September 25, 200519 yr I've been taking advantage of a few of those places during the lunchtime hours down at CSU, but the Hanna Diner (?) gets real expensive at night...a nice joint, though! Otto Moser was mysteriously closed last night when we arrived in the neighborhood around 7:30...that was confusing. Star was packed after the show and before as well. Acapella (Corner of Euclid & 17th is great for dinner and perhaps after showtime for desserts??? Hamilton's has caught my eye a couple times, but the whole reflective glass window and pumping cheesy disco music thing (via outdoor speakers) has turned this passer-by away, not knowing what lies beyond the windows and knowing that I have more options! I'll check it out next time, though, based on that great recommendation!
October 17, 200519 yr Yep, they're gutting the ground floors of the three buildings immediately east of E. 4th Street on Euclid Avenue. You can hear construction during the day, and peeking through the windows you can see the brick walls separating the buildings have been knocked down. Rumor has it they're making way for a bowling alley in there, perhaps as part of a Gameworks.
October 18, 200519 yr The Gameworks is going to include a bowling alley and a restaurant from what I've heard. They've basically made all the buildings from East 4th to the Arcades into one large building. A similar process is underway on the ground floors of the WT Grant buildings, but I don't know if they have any particular tenent lined up. But they are putting in interior framing, so I am guessing they might. A new baseball mini-museum has opened up in what used to be a jewelry store. Lola's is coming along, slowly but surely. Flannery's has been expanded with pool tables and so forth in the back. It may be expanded again out the side along the Prospect frontage onto the lot that currently has a mound of dirt on it. They have been doing some minor improvements around the building, as well- patching and painting, etc. (my building, by the way) I see workers coming in and out of all the other storefronts, too. It is hard to know if they are working on those spaces or just staging from them, however. It's a little like living in a construction site!
October 18, 200519 yr Mr. X, I didn't know you lived downtown! Last I heard you were out in Avon Lake. Congrats on the relocation to civilization! KJP "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 19, 200519 yr Fantastic! Good to have you in town, X! Word on the streets is that there's going to be an announcement this week on the next big tenant!
October 20, 200519 yr My guess is that it will be something along the lines of the sterioded-out version of Jullians. They can be an experience.
October 20, 200519 yr yea the story about it and the rederings on WKYC made it look like a Jillian's type thing. i think it's going to be called the Corner Alley or something like that. it looked pretty cool.
October 20, 200519 yr I saw a brief newsbit on local channel 3 news this evening on the bowling alley. It does look very much like Jullians/Lucky Strike lanes/Dave and Busters type of a place. Bowling is supposed to be cheap drunkard fun and something like kingpin movie, not upscale and expensive. I wonder what this will do to ambassador lanes though?
October 20, 200519 yr From the looks of Ambassador, I feel that the East Fourth street thing will attract a different crowd.
October 20, 200519 yr The Gameworks is going to include a bowling alley and a restaurant from what I've heard. They've basically made all the buildings from East 4th to the Arcades into one large building. A similar process is underway on the ground floors of the WT Grant buildings, but I don't know if they have any particular tenent lined up. But they are putting in interior framing, so I am guessing they might. A new baseball mini-museum has opened up in what used to be a jewelry store. Lola's is coming along, slowly but surely. Flannery's has been expanded with pool tables and so forth in the back. It may be expanded again out the side along the Prospect frontage onto the lot that currently has a mound of dirt on it. They have been doing some minor improvements around the building, as well- patching and painting, etc. (my building, by the way) I see workers coming in and out of all the other storefronts, too. It is hard to know if they are working on those spaces or just staging from them, however. It's a little like living in a construction site! It would be great to see the bottom floors of the WT Grant building get filled. If Quicken goes into May Co, WT's first floor gets filled and old Wendy's becomes a Gameworks, Euclid will be drastically different. Throw the improved streetscaping that the the Euclid Corridor project will bring and you'll have an entirely different street. I just hope that Lebron and company have a break out year. Sending 20,000 happy fans out the doors of "the Gund" at 10pm will bring a lot of business to East 4th street. Go Cavs!
October 20, 200519 yr Local tv news always gives piss poor details on new projects. I am surprised that Crains did have anything. They usually have the best details.
October 20, 200519 yr Well I'm definitely hearing some of their "business" tonight. It's goddam 40 degrees out and some obnoxious girls have been out there laughing like horses and "woo-hoo-ing" for the past 2 hours.
October 20, 200519 yr and everyone already knows the best bolwing in cleveland is dickey lane's located on w 25th.
October 20, 200519 yr There was an article in the PD today about the Bowling Alley moving onto Euclid here.
October 20, 200519 yr Does this mean Gameworks is out? Or is there a possibility that there could still be a Gameworks? What about an ESPN zone? That would seem to fit with the overall theme that seems to have emerged for the area, as East 4th and Gateway really seem to have become a big event type entertainment area. It's got the ball park and arena, concert venue, comedy club and cabaret, and now a bowling alley. However, I wonder if East 4th Street has lost some momentum with national retailers and entertainment venues, due to the East Bank project. They may be waiting to see which development has the most potential before making a commitment. I hope that these types of developments find a way to compliment, rather than compete with, one another. Hopefully they can all find a niche that will suit downtown residents, employees, and tourists.
October 20, 200519 yr Does this mean Gameworks is out? Or is there a possibility that there could still be a Gameworks? What about an ESPN zone? That would seem to fit with the overall theme that seems to have emerged for the area, as East 4th and Gateway really seem to have become a big event type entertainment area. It's got the ball park and arena, concert venue, comedy club and cabaret, and now a bowling alley. However, I wonder if East 4th Street has lost some momentum with national retailers and entertainment venues, due to the East Bank project. They may be waiting to see which development has the most potential before making a commitment. I hope that these types of developments find a way to compliment, rather than compete with, one another. Hopefully they can all find a niche that will suit downtown residents, employees, and tourists. I wonder the same thing about gameworks. I think the E. Fourth/Gateway area is really starting to gel and will soon spill over to playhouse square. right now there is pretty good cohesion between east fourth and TowerCity. In the next few years the area between Public Square and East 14 (on Euclid, Prospect & Huron) will really be pumping, which will give people multiple options for entertainment & dining from TowerCity to Playhouse Square.
October 20, 200519 yr I think some of that "woo hoo"-ing was spillover from the Jason Mraz concert at the HoB last night. I walked past around midnight last night on my way home and saw a pack of fans standing by the tour buses in the alley behind the buildings... As for the new tenant, this from Crain's: Former GameWorks execs pushing bowling concept By STAN BULLARD 8:50 am, October 20, 2005 Downtown realty developer MRN Ltd. is working with three former executives of the GameWorks entertainment and club chain to add a new-breed bowling alley/restaurant/bar to the line-up for the remaking of Euclid Avenue at East Fourth Street. Ari Maron, an MRN partner, said the company has leased 20,000 square feet on the southeast corner of East Fourth Street and Euclid Avenue to Trifecta Management Group, which was formed recently by ex-GameWorks CEO Ron Lam and two other former GameWorks executives. The GameWorks chain is a Glendale, Calif.-based joint venture between Universal Studios and the videogame maker Sega Corp. It has 14 videogame arcade-restaurant-bar venues, including one in Columbus. The proposed "Corner Alley" in downtown Cleveland will be the first venue created by Mr. Lam and his former GameWorks colleagues. Mr. Maron said the concept combines 16 bowling lanes with high-tech lighting and plasma screens and what is to be known as the "4th Street Bar and Grill," which is to include a 200-seat restaurant and a 150-person capacity bar. The concept will re-create the sleek, upscale design of martini bars in the 1920s and 1930s, Mr. Maron said. It has a target opening in about a year. Mr. Maron said the developer would seek city financial assistance for the project and support from local civic groups such as the Greater Cleveland Partnership. He declined to detail the financing package. The Corner Alley operator will employ about 100 people, MRN spokeswoman Christy Harst said. Buildings that will have a portion of their space incorporated into the bowling alley include the former Wendy's, the one-time McCrory Department store and other buildings extending eastward to the Colonial Marketplace hotel/retail complex. MRN developed the House of Blues on the opposite side of East Fourth and has shepherded the redo of East Fourth Street between Euclid and Prospect Avenue as an entertainment district with restaurants and loft apartments. [there's also a cheesy rendering on the Crain's site, but I wouldn't dream of posting it here!
October 20, 200519 yr It sounds great and all and I'll probably bowl a few gutter balls when this place opens, but what's all this about public funding???
October 20, 200519 yr here is Crain's article. Former GameWorks execs pushing bowling concept By STAN BULLARD 8:50 am, October 20, 2005 Downtown realty developer MRN Ltd. is working with three former executives of the GameWorks entertainment and club chain to add a new-breed bowling alley/restaurant/bar to the line-up for the remaking of Euclid Avenue at East Fourth Street. Ari Maron, an MRN partner, said the company has leased 20,000 square feet on the southeast corner of East Fourth Street and Euclid Avenue to Trifecta Management Group, which was formed recently by ex-GameWorks CEO Ron Lam and two other former GameWorks executives. The GameWorks chain is a Glendale, Calif.-based joint venture between Universal Studios and the videogame maker Sega Corp. It has 14 videogame arcade-restaurant-bar venues, including one in Columbus. The proposed "Corner Alley" in downtown Cleveland will be the first venue created by Mr. Lam and his former GameWorks colleagues. Mr. Maron said the concept combines 16 bowling lanes with high-tech lighting and plasma screens and what is to be known as the "4th Street Bar and Grill," which is to include a 200-seat restaurant and a 150-person capacity bar. The concept will re-create the sleek, upscale design of martini bars in the 1920s and 1930s, Mr. Maron said. It has a target opening in about a year. Mr. Maron said the developer would seek city financial assistance for the project and support from local civic groups such as the Greater Cleveland Partnership. He declined to detail the financing package. The Corner Alley operator will employ about 100 people, MRN spokeswoman Christy Harst said. Buildings that will have a portion of their space incorporated into the bowling alley include the former Wendy's, the one-time McCrory Department store and other buildings extending eastward to the Colonial Marketplace hotel/retail complex. MRN developed the House of Blues on the opposite side of East Fourth and has shepherded the redo of East Fourth Street between Euclid and Prospect Avenue as an entertainment district with restaurants and loft apartments.
October 20, 200519 yr Just saw it on news again, paid a bit better attention this time around. It looks to be at least a 2 story bowling alley. Bowling down below, with a lounge area with billards and a bar up lofted up top over some of the lanes
October 20, 200519 yr ^The PD said that the city would pump money into this from tax revenues off of their Chagrin Highlands. I never use 100% on completion for any project, but this one has already started. If not gameworks, something entertaining will be on this highly visible corner. These guys are good at enticing retailers. Infact, they were one step away from getting ESPN zone right next to Flannery's. I never did find out what happened with that though.
October 20, 200519 yr Could some good samaritan combine the two E. 4th threads??? It's getting a little confusing 'round here...
October 20, 200519 yr With each new tenant, it should be easier to convince others to show up. I wish that the bottom floor of the sincere building was occupied. It would make East 4th much more attractive to the casual passerby.
November 30, 200519 yr good question...i thought it was going to be before the end of the year...and if they're going to do that, it should be open by now! in other news, Sergio's just opened at Shaker Square!
December 14, 200519 yr From Dec 14 PD: http://www.cleveland.com/cooking/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1134553079299310.xml&coll=2 Reality show will highlight Lola progress Wednesday, December 14, 2005 Joe Crea Food and Restaurants Editor Michael Symon often has garnered national attention for his acclaimed Cleveland restaurants Lola and Lolita. The restaurateur is about to enter the spotlight again -- this time in two countries. Red Apple Productions, the Toronto-based producer of "Opening Soon," a reality show that airs on Fine Living television and Food Network Canada, is set to start shooting a segment on the reinvention of Lola. More at http://www.cleveland.com/cooking/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1134553079299310.xml&coll=2
December 14, 200519 yr just as long as symon does not go down the rocco dispirito path a la 'the restaurant' -- lol!
December 14, 200519 yr I wonder if this means Lola's will be opening real soon. I can't see their progress anymore with all the barriers they put up. I'm excited that this could bring a great deal of positive exposure to the neighborhood. And maybe I'll get into the background of some outside shots as "local color"!
March 1, 200619 yr They're still in there working every weekday. It looks like they're done roughing everything out and drywalling. More I can't tell from walking by and looking in the door.
March 1, 200619 yr The last I heard was that they'll open in May. Can't remember the source, but it was credible.
March 1, 200619 yr Any Corner Alley progress? they unloaded a bunch of structural steel this week and removed the facade from the front of the one building (now boarded up). The entire first floor is now connected, with some small demo to be done on a western interior wall. there is also a hole cut in the ceiling of the 1st floor.
March 1, 200619 yr and apparently we should expect to see windows in the first floor on the sincere building this spring, regardless of a tenant. there was some talk of making parking for the condos upstairs, with more limited street retail/office, but that didn't get very far. these murals are starting to wear a little, so some nice windows here should make a nice difference. I wish they would hurry up and get something better looking for the Corner Alley outside. They did do a nice job cleaning the buildings though. They are actually white now.
March 1, 200619 yr It surprised me that they are not advertising the project with more than a bit of spray paint on a boarded up window. The current 'sign' might be confused with graffiti by some.
March 1, 200619 yr Is there anything brewing for the trio of contiguous three-story buildings between East 4th and Myers College, on the south side of Prospect? One of them has the abandoned Goldfish store on the ground level. I kept eyeballing them as I ate my dinner at Flannery's on Monday evening. I'll bet they could be something special, but look pretty said right now. Afterwards, I was walking along Prospect to Tower City and spotted a Marous sign on the former religious book store at the corner of Prospect and Ontario. I was interviewing a Marous project manager yesterday for another story and asked him about it. There's a law firm going in there. OK, let's hear the jokes about a building once occupied for a religious cause to one to be occupied by attorneys..... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 2, 200619 yr I actually love the buildings just south of the one KJP mentioned on Ontario. The one on the corner is pretty atrocious, but the historic ones adjacent to it are charming...could use a bit of love though!
March 2, 200619 yr I get most of my lowdown on the E. 4th neighborhood from Nick Kostis at Pickwick. I was originally told that Lola was going to open in November, then it got pushed back to January, then to March. Last I heard, Lola was still set to open this month and due to the film crews shooting for the reality show, the opening date is set in stone and has to happen. But who knows, maybe they pushed the date back again. It doesn't look like they are close to being ready.
March 2, 200619 yr Speaking of Pickwick... I was disappointed to learn the hard way that P&F closes their kitchen at 7 p.m. Monday evenings. After slogging through the snow and doing some shopping in Chinatown, a friend of mine from Chicago and I rode the bus into downtown. I was looking forward to showing him P&F. But when we trudged inside a few minutes after 7 p.m., we got the bad news from the host. He said it was a recent decision to stop serving that early. Bummer. So that's why we ended up dining at Flannery's.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
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