CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM I JANUARY 8, 2024
Blitzer, Harris take $10M stake in HOF Village Guardians minority owner, business partner to expand their investments in youth sports By Joe Scalzo
The Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. (Nasdaq: HOFV, HOFVW) is getting some Village green. Cleveland Guardians minority owner David Blitzer and his business partner, Josh Harris, have acquired an 80% stake in the 115-acre ForeverLawn Sports Complex at the Hall of Fame Village. The investment also includes the Village’s Center for Performance, a fabricdomed facility with 100,000 square feet of indoor space.
The stake is worth $10 million, according to Front Office Sports. Harris and Blitzer said they plan to “elevate and expand” youth sports programming at the Village, focusing on flag and tackle football, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey. The partners have invested heavily in youth sports in recent years, including Ripken Baseball in January of 2023. Ripken Baseball then purchased Sandusky’s Sports Force Parks at Cedar Point Sports Center in May. See HOF VILLAGE on Page 16
Dr. Megan Moini, a board-certified internal medicine physician, founded Emerald Direct Primary Care in Beachwood, after becoming frustrated with the hospital-based primary care system. She says DPC aims to provide transparency to patients. | CONTRIBUTED
Direct primary care model sees growth
Doctors say the model, which uses a flat monthly fee, increases patient access to while reducing physician burnout By Paige Bennett
Working for a traditional health system in an outpatient pediatric practice, Dr. Keili Mistovich couldn’t help but feel like she was seeing a revolving door of patients. “The average panel for a general pediatrician is somewhere around 3,000 kids,” she said. “That’s certainly what mine was. There’s no way you can actually know that many kids to be able to care for them properly and really feel like you’re doing a good job and doing what you went into medicine to do.” That’s why Mistovich and Dr. Allie Effron co-founded Greater
Cleveland Pediatrics in 2020. The Beachwood-based practice uses the direct primary care (DPC) model, which has patients pay a flat monthly fee in exchange for direct access to their primary care doctor. Under the DPC model, physicians see roughly 250 to 400 patients per year, a significantly smaller number than the 2,500 seen by the average primary care doctor in a traditional health system. Prices range anywhere from $50 to $200 per month but vary based on age and number of patients seen per family. See DIRECT CARE on Page 16
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“(Doctors) get to develop deep, meaningful relationships with families and patients, and they get to enjoy being a doctor.” — Dr. Andrew Hertz, president of Zest Pediatric Network
Five restaurants, bars that opened in 2023 By Crain's Staff
2023 was a boom year for new spots opening across the Cleveland area. The postpandemic demand for dining boomeranged in 2022, and last year local restaurateurs did not miss a beat bringing in new supply. With dozens of new and reimagined restaurants popping up over the last 12 months, these are five worth getting particularly excited about:
Fahrenheit 55 Public Square Fahrenheit made headlines this summer when the popular Tremont restaurant moved to 55 Public Square in downtown Cleveland, officially opening July 14. As Crain’s wrote at the time, this is the place you want to be. The vibe of the new location is dressy and glittery, casual and cool — and very electric.
The Kalbi Lamb Chops are a signature entree at Fahrenheit. | BEV SHAFFER
The restaurant itself is a twostory culinary wonderland, with the menu featuring what Chef Rocco Whalen calls “contemporary American regional cuisine” with Mediterranean and Asian accents. See RESTAURANTS on Page 17
REAL ESTATE Cleveland ranks No. 8 on Zillow’s new list of the hottest housing markets, one of only three cities to make the top 10 on both the 2024 and 2023 lists. PAGE 2
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Middlefield Bank names chief banking officer and chief credit officer The community bank said the additions in the C-suite will support its growth across the state lows Middlefield’s appointment of Ronald Zimmerly Jr. as CEO at Middlefield Banc Corp. (Nas- the start of 2024. He succeeded daq: MBCN), the holding James Heslop II, who retired at company for The Middlefield the end of 2023. Zimmerly, former CEO of the Banking Co., has made some additional changes in its C-suite aforementioned Liberty National that the business said will sup- Bank, joined Middlefield followport its growth across its central, ing the Liberty acquisition as western and Northeast Ohio president and assumed a seat on its board of directors as market segments. the integration was The bank said it completed. has promoted Rebecca “I am thrilled to welNoblit to the position of come both Becca and chief credit officer. In Mike to our executive that role, she will sucteam, as we remain foceed Alfred Thompson cused on developing talJr., who is retiring from ent from within the the company effective company and attracting Feb. 1. Noblit leading bankers from Noblit joined Middleoutside our organizafield in December 2022 tion,” said Zimmerly in a as a senior vice presistatement. “Becca has a dent of credit adminislong track record within tration. the bank and knows our Prior to that, Noblit organization and cuswas with the former tomers well. Mike brings Liberty National Bank, a an impressive resume community bank in Ada, with deep expertise Ohio, where she had across commercial, worked for more than Cheravitch business and consumer five years. Her last position at that firm was chief credit banking. Their collective experience and thoughtful leadership officer. Liberty was acquired by Mid- will serve our customers, teamdlefield in a $64.4 million deal in mates, shareholders and communities well.” 2022. “I also want to thank Al for his Additionally, the bank said it has hired Michael Cheravitch to 27 years of dedication and serfill a role as chief banking officer, vice to the bank,” he added. “On behalf of everyone at Middlea new position for the company. Cheravitch joins Middlefield field, I wish Al all the best in his from Pittsburgh-based FNB well-deserved retirement.” Middlefield is the 17th-largest Corp.’s First National Bank, where he had worked since 2019. bank in Northeast Ohio by deThere, he was a senior vice presi- posit market share, according to dent and regional banking exec- Crain’s research. The communiutive for Northeast Ohio and ty bank had total assets of approximately $1.8 billion as of northwestern Pennsylvania. The filling of these roles fol- Sept. 30.
A Middlefield Banking Co. branch in Middlefield, Ohio. | THE MIDDLEFIELD BANKING CO.
GETTY IMAGES
By Jeremy Nobile
Cleveland repeats in top 10 on hottest housing markets list Zillow places city No. 8 on 2024 list after ranking it No. 2 in 2023 By Scott Suttell
Cleveland is one of America’s hottest housing markets for 2024, according to Zillow. It’s just a little less hot than it was in 2023. The real estate marketplace company on Thursday, Jan. 4, released its annual list of the country’s hottest, or most competitive, housing markets, and Cleveland was No. 8. That’s an impressive showing, but it’s down from 2023, when Cleveland was No. 2 on the list, behind only Charlotte, North Carolina. Topping Zillow’s 2024 list: Buffalo, New York. Lower-cost markets in the Great Lakes, Midwest and South dominate this year’s list, which has Cincinnati at No. 2 and Columbus at No. 3. The rest of the 2024 top 10, in order, are Indianapolis; Providence, Rhode Island; Atlanta; Charlotte; Cleveland; Orlando; and Tampa. Cleveland is one of only three cities ranked in the top 10 of both the 2024 and 2023 lists. The other repeaters from last year are Atlanta and Charlotte. Zillow’s list is confined to the 50
largest U.S. metro areas. It says its analysis “incorporates expected home value appreciation from December 2023 through November 2024, the anticipated change in home value appreciation from 2023, new jobs per new housing unit permitted, an estimate of the net new number of home-owning households based on current demographic trends and the speed at which homes are being sold.” Anushna Prakash, data scientist for Zillow Economic Research, said in a statement, “Housing markets are healthiest where affordable home prices and strong employment are giving young hopefuls a real shot at buying and starting to build equity.” Prakash said she was “cautiously optimistic that the housing market will get back on stable footing in 2024,” adding, “We shouldn’t see the massive price spikes of the early pandemic or fast-rising mortgage rates of recent years.” In an analysis of its new data, Zillow said Buffalo was at the top of the 2024 list on the strength of “recent increases in the number
of jobs created compared to the number of new homes construction projects being approved, as well as expectations for steady home values.” Zillow provided a statistical breakdown for each city in the top 10, comparing them with the national average. Affordability is a big factor in Cleveland’s favor. Zillow lists Cleveland with a “typical home value” of $215,597, well below the national figure in the top 50 markets of $347,415. The monthly mortgage payment for a typical Cleveland buyer, with a 5% down payment, is $1,556. Nationwide, that figure is $2,514. The typical Cleveland home is on the market for 12 days, Zillow says, compared with 21 days nationally. Northeast Ohio is on a roll of late with Zillow. At the end of December, Zillow’s year-end list of the “most popular” markets of 2023 included two Northeast Ohio towns: Stow (No. 6) and Twinsburg (No. 8).
2 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JANUARY 8, 2024
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Mayfield Village office complex sold for $2.5M Its new ownership plans to renovate the two connected buildings By Stan Bullard
Mount Vernon Square is an older, half-empty pair of office buildings in Mayfield Village. And, now, it’s the place where attorneyproperty investor George T. Simon’s largely family investor group is doubling down on the troubled office market. Through 6700 Beta LLC, Simon’s group just bought the connected two-building, three-story office complex at that address for $2.5 million from investor group MVS FCG Properties LLC that has held it since 2012. Although Cuyahoga County land records do not disclose a prior sale price for the 80,000-squarefoot complex, the county assigns it a tax value of $3.4 million. David Wagner, an executive managing director at Hanna Commercial’s Cleveland office, had listed the property for the seller and said that when George Simon toured it, he quickly said, “I know I can lease this.” Wagner said Simon bested several other offers for the 1990 vintage property, in part because he was able to close before the end of 2023. And the deal made it by a nose, transferring Dec. 29, the last business day of 2023. Simon’s group was not put off by the need to rehabilitate the place, from some of the original carpets to a dated lobby. Simon said in an interview that his group plans to invest in making it a “21st-century office building” by investing heavily to correct deferred maintenance with new lighting, paint and wallpaper. He wouldn’t disclose the budget but said, “We’ll do more than the average bear.” The “we” reflects Simon’s namesake son George Si-
The two-building Mayfield Village office complex will be renovated by the new ownership group, led by attorney George Simon. | COSTAR
mon, an architect who will handle design issues, and his daughter, Stephanie Simon Bartos, a lawyer, as well as other investors. Simon’s group is undertaking the redo in an office market awash in existential concerns for its future. The sector is flooded by vacant or available office space. On balance, though, there is a 16% vacancy rate in the dynamic, entrepreneur-rich eastern suburbs. That area also has the second lowest vacancy rate among Cleveland suburbs. By contrast, there is a 21% vacancy rate throughout the region, according to the Newmark broker-
age’s Oct. 31 Cleveland office report, the latest available. However, Simon sizes up the situation strategically. “A lot of the office space available in the eastern suburbs is from Progressive Corp.,” Simon said of the Mayfield Villagebased insurer. “A lot of those spaces are for tenants who want 25,000 to 100,000 square feet. I can lease to a tenant who wants 1,000 square feet or even 15,000 square feet while owners of larger spaces will take more steps to do so.” Simon doesn’t disclose the size of his office and other property
holdings but noted he has other area office buildings that are almost full. At the same time, he knows the market’s challenges. “It’s an obstacle,” Simon said of the current work from home-affected office segment. The Simon group’s last office venture reported by Crain’s was the purchase of Cedarwood Valley Office Park, a five-building complex at 1725 Merriman Road in Akron, that he bought for $975,000. Now, the remaining office building is nearly full, according to the CoStar realty data service, and
most of the site is being used to construct apartments. Simon said Hanna Commercial’s Wagner will continue to lease the space and has identified some prospects for the property. Wagner said the property’s Georgian design continues to have curb appeal and fits well with nearby homes. The property was built by a who’s who of Cleveland realty types, including the Caputo Brother construction firm, real estate agent-developer Joseph Aveni, his late brother Vincent Aveni, and the late Julius Paris, a prominent industrial property land developer.
MAI Capital acquires Cleveland’s R. Karras Asset Management By Jeremy Nobile
MAI Capital Management has announced the acquisition of R. Karras Asset Management & Planning, a small firm in Cleveland, as its latest in an ongoing stream of rollups. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. R. Karras has served the Northeast Ohio market for 35 years under the leadership of founder, CEO and firm namesake Robert Karras. The business offers financial, retirement and estate planning, and investment and asset management, as well as risk management, insurance and employee benefits services. “As our firm planned its next chapter, we wanted a partner
with similar values that would deliver the highest levels of personalized service for our clients and their financial goals,” said R. Karras in a statement. “MAI is that partner and its backing will help broaden our capabilities for individuals, families and business owners, including tax and estate planning, alternative investing and more.” R. Karras reported three employees and approximately $98 million in regulatory assets under management (AUM) as of its last public filing, dated March 23. MAI said that the firm represents about $110 million in client AUM today. MAI, meanwhile, reported 331 employees and approximately $15.8 billion in regulato-
ry AUM as of its latest public filing, dated Nov. 10. The firm’s growing footprint comprises 25 U.S. offices. MAI notes that this deal marks its 32nd acquisition since 2018. MAI’s busy M&E strategy is fueled in part by some partnering investment firms. One of those is Wealth Partners Capital Group of Florida, which acquired a 40% stake in MAI in 2017. MAI also is backed by private equity-backed Galway Insurance Holdings, which acquired a majority stake in the firm in the third quarter of 2021. Wealth Partners has retained a minority position in MAI following that deal. JANUARY 8, 2024 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 3
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7 CLEVELAND INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS FOR SALE OR LEASE 21,400-140,000 SF
Akron’s M7 Holdings acquires Cuyahoga Falls manufacturer By Dan Shingler
Address
SF
Ceiling Ht
Asking Sale
4001 Hamilton Ave
57,000
28’-30’
Call for Pricing
4519 Hamilton Ave
87,948
14’-30’
$975,000
6515 Juniata Ave
47,000
16’-36’
$1,150,000
*900 East 69th St
140,000
23’-32’
$3,950,000
17009 Roseland Ave
93,000
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21,400
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$825,000
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57,600
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*Income producing tenant in half the facility
Chris Hondlik 216.861.5686
ChrisHondlik@HannaCRE.com
Mike Berland 216.839.2032
MikeBerland@HannaCRE.com
Connecting Talent with Opportunity. From top talent to top employers, Crain’s Career Center is the next step in your hiring process or job search.
M7 Holdings, a family investment office based, for now, in Akron, has acquired Harwood Rubber Products in Cuyahoga Falls. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but M7 Chairman Tony Manna said the acquisition cost represents only the first investment he plans to make in Harwood, with help from Harwood’s recent owner Rick Harwood, who will serve M7 as an adviser going forward. “He wanted to sell it to someone who was family-oriented. And we invest for the long haul,” Manna said. “Our cultural alignment will help ensure Harwood Rubber Products is positioned to provide the highest-quality solutions for decades to come, and our customers can continue to achieve their goals long into the future,” added M7 President Courtney Eaton, in a release announcing the deal, which was completed in December. As for the company itself, Harwood Rubber is not going anywhere and neither are its employees. Manna said they will all remain with the company on Orlen Avenue and likely see more coworkers join them as the company grows. Manna said M7 has already confirmed it will keep all of Harwood’s 20 employees.
Rick Harwood is president of Hardwood Rubber. | PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY M7
ed into it other companies his family office had already been acquiring and investing in. Between M7 Holdings and other Mannacontrolled vehicles, the family now has 20 companies in its portfolios. Manna invests in other, early-stage companies in which he takes minority stakes through an entity called M7 ACE NEO, separately, he said. He also makes real estate investments through yet another entity, Signet. Harwood might seem like a mature company in a mature in-
Hardwood Rubber “has great people—we’ve talked to them all. And we will be investing in a lot of different things there.” — Tony Manna, M7 chairman
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The deal is the first for M7, which Manna formed in 2023, but Harwood is not M7’s only holding by a long shot, since Manna fold-
dustry. The company makes rubber rollers and other rubber products for a variety of industries. But with annual sales of be-
tween $5 million and $10 million, Manna thinks Harwood is in a position to find new growth. The company has a heavy presence in industrial applications, automotive manufacturing and even construction, with more opportunities available to it via investment and product development, Manna figures. “It has great people—we’ve talked to them all. And we will be investing in a lot of different things there,” Manna said. “We’ll be investing in new products and new delivery systems. . . .We also plan to do strategic acquisitions.” As a privately held company, M7 can afford to be patient if it chooses. But, eventually, he hopes to see M7 expand well beyond its existing product lines. “It will take a while, it won’t happen overnight,” he said. “But, like I said, we’re in it for the long haul.” Harwood said he’s convinced. “With over 25 years of entrepreneurial investing and manufacturing experience, M7 are long-term stewards of companies locally, nationally and internationally, proving their ability to further build on the successes my father and I have created,” Harwood said. “By partnering with M7, Harwood Rubber will be able to continue to provide the highest quality rubber roller products and services to our customers for many years to come.” Meanwhile, M7 is itself still working on its move to Cleveland, where it spent $500,000 acquiring land in the Hough Neighborhood, next to Cleveland’s historic League Park, to build a $10 million headquarters. Work there is progressing, Manna said. “It’s under architectural design now,” he said. “We’ll be in there in 2025, probably by mid-2025.”
4 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JANUARY 8, 2024
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EDITORIAL
The U.S. Steel Corp. Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Nippon Steel Corp. announced last month that it had agreed buy U.S. Steel, a company Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. tried to acquire. | BLOOMBERG
Deal with the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal I
n Cleveland, our year-end disappointments typically involve the Browns, or maybe what was (or wasn’t) under the Christmas tree. Not so in 2023, at least as far as the Browns are concerned. But it was a different kind of disappointment when, on Dec. 18, Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. announced it had agreed to pay $14.1 billion in cash for U.S. Steel Corp., a company that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. had tried to buy after making a $7.25 billion offer in mid-August. For most of the fall, it looked like Cliffs had the inside track to land U.S. Steel. If you’re an advocate for Cleveland, it was tempting to think of the potential benefits of Cliffs, which already is the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, getting bigger and stronger with the addition of U.S. Steel. It wasn’t, and probably isn’t, to be, even though Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are pushing the Biden administration to examine how the Nippon/U.S. Steel deal would affect national security and domestic steel production. More than 50 House members, including Akron’s Emilia Sykes, Warrensville Heights’ Shontel Brown and Tole-
do’s Marcy Kaptur, signed a Jan. 3 letter to President Joe Biden to urge a review of Nippon’s planned purchase of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. Republican U.S. Sen. JD Vance was among GOP senators who wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging that the deal be reviewed and blocked by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which the Treasury Department leads. His Ohio colleague, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, is in opposition, too, calling on Biden’s administration to “explore all options to protect the American steel industry . . . by heavily scrutinizing the deal between a foreign company, Nippon Steel, and U.S. Steel.” The United Steelworkers union, which preferred Cliffs as a buyer, also opposes the Nippon deal. This is a lot of fuss over, as free market-oriented publication Reason put it, “the news that the 690th most valuable company in the United States was being sold.” The reality of U.S. Steel no longer matches the company’s iconic status. Barron’s noted that U.S. Steel was dethroned as the global No. 1 steel maker in 1970, and by 2022 was 27th in global steel output. Its output of 14.49 million tons that year “was just a ninth that of
Interim Editor: Ann Dwyer (adwyer@crain.com) Managing Editor: Marcus Gilmer (marcus.gilmer@crain.com) Contact Crain’s: 216-522-1383 Read Crain’s online: crainscleveland.com
the world’s current No. 1, China Baowu Steel.” U.S. Steel would have been a nice addition to the steel business Cliffs has built under the lead of aggressive CEO Lourenco Goncalves. But it’s absurd to assert that an acquisition of U.S. Steel by a Japanese company undermines national security or compromises steel production in this country. As Wilbur Ross, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and a longtime steel executive, noted in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, “Nippon’s steelmaking is at least as advanced as U.S. Steel’s, so technology export control isn’t an issue. National security could be a concern if American mills were shutting down due to unfairly subsidized Japanese exports to the U.S. But Nippon never used gimmicks to avoid the Trump tariffs on steel imports. And its $14.1 billion investment in U.S. Steel is a powerful incentive against any dumping by Japan. There’s nothing in the deal from which the U.S. needs defending.” Indeed, he concluded, “Attacks by Washington pols only create unnecessary geopolitical tensions, and those, not the acquisition itself, could endanger American national security.” Reason is right to point out, too, that
“more government intervention is not going to save U.S. Steel. Indeed, decades of protectionist policies seem to have contributed to its downfall.” They certainly haven’t helped U.S. Steel. Cliffs is moving on. The company has announced an “aggressive” stockbuyback plan and Goncalves sees the size of the Nippon deal as validation of his view that the steel sector is undervalued. “Given that our shares are still significantly undervalued, we will now refocus our capital allocation priorities towards more aggressive share buybacks under our existing share repurchase authorization,” Goncalves said in a Dec. 18 statement. The statement indicated Cliffs had no plans to make a counterbid. The company did, though, make an intriguing announcement on Jan. 3 when it expanded its board of directors with the addition of Ron Bloom, a veteran investment banker who also has worked in the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations and as a steelworkers’ union negotiator. That has the feel of a move a company makes when it’s looking to make a deal — and Goncalves is always up for one. Stay tuned.
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6 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JANUARY 8, 2024
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PERSONAL VIEWS
Lessons of leadership for Northeast Ohio in 2024
T
UNSPLASH
zations that maintain their leaderhe Book, the “ultimate guide ship positions on the latest Crain’s to everything and everyone book of lists. Like strong plants, in Cleveland business” rethese businesses have roots that cently published by Crain’s, tells a run deep but their true strength story not so much of Cleveland’s lies in their new growth. Anyone yesterdays as it does of our tomorwho has had the unfortunate exrows. perience of sitting in a board Yes, of course, the nobility is meeting where the person at the there — the cornerstone compahead of the table believes he or nies that date to Millionaires’ Row Richard she is always the smartest person and the culture imbued in Cleve- Osborne is a in the room knows that decline land business by such luminaries member of the and decay set in when leadership as John D. Rockefeller, the Ma- Cleveland does not look to the bright lights thers and Lubrizol’s Smiths. But if Journalism who envision things the old guard you were to create a word cloud of Hall of Fame. is incapable or unwilling to see. characteristics that distinguish the The historic businesses that continue to litany of names that appear in today’s volume of Cleveland leadership, terms such lead the way in Cleveland are those that reas “innovation” and “change” would over- main true to their core missions but rediscover the best ways to fulfill them as the shadow “history” and “tradition.” And that’s great news for our region’s fu- culture of the community evolves. It is notable that the “20 in their 20s” and “40 unture. None of this is to suggest that Cleveland’s der 40” lists in The Book contain more persistent ills — poverty, crime and infra- women than men, a thought that would structure, to name a few — are any less have been almost, well, unthinkable a gendaunting than they ever have been. But the eration ago. Those of us of a “certain age” would be recent Crain’s leadership bible illustrates that the biggest and best of the city’s orga- wise to look to these young leaders and the nizations understand that institutions ideas they bring to the boardroom table need not — and should not — be institu- (virtual though it may be). Too bad our leaders in national government — on both tional. It is fitting that the volume opens with a sides of the aisle — seem blind to this eslist of “New Faces in New Places.” These sential lesson of life. This, of course, does not mean ignoring forward-thinking leaders, and countless others like them, bring the fresh ideas, atti- the past. I think, for example, of Augie Naptudes and approaches that keep Cleve- oli and the leadership he provided to Unitland’s business community vibrant. ed Way of Greater Cleveland when he conWhether it is powerhouses such as the jured the words of the War on Poverty and Cleveland Orchestra focusing anew on di- made them revolutionary by applying versity and inclusion, or University Hospi- them to the needs of a new — if not so great tals responding to the community’s evolv- — society. Today, under the leadership of ing health needs with its nationally Sharon Sobol Jordan and other women and recognized culture of innovation, the lead- men whose shared passion is to end the cyers among us “get it” that adaptation to cle of poverty, the Greater Cleveland Unitchange is, in fact, the hallmark of leader- ed Way — the nation’s first — continues to set the standard for responsible and reship that is constant. They know that you can’t see what’s sponsive civic engagement. Here’s hoping that such openness to coming ahead by staring in the rear-view change is one thing that our business leadmirror. Change, of course, is not for the faint of ers will never change. heart. A case in point is my old high school, Villa Angela-St. Joseph. Literally and figu- Longtime journalist Richard Osborne was ratively, VASJ kept the faith when a chal- inducted into the Cleveland Journalism lenging merger redefined the school more Hall of Fame in 2007. After his journalism than three decades ago. Now, on the heels career, he spent a decade as a chief adminof a successful $5.5 million fundraising istrator for Catholic high schools in campaign as well as a new football field, Cleveland and Youngstown, most of that the school proudly enjoys a place among time as president of Cleveland’s Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School. He is now the city’s larger private high schools. The school is emblematic of the organi- retired.
How Ohio pols can suppress the black market for cannabis
O
can fuel one another. We know hio Attorney General Dave that when a cannabis product fails Yost engaged in some legislab testing in California, it can’t be lative gaslighting in Desold there. We also know that a lot cember when addressing the votof New York’s black market retailer-initiated statute that legalized ers sell illicit products with outrecreational cannabis. dated and inaccurate California “I want to make sure we don’t labels. It’s unlikely that tainted have an illegal market in marijuaproduct from California isn’t bena now that the voters have spoing trafficked into New York. ken,” he said. Deb Tharp is Officials in Ohio can learn from The most telling part of his com- head of legal the mistakes made in other states ment being, “now that the voters and policy to get legalization right. One leshave spoken.” research at son they can learn is that no The Ohio legislature’s dueling NuggMD. amount of enforcement will end bills would raid the considerable tax revenue from legal cannabis sales, part the black market, because marijuana use is of which Issue 2 allocates for social equity, ubiquitous and it’s easy for consumers to and use it to pay for the fundamental oppo- conflate above-board retailers with illicit site of social equity: more jails and more ones. Instead, legal cannabis retailers need to cops. It is noteworthy that Yost, a Republican, be permitted to open where there is deis voicing concerns about the black market mand for them, as quickly as possible, to now. He and his colleagues could have pull consumers out of the black market. worked with activists on Issue 2, but they Our polling in Ohio shows that consumers didn’t. They opposed it at every turn — and are eager to shop in the legal market for they’re now threatening to gut the social cannabis even though it will cost them a litequity provisions that voters overwhelm- tle bit more. And credit where it’s due: The bill curingly supported. rently in the Ohio Senate would allow medical dispensaries to sell recreational weed much sooner than Issue 2 required, which is a genuinely good policy. Another lesson Ohio electeds can learn is that consumers will That said, I will take Yost at his word believe black-market cannabis is the same when he says he wants to suppress the as the good, legal stuff, so they could do a black market. That goal is directly in line lot worse than earmark some of that tax revenue for a public information campaign with the goals of the movement. Legalizing recreational cannabis does that highlights the difference. Finally, lawmakers can incentivize comnot end black markets unless it’s done right. We see this in California, arguably munities to include legal recreational disthe most developed state-legal market pensaries so black market purveyors can’t for cannabis, which still has a vibrant rush in to fill the void. Lack of availability is black market riddled with pesticide-laced by far the largest driver of black market acweed and inaccurate potency labeling. tivity. And we see it in New York, where our polling shows consumers have an alarm- Deb Tharp is head of legal and policy ing level of misplaced trust in black mar- research at NuggMD, the largest telehealth company for cannabis, which operates in ket weed. Furthermore, state-level black markets 26 states, including Ohio.
UNSPLASH
Officials in Ohio can learn from the mistakes made in other states to get legalization right.
JANUARY 8, 2024 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | 7
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‘I always knew I wanted more’
Cleveland native Autumn Calabrese is a “super trainer” for BODi (formerly Beachbody), the platform known for fitness programs such as P90X and Insanity. | CONTRIBUTED
Autumn Calabrese grew up above her dad’s pizza shop in Cleveland. Now she’s a fitness mogul.
By Joe Scalzo
Long before Autumn Calabrese became one of the country’s most popular fitness and nutrition moguls, someone whose name is synonymous with color-coded containers and on-demand workouts, she was just a little girl living above her father’s pizza shop in Collinwood, learning about the Madonna at Catholic school by day and dancing to songs from Madonna by night. “I loved our little Italian neighborhood, I loved being around all of my aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins, but I always knew I wanted more,” she said. “Remember that movie ‘Pretty Woman’ where there’s a guy walking down the street saying, ‘Welcome to Hollywood! What’s your dream? Everybody who comes to Hollywood has a dream. What’s your dream?’ That was the dream, to get there. “This little girl from Cleveland wanted that bigger life. She wanted to see more and do more and she wanted to be in the mix of the energy and the bright lights and all of that.” She got there, but she first had to spend a decade living paycheck to paycheck as a personal trainer before she could become one of Hollywood’s overnight success stories. But, thanks to her simple approach to nutrition (she emphasized portion control over “diet food”) and an accessible fitness series (21-Day Fix), Calabrese broke through, emerging as the most viewed “super trainer” with more than 140 million views on BODi (formerly Beachbody), the on-demand platform known for programs like P9OX and Insanity.
those foods every night. She’s still the girl who remembers being told she was the dumb one of the family, the one who wasn’t expected to excel at school. She’s still the girl who battled weight issues at 12, when the family moved to Mayfield Heights and she struggled with the sedentary life of the suburbs and her father’s love for meatballs cooked in lard. And she’s still the one who took all those lessons she learned from her dad (good and bad) — and from her teachers at Spotlight Dance Center (only good) — and used them to conquer one of the world’s most competitive industries. “You can have roots and wings,” said Calabrese, who recently spoke by Zoom from her home in L.A. “That’s important to remember. My roots are in Ohio. My roots are in Cleveland and the Italian family where I was raised and grew up. It’s not something I strategically use to my advantage. It’s not like I say, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m from Cleveland. I’m real.’ I don’t think it necessarily matters where you’re from or even the amount of money you grew up with. I think it’s how you’re raised. “I was raised in a big, Italian family. Nobody held back what they said. It taught me thick skin. But it also probably taught me a little more compassion. To have a little more empathy and more compassion and more understanding for people’s process and their journey. Those things stuck with me and they’re things I work on all the time.” Calabrese’s parents split up when she was young and she spent most of her childhood in Collinwood with her dad, a largerthan-life figure she once com-
“This little girl from Cleveland wanted that bigger life. She wanted to see more and do more and she wanted to be in the mix of the energy and the bright lights and all of that.” — Autumn Calabrese Calabrese is also a best-selling author — her cookbook, “Fixate,” has sold more than 500,000 copies — who co-hosts a cooking show with her chef brother (Bobby Calabrese) and who regularly posts food and fitness updates to nearly 1 million followers on Instagram. But while she left Cleveland in high school, Cleveland never really left her. She’s still Bobby Cal’s girl, the youngest of three kids who walked 12 miles to their grandma’s house in Mayfield Heights on Thanksgiving. The girl who not only helped stock the chips and cheesecake at the restaurant before and after school but ate a steady diet of
pared to Robert DeNiro’s character in the movie “A Bronx Tale.” She admits she wasn’t a great student — she hated being told what to do, a personality trait that informed how she structured her fitness and nutrition plans — but she was (and is) feisty and tenacious. “I’m just not willing to give up on something I want,” she said. “I’ll get knocked down, but I’ll get back up and I’ll be damned if somebody is going to tell me what I can and cannot accomplish in my life. I’ll you when I’ve had enough. You’re not going to tell me when I’m done or had enough.” Just before turning 16, she moved in with her mother in St.
Louis, where she traded pizza and subs for bell peppers and baked salmon. After graduating high school, she enrolled at the only dance school that would accept her, Webster University in St. Louis, where she feuded with the ballet master who ran the academy. While Calabrese loved jazz dancing, she was ill-suited for ballet because she started late (age 13, or about 10 years later than most kids), because she had hip issues and because her anatomy wasn’t well-suited for ballet. Unlike her teachers at Spotlight, who were positive and encouraging, the ballet master was “vicious,” Calabrese said, someone who put her best friend on academic probation for being overweight and who was as lovable as a hedge fund manager. Calabrese battled issues with her back (scoliosis, bulging disc) and knees throughout college. At one point she buckled to the ground after a sneeze, laying her out for 10 days, and her teacher responded by saying, “If it hurts, you should be a secretary.” The worst moment came during her final semester, when he refused to cast her in her final show as a performing arts major, a show she had to dance in order to get her degree. “He called me in and said, ‘I will not cast you in this final show, so you might as well change your degree because I’m not going to graduate you,’” she said. “It wasn’t because I wasn’t a good dancer, but he had the power to do that.” She briefly attended another college in St. Louis, figuring that if
she couldn’t become a dancer, she could be a physical therapist for dancers. But one night, while learning about the water cycle during a night class, she realized, “I can’t waste two years doing (general education classes). I don’t have the patience for this.” So, she packed up her car, moved to L.A. and — voilà! — become a fitness sensation with Beachbody, creating programs such as “80 Day Obsession” and 9 Week Control Freak.” Calabrese now owns a $6 million house in Hidden Hills (the same neighborhood home of the Kardashians), appears on magazine covers and even has her own shop on Amazon. But it wasn’t that simple. You can’t understand Calabrese’s Forest City success story unless you see the trees. “Listen, success is basically where luck meets preparation and I had been preparing for what I’ve been doing my entire life,” said Calabrese, who estimates that 98% of her family still lives in the Cleveland area. “I wasn’t afraid to pack the car and drive across the country at 22 years old and work two jobs and go on countless auditions and take the nos over and over and over again. “It’s easy for people who haven’t followed my journey to say, ‘Oh, she’s had it easy, she’s got the big house, she does well and she’s on TV’ but they miss the 33 years that happened before all of that,” she said. “I wasn’t afraid to pack the car and drive across the country at 22 years old and work two jobs
and go on countless auditions and take the nos over and over and over again. “I lived in five different states before finally settling down in California. It took about 10 years longer than I expected it to, and I say all the time, if I had given up at any one of those points during my first 10 years in L.A., I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. I came close a few times, but there was always that voice in my head, that fire burning inside me that said, ‘We’re not done, we’re not done, we’re not done.’” She still isn’t. Calabrese spends her life helping people get healthier and stronger — and that doesn’t happen just through burpees and broccoli. It also happens by being open and honest about her struggles, so that other people can get through theirs. “It’s very easy for people to look at someone in my position and assume, ‘Well, she’s different. There’s something about her that I don’t have inside of me,’” she said. “But that’s not the case. I grew up in a middle- to lower-class family. I didn’t finish school. I’m a single mom. I’m divorced. I just worked through it. I worked through the mess. “I can’t have anything but positive feelings about that because my entire journey led me to where I am, and I absolutely love where I am. Anything that was different might not have led me to where I am right now. It’s important to remember that. All those hardships? Those were all the lessons that allowed me to be here today.”
8 | CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS | JANUARY 8, 2024
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3 ways the Cavs’ Paris game fits their strategy The team is to play its first game in Europe on Jan. 11 against the Brooklyn Nets By Joe Scalzo
If you’re among the les incompétents who think of the Cleveland Cavaliers as a mere basketball team, well, CEO Nic Barlage has two more French words for you. Au contraire. Over the past five years, Barlage and Co. have tried to turn the Cavaliers into something bigger, something that brings sports, fashion, entertainment and culture together. You know who does that really well? Paris. That’s what makes the Cavaliers’ Jan. 11 game in Paris so important. It’s not just an opportunity to showcase Donovan Mitchell or Jarett Allen. It’s an opportunity to showcase everything the franchise has been doing over the last half-decade. “There’s no better city to display all that work than in Paris, France — outside of Cleveland, Ohio, obviously,” said Barlage, the CEO of the Cavaliers, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and Rock Entertainment Group. “We’re excited to be able to put that on display for Paris and Europe to see.” Cleveland will play the Brooklyn Nets at 2 p.m. EST on Jan. 11 at Paris’ Accor Arena. It will be the Cavaliers’ first game in Europe and their third international contest, joining preseason games in China in 2007 and Brazil in 2015. France is a huge market for the NBA, with basketball ranking as the second-most popular team sport in the country and the most popular team sport for women. The Cavaliers boast 100,000 Facebook followers in France and, on an average night, 50,000 French fans stream their games. The Nets game should only build on that. “We’re really excited to have the Cavaliers and the Nets there,” said Samantha Engelhardt, the NBA’s SVP of global strategy and innovation. “They were both playoff teams last year and they both have up-and-coming stars. So it’s a great opportunity for us to bring it all together and showcase an NBA game for a market that we’re really excited about and has a lot of future growth, particularly with the Olympics just around the corner.” Here are three things to know about the game and how it complements the Cavaliers’ overall ambition to grow their international audience: The Cavs already have a big international following. There’s no better way to gain international fans than by employing LeBron James for 11 seasons but Cleveland’s basketball team has also built strong followings in countries like Brazil (the Cavs recently won the NBA’s In-
The Cavaliers will set up a team cafe inside the NBA House in Paris. | CONTRIBUTED
ternational Strategy Award for their outreach work in Brazil, the home country of longtime center Anderson Varejao), Lithuania (the native country of another longtime center, Zydrunas Ilguaskas), Australia (the home country of former guard Matthew Dellavedova) and Canada (current center Tristan Thompson is from Toronto). The Cavaliers have the third-highest following of any NBA team on Instagram, and more than half of those followers (52%) are from outside the United States. That international reach, combined with the fact that basketball fans tend to be younger than the general population, is attractive to the Cavs’ existing partners — and their potential ones. “Going and playing a home game in Paris, it allows us to build on that profile,” Barlage said. “It allows us to acquire more fans in the social ecosystem, which then ultimately allows us to be more salient, have more content, have more followers, drive more engagements, which ultimately helps to feed our business.” The Paris trip is more than just a game. The game itself is important, of course. One of the reasons why the English Premier League and other pro soccer leagues have been able to grow their international footprint is by playing an actual game in other markets. “Nothing replaces presence,” Barlage said. But the NBA treats international games like they do an All-Star Game, making it into an event. The league has scheduled a host of interactive fan activities and youth development programming before and after the contest. One of the main Paris attractions is the NBA House, which
the league describes as a “onestop destination for fans of all ages to experience the excitement of the NBA and the fashion, music, media and art associated with NBA culture.” Fans will be able to participate in basketball activities on a fullsize NBA court, watch NBA highlights and programming, take their photo with the Larry O’Brien Trophy and purchase limited-edition NBA merchandise and more. The Cavaliers will open a Parisian-style “Cafe de Cavs” inside the house, one that will serve coffee and crepes while displaying team photos and jerseys. The team’s creative director, Cleveland native Daniel Arsham, will even do a signing. The Cavaliers will be in Paris from Monday, Jan. 8, through Friday, Jan. 12, participating in several activations, including several with the Special Olympics. “From a marketing perspective, it’s about extending the brand and winning over some fans, but ultimately doing some work in the community that leaves a legacy and leaves an impact, which I think is really important,” Barlage said. The Cavs will continue their work in Brazil but also look for other opportunities. The Cavaliers unveiled their second court renovation in Brazil in September, a project spearheaded by Varejao, the team’s global ambassador and athlete development consultant. The Cavs dedicated their first court in April. Those projects are part of the Cavs’ long-term commitment to growing the game of basketball in Brazil and include the launch of Portuguese-language digital channels. Barlage said it was important
for the Cavaliers to get their international strategy right by first focusing on one market (Brazil) before expanding to other countries. “Every country has its own unique culture and its own unique perspective of sport and entertainment,” Barlage said. “For us, we’ll never say we’ve perfected it, but if we can find a winning combination
strategically, then we’ll look to build upon that in a greater way. Europe is one of those natural continents that we’ll look like after we’ve had some strong success and momentum in Brazil.” Some of that might happen organically (like the NBA scheduling a Cavs game in Paris). But the Cavaliers are really just looking for opportunities that make sense. For instance, if the Cavaliers draft or acquire a high-profile international player, they could quickly look to build their fan base in that player’s country. “It’s definitely important to have somebody or something that allows you to kind of cut through the clutter in those markets,” Barlage said. “For us in Brazil, we’re in a similar time zone so our content is very salient. They have the second-largest NBA League subscriber base outside of the United States and 68% of their population is under the age of 35, so all of those things make a lot of sense for us to be there. “Then, to top it all off, we have someone in Anderson who is really the spokesperson and face of our efforts in Brazil. So it gives you this authenticity with this ecosystem that works. That’s why we’ve seen success and momentum in Brazil. We want to take that and use the learnings we’ve had there to build a profile in other countries that are strategic, whether that’s player-driven or sport-driven. I think we’ll be open-minded to both scenarios.”
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12/19/23 9:31 AM
November marks Ohio’s second-biggest month for sports betting By Joe Scalzo
When it comes to sports gambling in November, fewer days didn’t mean fewer parlays. Driven by key NFL and college football games, Ohioans wagered more than $850 million on sports in November, marking the state’s second-biggest month since sports gambling became legal on Jan. 1, 2023. January 2023 remained the state’s biggest month, with bets of more than $1.1 billion, but November’s total eclipsed the $746 million wagered in October, which briefly held the No. 2 spot. Ohio’s total gross receipts for online and retail betting were $864,220,822, according to figures released Jan. 2, by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Those wagers produced $68,152,085 in taxable revenue which was the sixth-highest total of the year. Ohio’s sports gaming revenue is taxed at 20%. About 97% of that money was wagered online, with FanDuel ($293 million) and DraftKings ($276 million) controlling about 68% of Ohio’s online market share. ESPN Bet, which launched on Nov. 14, finished with more than $71 million in gross receipts for the month and could continue to wrestle market share from FanDuel and DraftKings in the months ahead. Ohioans wagered about $1.2
million at sports betting kiosks, which are run by the Ohio Lottery. That was the fourth-highest total of the year. November’s sports gambling receipts and revenue broke down this way: ◗ Online: $841,117,069 in receipts; $66,788,769 in taxable revenue. ◗ Retail: $23,103,753 in receipts; $1,363,316 in taxable revenue. ◗ Lottery-style kiosks: $1,244,444 in receipts; $86,599 in taxable revenue. As for Northeast Ohio’s retail sportsbooks, the downtown JACK casino reported a record $3,588,505 in gross receipts, although its taxable revenue ($262,691) was lower than average. Here’s the November breakdown by total gross receipts and revenue: ◗ Downtown JACK: $3,588,505 total gross receipts; $262,691 revenue. ◗ JACK Thistledown: $1,831,470 total gross receipts; $198,018 revenue. ◗ Cavaliers’ Caesars: $518,189 total gross receipts; $79,408 revenue. ◗ Guardians’ Fanatics: $53,046 total gross receipts; -$12,775 revenue. ◗ MGM Northfield: $2,152,748 total gross receipts; -$67,378 revenue. Four of Ohio’s 15 retail sportsbooks lost money in November, with the Guardians’ Fanatics location and MGM Northfield joining Hollywood Columbus and Hollywood Toledo.
Sports gambling in Ohio Ohio’s total gross receipts on a month-by-month basis. $1B
$800M
$600M
$400M
$200M
January
April
July
October
Total gross receipts for Northeast Ohio’s five retail sportsbooks on a month-by-month basis. Downtown JACK
JACK Thistledown
Guardians’ Fanatics Sportsbook
Cavaliers' Caesars Sportsbook
MGM Northfield
$4M $3M $2M $1M
January
April
The Guardians’ sportsbook opened on Aug. 18.
July
October
The Cleveland headquarters of biotech firm Athersys Inc. | ATHERSYS
Athersys’ struggles mount with employee terminations, delisting The biotech firm said in a filing that it anticipated ‘terminating its remaining employees’ By Scott Suttell
Athersys Inc., the financially strapped cell therapy and regenerative medicine company in Cleveland, ended 2023 with considerable uncertainty about 2024. The company said in a Dec. 22 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that on Dec. 15, it “terminated four of its employees,” and that effective Dec. 31, it anticipated “terminating its remaining employees, including Daniel A. Camardo, the company’s chief executive officer, and Maia Hansen, the company’s chief operating officer.” There were no additional SEC filings as of Jan. 3, related to employee terminations and to the expected departures of Camardo and Hansen. Two calls to Athersys were not returned. An email to the company’s investor relations department produced an automated reply stating, “Please allow us a few days to review and respond.” Athersys has not issued a press release since Nov. 16. An Athersys spokesperson told Crain’s in October that the company at that time had about 20 employees. Additionally, the company on Dec. 27 received a notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market stating that the market “has determined to remove from listing the securities of Athersys Inc. effective at the opening of the trading session on January 8, 2024.” The delisting process began in April when Nasdaq notified Athersys that the stock market’s staff determined that the company no longer qualified for listing on the exchange. Hearings
and appeals took place in the spring, summer and fall. Nasdaq stated in the Dec. 27 notice that the staff determination to delist Athersys “became final on November 30, 2023.” Athersys stock, still traded Over-the-Counter, closed at 2.4 cents per share on Jan. 3. The stock’s 52-week high is $1.99 per share. In the Dec. 22 SEC filing, Athersys estimated it will incur about $360,000 in “one-time, pre-tax cash charges related to the employee terminations, consisting of employee severance and other one-time termination benefits.” (The estimate is “subject to a number of assumptions, and actual results may differ,” Athersys added.) Athersys stated in the filing that Camardo and Hansen “may continue to advise the company on a consulting basis” following the expected Dec. 31 departures. The company said it had agreed to pay Camardo and Hansen “one-time termination benefits, consisting of one month of salary and the value of two months of continuation of health care” coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA. Neither Camardo nor Hansen immediately responded to messages sent via LinkedIn. Athersys, which since the mid1990s has been developing a therapy called MultiStem, derived from adult stem cells, to treat stroke, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and patients with traumatic injuries, has been under financial pressure for some time. Major financial and operational challenges began in May 2022, after the company re-
vealed MultiStem failed to meet the primary endpoint of a phase 2/3 stroke trial conducted by an important research partner, HEALIOS, in Japan. Athersys in June 2022 cut about 70% of its workforce and made changes to its executive team in a restructuring designed to reduce costs and prioritize its lead clinical programs. A month later, in July 2022, Athersys lost a $100 million equity purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund, which contributed to an ongoing cash crunch. In October 2023, unfavorable results of an interim analysis of a clinical trial led Athersys to warn that it might need to file for bankruptcy protection if it was unable to enter into a strategic transaction or obtain fresh financing. The company on Oct. 16, 2023, said it had hired an investment banking firm, Outcome Capital, to help evaluate strategic alternatives that could include “a possible merger, business combination, investment into the company, or a purchase, license or other acquisition of assets.” Boston-based Outcome Capital specializes in working with companies in the life sciences and health care industries. A message sent to the firm via a form on its website was not returned. A check of court records found no bankruptcy filing for Athersys as of Jan. 3. The most recent news release from Athersys, dated Nov. 16, 2023, stated that the company’s cash and cash equivalents “were $1.0 million as of September 30, 2023, compared with $9.0 million as of December 31, 2022.”
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By Jeremy Nobile
Melt Bar and Grilled announced that it has closed its Avon restaurant, which opened in summer 2017, as of Tuesday, Jan. 2. The decision to shutter that site, located at the Marketplace at Avon, comes a year after the company opted to shutter locations in Canton and Dayton in January 2023. “Navigating the restaurant industry in the post-pandemic world with growing economic issues is becoming more and more difficult,” said Melt owner Matt Fish in a statement. “The world and the industry are rapidly changing around us. We realized in early 2023, a smaller restaurant group would be much better for us to manage regarding operations and guest experience, while setting ourselves up for future success.” “We enjoyed seven good years in Avon,” Fish added. “However, we feel having a smaller footprint and getting back even more to our hometown Cleveland roots is incredibly important right now. This was a very diffi-
cult decision both personally and professionally for many reasons, but ultimately this move will put the company in a much better position for continued success.” The company referenced similar challenges with a “rapidly changing” business landscape in prior closure announcements as well as staffing issues. Fish also said at that time as well that a smaller footprint and a refocusing on its home market in Northeast Ohio would be good for the business going forward.
the COVID-19 pandemic as a driving factor. With the Avon closure, Melt counts five standalone restaurants in its footprint with locations in Lakewood—where its first eatery opened in 2006—Independence, Mentor, Akron and Columbus. The company also has satellite operations at Cedar Point, Progressive Field and Case Western Reserve University. In a followup with Crain’s, Fish said there are is “no thought or consideration” being given to closing any other locations in the “immediate future.” “All other Melt Bar and Grilled locations throughout Northeast Ohio and Columbus remain open and are doing well,” said Fish in the company’s Avon closure announcement. “Shrinking the company to be better and more efficient has been the goal for a while. We truly hope our friends and loyal guests will continue to visit and support us at our five current Melt Bar and Grilled loca-
“Navigating the restaurant industry in the post-pandemic world with growing economic issues is becoming more and more difficult.” — Matt Fish, Melt owner, in a statement In the fall of 2020, Melt closed its Cleveland Heights location— which had been in business a decade and which marked the company’s inaugural expansion outside Independence—citing
MELT BAR AND GRILLED
Melt shutters its Avon restaurant after a pair of closures in 2023
tions. Our flagship location in Lakewood is close to Avon so we hope our far westside guests will visit and support our Lakewood location.” Fish did not specify how many employees were at the Avon location but noted that the “majority of the current staff ” will be offered positions at other locations in the Cleveland area. Companywide, Melt has 200 employees. “Fortunately, we have the ability to shuffle our staff to other locations so they are not left unemployed due to this closure,” Fish said. The “cost and quality” of labor was one of several factors that played in the Avon closing, he added, along with generally higher costs of running a busi-
ness. In its closure announcement, the company said the plan in 2024 is for Melt to “get back to basics and their fundamental roots.” “The recent launch of a newly designed menu and cocktail program strengthens this plan,” the company said. “The new menu welcomed back a few classic sandwiches (Parmageddon, Melt Reuben and Patty Melt), one classic started (The Melt Pierogi) and a new reimagined dessert section featuring NY Cheesecake, Fried Oreos and Root Beer Float. The new menu also introduces Melt’s famous sandwiches prepared as a flour tortilla wrap. This is the first time wraps have been offered on the menu in its 18-year history.”
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Society Brands kicks off 2024 with a new deal By Dan Shingler
online platforms, keeping their founders on board, and providing Canton’s Society Brands contin- marketing and other back-office ued its acquisition strategy quickly support functions. Arriving with a bang in March this year, announcing on Jan. 3, that it has acquired Primal Life Or- 2022 when it announced its presence and the fact that it had just ganics. An Akron company that bills it- raised $204 million in debt to capself as part of the “clean beauty italize on its acquisitions, Society movement,” Primal Life sells a has so far purchased nine comparange of products, including den- nies that it says fit its business tal and skin-care products, that it model and match its ambitious says do not contain toxins found culture. Society has about 100 employin many traditional beauty prodees overall, and about 15 are at the ucts. Canton headquarters. But the company has said it will grow in the Hall of Fame City, and it recently was awarded a $300,000 grant from JobsOhio to create 70 more jobs in town over the — Michael Sirpilla, Society Brands co-founder next three years. Primal Life Organics, Terms of the deal were not dis- started by Akron registered nurse closed, which is the norm for Soci- Trina Felber and her husband, ety, a private company that typi- Josh, has “built a strong following cally buys privately held online of consumers that share the belief that a healthier life starts with retailers. Society specializes in acquiring ‘skin-food’ with vitamins, essencompanies that have a large pres- tial fatty acids, and antioxidants,” ence selling on Amazon and other Society and Primal Life said in an-
“Primal Life Organics is a great example of the kind of brands we want to partner with now, and in the future.”
Society Brands President Justin Sirpilla (left), Society Brands CEO Michael Sirpilla, Primal Life Organics founder and CEO Trina Felber and Primal Life Organics co-founder and CMO Josh Felber. | SOCIETY BRANDS
nouncing their deal. “This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone and will undoubtedly propel my mission to new heights and our commitment to provide natural, or-
ganic, and sustainable products to enhance the well-being of individuals globally,” Trina Felber said in a release. Trina Felber will join Society as brand president for Primal Life.
He was appointed to the USPS Board of Governors, a position he held from 2019 to 2021, which included the position of board chairman. Bloom is currently a managing partner and vice chair in Brookfield Asset Management’s Private Equity Group. He’s also a partner at Commonweal Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO of Cliffs, said in a statement that Bloom’s career “represents the Cleve-
land-Cliffs culture perfectly, which includes fierce negotiating skills, fighting for the resilience of American manufacturing, and a deep appreciation for organized labor and a thriving middle class. We have recently seen a case of stunning disrespect to the wishes of labor in our industry, and Ron Bloom being on our board will ensure that all stakeholders have a voice.”
Primal has more than 20 employees and they will remain in place while the brand expands, Society stated in its announcement. Society co-founder Michael Sirpilla, who has said previously that his company looks at hundreds of potential acquisitions per year, said Primal Life is a good fit for the company, which has not been afraid to buy companies in specialized niche markets. One of its first acquisitions was Damn Near Kilt ‘Em, which, as the name implies, makes men’s kilts. “Primal Life Organics is a great example of the kind of brands we want to partner with now, and in the future,” Sirpilla said. “They have built an incredible direct-to-consumer business and loyal customer following. Having Trina remain on board as brand president to help drive growth speaks to Society’s mission to build a community and ecosystem of like-minded entrepreneurs that have the skill and energy to grow with their brand. We are excited about the future of Primal Life Organics.”
By Scott Suttell
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) has expanded its board of directors with the appointment of an executive with experience in the worlds of private equity, organized labor and politics. The flat-rolled steel producer and mining giant on Jan. 3 announced it has named Ron Bloom to the board, effective immediately. With the addition of Bloom, the Cliffs board has 11 members; 10 of them are independent directors. Bloom will serve on two board committees: Governance & Nominating, and Strategy & Sustainability. Bloom, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Bloom Wesleyan University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, has a professional background that touches virtually every element of Cliffs’ business. He started his career as an investment banker at Lazard, a firm he later re-joined as vice chairman, U.S. investment banking, Cliffs said. After the first stint at Lazard, Bloom “represented the interests of organized labor, including serving as special assistant to the president of the United Steelworkers (USW) from 1996 to 2009,” according to Cliffs. In 2002, Bloom “played an active role in the sale of the assets of
LTV Steel and Bethlehem Steel to the International Steel Group,” whose assets now are part of Cliffs. Cliffs noted that Bloom “was also a key player when the USW successfully used the union’s successorship rights in their Basic Labor Agreement to block the sale of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel to a foreign buyer in 2007.” That element of his biography, in particular, has some resonance today. Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. on Dec. 18 agreed to pay $14.1 billion in cash for United States Steel Corp., a company Cliffs had tried to buy after making a $7.25 billion offer in mid-August. Cliffs in August received the assignment of USW’s right to bid under the union’s Basic Labor Agreement with U.S. Steel. The USW, along with figures in the political world, has been sharply critical of the Nippon bid. Ohio’s two U.S. senators, Sherrod Brown and JD Vance, also oppose the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon. Bloom, starting in 2009, worked jobs in the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations. He was senior Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury on President Barack Obama’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry from 2009 to 2011. In 2012, Bloom was assistant to the president for manufacturing policy.
BLOOMBERG
Cleveland-Cliffs adds board member with deep labor, political ties
Steel products’ prices rise Cliffs on Jan. 3 also announced it’s increasing spot market base
prices for all carbon hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated steel products, effective immediately with all new orders. The minimum base price for hot-rolled steel is now $1,150 per net ton, Cliffs said. In January 2023, the company’s minimum base price for hot-rolled steel was $800 per net ton. Cliffs, founded in 1847 as a mine operator, is the largest flat-rolled steel producer and the largest manufacturer of iron ore pellets in North America. It has 27,000 employees in operations in the U.S. and Canada.
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CWRU researchers hope to use AI for medical imaging Technology could make process safer, cheaper
Developing a non-chemical imaging technique could decrease the risk of future supply chain problems while also saving costs. The CWRU researchers hope to create a virtual method for providing critical diagnostic information without the use of
chemical contrast agents. They will investigate a new category of image features to develop and validate new models for use with MRI scans, with the ultimate goal of developing a technique called an “AI contrast agent.” Along with Li, the team is being co-led by Vipin Chaudhary, the Kevin J. Kranzusch Professor and chair of computer and data sciences at the Case School of Engineering; Leonardo Kayat Bittencourt, an associate professor at the School of Medicine and vice chair of innovation in radiology at UH Cleveland Medical Center; and Sree Harsha Tirumani, an associate professor at the School of Medicine and vice chair for clinical research in radiology at UH Cleveland. The grant comes through the National Science Foundation’s Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science, a program that supports advances in computer and information science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, behavioral and cognitive research for biomedical and public health.
holders of multiple GLP-1s for further clarifications as part of the investigation. The EMA’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee said that at this
point no conclusion can be drawn on a casual association between the use of these medications and an increased risk of suicidal thoughts, Reuters reported. The committee plans to discuss the topic again at its April meeting. The CWRU researchers used the TriNetX Analytics platform to access aggregated, de-identified electronic health records of nearly 101 million patients from 59 U.S. health care organizations across all 50 states, according to the study. The analysis of incident suicidal ideation in patients with obesity included a study population of 232,711 with no previous history of suicidal ideation. The analysis of recurrent suicidal ideation included a study population of 7,847 patients who had a previous history of suicidal ideation. Both groups included patients prescribed medications with semaglutide and patients taking non-GLP1R agonist anti-obesity medications. The results showed a lower risk for both first incidence and recurrence of suicidal ideations in patients prescribed semaglutide compared to those taking non-GLP1R anti-obesity drugs. Meanwhile, the analysis of incident suicidal ideation in patients with Type 2 diabetes had a study population of 1,572,885 patients with no previous history of suicidal ideation. The analysis of recurrent suicidal ideation consisted of a study population of 16,970 patients with a previous history of suicidal ideation. Similar to the analyses conducted on patients with obesity, the semaglutide group in both cases had a lower risk for suicidal ideation compared to the non-GLP1R agonist anti-diabetes medication group, the study says.
By Paige Bennett
Artificial intelligence could be used to create a safer and cheaper process for medical imaging. With a four-year, $1.125 million grant from the National Science Foundation, a group of Case Western Reserve University researchers wants to develop an AI alternative to the chemical agents used in medical imaging processes like X-rays, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging scans. “With this grant, our multidisciplinary team aims to improve the medical-imaging process for clinical staff and patients,” said project leader Shuo Li, an associate professor at the Case School of Engineering, in a statement. “Virtual contrast-enhanced imaging could save time and money while continuing to provide the best care to patients.” Health care professionals use chemical contrast materials to diagnose many diseases, including
A CWRU group wants to develop an AI alternative to the chemical agents used in medical imaging processes. | CONTRIBUTED
“Virtual contrast-enhanced imaging could save time and money while continuing to provide the best care to patients.” — Shuo Li, associate professor at the Case School of Engineering, in a statement cancer. But these materials can be costly, and, on rare occasions, they lead to side effects in patients. Supply chain issues have also been a problem in the recent past. In 2022, coronavirus-related lockdowns resulted in a world-
wide shortage of iodinated contest media, drugs commonly administered by injection to enhance the ability to see blood vessels and organs in medical images. This forced health care professionals to implement conservation strategies to remain operational.
By Paige Bennett
Findings from a newly released study by Case Western Reserve University researchers show that semaglutide, a chemical found in popular diabetes drug Ozempic and weight-management drug Wegovy, is not associated with an increased risk for suicidal thoughts. The retrospective observational study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine, examined roughly two million patients with Type 2 diabetes or obesity. It shows no evidence that semaglutide may cause suicidal ideations, a concern brought up this past summer by the European Medicines Agency. Instead, the study found a reduced risk for suicidal ideations among patients taking the medications. CWRU biomedical informatics professor Rong Xu led the study along with co-authors Nathan Berger, the Hanna-Payne Professor of Experimental Medicine; Pamela B. Davis, the Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin Research Professor; and Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute for Drug Abuse. The team studied patients with Type 2 diabetes who had been prescribed Ozempic and patients with obesity who had been prescribed Wegovy. They tracked patients for six months to assess the occurrence of any suicidal ideation and recurrent suicidal thoughts recorded in their health
records. Across age, ethnicity and gender, they found consistent reductions in the risk of suicidal ideation. A clinical trial will need to take place to understand fully the side effects of semaglutide, according to the researchers. Xu and Berger conducted a separate study, whose findings were published last month, that found that the class of medications under which Ozempic and Wegovy fall could reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Semaglutide belongs to a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists that mimic the GLP-1 hormone released into the gastrointestinal tract in response to eating, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. GLP-1s have seen huge surges in popularity over the last several years. A report from Trilliant Health found that prescription volumes for GLP-1 medications increased by 300% between the first quarter of 2020 and the fourth quarter of 2022. In July, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the decentralized group of the European Union responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines, announced an investigation into the risk of suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self-harm associated with GLP-1 receptor agonists. It came in response to reports from the Icelandic Medicines Agency of suicidal thoughts and self-in-
BLOOMBERG PHOTOS
Study finds no association between Ozempic, Wegovy and suicidal ideation
jury in individuals using liraglutide and semaglutide medicines. The EMA announced in December that it would be asking the marketing authorization
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Myers Industries of Akron buys firm based in Texas By Scott Suttell
Akron-based Myers Industries Inc. (NYSE: MYE) is starting the new year with a significant acquisition. Myers Industries, a manufacturer and distributor of industrial products, announced Jan. 2 that it has agreed to buy Signature Systems, a Texas company that makes composite ground-protection products. Signature Systems also provides turf-protection products for stadiums and event venues in North America.
ful catalyst in the transformation of” the Akron company. He said Signature Systems “aligns extremely well with our targeted acquisition criteria” because it has “a leading market position, with branded and differentiated products, serving fast-growing end markets.” McGaugh added that Signature Systems “provides Myers an attractive complementary platform for long-term growth driven by world-wide investments in infrastructure over the next decade” and will help the company to achieve its goal of reaching $1 billion in revenue at a 15% EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin. Myers Industries in 2022 posted revenues of $899.5 million. It has about 2,500 employees. Signature Systems is based in Flower Mound, Texas, and has production operations in Orlando, Florida. It has projected
The deal price: $350 million. Myers Industries said in a news release that the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024. Mike McGaugh, CEO of Myers Industries, said in a statement that Signature Systems “is a meaning-
GETTY IMAGES
The deal price for Signature Systems is $350 million.
2023 revenue of $122 million and adjusted EBITDA of $44 million, Myers Industries said. The Texas company’s brands include MegaDeck, SignaRoad, DuraDeck, OmniDeck, ArmorDeck and EventDeck.
The transaction will be financed through a new, $350 million credit facility. Myers Industries said the transaction is expected to be “neutral to slightly dilutive” to earnings per share in 2024 “but then deliver EPS ac-
cretion” of 20 cents to 30 cents in 2025, 40 cents to 50 cents in 2026 and “additional meaningful EPS accretion beyond 2026.” (Myers Industries has posted a presentation on its website with additional transaction details.)
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DIRECT CARE From Page 1
The DPC concept first emerged in the late 1990s, but it recently started to appear in Northeast Ohio. DPC Frontier, an online resource designed to help grow the DPC movement in health care, reports there are full or hybrid practices in Rocky River, Broadview Heights, Hudson, Bath, Warren and Youngstown. Everside Health, a Denver-based corporation that provides DPC to employers, has several locations in Northeast Ohio. Unlike concierge medicine, another fee-based primary care format, DPC forgoes the use of insurance. DPC physicians still recommend patients have insurance for emergencies or unexpected illnesses. Mistovich said she started her practice because she felt she needed to do something to tend to the moral injury of medicine. “Doctors truly expect to work hard,” she said. “We don’t go into this profession thinking that it is going to be easy, and we’re not going to be spending many hours taking care of our patients. The problem is when you don’t have the ability to take care of people in the way that you know you’re supposed to.” A survey of 1,373 physicians over a five-year period found that primary care physicians had a higher rate of burnout than physicians in other specialties, according to results published in 2023 in the American Medical Association’s JAMA Network Open, a
Dr. Megan Moini, founder of Emerald Direct Primary Care, says her practice serves as an alternative for doctors and patients. | CONTRIBUTED
monthly open-access medical journal. Dr. Megan Moini, founder of Emerald Direct Primary Care in Beachwood, said that increasing patient loads for doctors in traditional systems have made it difficult for many patients to access their primary care doctor. With fewer patients, DPC physicians can see their patients regularly and for longer visits. (Note: Dr. Moini was a member of Crain’s Cleveland’s 2023 40 Under 40 class.) They also can communicate with them by text and phone call. Moini said the format allows doctors and
patients to develop relationships, which is a reason many doctors choose to go into primary care. Moini, who opened her practice in 2020, said DPC aims to provide transparency to patients while also serving as an alternative for primary care doctors feeling burnt out by the traditional health system. “On the provider side, you’re liberated from the rules of insurance or a health system and get to do what’s best for your patients,” said Dr. Andrew Hertz, president of Zest Pediatric Network. “(Doctors) get to develop deep, mean-
ingful relationships with families and patients, and they get to enjoy being a doctor.” Hertz launched Zest Pediatric Network, a Northeast Ohio company that offers pediatric care using the DPC model, a handful of years ago. It has locations in Beachwood, Solon and Westlake and opened its first out-of-state location in the South Hills, the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, last fall. Mistovich’s practice, Greater Cleveland Pediatrics, was the first practice to become part of the Zest network. Hertz said the DPC model often helps patients decrease the amount
HOF VILLAGE From Page 1
“Creating opportunities for youth to experience the positive benefits of sports is a goal we both share,” Harris and Blitzer said in a news release. “Through this partnership, we are excited to expand our youth sports platform. We look forward to this partnership with Hall of Fame Village, as well as key local stakeholders including Stark County, the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Canton City School District.”
of health care they utilize. “Our patients report that they avoid unnecessary office visits, urgent care visits and emergency department visits because we don’t have to bring them in,” he said. “We can take care of them any way we want, whether that’s texting, sending us pictures, telemedicine, video.” Dr. Leslee McElrath offers DPC at her Fairlawn practice, Monarch Ideal Care. She decided to use the model after learning about it during a family medicine conference years ago. She describes DPC to her patients as having your doctor in your back pocket. Her appointments last at least 30 minutes, she said, and she encourages patients to reach out to her with any questions, even if they seem small. “A lot of patients tend to wait until things have gotten really bad because they know they haven’t met their deductibles, they don’t want a big bill, they don’t want to have to pay another copay,” McElrath said. “With direct primary care, you’ve already paid me. You might as well ask the question.” The DPC format also simplifies things from a business standpoint, McElrath said. “You know pretty much exactly how much money you have coming in every single month based upon how many patients you have established, so you know you can keep the lights on,” she said. “You’re not having to scramble to get more people in because you don’t know when their insurance is going to cover something, if the insurance is going to cover something, how much they’re going to pay you.” ingful services to the Sports Complex business through diverse commercial agreements,” it said. “The impact of youth sports programming at the Hall of Fame Village is profound and far-reaching,” Village President and CEO Michael Crawford said. “Anchoring our commitment to fostering the growth and development of young athletes, this initiative goes beyond the game. It’s about instilling values, building character, and creating a sense of community that will resonate well into the future. Through this programming with
“Through this programming with Josh Harris and David Blitzer, we aim to shape not just skilled athletes but resilient individuals and future leaders.” — Michael Crawford, Hall of Fame Village president and CEO
The ForeverLawn Sports Complex at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton. At far right is the indoor Center for Performance. | CONTRIBUTED
The purchase was made through Blitzer and Harris’ family offices, not through Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the parent company for the Devils and 76ers, according to Sportico. The purchase will strengthen the NFL ties of Harris, who paid $6.05 billion to acquire the Washington Commanders last summer. The Village will retain a 20% stake in the business, allowing the company to deliver “mean-
Josh Harris and David Blitzer, we aim to shape not just skilled athletes but resilient individuals and future leaders. This is a testament to our dedication to making a lasting impact on the lives of young participants and the communities we serve.” More information about the partnership and the updated programming at ForeverLawn Sports Complex will be announced in 2024, the Village said.
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RESTAURANTS From Page 1
2023 was a boom year for new restaurants opening in the Cleveland area. | UNSPLASH
A new-concept steak restaurant opened in mid-June at Eton Chagrin Boulevard in Woodmere Village. | CONTRIBUTED
Chorizo agnolotti, top, and a lentil salad, bottom, at Vue. | ANTHONY SCOLARO
The Spotted Owl in Tremont has been replaced by La Cave Du Vin. | BUILDINGS & FOOD HOSPITALITY GROUP
Heritage Steak & Whiskey
The Vue
Boom’s Pizza
La Cave Du Vin
28869 Chagrin Blvd., Woodmere Doug Petkovica, a business partner in Michael Symon Restaurants, has spent much of the last year dramatically remodeling the former Fleming’s location in Woodmere to pave the way for the opening of his new concept, Heritage Steak & Whiskey. Fleming’s has been dark since 2019, but Petkovica knew he had an uphill battle. “First of all, I have to have people walk in here and go, ‘Wow! This isn’t Fleming’s,’” he said. Changes include an expanded bar that faces the front patio as well as French doors connecting the patio and restaurant. Petkovica describes the restaurant as “a basic steakhouse plus a few extras”; we say it’s worth a trip to Woodmere.
102 High St., Wadsworth The corner building at 102 High St. in Wadsworth, erected in 1905, is steeped in history with stories to tell but has never housed a restaurant until now. To open The Vue, Chef Anthony Scolaro and partner Brian Dolgowicz took on an extensive interior transformation of the space, which includes the installation of a new commercial kitchen, bar and dining area. Scolaro said Vue is “not another big restaurant,” like another of his operations, 111 Bistro in Medina. It’s intimate, with about 60 seats. By summer 2024, Vue hopes to have outdoor seating that will wrap around the building. Stop by for “casual fine dining” and seasonally inspired cuisine.
14730 Detroit Ave., Lakewood After years in the fine dining industry, Ben Bebenroth and Jonathan Bennett of Spice Hospitality Group saw the changing nature of dining habits, as well as their own desire to do something less formal, as a sign to try something new. That’s what led them to open Boom’s Pizza in Lakewood in January of last year. “Pizza, when crafted with precision, is an accessible luxury,” Bebenroth said. Embracing a neighborhood vibe, Boom’s Pizza is the kind of place where customers can enjoy a snack or a salad with one of the restaurant’s extensive beverage selections while waiting for a pie.
710 Jefferson Ave. Playing on locals’ sense of nostalgia, Cleveland-based Buildings & Food hospitality group has transitioned Tremont cocktail bar the Spotted Owl into a reimagined La Cave Du Vin. The Spotted Owl space, with its dark, cozy interior, is reminiscent of the old “cavelike” feel of La Cave, which first opened in 1994 below the Inn on Coventry restaurant in Cleveland Heights but eventually closed in 2018. “We’re bored with cocktails, and we want to sell wine,” owner Will Hollingsworth said at the time of the re-opening. “We want to talk about wine, we want to get people excited about wine. And La Cave was always the coolest place in Cleveland to drink wine. So that’s what we’re going to do.”
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Advertising Section To place your listing, visit www.crainscleveland.com/people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com
ARCHITECTURE
ACCOUNTING
LAW
LEGAL
Bialosky
HW&Co.
Hahn Loeser & Parks
Benesch
Jack Alan Bialosky, Jr., FAIA, LEED AP transitions from Managing Partner to Principal Emeritus of the firm his father founded in 1951 as a sole practitioner. Bialosky, Jr. returned to Cleveland from Boston in 1986, where he set to grow the small firm specializing in modern single family homes into a top regional design firm and an AIA Ohio Gold Medal Firm. He will advise on key projects, continue business development, and uphold civic commitments in his new chapter.
Brian Palisin, CPA, MT has been promoted to Principal at HW&Co, CPAs & Advisors. He has significant expertise in tax research, accounting, business structure and strategy, sales and use tax, flow-through entity taxation, and individual taxation. Brian is a member of HW&Co.’s Tax Planning & Strategies Department, serving business owners and businesses of various sizes and stages of development. His bachelor’s degree is from Dyke College, and his Master of Taxation is from The University of Akron.
The Firm welcomed associate Drew Gittins to its Litigation Practice. Gittins focuses on complex commercial litigation disputes for a variety of clients, including cryptocurrency and other new technologies. He has represented individuals, government agencies and businesses of all sizes in all phases of litigation. Gittins worked for Justice Donnelly of the Ohio Supreme Court and John Carroll University’s in-house legal department. He earned a J.D. from Cleveland State University College of Law.
Lyndsay Flagg has joined Benesch as an Associate in the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group. Lyndsay’s practice focuses on employer Flagg counseling and representation, and ranges from proactively advising management on workplace law matters to defending employers in litigation. Lyndsay has considerable experience representing employers at the administrative level, as well as in state and federal courts. Abraham (Avi) Spira has joined Benesch as an Associate in the Spira firm’s Healthcare Practice Group. Avi’s primary area of expertise lies in corporate law, with a particular emphasis on healthcare transactions. This includes mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financing, and general corporate matters within the healthcare sector.
ARCHITECTURE
Bialosky Paul Deutsch, AIA, LEED AP and Aaron Hill, AIA, LEED AP BD+C are named Co-CEOs of Bialosky, the AIA Ohio Gold Medal Firm known for Deutsch design excellence in architecture, interior design, and engineering. Their ascension fulfills a ten-year succession plan as Jack Alan Bialosky, Jr., FAIA, LEED AP transitions to Principal Emeritus. Deutsch leads day-today operations, including technical, financial, and legal aspects of the firm. Hill focuses on design, Hill talent, and culture. Both Partners continue to directly serve clients and uphold civic commitments.
ARCHITECTURE
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Ancora We are happy to announce that Puneet Rai, MBA has joined Ancora as an Assistant Vice President of Alternatives Operations. Puneet will be responsible for administrative and client support, account documentation and other operational functions for the Alternatives group. Puneet most recently spent two years with Royal Bank of Canada as a trading analyst. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and minor in Economics from McMaster University and an MBA from Brock University in Ontario.
Bialosky Brian Meng, RA, LEED AP and Hallie Crouch, Assoc. AIA are named Partners of Bialosky, the AIA Ohio Gold Medal Firm, Meng known for design excellence and communitycentered projects. Their ascension diversifies ownership by discipline, gender, and generation. Meng, a licensed architect with 23 years at Bialosky, will continue to lead mixed-use, multifamily, and planning projects. Crouch will continue her 12-year trajectory Crouch leading business development, marketing, strategic vision, and best practices. Meng and Crouch will continue to uphold their civic commitments and volunteerism.
LAW
LEGAL LAW
Walter Haverfield Walter Haverfield LLP proudly announces that Aditya A. Ghatpande has joined the firm as an associate. He is a member of Walter Haverfield’s Real Estate Group and focuses his practice on a range of real estate and corporate matters such as drafting leases, lease amendments, and subleases for residential, office, and retail spaces. Aditya received his J.D. from the University of Akron.
Brouse McDowell, LPA Brouse McDowell is pleased to announce that as of January 1, 2024, Molly Z. Brown was elected as a partner of the firm. Molly is a member of the firm’s Business Transactions and Corporate Counseling Practice Group. Her practice focuses on public and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance and compliance matters. During her career, she has completed over $11 billion in securities offerings and nearly $7 billion in mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.
Benesch Zach Tomi has joined Benesch as an Associate. Zach received his law degree from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law, where he served on the Executive Board as Notes Editor for Case Western Reserve University’s Journal of International Law and was Dean Michael P. Scharf’s research assistant.
LEGAL
Benesch LAW
Walter Haverfield Walter Haverfield LLP proudly announces that Alex Kuzmik has joined the firm as an associate. He is a member of Walter Haverfield’s Tax and Wealth Management Group and focuses his practice on wealth transfer planning for individuals and fiduciaries. Alex earned his J.D. from the University of Akron.
Sarah Schneider has joined Benesch as an Associate in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. Sarah has a proven track record in Schneider navigating complex litigation scenarios and delivering impactful results. Mackenzie Rini has joined Benesch as an Associate in the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group. Mackenzie is a Rini seasoned attorney with a focus on representing clients in both state and federal courts.
Private equity firm acquires Medina lawn care service By Scott Suttell
A Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm that’s rolling up lawn care companies is making its first play on Ohio turf. HCI Equity Partners on Jan. 4, announced the acquisitions of two companies: Brookside Lawn Service, based in Medina, and Delaware Valley Turf, in Broomall, Pennsylvania. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. HCI describes itself as a “lower middle market private equity firm focused on partnering with family and founder-owned manufacturing, service and distribution companies.” It says its goal is to “deploy $15 million to $75 million per investment either upfront or over time.” The acquisitions “represent HCI’s third and fourth investments in the firm’s strategy to consolidate companies in the large and fragmented market of residential lawn care treatment, tree and shrub services, and pest control,” HCI said in a news release. HCI formed its Lawn Care Treatment Platform in June 2023. Brookside, formed in 1989, provides lawn care, tree and shrub, and pest control services to residential customers in the Cleveland and Akron markets. It’s HCI’s first acquisition in Ohio. Delaware Valley Turf, known as DVT, offers similar services to residential customers in and around Philadelphia. DVT is HCI’s third acquisition in Pennsylvania. Nate Novak, principal at HCI, said the acquisitions of Brookside and DVT “perfectly fit our mandate of acquiring the highest quality, service-focused lawn care treatment providers. We are delighted to partner with the strong, established management teams at DVT and Brookside, and to help them accelerate their growth plans.” An HCI representative said the number of employees and annual revenues at Brookside were not being disclosed. Brookside president Joe Mittler also declined to share employee and revenue figures. Mittler said HCI “is a great group,” based on discussions he had with other companies purchased by the private equity firm, and the deal “opens us up to new capital to grow.”
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CrainsCleveland.com President and CEO KC Crain Group publisher Jim Kirk (312) 397-5503 or jkirk@crain.com
THURSDAY, JANUARY 25
1-6 PM | Corporate College East Gain insight into the future of Ohio’s cannabis sector and what it could mean for the state’s economic landscape with the passage of Issue 2. Speakers include:
TOM HAREN Partner and Cannabis Practice Chair Frantz Ward LLP
CAROLINE HENRY Vice President, Government Affairs Buckeye Relief
JANA HRDINOVA Administrative Director Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at Ohio State University
JARED MALOOF CEO Standard Wellness Holdings, LLC
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