I wonder if there are any plans for the windsor building when the bodies exhibit moves out. Restaurant or retail?

With all food on 4th...and the rails, indeed it resembles a giant outdoor food court...cattle feedlots. Slop the hogs.

^ If Ohio didn't have a ridiculous law that anyone who enjoys an adult beverage must be contained like cattle then this would not have the feedlot look.  They should really try to find a way to make the whole street free of the fences.  Would make it a much better atmosphere.

Change the laws.  That is the way to change the fences.

I dont have a problem with the fenced in patios. East 4th street already has a cool atmosphere and they have done a great job at creating it.

I dont know why the patios are such a big deal in every city I've visited in the US, there is some sort of barrier that designates the restaurants outdoor space.

 

This is such a non issue.

 

The fences are fine and are needed.

But enough with the restaurants already.

Please more stores now for Euclid, Prospect and E. 4th.

I can say quite definitively that ROOM SERVICE has zero intentions of either CLOSING or MOVING locations at this time.  RS LOVES GORDON SQUARE ARTS DISTRICT and has worked very passionately in promoting it. 

^Thanks for the clarification!  Great to hear.

So jborger, sounds like your sources are incorrect :-\

So jborger, sounds like your sources are incorrect :-\

 

We shall see, my friend.  We shall see.

Isn't he selling the store, which would mean that he is not closing, or moving?

 

The fences are fine and are needed.

But enough with the restaurants already.

Please more stores now for Euclid, Prospect and E. 4th.

 

Amen! This should be the focus for a while.....more functional to the neighborhood, unique and independent establishments with an original identity.

It's a she who owns Room Service for the record.

 

It would seem this all could be settled if someone just went in the store and asked her.

If I get around to it, I will.

Um Clueless, Im 98% sure that danzirelli above is the owner of Room Service.  Their other post was about the "made in the 216" event, which was organized by the owner of Room Service who's name just happens to be Danielle!

 

(Plus for anybody thats ever met Danielle, the above posting fits her to a tee.)

Um Clueless, Im 98% sure that danzirelli above is the owner of Room Service. Their other post was about the "made in the 216" event, which was organized by the owner of Room Service who's name just happens to be Danielle!

 

(Plus for anybody thats ever met Danielle, the above posting fits her to a tee.)

 

So why not just say "I'm the owner of Room Service and we're not closing our existing location" ?

danzirelli did say that...

I can say quite definitively that ROOM SERVICE has zero intentions of either CLOSING or MOVING locations at this time. RS LOVES GORDON SQUARE ARTS DISTRICT and has worked very passionately in promoting it.

 

I'm pretty sure those two statements aren't equivalent.  You could easily not be the owner of Room Service and still make the statement danzirelli made.

Not to overanalyze, but the statement does not say Room Service has zero intentions of expanding (i.e. opening another store).  What I mean is that, Room Service COULD open a store on E 4th and nothing would be false about the statement so long as the GS store remains open.

so has any progress happened recently because i walked by the other day and it looks the same as usual. The inside still looks pretty vacant

Does anyone know if Chinato's is still planning to put up a decent sign? When I asked the first time someone said they were having trouble having it approved.  Now it's many months later and still no sign worthy of the character of the street....

 

I would like to bring this question back... Does anyone know if they still plan on putting up a sign?

 

Yeah, it should be getting close to the time of exterior signage...the building's not THAT historic, what could they possibly be deliberating over?

To put it bluntly, Chinato is really ugly on the outside. (gorgeous interior though!!).

 

Actually, the entire Sincere Bldg could use some brightening up/ splash of color.

Was in Gordon Square over the weekend and noticed Room Service storefront was emptied out.  A sign on the window said "Moving to a Larger Location"

Just to be clear, the east 4th venture is a completely separate venture from room service and has/had nothing to do with room service's departure from gs / relocation...

The space on east 4th seems far from done whatever it may be

The Bodies exhibit runs through Oct. 31.  Is there a plan to put something permanent in that space of is going to be a revolving show space?

The Bodies exhibit runs through Oct. 31. Is there a plan to put something permanent in that space of is going to be a revolving show space?

 

Come on Mike Symon, convince one of your Iron Chef buddies to open up a spot there, lol.

That really sucks that Room Service is leaving Gordon Square. Ugh.

That really sucks that Room Service is leaving Gordon Square. Ugh.

Agreed. The area seems to have lost momentum.

Leaving the Bodies exhibit space, long before Bodies came....looking like it did so undermined the good stuff around there. Just one big eye sore..and unless something is planned for a future fit... Goodness forbid another restaurant....I predict it will be allowed to look like crap again. The Bodies windows looked like crap in my opinion...better, but dark and desolate at night, not even a subtly lighting of the murals for a few hours per night. 

 

Also, that other storefront where it looks like the facade was ripped off next door, does not need to look like that... a simple wash and dark paint would do wonders in the meanwhile while it is empty. Again, more simplistic basics not getting done right.

 

I am sure many will make the typical excuses for this, but personally as a former property owner who was not ripped with funds, would have never left a place looking like that for this long. Washing a window does wonders too! Baby steps that go a long way and need to be achieved before the grandiose...otherwise we have a grandiose flop.

Do you have a negative comment to say about everything?  Could you stop calling the game in the middle of the first quarter?  Realize that all of your pipe dreams for how things should look takes both (1) money and (2) enforcement by government officials of building codes, if they are indeed being violated.  I agree with your general premise that things should look nicer than they often do, but stop polluting the board with rants about how reality is different than your ideal world.

I thnk EC's complaints are warranted.  This is supposed to be Cleveland's, and one of the midwest's premiere entertainment districts.  The city should be leaning on these owners a little more than in other parts of the city. 

 

I would say more but I don't want another suspension. 

geez guys, money doesn't grow on trees.  Many developers wait until they have tennants signed on before investing money in properties.  so now we are saying we want the city to "lean" on an owner who has invested tens of millions of dollars on this street and more across the city, because they haven't found the tennant they want for a very key location yet?  That makes sense... let's penalize a business investing in the city for not doing it fast enough.  They have completely restored the rest of the windsor block building, including adding dozens of market rate units luring young professionals into the city... and I think it is pretty easy to determine that they will invest in the storefront of said building, given their track record with the rest of the street and elsewhere, when they have a secured tennant.  "leaning" on a property owner like that should be about the lowest priority in building and housings office.

 

 

Can we please move on from this?  Thanks

^^^thank you

geez guys, money doesn't grow on trees.  Many developers wait until they have tennants signed on before investing money in properties.  so now we are saying we want the city to "lean" on an owner who has invested tens of millions of dollars on this street and more across the city, because they haven't found the tennant they want for a very key location yet?  That makes sense... let's penalize a business investing in the city for not doing it fast enough.  They have completely restored the rest of the windsor block building, including adding dozens of market rate units luring young professionals into the city... and I think it is pretty easy to determine that they will invest in the storefront of said building, given their track record with the rest of the street and elsewhere, when they have a secured tennant.  "leaning" on a property owner like that should be about the lowest priority in building and housings office.

 

 

Can we please move on from this?  Thanks

 

Perhaps if the develper was as noble and good intentioned as you're making them out to be, you wouldn't have to lean on them at all - you could just suggest it and they would say, "yeah, we need to do something about that."

its the private market.  And as nice as it would be for developers to be all about "the good of the city", it is a business, and they need to make money, and they prioritize their investments accordingly.  Noble and good intentioned has little to do with it, but if we start going after the developers who ARE investing in the city and their properties I highly doubt it will do much to encourage others to develop.  And frankly, there are a great many other property owners we should be setting our sites on at the moment.  And while this storefront may not win any awards it certainly meets code, and isn't a "problem". 

its the private market. And as nice as it would be for developers to be all about "the good of the city", it is a business, and they need to make money, and they prioritize their investments accordingly. Noble and good intentioned has little to do with it, but if we start going after the developers who ARE investing in the city and their properties I highly doubt it will do much to encourage others to develop. And frankly, there are a great many other property owners we should be setting our sites on at the moment. And while this storefront may not win any awards it certainly meets code, and isn't a "problem".

 

Thank you this is what I was about to say.  The owner has no reason to be altruistic.  As long as the property is within code that is all we should require.  Anything else then we are going to have more empty properties due to increased hassle for companies to operate here.

exactly.  and as I said, I am sure when they find the tennat they want for that space (and yes I am happy that we have a selective owner who hasn't leased space to simply "whoever"), they will fix it up in an appropriate manner as they have shown that they do.

This thread is going to be on lockdown for a little while.

 

In the Chinato's case there is actually some business sense involved, as the place is one of the two Prospect gates to the district and a sign that juts out - the style for that particular restaurant row - would make the place be seen from each direction. Maybe people walking up from Euclid, for example, will not see the location of Chinato's until very close, and they'd decide to hit a restaurant to the north, while if they may have heard of Chinato's and be reminded of its location they might head up to that place were they to see the sign. 

 

It also sort of offers an "inferior" image to the restaurant than its neighbors have.  The other places - even the small coffee house - have more interesting signs that make the places look more inviting. If the signage "marketing tool" seems silly to some I can only say it may not take much for one to decide one restaurant over another in a district like that....

Chinato* is not really a place where one tends to just drop in. It is a destination restaurant in the same way that Lola is. Honestly, anybody peering in the extremely large windows should get a sense of the type of style Chinato has without needing a flashy sign, and if you need a sign to decide whether to drop in (rather than looking at the menu), then perhaps Flannery's or the Wonder Bar would be more your speed.

 

 

(It's not Chinato's, just like Lola is not "Lola's".)

With their location being at the end I feel like it tends to be forgotten about. No sign you can see and I believe no patio either makes it look dead over there

Uh huh. Well, I hear how you feel, but given that it on the end of E. 4th with the parking lot cut-through* and that doesn't have sufficient pedestrian space anyway, it's not going to have a patio. Also, it's doing very well, so the lack of world-class signage isn't hurting it much.

 

Honestly, I don't understand what the big deal is. It's a high-end restaurant with slow turnover and lots of business that is an asset to the district. Complaining about whether it has a sign** seems to miss the point.

 

 

*Exhaust fumes tend to go mix poorly with food that isn't fried or between two buns.

**It's not like anybody with two neurons to rub against each other can't figure out what it is.

Chinato* is not really a place where one tends to just drop in. It is a destination restaurant in the same way that Lola is. Honestly, anybody peering in the extremely large windows should get a sense of the type of style Chinato has without needing a flashy sign, and if you need a sign to decide whether to drop in (rather than looking at the menu), then perhaps Flannery's or the Wonder Bar would be more your speed.

 

 

(It's not Chinato's, just like Lola is not "Lola's".)

 

This is my favorite post, ever, on UO.

 

I agree, I don't think a sign is the point. People know where the hip/awesome places are to go, without a sign. See Hudson hotel front in NYC for example: http://www.venere.com/img/hotel/1/7/1/1/251171/image_hotel_exterior_frontview_1.jpg

Chinato* is not really a place where one tends to just drop in. It is a destination restaurant in the same way that Lola is. Honestly, anybody peering in the extremely large windows should get a sense of the type of style Chinato has without needing a flashy sign, and if you need a sign to decide whether to drop in (rather than looking at the menu), then perhaps Flannery's or the Wonder Bar would be more your speed.

 

 

(It's not Chinato's, just like Lola is not "Lola's".)

 

This is my favorite post, ever, on UO.

 

I agree, I don't think a sign is the point. People know where the hip/awesome places are to go, without a sign. See Hudson hotel front in NYC for example: http://www.venere.com/img/hotel/1/7/1/1/251171/image_hotel_exterior_frontview_1.jpg

 

Hahaha is that really there signage?

Chinato has a patio.

Yes, it is, I had a block of rooms reserved here as overflow for a meeting and it was a f*cking nightmare for people to find.  You can tell you're there because people are walking up and down the block pulling their suitcases and looking for it.

I have a question. Could east 4th get rid of driving on the south side of the street by moving the entrance to the parking lot to prospect? This could lead to some kind of infill which would make the buckeye building more connected to the rest of the street and to get rid of the only hole on the street.

I agree, I don't think a sign is the point. People know where the hip/awesome places are to go, without a sign. See Hudson hotel front in NYC

 

I had a block of rooms reserved [at the Hudson hotel] as overflow for a meeting and it was a f*cking nightmare for people to find. You can tell you're there because people are walking up and down the block pulling their suitcases and looking for it.

 

I'm so confused now.