

the lego store format typically finds them situated in malls... and most typically aren't very large.  They work being surounded by a high density of certain "types" of retailers which downtown doesn't have.  Beachwood doesn't surprise me at all.

 

Near Term, DT will need to concentrate on more stores like Dredgers Union before national chains are part of the conversation.

^Quite frankly I would prefer local retailers downtown like Dredgers Union over Crocker Park national chains.  That is not to say that there are not certain national retailers that I would not like downtown but that is not in the cards in the near future for about 22 different reasons.

Near Term, DT will need to concentrate on more stores like Dredgers Union before national chains are part of the conversation.

 

Totally agree.  My wife and friends always say "I wish there was a Macy's or any department store downtown."  While I also wish there was a large department store downtown there is just no way that could work right now.  We need destination stores.  Stores that you can't find at Crocker Park or Beachwood Place.  That's why I'm so excited about the Dredger's Union store coming to E4th.  I could even see "restuarant row" becoming "retail row" 10, 15, or 20 years. 

 

Then the Arcades would take off and a department store would be built on that big parking lot by the Q extending across E4th into the Harry Buffalo lot (demolish that) creating another end cap to E4th.  Can't wait!  :drunk:

^ If I read that right, I wouldn't want to see the current restaurants leave East 4th Street. They can stay there and retail can line Euclid. I wouldnt wish away a good thing

I like the idea of the arcades filling up with "Passport to Peru" type stores

The arcades definitely have small spaces

<a Href="http://www.cleveland.com/goingout/index.ssf/2011/01/native_cleveland_shop_lets_you.html" > Native Cleveland shop lets you shop locally for local flavor </a>

 

Proud to be a native Clevelander? Or just want to look like one?

 

A new Collinwood store has something for you, either way. Something to wear, that is.

 

Native Cleveland, opened in December at 15813 Waterloo Road -- in the former Shoparooni space, just a few doors down from the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern -- is one-stop shopping for cool Cleveland T-shirts.

 

No, not the same old Cavs, Indians and Browns jerseys, though there are plenty of orange-and-brown and wine-and-gold and red-and-blue color combos. These shirts are much fresher, and more fun.

 

"We look for shirts that are quality, that we know are going to sell and are local, and made locally," says store manager Megan Coffman of the hip boutique that has started to draw fans purely through word-of-mouth and online social networking.