From locally grown fruits and vegetables, to artisanal cheeses and handcrafted jams, there is an abundance of locally made products waiting to be discovered in every corner of our state.
Next time you're dining at a local restaurant, browsing the shelves of a specialty shop, or navigating a bustling grocery aisle--keep an eye out for the Ohio Proud logo and those special gems that showcase the flavor and craftsmanship of Ohio. Embrace the essence of the state's food and agricultural heritage and support local producers as you embark on a delectable journey through the heart of Ohio.
614-728-6206 – OHIOPROUD@AGRI.OHIO.GO – OHIOPROUD.ORG FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @OHIOPROUD AND FACEBOOK @REALOHIOPROUD
Discover Hartville’s finest--Ohio-Made salad dressings proudly crafted in Hartville. Made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients, each bottle bursts with flavor. Elevate your salads with our range of zesty vinaigrettes, creamy classics, and tangy blends. Taste the difference of artisanal quality. Explore our collection at hartvillehardware.com/hartvillekitchendressings.
HARTVILLE, OHIO – HARTVILLEKITCHEN.COM
Family-owned Pierre’s Ice Cream Company began in 1932 as a neighborhood shop in Cleveland. All of our ice cream flavors are next level! Each ingredient, from Midwest cream to delicious cookie chunks, thick chocolate fudges and peanut butter swirls, earns its place in a Pierre’s recipe. Get your spoons ready. Discover your new favorite flavor today!
CLEVELAND, OHIO – PIERRES.COM
Produce packaging is a family-owned, fresh produce processing, repack, and wholesale facility in the Cleveland area. Innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction are our main concerns. Our customers are retailers, food service distributors, school systems, and food manufacturers, and we serve a multi-state region. Visit our website to learn more about PPI and the products that we offer.
WILLOUGHBY HILLS, OHIO – PPIFRESH.NET
It’s BBQ time. The flavors of Texas BBQ are now in Northeast Ohio. Find out where at: smokinbettiesbbq.com
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, OHIO – SMOKINBETTIESBBQ.COM
TWO DAYS June 22 & 23
SATURDAY 10AM–5PM
SUNDAY NOON–5 PM
TO TOUR ANY OR ALL THE SITES ON THIS REMODELED HOMES TOUR
• Tour three newly remodeled home projects plus two showrooms from CoTY award winning, NARI contractors
• See the latest in remodeling trends and design
• Gain new ideas and inspiration for your home improvement project
• Meet with the home improvement professionals
PARTICIPATING NARI REMODELER HOME & SHOWROOM TOUR LOCATIONS:
Project: Whole House Renovation
ARTISTIC RENOVATIONS OF OHIO, LLC
Roofing by Absolute Roofing & Construction artisticreno.com • Seven Hills 414 Meadowlane • Seven Hills, OH 44131
Project: Addition & New Kitchen
ARTISTIC RENOVATIONS OF OHIO, LLC
Roofing by Absolute Roofing & Construction artisticreno.com • Seven Hills 479 Elm • Court Seven Hills, OH 44131
Project: Entire First Floor Remodel
REMODEL ME TODAY
remodelmetoday.com • Westlake
25696 Woodpath Trail • Westlake, OH 44145
Showroom Tour:
REMODEL ME TODAY
remodelmetoday.com • Olmsted Falls
25564 Bagley Road • Olmsted Falls, OH 44138
Showroom Tour:
HURST DESIGN BUILD REMODEL hurstremodel.com • Westlake 26185 Center Ridge Road • Westlake, OH 44145
Renovations of Ohio, LLC
and National Award-Winning Design Build Firm. Cleveland’s Only NARI National Contractor of the Year Award for the renovation of “Society Lounge”
volume 53 / issue 6
63
BEST PLACES TO LIVE Greater Cleveland shines in this issue as we spotlight five great communities. Plus, our Rating the Suburbs research project informs home buyers. Edited by Ron Ledgard
Photographed by Jeani Brechbill Assisted by Sophie Sand
86 TEN CENT BEER NIGHT In June 1974, the Cleveland Indians had to forfeit a game against the Texas Rangers due to an alcohol-induced riot. Our oral history details that fateful night. By Vince Guerrieri
10 FROM THE EDITOR
12 CONVERSATION
20 BEARS ARE BACK Black bears have returned to the state over the past 100 years, with one of the biggest resurgences taking place in Northeast Ohio.
26 RONAYNE ON THIS, ON THAT Cuyahoga County executive Chris Ronayne talks the county jail, immigrantion and protecting our waterways.
28 CLEVELAND'S SOCCER GOAL Michael Murphy and Nolan Gallagher want to bring women's professional soccer to Northeast Ohio.
FOOD & DRINK 42 PROVE IT After relocating to Ohio City, Proof Barbeque is making waves with an expansive approach to barbecue. 44 DINING GUIDE Pop on I-71 and check out Strongsville's best restaurants.
183 LAKESIDE DELIGHT This beautiful backyard offers vacation vibes with a swimming pool right on the shore of Lake Erie.
188 LOOK BACK The Rolling Stones rocked out for thousands of fans at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1975.
SPECIAL SECTIONS
157 TOP REALTORS If you're in the market to buy or sell, our realtor list has you covered.
Learn about investments in Cleveland’s middle neighborhoods and more exciting things happening in the city.
Find out the personal stories behind what led standout nurses to a career caring for others.
Explore Rocky River’s thriving art scene and find out what’s happening in the city this summer.
Meet experienced real estate agents who are ready to help you navigate Northeast Ohio’s housing market.
Everyone has a dream home, and Cleveland Magazine is here to help you take those first steps to making that dream a reality.
2024 Performers
• Ledisi
• Take 6
• Charles Lloyd Ocean Trio II, featuring Gerald Clayton and Marvin Sewell
• Mar cus Miller
• Bob James Quartet
• Jason Moran and the Bandwagon
• Cécile McLorin Salvant
• AR TEMIS
• Harold Lopez-Nussa: Timba a la Americana
• Diego Figueiredo
• Sc ary Goldings
• Dominick Farinacci
• Sean Jones
• Tommy Lehman
• Curtis Taylor
FOR FOUR YEARS, I lived in Athens, Ohio. Spending summers there and reporting on the city, I felt like more than just an Ohio University student.
Athens is a college-town bubble surrounded by rural farmland. Sometimes when I needed to escape, I’d start up my silver Jeep Liberty, roll down the windows and drive, blasting Bruce Springsteen — chrome wheel, fuel injected, stepping out over the line.
Within minutes, stately brick roads and collegiate buildings fade to dense forest and boundless cow land. Often, I’d get lost — service sparse, GPS less trustworthy then — and ask farmers and locals for directions. We’d inevitably talk about life there, how farming gave way to fracking out of necessity in one of Ohio’s poorest counties and how those fracking sites diminished the viability of nearby farms, making cattle sick and poisoning the water supply.
The farm-to-table and 100-milemeal movement became popular around this time, the early 2010s. Ever-progressive Athens County went further with the 30-Mile Meal Project, an initiative encouraging residents and local businesses to support food made within a 30-mile radius of Athens. Casa Nueva, a hippie Mexican restaurant that started in 1985, exemplified these ideals more than most. In addition to its commitment to locality, sustainability and economic development in Appalachia, the bar and bodega was steadfast in its commitment to ethical employment practices, even operating as an employee-owned business.
We interview dozens of community members each year for our Best Places to Live package (Page 63). Education, safety and housing undeniably drive homebuyers’ decisions. But residents are most fond of their local businesses.
Communities are built around locally owned coffee shops, restaurants, bars, boutiques, gyms and more. Main Street Medina’s old buildings wouldn’t be as charming if they were filled with Taco Bells and Walmarts. The area likely wouldn’t be as prosperous without the Owens Corning Medina Roofing Plant, which has manufactured shingles for the Ohio-based company for 50 years.
Mega corporations want to hijack our cities, and in many cases, they have. Despite political polarization, about three quarters of both political parties feel corpo-
These oligarchs will never care about our communities the way local small businesses do. That’s why supporting local — despite the buzzword nature of that phrase — is a radical political act. Every local dollar is a vote that creates a ripple effect, and that ripple endures for miles and miles. Spend
rations have a negative effect, according to Pew Research. Meanwhile, 80% of adults think small businesses have a positive impact on the country — more than any other institution. Corporations often momentarily increase population, employment rates and average wages — until they relocate like nearly 10% of publicly traded companies did last year. Meanwhile, small businesses make up 47.3% of the private workforce, donate 250% more than large businesses and often pay more taxes after the major breaks that corporations receive.
Dillon Stewart, editor stewart@clevelandmagazine.com
In our May issue, we showcased the best restaurants that Cleveland has to offer and featured Issho Ni Ramen on our cover. The ramen spot in Willoughby, named one of our 25 Best Restaurants, has built up quite a reputation as a go-to, hidden-gem spot for many Clevelanders.
From the readers:
@isshoni.oh: We’re proud to be part of the Cleveland food scene and grateful for the support of our community. ❤ @nstempa: We randomly discovered Issho on a Saturday night and decided to brave the hour-long wait. My fiance and I seem to always get ramen when we travel, and @isshoni.oh ranks pretty high in our book!
S C R IBE
“I love the daily emails from Cleveland Magazine. It keeps me in the loop on what’s new, what’s going on, what restaurants have recently opened and closed and much more! I know this is corny, but I look forward to reading it with my coffee every morning. I already signed up for WWE SummerSlam and March Madness pre-sale tickets because of the Cleveland Magazine daily newsletter, and of course screenshotted three restaurants I want to hit. The writers are always spot on. I know everything now, thank you!”
– Maria Velkos from North Royalton
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THE ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION, NORTHEAST OHIO, WISHES TO THANK EVENT SPONSORS, RESTAURANTS AND GUESTS OF THE 2024 CLEVELAND MAGAZINE SILVER SPOON AWARDS PARTY.
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO CHEFS VINNIE CIMINO, MAGGIE DEMKO, JOSH ERICKSON, NATASHA POGREBINSKY, FABIO SALERNO, CHRIS WOLF, AND ALL OF THE PARTICIPATING SILVER SPOON FINALISTS.
OUR DEEPEST APPRECIATION TO OUR SPONSORS
IN-KIND SPONSORS BATTLE OF THE LAND SPONSORS
April 18, 2024 Eton Chagrin Boulevard
Cleveland Magazine’s Best of the East Party welcomed more than 1,000 people to Eton Chagrin Boulevard to celebrate the best places to eat, shop and play on Greater Cleveland's East Side. More than 70 Best of the East finalists were on hand to showcase what makes them local favorites. The event was sponsored by Bradley Stone, Cleveland’s Star 102 and Cuyahoga Community College.
1) Burntwood Tavern: Fernando Pintos, Jessica Hardman, Eric Stout, Mathew Nardy
2) Barrio Tacos: Jada James, Ashling Murray
3) Chagrin Falls Candle Co.: Julie Everett, Bill Everett
4) Rescue Village Woodstock: Courtney Kaleal, Kelly Coffield, Gabby Bessmer, Mindy Carter, Abbie Leska, Lisa Ishee
Weather can affect beach water quality. Get early water-quality predictions for Edgewater Beach and Villa Angela Beach every morning all summer long, beginning Memorial Day weekend.
@NEORSDbeaches | neorsd.org/beaches
The Derby Day Soiree, Cleveland Clinic Children’s annual fundraising event, shattered records by raising $4 million. Since its inception in 1990, this event has amassed over $20 million in support of lifesaving programs and pediatric research. The sold-out affair drew over 600 guests. Presented by esteemed sponsors, the soiree showcased the 150th Kentucky Derby and poignant tales of how funds bolstered lifesaving care throughout the year. A surprise appearance by Joe Montana further heightened the evening, all in support of advancing pediatric care, research and innovative programs like art and music therapy at Cleveland Clinic Children's.
1) Anya and Dr. Tom Mihaljevic, Eddie J. DeBartolo Jr. and Candy DeBartolo
2) Joe Montana and Eddie J. DeBartolo Jr.
May 4, 2024
Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland
Or Visit: bit.ly/ExploreEuclid
EXPLORE EUCLID. YOU’LL BE SURPRISED WHAT YOU FIND.
Ohio’s bear sightings spiked in 2022. ODW confirmed 161 black bear sightings that year, up from 61 in 2021. Sightings of female bears with cubs are also up, which paint a positive future for reestablished bear populations, especially in Northeast Ohio. “That’s really just been in the past decade that we’ve started to see that,” Dennison says.
While black bears are not federally endangered, they’re labeled as endangered at Ohio’s state level — meaning they’re protected from hunters. “They would have to be much more wellestablished in the state than they are currently, before we would downlist them to ‘threatened,’” Dennison says.
The only bear species found in the state of Ohio, black bear populations are on the rise, especially in Northeast Ohio.
Black bears have spread back into Ohio over the past century, with the animal’s resurgence primarily happening in Northeast Ohio, especially in Ashtabula, Geauga and Trumbull counties. Once driven out of the state due to overharvesting and European colonization, black bears are certifiably back, coming in from neighboring states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. “1850 is the year that we use for a lot of our species that were extirpated,” says Katie Dennison, Ohio Division of Wildlife biologist. “We don’t have any records of black bears after that, until, I think, the 1930s, when we started to have occasional sightings coming through again.” Since 1933, black bears have been spotted in 55 of Ohio’s 88 counties — and local populations continue to grow. Sightings, particularly with photo proof, are helpful for the ODW to monitor populations, Dennison says; information can be shared through the ODW’s online wildlife species sighting system.
Urban Explorers
What do you do if a bear wanders into your neighborhood? Remove bird feed, outdoor pet food and garbage. “By taking those attractants away, that’s going to give the bears less incentive to be in places where people are and more incentive to go back to those natural areas where they’re going to find natural food sources,” Dennison says.
“Black bear attacks on people are very uncommon,” Dennison says. “They typically don’t want to have anything to do with us.” If you see a bear in the wild, give it a clear escape route and slowly back away. If the bear approaches you, stand your ground, appear large and make loud noises to scare it away. For more guidance, visit bearwise.org.
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SHOPPING
With a flavor, color, scent or size for everyone, these LGBTQ+ owned shops shift the local retail scene.
CREME BRULEE POPSICLE POP CULTURE CLE
PRIDE-THEMED CANDLES
THE DEAN RUFUS HOUSE OF FUN
Overlooking the second LGBTQ+ historical marker in the state of Ohio, this Hingetown shop features novelties like handmade Pride-themed candles ($25.99) with snarky labels. 1422 W. 29th St., Cleveland, instagram. com/deanrufus
MERINGUE CITRON TART SOPHIE LA GOURMANDE
The namesake of owner Bob Sferra’s furry companion, this modern patisserie transports its Cleveland Heights neighborhood to France, serving quality snacks, coffee and pastries, including the famed meringue citron tart ($6.50+). 2277 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, sophielagourmande.com
PIPER CROCATUM
FLOURISH PLANT MKT
Offering an array of foliage for both novice and expert plant parents, this spot offers all the green you need in life. Bloom a Piper crocatum ($73) to keep things classy and colorful in your abode. 113 S. Water St., Kent, flourishplantmkt.com
SLUMBER PARTY SOAP SOOTHING SLOTH SOAP CO.
This line of bath and body products prompts a spa experience from the comfort of home. The slumber party soap ($8) is the only companion you ever need for a good night’s sleep, soothing the senses with hints of lavender and rosemary. soothingsloth.com
Downtown Cleveland’s Juneteenth Freedom Fest is rooted the city’s rich Black history.
On June 19, Clevelanders will head Downtown to sing, dance and celebrate Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery in the United States. This joyous occasion is a new tradition for the city — one rooted in rage, triumph, legacy and an ongoing struggle for equality.
Cleveland has always played an important role in Black history. The city’s East Side neighborhoods bustled with Black businesses and developments in the early 1900s. The city elected the nation’s first Black mayor of a major city in 1967, and Martin Luther King Jr. visited Cleveland more than a dozen times. In 2020, the racial reckoning surrounding the #BlackLivesMatter movement carried the torch of those trailblazers.
That year, weeks before Juneteenth, police brutality protests swelled
Downtown. The demonstrations turned violent. Seventy people were arrested and property was damanged.
When businesses began boarding up their windows, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, now Downtown Cleveland Inc., tapped local artists to fill these blank canvases. The movement became #VoicesofCLE Public Art Project, a joint effort across the city in the peak of the pandemic to spark conversation and participation around the growing movement for equality. These pieces humanized the faces, places and experiences of families and neighbors of color, creating community in a time of isolation.
“It stood up to be a conduit between visual artists and property ownership,” says Heather Holmes Dillard, founder and co-chair of the Freedom Fest. “Essential workers and residents stopped where these artists were, had conversations with artists, cried, talked. It was a true healing moment.”
As stories filled these boards, Karamu House, the nation’s oldest producing African American theater,
filled its stage with a story of its own, performing Freedom on Juneteenth on June 19, 2020. The play commented on current events and discrimination against Black communities. The original piece shocked Cleveland — and then the rest of the internet. The local production was a viral sensation.
“Our goal was to reach about 10,000 people,” says Karamu House President and CEO Tony Sias. “Within the first 48 hours, we had reached about 50,000 people virtually.”
The following year Karamu House, Downtown Cleveland Inc., MetroHealth and others rode the momentum of advocacy and community to launch Cleveland’s first-ever Juneteenth celebration: Freedom Fest. The event, now in its fourth year, is held June 1819 at Mall C. In its first year, more than 10,000 attendees showed up to celebrate and activate Cleveland’s Black culture.
“The basis for the Juneteenth Freedom Fest is celebrating the emancipation of slavery,” Holmes Dillard says, “but the gamut of sponsors and partners are really trying to be intentional about the education components, about the resources that we make available. I want people to see how deep-rooted of Black history we have here in Cleveland.”
I Believe in HOME.
As a Cleveland Native, I have a passion for the history, architecture and culture that make our city so unique.
Northeast Ohio’s communities offer everything from vibrant neighborhoods to secluded retreats.
For the past 18 years, it has been my privilege to help home buyers and sellers define their lifestyle needs through a mindful approach rooted in their definition of HOME.
Whether you are buying or selling a cozy cape, a modern condo, a luxurious estate, or a home with history; who you trust to guide you through the process defines the experience.
Contact me for a confidential conversation on how I can help you prepare to enter the market with the confidence every home buyer and seller deserves.
Home is how you define it.
County executive Chris Ronayne shares thoughts on immigration, the county jail and Cleveland’s standing as the freshwater capital of the world.
When then-Lakewood mayor Ed Fitzgerald won the first executive race in Cuyahoga County’s history in 2010, political reporter Henry J. Gomez called the position “second only to the governor in terms of power and constituency.” Since 2023, Chris Ronayne has served in the position designed to manage the county’s $1.6 billion budget, 4,200 county employees and collaborative efforts across the region. Following an Armond Budish term marred by scandal, the former president of University Circle Inc. doesn’t have much of a roadmap as just the third-ever county executive. Nearly halfway through his term, Ronayne discusses the potential of a Cleveland Browns stadium move, the new county jail, the execution of major waterfront developments and Cleveland as an immigrant city.
On New Cuyahoga Welcoming Center. My father, mother and stepfather had such a positive immigrant experience. That’s why I opened the Cuyahoga Welcome Center [in March]. When you arrive, you are welcomed by a greeter. If they don’t speak your native language, they can find language navigators. There are different stations
with core subject knowledge: where to go to school, where to get a job, how to get English as a second language and any benefits that you’re eligible to access. This is all to get people’s feet on the ground here. Any metropolitan that doesn’t realize their future is building a polyculture is not going to grow economically or in population.
Chris Ronayne stands with a volunteer and his wife, Natalie, chief development officer for the Metroparks.
Waterfront Development Not Harming the River. We all have to be mindful of “never again.” Never again shall pollutants strain our water sources. But it’s also just everyday practices. Part of the reason I wanted to start the Freshwater Institute (starting in September thanks to $500,000 of federal money) is to work with kids to be the stewards and ambassadors of the freshwater supply. The cornerstone of that institute is education, advocacy, economic development and research.
On Balancing
City and Multiple Suburbs. We have 59 unique communities, but we work as one. We work together on our marketing strategies and regional services, ranging from dispatch services to sewer services to transit services. I’d like to take that a step further and really be working together on a seamless economic development strategy and also a seamless wellness strategy. Your age variance shouldn’t be based on your zip code.
On the County Jail. Before I even took office, I intentionally took a tour of the county jail. I knew within five minutes that we needed to do something differently. It wasn’t a habitable environment. It wasn’t a humane place. We need to build a place where people leave better than they come in, and we need to create a campus of services [that has] behavioral health specialists, job training opportunities and a division of reentry on site. So, we’ve been touring a couple counties that have done this right recently: Franklin County, Marion County, Indianapolis in Davidson County, Nashville. What we’re finding is that they are places that are focused on the experience in but (also) the wellness that comes from it.
Bringing top-level professional soccer to Cleveland is the goal for Michael Murphy and Nolan Gallagher.
BY DANNY CUNNINGHAM PHOTO BY KEVIN KOPANSKIThe biggest show in women’s sports this year was the NCAA Women’s Final Four that took place inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in early April. The national championship game between the University of Iowa and University of South Carolina peaked at 24 million TV viewers, a record-setting figure. It’s fair to say that the popularity of women’s sports is currently at an all-time high.
Michael Murphy and Nolan Gallagher want to help Cleveland take advantage of the women's sports boom by bringing the National Women’s Soccer League to town.
“We completely believe we’re at an inflection point in women’s sports. All women’s sports,” Murphy says. “What we’re trying to build here is something that’s sustainable. And, it’s aspirational, but it’s not crazy to think that the same impact the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame had 30 years ago, where it’s taken our city and put it on the map, that we could do the same by being really a leader here in women’s sports by building a stadium that’s for women’s soccer.”
The NWSL is the top women’s soccer league in the United States. Founded in 2012, it has 14 members in cities such as Los Angeles, Houston, Orlando and Portland.
A couple of things make Cleveland very unique when it comes to joining the roster of cities with an NWSL team. Currently, 11 of the 14 teams in the NWSL share a market with a Major League Soccer (the top men's division in the United States) team. Boston, which has been approved to join the NWSL in 2026, isn’t counted in that statistic but does fit the criteria. Those cities all have shown, to some extent, that soccer works there. Cleveland is not home to a team in the MLS, with the closest team being the Columbus Crew. The three cities with NWSL teams that don’t have MLS counterparts are Louisville, San Diego and Cary, North Carolina. Cary,
like Cleveland, has an MLS team a little more than two hours away.
The other thing that makes Cleveland unique is the size of the city and the number of professional sports teams already in town. Cleveland has the smallest population of any city that is home to an MLB, NFL and NBA franchise. Adding a fourth top-level professional sports team begs the question of whether or not there are enough fans to support something in addition to the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Guardians and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Showing that there will be enough local support is something required by the NWSL as part of the process to be awarded a team.
“You want to be able to show that your community is going to support
to more than 13,000 in the past couple of months, showcase how passionate Cleveland fans are for sports, which is no secret.
Cleveland is regarded as one of the best sports towns in the country. It’s just been one without professional soccer. The closest the city has come is in the indoor game, with the now-defunct Cleveland Force in the 1970s and ‘80s and the Cleveland Crunch, which played 16 seasons starting in 1989. A team bearing the Crunch name is now a member of Major League Indoor Soccer, a league that began play in 2022.
At some point this year, the group will learn if it's awarded an NWSL team that would take the field in 2026.
“We’re very fortunate as a city because we have three professional
“We completely believe we’re at an inflection point in women’s sports. All women’s sports. What we’re trying to build here is something that’s sustainable.” — MICHAEL MURPHY
this team,” Gallagher says. “We did something called the 'Back the Bid' campaign, and we just announced that we had 12,000 pledges for season tickets. That idea was suggested, to some extent, by an owner in Los Angeles who said that she’s been through these expansion bids and processes, and a lot of teams, like, combinate. They tout their city and they use very colorful, positive language, but [the NWSL is] still, like, ‘Go show that there’s actual demand for a women’s team in the marketplace.’”
Those pledges, which have increased
teams. And then we have, I think, some of the most passionate fans that are out there in the country. I always say I think we have the best damn fans in the world,” says Rock Entertainment Group CEO Nic Barlage. “But when you look at it, there’s a little bit of a void when you look at soccer, which is obviously the number one sport globally, ahead of basketball.”
Building a stadium specifically for soccer is the hurdle that Murphy and Gallagher need to clear to make this happen. When the group previously applied for an NWSL expansion team
in November 2022, it was denied, but it became clear that to make these dreams a reality, a stadium needed to be part of the plan. In an ideal scenario, this group would be able to build a soccer-first stadium in the Downtown Cleveland area, with both public and private funding. The aim would be to get started on construction this year.
“There were 82 interested groups around the country,” says Gallagher.
“We were trying to get an expansion team for 2024; we actually made it to the final four. We were there with San Francisco, which was awarded the team — Tampa Bay, which was not awarded a team. We weren’t awarded the team. We didn’t have a stadium. So, it was very obvious.”
This isn’t just a bet on the Cleveland sports fan embracing soccer, either. The game is coming to Cleveland whether Murphy and Gallagher secure
an NWSL team or not, as they’ve already snagged an expansion team in MLS Next Pro, a second-tier professional league on the men’s side.
This is a parlay on the passion of the Cleveland sports fan and the continued rise in popularity of women’s sports. Women’s college basketball has reached never-before-seen levels of popularity and the WNBA has, too. While women’s soccer has certainly experienced moments in the spotlight, more could be on the way.
“I think it’s going to continue to grow,” says Greater Cleveland Sports Commission president and CEO David Gilbert on the popularity of women’s sports. “I don’t think what we saw around the Women’s Final Four here was just a moment in time.
“I do think that what we saw last year, or just now with women’s collegiate basketball this year, and
what we’re seeing with the WNBA, where teams are consistently now selling out games; I don’t think it’s going to abate.”
There’s no way to know exact figures of how popular the sport will become in the future. No one has a crystal ball with the answer. But later this decade is the next FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 followed by the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Those two events will have women’s soccer in the spotlight.
“Fandom is just going to increase significantly with the World Cup,” Murphy says. “So that Cleveland and Northeast Ohio really has a seat at the table as the whole world and the whole country is talking about this, that we are in the game, so to speak, and not on the sidelines anymore. We think the economic impact will be significant.”
Pat Mallik and her husband Singh have embraced their Judson lifestyle with gusto, thrilled to be so close to their children. After the Malliks relocated from Seattle in 2018, their son and daughter-in-law quickly pointed them to nearby Judson Park. And for Pat and Singh, there’s been no looking back.
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Cleveland dining expert and author Douglas
Trattner devours the Cleveland restaurant beat.
Here are a few food updates you need to know.
Oliva, an Italian steakhouse, has opened in the longtime home of Osteria in the Warehouse District. The restaurant is owned by Lola Jacaj, formerly Sema, who also operates Acqua di Dea (formerly Acqua di Luca) and Casa La Luna (formerly Luca Italian Cuisine), both also Downtown. An ambitious renovation transformed a close-quartered trattoria into an elegant Tuscan-style ristorante, while somehow managing to double the occupancy. A previously enclosed back kitchen has been reconfigured into a dramatic open kitchen and chef’s counter. On the menu are steaks and chops but also creative appetizers, salads, pastas and seafood dishes. “My vision is a nose-to-tail restaurant, where we use every part of the cow, not just steaks,” says Jacaj, who also has a forthcoming French concept in the neighborhood.
Julia’s 1902 opens in Willoughby. Brothers Paul and Michael Neundorfer spent two years converting a former country estate in Willoughby into a posh 10-room inn and full-service restaurant called Julia’s 1902. Chef José Coronado (of Larchmere’s Felice Urban Cafe fame) showcases his flair for fusing Latin American, Asian and American flavors into approachable, appealing dishes.
RH Cleveland, The Gallery at Pinecrest. Cleveland scored a win with the recent arrival of RH Cleveland, The Gallery at Pinecrest, joining the likes of Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Capping off the three-story, 55,000-squarefoot living showroom is a rooftop restaurant and wine bar. Guests can savor Caesar salads, lobster rolls and grilled steak sandwiches in a dramatic atrium setting. rh.com/us/en/ cleveland
Moxie to be revived in Chagrin Falls. Just as he recently did with Lopez, Brad Friedlander is dusting off an old brand and bringing it out of retirement. During its 22-year run, the Beachwood bistro turned out many of the region’s top chefs, including Douglas Katz, Karen Small, Eric Williams and Jonathan Bennett. Following a refresh of the former Aurelia space, Moxie opens this summer.
Batuqui finds a new home. After nine years in their original home on Larchmere, Carla Batista and Gustavo Nogueira are relocating their Brazilian restaurant. But they aren’t traveling far: The new eatery is located 130 feet west in the former St. Paul’s Evangelical Church. The attractive Craftsman-style building boasts stained glass windows, soaring ceilings and warm wood accents. The ambitious project should wrap up in fall.
For more food news, visit clevelandmagazine.com/food-drink
Building the perfect date takes time and effort. So, we got to work setting up a movie-worthy afternoon or evening.
Lakewood is a town for foodies and cocktail lovers. But first, shopping. Some partners might go for Cleveland Curiosities, an oddities store with preserved animal skulls and taxidermied remains, while others might dig vintage game and toy shop Apple Jax Toys. When it’s time for supper, stroll over to Harlow’s, where you’ll find a romantic patio with string lights, Southwest decor, wood-fired artisan Neapolitan pizzas ($16+) and a boozy agua fresca ($10). Finish your night with the walk down Madison Avenue to Mahall’s, the 100-year-old bowling alley, music venue, bar and restaurant. The lower level, called Pins & Needles, offers craft cocktails and decor reminiscent of granny’s ‘70s basement, while the main bar features seasonally inspired beverages and cheap beer. “There’s a lot of charm in being able to have different experiences in the same destination,” says owner Cory Hajde.
Everyone looks better in the sunshine, which is why we’re starting your visit to this historic, walkable Downtown at The Yard on 3rd. Massive shareable cocktails, live music, food trucks and kitschy truck-themed decor make this a perfect boozy lunch. From there, keep it rolling with a spirit-free buzz from Kava Sol. “All of our drinks will give you the feeling without the alcohol. We call it a plant buzz,” says health cafe owner Lindsay Kronk. “We offer a tasting board ($29), where you can craft your own experience, which is really fun for a date.” Kill some time shopping at
Etc. on Erie, a home decor boutique, or strolling through Wes Point Park before dinner at Hook & Hoof, where classic, American scratch fare, well-loved seafood dishes, an impressive whiskey collection and intimate, dim-lit decor is perfect to send you into the night.
Get a kick ahead of your night out at Tiger Lily at Electric Gardens Apartments, featuring a dramatic modern geometric ceiling, cozy luxe couches, chic black and white decor and Ready Set Coffee, wine, CBD tonic and other hand-crafted drinks. Then mosey down to the Literary Tavern for a craft cocktail at this newer intimate gothic Midwest Tremont staple that also whips up some elevated chef-driven grub. But don’t eat too much because Ginko, The New York Times-acclaimed basement
sushi haven from Dante Boccuzzi, is ahead. With full bellies, head to Kaiser Gallery, an art gallery and cocktail bar, or La Cave Du Vin, a red-lit experiential wine bar in a historic basement. End your night at The Treehouse, an Irish bar where locals sip on the patio all summer long. “The decor is really fun,” says bar manger Nikki Lynnet. “It’s a really chill spot for a date.”
If it’s a first date, City Goods is an easy landmark to meet. “The Bar and The Shops at City Goods provide the perfect date night setting, where you can meander through seven buildings adorned with string lights and shop 25plus local businesses — all with a drink in hand,” says Liz Painter, co-founder and director of growth. Around the corner, spot the vibrant tiger mural, and step into chef Douglas Katz’s dark and moody Amba, for higher-end shareable Indian eats and designer libations, enjoyed over waning moon lights that elevate the romantic ambiance. Cozy up at Bookhouse Brewing for a nightcap at this small brewery and taproom, centered around a wooden bar, picnictabled patio and tons of house-made ciders and brews on tap.
Chef Lee Wolen, executive chef of Boka in Chicago, was inspired by a local student culinary program.
LONG BEFORE LEE WOLEN, executive chef of Boka, became a force in Chicago’s dining scene, the East Side native cut his teeth at Beachwood High School.
While attending Brush High School, Wolen participated in a partner program that sent students to learn culinary skills at Beachwood Bistro, a restaurant open to the public. Then led by Danette McHale, a role model who Wolen still keeps in touch with, the two-year program teaches food safety, culinary math and restaurant management. Wolen had grown up cooking with his grandmother and idolizing food celebrity Sara Moulton, but the experience at the student-run restaurant solidified his desire to be in the kitchen.
“It was like culinary school,” says Wolen. “I mean, we’re talking about club sandwiches. We were 15. But it was a real restaurant with normal tables and flowers and everything.”
Since graduating from Mayfield High School, which he attended after Brush, the South Euclid native has built quite the resume. After training as sous chef at Moto and Butter in Chicago, he went abroad to study in Europe at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxford and El Bulli, a now-defunct but still-acclaimed three Michelin star restaurant in Spain. Wolen then returned home and got a job at Moxie thanks to a friendship between Wolen’s mom and owner Brad Friedlander. After three months, he got the itch to move again.
“I was, like, I can’t live in Cleveland,” he says. “I don’t know why. I just, I wasn’t done doing. Probably living in my mom’s house didn’t help. So I said, You know what, I’m going to try New York. I went to New York and spent two days at Eleven Madison
Culinary arts have taken chef Lee Wolen all around the globe, but Cleveland will always be home.
Park, and I was like, I gotta work here.”
Since 1998, the fine-dining restaurant has been the gold standard of upscale New York City dining. Today, the menu is entirely plant-based but the restaurant was then famous for its buttered lobster and its aged, spiced duck. Wolen served as sous chef while the restaurant earned three Michelin stars.
Finally, in 2012, he returned to Chicago, earning a Michelin star as chef de cuisine at The Lobby at The Peninsula Chicago. In 2014, he became executive chef and partner of Boka Restaurant, where he has been named a James Beard Award finalist five times and has maintained a Michelin star since 2011.
“(Chicago) is obviously much bigger than Cleveland, but it’s very similar,” says Wolen. “It’s a little more of a city, but when people say Chicago is like New York, Chicago to me is just a big suburb. The people are very similar to the people of Cleveland, too.”
After a decade and change in Chicago, Wolen is growing his empire. In 2021, he opened his second restaurant, Alla Vita, a slightly more casual Italian restaurant, and GG’s Chicken Shop, a laid-back rotisserie kitchen concept named after and inspired by his mother. He’s also launched his first cookbook, Boka: The Cookbook, which celebrates the restaurant’s 20th anniversary. That included a book signing and dinner event in April at Cordelia in Cleveland. In that same dining room, Wolen “staged” (sort of like an internship) for Michael Symon at Lola Bistro. The chef maintains his Cleveland roots, and his entire family still lives in Lyndhurst and Mayfield.
“I would move to Cleveland in a heartbeat if there was a big opportunity,” says Wolen. “I love Cleveland.”
Well, chef, we’ll keep holding out hope.
WE CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR YOURS!
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Since moving to Ohio City, Proof Barbeque has finally found a following by polishing its approach.
Chef Brandon Lassiter knows that delicious food doesn’t have to be fancy. Don’t get it wrong: He certainly knows how to cook fancy food. After all, his background in classic French culinary techniques started with stints at high-end restaurants. For the last three years, though, Lassiter has focused on one thing and one thing only: making damn good BBQ.
“I’ve figured out what works, in terms of style and seasonings and how much salt and pepper,” says the 34-year-old chef. “Now I can just look at a brisket and know, based on how thick or thin it is, how much I need to vary the temperature of the smoker. It’s all based on experience.”
In 2021, Lassiter took on the role of head chef at Proof Barbeque, where he was tasked with revamping the menu after a rocky COVID-19 run. The restaurant, then
located on Professor Avenue in Tremont, had the unlucky distinction of having first opened its doors in March 2020 — mere days before the pandemic descended upon the world.
Despite receiving consistently positive reviews from locals, it never quite found its footing, which general manager Jay Casey surmises was partially due to the setup of the old spot. It was tiny, dark and hard to find, located on the semi-subterranean floor of the building that houses Visible Voice Books and Crust.
In December 2023, owner Dave Ferrante announced that Proof would temporarily close to relocate to a space in Ohio City once occupied by Nick’s Diner.
Over a year and a half, the new Proof was extensively renovated and fully redesigned by Lakewood’s AoDK Architecture. It now boasts indoor seating for 52 diners, plus another 40 on the outdoor patio. With minimalist wood and brick walls, neon recessed lighting and a hand-painted mural on the back wall, it bears no resemblance to the decades-old, retro-style diner that inhabited the space before it.
The pause gave Lassiter the time to craft a more unified menu. Since the brand-new Proof opened its doors in March, he’s finally getting to see his hard work pay off in the form of a packed house and sold-out rib nights.
“I don’t necessarily like to ‘play restaurant,’ but I love cooking, and that’s what makes it worth it for me,” Lassiter says. “I love being able to see the guests out there in the dining room as they take a bite of a rib and close their eyes and just shake their head. They’re having an experience.”
Proof’s ribs are an experience you may not get to have, depending on when you make it in for dinner. Only available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, the kitchen staff makes only a few racks of ribs per night ($18
for a half rack, $30 for a full rack), and they’re first-come, first-served. If you are lucky enough to get them, you’ll find peppery, juicy and thick spare ribs, cooked in the smoker for about three and a half hours, over the more common baby backs.
“I’d rather these be a specialty menu item,” Lassiter says. “I want to make sure I don’t lower the quality.”
To meat-loving diehards, that might seem shocking: A barbecue spot that doesn’t always have ribs on the menu? But that’s the thing about Proof: It’s not just a barbecue spot.
Sure, you can order a half-pound of brisket ($17) or Carolina pulled pork ($15), served with your choice of five homemade sauces, plus a fluffy corn muffin and pickles. But if you don’t want a tray of meat, Lassiter highlights barbecue flavors in other ways.
“The cool thing about our menu is that it may look small, but it can be made big,” he says. “These a la carte
tacos and apps and sides to pick from that you can mix and match.”
Smoked wings ($13), for example, work just as well as a side as they do an entree. The popular pork nachos, piled high with fixings like salsa roja, house-pickled jalapenos and chipotle queso, now come in two sizes ($9/$15) for the same reason.
If a barbecue restaurant is only as good as its mac and cheese, Lassiter’s
version ($6) speaks volumes about Proof’s legitimacy: It’s somehow thick and creamy and ooey-gooey and stringy, like a cross between from-thebox Velveeta and the kind of baked, soul food-inspired version so popular down South. Technically, it’s listed on the menu as a side, but if you want to make it the focal point of your meal, that’s exactly the sort of DIY spirit the menu aims to encourage.
For Lassiter, Proof’s style of cuisine offers an opportunity to incorporate all aspects of his background. Barbecue and comfort food speak to his Southern roots, growing up in Roanoke, Virginia, and the quality of ingredients and caliber of the dishes reflect his time at luxury hotel restaurants in West Virginia, Florida and Cleveland.
So far, the mix of influences have paid off. Jay Casey, a hospitality industry veteran who has tended bar at spots like Salmon Dave’s, Stone Mad Pub and Music Box Supper Club, manages Proof’s social media and can be found in the restaurant most nights. He enthusiastically greets patrons, shares Proof’s origin story and sings Lassiter’s praises.
“I get to walk up to people and smile and wave and clear their plates, which are almost always completely clean,” Casey says. “It really makes my job so easy.”
WHY WE LOVE IT: This Indian favorite might be housed in a strip mall, but the traditional specialties come out fresh and flavorful. Stop by the popular lunch buffet on select weekends and fill your plate with South Indian specials, vegetarian plates, Indian breads and rice dishes. TRY THIS: The butter chicken ($15.44), prepared to your level of spice, is a creamy traditional curry coupled with tomato, butter and spices. 14224 Pearl Road, 440-638-4977, akshayapatraus.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: With 30 beers on tap, this sizable restaurant makes for an excellent spot to catch a game or indulge in American bar fare with family or friends. This casual hot spot by the mall goes all out for holidays with over-thetop decor, like a full-size skeleton with lit red eyes for Halloween. TRY THIS: A flavorful unique sandwich in the form of the Southern Belle ($16) is a perfect pickme-up, starring crispy chicken, honey sriracha, white cheddar and bread and butter pickles on a brioche bun. 16555 Southpark Center, 440-234-1002, brewgarden.com
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WHY WE LOVE IT: With Topgolf Swing Suite simulators (for golf, hockey shots, baseball pitching and more), the brewery has “evolved into just a great destination for dining and also for brewing your own beer. We have eight different brewing stations where you can come in with any group of friends and you can brew your own lager or your own IPA or whatever style of brew you want to brew,” says owner Bryan Weber. TRY THIS: With award-winning smokehouse meats, Weber says the top seller is the smokehouse wings ($14). Four massive wings (leg included), with BBQ, Buffalo, teriyaki or jerk BBQ to choose from. 8377 Pearl Road, 440-239-8788, thebrewkettle.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: When you’re feeling Italian, hit up this local traditional chain owned by the Bucci family, serving up classic Italian eats ranging from pasta, homemade meatballs, pizza and Parmesan dishes. Order a glass of your favorite wine and relax on the private patio. TRY THIS: Enjoy beautiful homemade pasta dumplings in tomato sauce, Rosanne’s Cavatelli ($22),
featured on Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate by Iron Chef Michael Symon. 12201 Pearl Road, 440-238-0200, buccis.net
WHY WE LOVE IT: Made famous on social media for its fresh, never-frozen, top-quality cheesesteaks and smash burgers, the original Brook Park grocer and grill opened a second butcher and grill in Strongsville in February. Mouth-
watering smash tacos, Boer goat, chicken and an entire butcher shop certified for utilizing the highest standards of Halal, make this gem stand out. TRY THIS: Watch the masters cook up a massive beef rib-eye steak cheesesteak ($24.99) grilled with provolone cheddar cheese and onions, with mayo on an Amoroso roll, served with fries. 17024 Pearl Road, 440-210-4886, facebook.com/clegng
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WHY WE LOVE IT: Like sister restaurant Corner 11 Bowl & Wrap, this location across from the mall serves up Hawaiian and Asian-inspired specialties. This shop in particular focuses on ramen and poke bowls in an inviting, casual setting. TRY THIS: Build your own Hawaiian-style poke bowl (small $12.99) with dressings, a bottom of sushi rice, midnight rice or mixed greens and your choice of protein, such as sushi-grade raw fish,
and unlimited sides. 17100 Royalton Road #9b, 440-879-1004, corner11cleveland.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: This no-frills cash and check-only place screams good old-fashioned mom-and-pop European bakery. Hop up onto a green-seated stool at the pink counter to dine on Eastern European specialties, or peruse the pastries in the bakery case. TRY THIS:
We love the Hungarian platter featuring your choice of three items from chick en paprikas with spaetzles, stuffed cab bage, cabbage and noodles or Slovenian sausage ($17.99), served with a choice of soup, cucumber salad, coleslaw, sau teed whole green beans or red cabbage and homemade bread. 19608 W. 130th St., 440-572-0600, europeansbest.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: “Everything that we do is homemade, our pizza sauce, ranch, blue cheese, dressings and all our dipping sauces,” says owner Lesha Strichko. With toppings and cheese that goes edge to edge, you’ll “love it like you love your mama — and everybody loves their mama.” TRY THIS: When Strichko’s nephew created a monthly special, it was so popular the pizza earned a permanent spot on the menu. “For pepperoni lovers, the 'Zach style' pizza ($16) is a must,” with a homemade garlic butter base, layers of pepperoni, a three-cheese blend and homemade red sauce. 14769 Pearl Road, 440-572-3333, dearmamaspizza.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: This special occasion steakhouse staple is housed in a mid-19th century mansion overlooking the town square, running for more than four decades. The historic landmark maintains elements of the original house, like “the library” featuring a romantic fireplace. The staple serves legendary steaks, seafood and chops alongside an extensive wine menu and classic cocktails, offering a downstairs “pub” with slightly more casual vibes. TRY THIS: Repeat diners love the delicate baked crab cake ($20) with chilled Maine lobster-corn relish and smoked tomato buerre blanc. 13664 Pearl Road, 440-572-1111, donspomeroy.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: The no-frills diner with cozy big booths, wooden plank walls and brown-rimmed diner plates offers a large breakfast menu, daily specials, seafood, sandwiches, steak, pancakes and a large cozy space for meeting up with friends and family. TRY THIS: Start your morning with a basic freshly made classic Denver omelet ($10.99) with toast and home fries. 14415 Pearl Road, 440-234-2044, facebook.com/jennifersrestaurant2.0
WHY WE LOVE IT: Experience the traditional hot pot Asian cooking method starting with a simmering pot of flavorful soup stock (choose from Thai Tom Yum, Japanese miso, mushroom soup and others) at the dining table. Pick a soup base; sliced meats, soybean or seafood protein, and add vegetables; or try the grilled meats and vegetables, Korean BBQ style, all served with your favorite sauces. The social restaurant is, indeed,
very social. The spot hosts a full bar and food that's served all-you-can-eat style. TRY THIS: Come for one of the restaurant's best deals: the KBBQ and hot pot all-you-can-eat lunch ($20.99) or dinner ($30.99). 2 Southpark Center, 440-268-6099, thekpot.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: The expansive menu ranges from hummus, baba ganouj, pita wraps, soups, salads and kabobs, to specialty entrees, in an upbeat, quick-service atmosphere with a cozy, wood and warm-walled dining room. The family-owned and operat-
ed scratch kitchen whips up all your Lebanese favorites. TRY THIS: Go for a light veggie pita pizza ($6.95) made with green peppers, onions, tomatoes, black olives, topped with za'atar, on a bed of white garlic sauce, tucked in baked pizza bread. 14228 Pearl Road, 440-846-5100, lakabobgrill.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: Step up to the counter and order a variety of au-
thentic pho bowls, spring rolls and other Vietnamese specialties in the inviting industrial-style casual dining room with exposed pipes. Don’t skip the bubble milk tea ($5). TRY THIS: Dig into piping hot shrimp pho ($14): a warm bowl of in-house cooked chicken broth with rice noodles, peeled shrimp and imitation crab, topped with green onion, cilantro and black pepper, served with bean sprouts, Thai basil, jalapeno, lime, sriracha and hoisin sauce. 13500 Pearl Road, 440-783-1886, facebook.com/phobeyond
WHY WE LOVE IT: For more than 30 years, the warm classic Italian restaurant, featuring a massive vibrant mural of Venice on one wall, has been a Strongsville mainstay. TRY THIS: The biggest sellers are the classics. The chicken marsala ($20.59) starts with searing chicken with house seasoning, garlic and house gravy, head chef and general manager Dustin Grady’s special recipe addition that helps deepen the flavor. The dish is served with mushrooms and onions, over a bed of pasta with house-made sauce. 16605 Pearl Road, 440-572-1414, italianvillage.menu
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WHY WE LOVE IT: If you’re craving juicy gourmet burgers, head to The Rail for all-Ohio burgers and beers. The local chain whips up some delicious food in a lively, modern, warm red and black, string-light ceilinged pub atmosphere, featuring beef from local farms and an extensive Ohio-centric beer list. Hit up the $6 happy hour Mondays through Fridays, 3-6 p.m. TRY THIS: The Blue Bessie ($17.50) comes with a grilledto-order burger with sauteed mush-
rooms, fresh spinach, blue cheese, tobacco onions and house-made horseradish sauce, served on a brioche bun with french fries or a garden salad. 17885 Southpark Center, 440783-1275, therailburger.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: Dubbed as “a fresh take on classic American cuisine” Rosewood’s upscale classic modern approach to steaks, seafood and inventive cocktails, along with its re-
WHY WE LOVE IT: “When you’re cooking for your family or for yourself, during a process you think ‘I’m going to add this for more texture, or little more of that for a deeper flavor, so my family and I will enjoy this dish more, every time improving until it’s perfect’ is basically what we do in the cafe” says owner Olena Firman. “We do it like we do for ourselves or our family.” TRY THIS: The squid ink smoked salmon crepe is a unique flavorful choice, crafted with squid ink batter, cream cheese, smoked salmon and garnished with red caviar. 14785 Pearl Road, 440-783-1797, lacrepe.cafe
cent remodel boasting a large, covered outdoor space with two patios and a private room, make it a top choice for celebrations and everyday meals. TRY THIS: The chicken Anna ($26) brings a unique flavor combination of toasted almond basmati, roasted asparagus, chardonnay lemon herb pan sauce. 6740 Royalton Road, 440-783-5500, rosewoodgrill.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: As a resident of Strongsville, being locally owned and operated is important to owner Mike Catanzarite. “I just wanted something that was so special that I’m proud of, that people walk away and say, ‘This place is awesome,’” says Catanzarite. “And you only get that by having really good people that you keep happy.” TRY THIS: In addition to elevated American eats and burgers, some specialties stand out. Order the chicken schnitzel ($28), made with a thin piece of chicken, breaded and beaten, says Catanzarite. The result is golden and crispy, served with acorn squash with blue cheese and pecans, broccolini and sriracha maple syrup.
13485 Pearl Road, 440-268-8322, thesquare22.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: Devour the best of both Chinese and Japanese cuisine (including amazing desserts and sake) with dishes ranging from fried rice, sushi, udon, teriyaki and hibachi to house specialties, in a low-key atmosphere with booths and a small dining room. TRY THIS: Enjoy the savory beef lo mein ($10.95), served with soup, and finish with the satisfyingly decadent banana tempura ($5.50). 15040 Pearl Road, 440-268-9668, sakurasushihouse.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: Buttery indulgent seafood shakes boiled with your protein, sauce and spice level of choice, served with a few sides in a steaming plastic bag (remember to shake it!) is normally something you don’t find a lot of in Northeast Ohio. With Seafood Shake's several dining rooms filled with nautical decor (picture lots of netting and oversized sea creatures), a large menu
of boba drinks, frozen drinks, smoothies, cocktails and other libations, this Strongsville seafood haven stands out. TRY THIS: Order snow crab legs by the pound ($23), served with corn and potatoes, and choose from one of the many flavors. We dig the lemon pepper. 16532 Royalton Road, 440-876-5900, seafoodshake.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: Parma's Schnitz Ale Brewery recently unveiled its new tasting room and production facility in Strongsville, with seats for 50, tucked in an industrial parkway. The quaint German pub (full of TVs and low-key, brick-walled vibes) and gift shop both offer exclusive Schnitz Ale beers and bites covering pretzels, salads and snacks, in addition to items from the Schnitz Ale food truck. TRY THIS: Bite into the unique burek ($12), a savory filo dough style pastry dish, stuffed with either cheese or cheese and spinach, served with a yogurt dipping sauce. 20102 Progress Drive, 440-638-4897, schnitzalebrewery.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: This family-owned Thai restaurant showcases original Thai dishes from all over the country and has been serving steaming plates to the Cleveland community since 2007. With a sister restaurant in Medina, here you can order authentic stir fry, curries, noodles, fried rice, seafood, soups, salads and traditional dishes, in a homey, plant-filled atmosphere adorned with Asian artwork. TRY THIS: The savory flavor of prik king curry with red and green bell peppers, green beans, Kaffir lime leaves and pine nuts, with duck ($15.95) is a divine mouthful. 14610 Pearl Road, 440-238-9921, sweetmangoohio.com
Solon is ranked in the Top 3 for 2024 Best Places to Live in the Cleveland Area by Niche.com.
Solon Schools has received the #1 education ranking from Cleveland Magazine for 15 consecutive years.
10 tennis courts, 4 pickleball courts, 10 baseball fields, playground areas, two sand volleyball courts and a full-sized basketball court. Additionally, the Park offers a walking path/fitness trail and a large pavilion. Plus, 1,200 acres of Cleveland Metroparks.
Theatrical and orchestral performances and theater, art, dance and musical programming and exhibitions.
Indoor and outdoor pools, gymnasium, jogging track, meeting and banquet rooms, aerobics studio, free weight room, rock climbing wall and a fitness area.
Home to over 900 businesses from global headquarters to our favorite mom-and-pop shops and 60 restaurants that satisfy every craving. Solon’s economy is perfectly suited for new and expanding businesses. Contact ashaker@ solonohio.org for business development needs.
WHY WE LOVE IT: Stop by this small, basic counter service-style Bangkok street food oasis for a fast flavorful menu of authentic eats spiced to your level of choice. Carry out or sit at one of a few nofrills tables and munch on noodles, fried rice, stir fry, curry, pork belly and other dishes, freshly garnished. TRY THIS: You can’t go wrong with a noodle dish like the tom yum fried rice ($11.95) with sauteed jasmine rice with egg, mushroom, red pepper, onion and fresh lime juice, topped with carrot, cucumber, scallion and cilantro 10917 Prospect Road, 440-6963915, thaidynamitecle.com
WHY WE LOVE IT: Walk into an elegant black and white lounge where the owner of 17 years (Michael Trivisonno Jr.) is almost always on site. Enjoy entertainment Wednesdays through Saturdays, and a broad menu of pasta, chicken, steaks, seafood and beyond, crafted by executive chef Mathew Gillombardo. TRY THIS: The almondcrusted Nantucket sea scallops come with sweet corn risotto and sauteed green beans, in a port wine reduction. 17100 Royalton Road, Suite 11, 440-238-8830, trivsstrongsville.com
Avon/Avon Lake
clevelandmagazine.com/avonfood
Mentor
clevelandmagazine.com/mentorfood
Chagrin Falls
clevelandmagazine.com/chagrinfallsfood
Check out more recommendations at clevelandmagazine.com/food-drink
Celebrating 80 Years!
The Gateway to the Chagrin Valley
Quiet residential streets are nestled within walking distance of amazing shopping and dining experiences
▶ Top-Rated Orange City School District
▶ World-class dining options
▶ Convenient shopping: luxury and boutique shopping all within 1 mile
▶ Just 2 miles from Ahuja Medical Center and 30 minutes from Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
“I love that I feel like I’m in the country and the city at the same time. One minute you’re in the hustle and bustle of Chagrin Boulevard, and then you turn down the side streets and it’s like another world. You always feel safe.”
Resident, Vivian Walker
Come see all that Woodmere Village has to offer.
At Tri-C, we meet you where you are with flexible learning options.
• Online, on-site, hybrid and on-demand classes
• Credit for prior learning/experience
• Class schedules ranging from 5 – 16 weeks with day, evening and weekend options available
A Tri-C location is nearby • Eastern Campus - Highland Hills • Metropolitan Campus - Cleveland • Western Campus - Parma • Westshore Campus - Westlake • Brunswick University Center - Brunswick
How We Rate: In the years that we’ve rated Cleveland’s suburbs, we’ve evaluated three major factors: safety, education and housing. We’ve added other qualities that make a suburb desirable such as public services, diversity and walkability. Scores are assigned to each suburb for every category used in the rankings. Those scores are based on the year’s available numbers. We then add up the category scores, weighting certain categories more than others. Safety and education, for example, are given more weight than property taxes, which is given more weight than environmental infractions The Top 20 are those suburbs with the highest combined scores — in other words, the suburbs that perform best in all of the categories combined
How We Did It: Overall rankings are determined using raw data that is converted into points calculated from the average in each category. Rankings for safety and education are awarded based on the total scores in each category.
Safety: Sources: Statistics for the calendar year 2023 are provided by each suburb. Crimes per 1,000 in Richfield Village are based on the combined populations of Richfield Village and Richfield Township, since the Richfield Village police patrol both and do not keep separate village stats. As noted on the Safety charts, data submitted by suburbs after the deadline are reflected on the chart but were not calculated into the overall ranking.
Education: The State of Ohio collects information from each school district each year to compile their report card. The website can be found at https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov. We used that information compiled for the 2022-23 school year for our list. The state’s 26 possible indicators for student performance are based on standardized tests, a gifted indicator that measures how gifted students are performing, a chronic absenteeism improvement indicator measuring the number of students who are chronically absent (missing at least 10% of the school year) as well as schools’ efforts to reduce that number, and an end-of-course improvement indicator measuring the performance and improvement on retaken end-of-course tests. Each school’s possible indicators vary depending on which tests its students take. The state’s Performance Index rewards the performance of every student, not just those who score “proficient” or higher. The scores range from 0 to 120, with 100 being the goal. The state tests students in reading and math every year from third through eighth grades. It also tests science in fifth and eighth grades. The state has transitioned from its Ohio Graduation Tests to end-ofcourse tests. Those include English I & II, math I & II, geometry, algebra, American history, American government and biology. In our rankings, the end-of-course tests are expressed as an average percentage of all students who scored at proficiency or above. The state’s value-added ranking measures the
impact schools and teachers have on students’ academic progress rates from year to year or another period of time, using student achievement data. There are four value-added measure grades combined to get a Progress Component Grade: The state calculates this progress made for all students, and then for subgroups of gifted students, students with disabilities and students whose academic performance was in the lowest 20% of students statewide. Through 2019, state law stipulated that if any of these subgroup grades were lower than a B on an A-F scale, and the overall grade was still an A, then the overall grade would be demoted to a B to reflect this discrepancy. We calculated the students per fulltime teacher ratio using the state-reported figures for enrollment and full-time teachers.
Median Home Sale Price: Sources: The county auditors or fiscal officers’ offices provided figures for valid sales of single-family homes in 2013, 2018 and 2023.
Property Tax: Sources: 2023 rates of taxation are from county auditors, treasurers or fiscal officers and the Ohio Department of Taxation. They include each community’s rollback and reduction for owner-occupied residential property for levies passed before November 2013.
Population, Poverty, Diversity & Owner-Occupied Housing: Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2018-2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Diversity points are awarded based on the suburb’s percentage of minority residents (nonwhite, Hispanic or multiracial), with the most points given to those suburbs closest to a 50% balance.
Environmental Infractions: Source: The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s database of reported polluted sites, which is continuously updated and includes reports of polluted sites that the EPA has not fully investigated.
Community Services: The mayor’s office of each suburb informed us which of the following services are available to all residents: tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball and softball diamonds, indoor or outdoor ice rinks, indoor swimming pools, outdoor swimming pools, public playgrounds, recreation centers, public skateboarding parks, senior services, youth services, free mulch, free leaf pickup, free garbage pickup and recycling programs.
Roads With Sidewalks: Each suburb provided information on the miles of roads and sidewalks. Percentage of roads with sidewalks was determined by dividing centerline miles of roads by half the miles of sidewalks and converting to a percentage.
written by Danny Cunningham
On a nice day, it’s difficult to drive through the city’s residential areas and not see children on bicycles or playing in their families’ often well-manicured front yards. There’s no shortage of things to do in Rocky River.
The lakefront city boasts 10 public parks for residents to enjoy nature, with some of them giving terrific views of Lake Erie. Most of the parks also feature playground equipment, a welcome sight for those raising families in the area. This includes the newly renovated Bradstreet’s Landing, with a pier that goes out into Lake Erie.
“I love that park because diverse things happen there. Just like all of our parks,” says Mayor Pam Bobst. “But that one has a lot of uses that coexist in this beautiful way. You have fishermen, you have sunset watchers, beach glass hunters, historians, birdwatchers, people who like to kayak, who like to paddle board, who like to dip their toes in the water. All of these individuals make their way to that park and it’s a small park that coexists with nobody getting in anyone’s way. They just all enjoy the beauty of the lake.”
The parks are great, but they don’t tell the entire story of Rocky River. The city, which is located roughly eight
miles west of Downtown Cleveland, is also home to a lively downtown district, one of the best school systems in Northeast Ohio and residents whom the city considers to be community partners.
Heading downtown, the area features several restaurants and coffee shops. Whether looking for an extravagant whiskey list at an establishment like Char Whiskey Bar and Grille, a unique pizza from Ohio Pie Co. or just dessert at Mitchell’s Ice Cream, Rocky River has it.
“It’s really become a destination because of the unique shops that we have,” Bobst says. “There’s been a lot of investment in really neat, unique, one-of-a-kind shops. And then, of course, you complement that with all these incredible restaurants serving diverse food, and there’s kind of something for everyone.”
Above all, what makes Rocky River thrive are both the people who visit and the people who call it home.
“It’s really the residents that bring that all to life,” Bobst says. “Residents in any community, they’re our partners here. They’re very thoughtful. They’re very insightful. And we take that and it’s our job to articulate some of those and put them into action.”
Griddles Cafe in Medina is a simple place.
The beige walls a display modern artwork, mixed in with a United States flag featuring the seals of each of our country’s military branches, advertisements for biscuits and gravy and T-shirts representing the restaurant that have a $20 price tag.
“It’s All Good!” the shirts say across the back.
“Are we doing sweet teas?” waitress Nicole Jackson says to a customer seated in the back corner of the restaurant before she yells back to her mother, one of the owners of the cafe in the kitchen.
“I’ve lived here my whole life,” Jackson says. “It’s not as small as it used to be. But most of the people are nice here.”
The cafe is tucked into a shopping plaza that’s near a bevy of chain restaurants on North Court Street in
Medina. In some ways, it’s the perfect metaphor for Medina. It’s a growing city that still finds a way to have a small-town feel, even if that feel can be fleeting at times. “Did you know that? They’re tearing down our Kmart. It was the first Super Kmart in the United States,” Tiffany Thorpe, another server at the cafe, says from across the small dining room. “They’re making way for a Meijer.”
In a world where so many things have become automated, artificial intelligence seemingly ruling all, Thorpe can be seen pulling out a calculator, and not the one on her phone, to add up a customer’s bill. On this side of town, Griddles Cafe stands out next to the corporate restaurants and stores it shares the area with.
Leaving Griddles and turning left out of the parking lot can take you on a journey to what feels like a different city inside the same town. Heading south on North Court Street is like driving straight through a time machine, with Harding Street being the stark divider between the small town and the typical suburb.
Things change when you cross Harding Street. Life seems to slow down as the historic Medina Square approaches. Target, Chipotle and Chick-fil-A turn into places like Cool Beans Cafe, Circles on the Square and The Farmer’s Table. Corporations quickly give way to locally owned and operated shops and restaurants that have a touch of charm that cannot be mass-produced.
That’s what this part of Medina is. It’s a slice of home, even if it’s not your home.
“To me, it’s not tiny, but it’s not huge. Everybody kind of knows each other and the community, they will pitch in and help somebody,” says Melissa Sandusky, owner of Circles on the Square. “There’s somebody who has a fire, or if something happened — people will pitch in to help people that they don’t know.”
Sandusky is one of the success stories in that area. She isn’t a native of Medina but moved to the city 24 years ago and has lived in three different homes. There’s been more than enough in Medina that has
“TO ME, IT’S NOT TINY, BUT IT’S NOT HUGE. EVERYBODY KIND OF KNOWS EACH OTHER.”
made her want to live here.
Small towns can be stereotyped as being boring. In movies and television shows, characters are programmed to want to get out and find the big city with so much more to do. That’s not how people in Medina feel.
“There’s always stuff to do,” Thorpe says.
That’s a common theme when talking to people inside the city limits. There aren’t complaints about Medina being boring; there are boasts about things going on every weekend. It’s difficult to walk through the town square without passing a window filled with fliers for events. Something’s Popping, a local popcorn shop, has a window decorated with those fliers and an interior filled with hard-to-find candy.
“It’s like a town in a Hallmark movie,” says Brittany Ceifert, a bartender at The Farmer’s Table, a restaurant just south of the square.
That’s what Medina is. It’s a community that supports itself and has everything one could need. If the amenities and structure of corporations comfort you, head north of the town square. If the small-town vibe is what you’re in search of, Medina Public Square is for you.
Parma Heights
What keeps you in Parma Heights?
The city of Parma Heights had a lot of amenities that I enjoyed. The Metroparks, Big Creek Parkway runs right through the heart of the city. We have great police and fire and service department services here. Its access to (Interstates) 71 and 480 is very convenient, so that’s why I decided to settle in Parma Heights.
What drove you to run for mayor?
I had always wanted to have a career in public service, which is why I have a degree in criminal justice, and then my career path took me in a different direction.
What is your 20-second elevator pitch to someone who is considering buying a home in your community?
We are a wonderful bedroom community here in Parma Heights. We have great housing stock and schools. We’ve also increased recreation for our residents, so we’re very family-oriented. We have a community theater, multiple parks, and we’re very accessible. We have a lot to offer. It’s a city but it doesn’t feel like a city.
— Christina Rufo
Twelve individuals quickly set up their mats at various angles within the expansive, yellow-painted space at Abide Yoga at 9 a.m. on an April Sunday morning.
“Think about what makes you feel grounded,” instructor and studio owner Hope Hamling urges at the start of class. She then leads the group through an “Intuitive Yin Flow” session: 75 slow-paced minutes of long-held poses designed to have “a sweet community feel.” It is Hamling’s 10th year owning her Larchmere studio, and she not only encounters this strong sense of grounding in her classes but also in the surrounding streets of the Cleveland neighborhood.
“When I walked down the street 10 years ago and
saw the open storefront, I immediately felt that Larchmere was the spot. You can feel the community here,” Hamling says.
Matthew Chasney (who photographed this piece) agrees. He moved to this East Side neighborhood two years ago to be closer to his children who live with their mother in nearby Cleveland Heights. He loves the quiet of the area, the walkability of the streets, and the plethora of activities for his 13- and 11-year-old children.
“There’s just so much to do here for us,” says Chasney. “We skateboard in the church parking lot, walk the trails by Doan Brook, and, of course, hang out in the bookstore.”
Almost everyone you encounter walking down Larchmere Boulevard, the main commercial artery of the neighborhood, references “the bookstore.”
Located a few storefronts east from Abide, Loganberry Books has been a landmark literary fixture in Cleveland since 1994. Boasting more than 100,000 volumes for visitors to pursue, the shop regularly hosts a who’s who of visiting authors.
For Joan Savitt, Loganberry is a must-visit destination to bring her out-of-town friends. On this Sunday, her arms are stacked high with not only books — novels by Kristin Hannah and Geraldine Brooks — but also an art collage and an artistically painted oven mitt. “It feels like a home away from home here,” Savitt says, with this week’s visiting friend standing wide-eyed a few stacks away. “You can’t get the staff’s helpfulness, the quirky items, or this great neighborhood on Amazon.”
Jane Donnell wants to see every empty storefront in Larchmere occupied as successfully as Loganberry. She moved into the neighborhood in 1989, bought her first house in 1992 and her second property in 1998. In those 35 years, she has seen storefronts come and go.
“This neighborhood has such a good spirit that’s ever-growing,” Donnell says. “If we can get more occupancy and support businesses, we can get more people to see how wonderfully diverse Larchmere is for everyone who comes here.” That word, “diverse,” has become a hallmark of Larchmere and is referenced by residents and business owners alike.
As a Black business owner, Melissa Garrett had this diversity in mind four years ago when she opened UnBar Cafe.
“Larchmere has a diverse vibe that I just wanted to be near,” Garrett says.
To keep things fresh, Garrett is constantly evolving the cafe’s offerings, from introducing new drinks — UnBar Feel Better Tea is a lemon-flavored elixir guaranteed to brighten your day — to hosting events like a recent lecture from Stanford University professor of education Adam Banks on the impact of technology on Black culture. “Our motto is ‘Think better. Feel better. Be better.’” Garrett says.
On the western border of Larchmere, Chef Koko Grimes has also felt the neighborhood support of Black business owners. She opened Conveniently Vegan in 2022 as a way of bringing plant-based culinary options to the area, like the wildly popular Sunday brunch buffet featuring tofu scrambles, breakfast eggrolls and the not-to-be-missed sweet potato pound cake.
“There are not a lot of vegan restaurants in Cleveland and my goal is to show you how to eat healthy but eat good,” Grimes says.
The challenge, says Tina Haldiman, is to make sure that visitors stop by this western edge of Larchmere Boulevard as much as they visit the eastern side of the street that houses Loganberry.
“I LOVE HOW SURPRISED PEOPLE ARE BY OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. WE ARE UNEXPECTEDLY CUTE AND QUAINT.”
Since 2016, Haldiman and partner Cassidy Anderson have owned and lived above Larchmere Fire Works, a glassblowing and blacksmithing studio on the western side of the neighborhood. The newest vice president of the Larchmere Community Association, she cites the community’s refusal to allow a dollar store to move into the neighborhood as an important victory.
“Instead, we have new apartments that improve Larchmere,” Haldiman says. “I love how surprised people are by our neighborhood. We are unexpectedly cute and quaint.”
But perhaps no one is more delighted by Larchmere on that Sunday than 7-year-old Rory. As she holds a blowtorch, closely supervised, to complete her glass creation at Larchmere Fire Works, Rory’s smile is a mile wide. “We drove two hours from Cambridge to come here,” says Lindsey Angler, Rory’s mom. “Driving up and down Larchmere, we’ve had just an awesome day and will definitely come back.”
A graduate of Avon High School, class of 2010, I last claimed Avon as home in 2012. Having spent most of my formative years here, I thought profiling what makes it one of Cleveland’s best suburbs sounded easy — I’d know the city like the back of my hand, right?
Based on census data, Avon’s population has exploded throughout the aughts, jumping in total population from 11,446 in 2000, just two years after my family moved to town, to 24,847 as of 2020. Housing developments now take up much of the space I remember being farmland or woods, while a dizzying number of new restaurants, car washes and retail businesses have sprung up in shopping plazas galore.
Some of my fondest memories in Avon took place while working in the Caribou Coffee formerly found in Avon Commons, the shopping center most known to out-of-towners. Here, a host of regulars would stop in to share life updates with our staff, many spending hours just hanging out to read newspapers or meet with colleagues. There was a real sense of community that feels lost in the Starbucks and Dunkin’ locations that draw much of Avon’s coffee business today.
Seeking a fix of more than just caffeine, I found it in Black Key Coffee, an independent business founded by Andrew and Devon Blakley that exemplifies my oldschool preference for what a coffee shop should be.
While the lavender-vanilla latte I sampled was enough to keep me wanting more, the tiny operation’s friendly atmosphere is what kept me hanging around. I observed a few instances of Andrew, who roasts the shop’s coffee beans and operates as a barista, nearly completing regulars’ drinks before they had made it to the register.
According to the Blakleys, their customers have even encouraged the shop to close down for two and a half weeks, due to the birth of their daughter earlier this year.
“That’s been a super cool thing for us, with being so small,” Andrew says. “Every time I told people, ‘We’re going to close because our daughter’s born, and I don’t know exactly when the [reopen] is going to be,’ they
said ‘good.’ The community was just happy for us.”
It doesn’t take long to find a similar communal spirit in other parts of the city, as I found when searching for a place to hike. Avonites looking to join a gym have a few different options, including the YMCA, University Hospital’s The Fitness Center and Planet Fitness. But for visitors seeking a subscription-free way to exercise and build muscle, a hidden gem can be found behind the city’s police station and post office.
“I DON’T KNOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT OR UTILIZE [THE PARK], BUT I DO, AND I LOVE IT.”
The City of Avon Fitness Court is a bright blue hub of steel bars that park-goers may use to train seven essential strengthening movements, including squats, pushes, pulls, bends and core. It is part of a larger community park that features a zone commemorating local war veterans, a children’s play set and the Avon Historical Walk, a trail in the woods lined with placards describing the city’s earliest history, as curated by the Avon Historical Society.
The park is an occasional meeting place for the regional chapter of F3, or “Fitness, Fellowship and Faith,” which is a national network of men’s groups that meet for peer-led workouts. Bill Fischer, a resident since 2004, calls his membership a game changer.
“Personally, I love running, and I run all over the place,” says Fischer. “I don’t know that a lot of people know about or utilize [the park], but I do, and I love it.”
Keeping a consistent exercise routine may be a necessity for locals who prefer to dine out in the city, as the influx of families appears to have inspired a boom of familiar fast food chains. Head east across Chester Road, and you’ll find a seemingly endless selection of freshly-built options, from Raising Cane’s to Longhorn Steakhouse to Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers.
Describing the city’s expansion as “too much, too fast,” Nancy McGhee, a longtime resident who graduated from Avon High School in 1963, gives credit to the city for compartmentalizing this growth into an area that protects parks in other areas of the city.
“I think they’ve done an excellent job by shoving all that commercial down on old Chester Road, which used to just be a dirt, cinder road,” says McGhee. “Making [it] four lanes — and five where they had to — is the best thing they thought of.”
Maple Heights
It was civic engagement. I was really involved in the schools with all three of my kids, and I felt really connected to the people. I created a relationship through all of that with the mayor, so the mayor at that time pushed it on. I also have a corporate communications public relations degree from Ursuline [College] and a sales background. You marry those together, and I am the biggest salesperson for this city.
What are your goals for 2024 for your community?
I’d like to build some new and affordable housing units and diversify our housing, something greener and more energy-efficient, of course. I’d like to continue to update the infrastructure, our roads and utilities. I also want to increase citizen engagement for sponsor events and programs, and I like to make sure everything’s free. I don’t want that to be a barrier, that you have to pay for coming to events.
What keeps you in Maple Heights?
This city has proven to be the suburban experience: smaller neighborhoods, manicured lawns, tree-lined streets. Police and emergency response times are fantastic, and there’s a smaller school system to get to know administrators and educators. It’s a great location to anywhere via the close interstates.
— Julia Lombardo
In the spring and summer, disc golf dominates Hudson Springs Park’s offerings, bringing in players as it has since its course opened in 1986.
Though immensely popular with local disc golfers — enough to start a local disc golf league and tournaments — this hotspot has one downside, one that I realize early on in my morning game, as my tennis shoe squelches out of a mud pit.
“Hudson Springs is also known as ‘Mudson Springs,’” says Michael Haney, the director of Hudson’s disc golf league. “There is just so much water in that area. There’s not a whole lot to do other than just kind of accept that your shoes are going to come out a little bit browner than you started, to have a good time with it.”
Haney started playing the sport with his brother at this lake-centric park, with a large watershed that affects some grassy areas. Haney assures me that league organizers are working with the park to develop solutions, like adding platforms and bridges in the most watery areas.
I ditch my dewy (but fun) game after eight holes, missing out on the back, more challenging, half of the course. Then, I opt to hike around the lake: a 1.8-mile retreat into spring in this outdoorsy hotspot.
Beyond the disc golf and trail, the park has a lot to offer: a set of permanent concrete cornhole boards, a bocce ball court, a stack of canoes and kayaks and a playground. A sign notes that ice fishing is allowed in the winter.
Of course, there’s no ice fishing on this sunny April day in Hudson. But there are plenty of people getting outside, biking and jogging around this park — and the city beyond.
Brent Forrer, who lives on the Northeast side of town, biked two of his kids — a third grader and a sixth grader — to school, before arriving at All Around Cyclery for his workday. He’s owned the shop since 2015, and he and his family moved to Hudson in 2016.
Forrer sees the town shifting toward better bikeability and pedestrian access. Road bike lanes and sidewalks are newly installed on most of Hudson’s main streets and tertiary roads. “Everyone makes the joke about Hudson being a bubble, and it’s honestly true,” Forrer says. “The kids can ride their bikes to school, can walk downtown after school. I grew up in a small town in rural Ohio, and this doesn’t feel that much different than that. We love it.”
“I DO FEEL THAT THERE ARE SO MANY MORE COMMUNITY AND FAMILY EVENTS.”
City planners here focus on walkability — as do local businesses. In 2020, Hudson established its Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area in the town’s First & Main area and surrounding streets: a boon for the area’s robust programming.
There’s an emphasis on all things local in this corner of Summit County. Next door to All Around Cyclery, the budding Evaporator Works development also hosts Good Grief (which slings up filling, flavorful breakfast burritos and sammies), Heartwood Coffee (which features a snazzy, light-filled expansion) and,
most recently, Nona’s Confectionery, a shop centered around the small-batch chocolate-making. Hudson residents Ken and Jessie Obert opened the shop in March.
Jessie, a lifelong Hudson resident, also works as a real estate agent in town. “Since I was a teenager, we haven’t grown that much by population, but I do feel that there are so many more community and family events, and things for kids to do,” Jessie says. “There’s not a weekend that goes by that one of my kids is not playing pickleball, or at the entrance to a park — and that’s great. They don’t have to go very far to go and do things with their friends.”
Hudson also offers spaces for quiet and calm. By midday, I wanted to experience what’s inevitably one of my favorite parts of any town or city: the library.
A public library says a lot about its location, and Hudson’s is downright impressive. Upon walking inside you’ll immediately see the Friends of the Hudson Library’s bookstore, selling used books on the cheap.
Then you’ll head into the stunning rotunda, a large room with floor-to-ceiling windows, a dome with skylights overhead and a curving staircase that leads to a quiet second level.
Hudson’s library isn’t tucked away into a quiet area: It’s right front of First & Main, one of the most happening parts of town. The shopping center hosts a Summer Music Night concert series, along with family-friendly activities, holiday walks, 5K runs and more.
This is also where a ton of Hudson’s trendier restaurant and shopping options reside. I order a mushroom pie and a salad from 3 Palms Pizzeria, and take it, togo, to Cascade Park, where I find a picnic table to devour my meal.
I end the day much like I started it, minus the mud: in Hudson’s beautiful nature, where nearly everyone I pass by gives a wave or a ‘hello.’ It’s not hard to get around, and it doesn’t take too long to start to feel at home here.
The first thing you have to know about Willoughby is that in its quaint, quintessentially American downtown, they play music from loudspeakers on the street. Sometimes it’s country music. Other times it’s coffee shop smooth tunes. It gives you the uncanny feeling that someone is trying to set the mood for your day, and that mood is chill.
I don’t know if it’s the music or just the kind of people Willoughby attracts, but everyone here is pretty chill. The first place on my discover-Willoughby-itinerary is a locally owned coffee shop called Fiona’s. It’s here that I meet Michele and Larry Perme. They moved to Willoughby seven years ago, trading in a much bigger house with a large yard for a small fixer-upper because they found Willoughby “charming.”
“This is slower paced and lovely and we walk downtown weekly, several times a week. So it’s just great. It’s beautiful,” Michele says. “I love it here.”
“I LOVE THE CONVENIENCE OF THE AREA, I LOVE MY NEIGHBORHOOD.”
The retirees spend their days leisurely drinking coffee in front of their home, chatting with neighbors, hanging out at the local coffee shop, perusing the downtown stores and patronizing the local restaurants. All very chill activities.
“This is the kind of neighborhood where you know your mailman and you have a bond with them,” Michele tells me. “Our days are very relaxed.”
Later in the day, I ran into Michele again while she was shopping for canine accessories with her dog Bella at Barktown, the local dog groomer. Running into people you’ve known only for an hour is pretty common in this small town, the fact that they greet you like longlost friends is less common.
Michele says there’s one important thing she forgot to tell me about Willoughby: It’s haunted by the girl in
photographed by Valerie Akinsblue, a young woman who was hit by a train on Christmas Eve of 1933. No one knew who she was, so residents buried her under a gravestone that identified her by her entirely blue outfit.
Ghost hunting was not on my itinerary for the day, but off I go to a restaurant and bar called Spirits (get it?) that has capitalized on the city’s haunted history. Cindy Byram owns the bar along with her husband, Jay. They’ve lived here for 47 years. She’s watched the downtown area transform from what was once a sleepy couple of blocks into what is today a main street full of bustling businesses.
“I love it here,” she says. “I love the convenience of the area, I love my neighborhood. The people here are friendly … we’ve met lifelong friends by living here.”
While younger residents told me how much they appreciate being able to go out to bars like the Wild Goose or to Mickey’s for ice cream and hot dogs and walk home, Spirits caters to an older, calmer crowd.
It’s here I discover that the girl in blue, holding a glass of wine as she billows out of a steam engine on a poster on the wall, is not the only ghost around town. Next door, in the Willoughby Coal and Supply building, I find Jay sitting in what appears to be an antique barber
chair. The store, which mostly deals in building supplies, is haunted by a previous owner who was either pushed or jumped out of a circular window on the top floor. The store is filled with antique knickknacks, from an old sled to some very ’80s lawn figurines to railroad crossing lights. Jay found some of the stuff, some was dropped off by locals, and all of it lends credence to the creepy vibes the place is not exactly trying to avoid. It is a stop on the Willoughby Ghost Tours and a known attraction for ghost hunters.
Jay tells me they’re “all friendly ghosts.” Even the
Describe what a great day in your community looks like?
A great day in Pepper Pike is when our residents can be at home and enjoy their lives and families and not be concerned that the services supporting them here are being delivered without any concern. Our government should be in the background, a positive background, and not primary in the lives of our residents.
ghosts here are chill.
I head back downtown to Yogi’s Closet. Owner Angie Vodopivec says Willoughby is a great place to open a small business. “The community is amazing. I have shoppers that come in almost every week,” she says. “They’re local. They love to just take a walk down here and get a coffee and go in all the shops.”
People here are so nice, she says, that during the pandemic when she was forced to shut her doors, a stranger paid her rent. As she tears up thinking about it, her dog, Penny, starts barking at something just outside the window, possibly another dog or a baby, or perhaps one of the city’s very chill ghosts coming by to give her pets.
I ran for mayor because I believe strongly in community service and felt I could contribute to the city in a positive way, and a number of people initially solicited me to run for mayor.
What are your goals for 2024 for your community?
This is our centennial year, as a community, and while we celebrate that, we are going to continue to build out infrastructure and make this an even better community for our residents to live and enjoy. We always want Pepper Pike to be not just where they live, but where they call home.
— Christina RufoTHE MOST INFAMOUS DAY IN CLEVELAND SPORTS HISTORY IS JUNE 4, 1974. FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, A MIX OF BASEBALL RIVALRY, INDIANS FANATICISM, SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND A DESPERATE MARKETING PLOY CREATED THE PERFECT STORM. THE LEGEND LIVES ON THROUGH NOVELTY T-SHIRTS AND THOSE WHO WERE THERE.
BY VINCE GUERRIERI
“Any Cleveland police car not on assignment respond to Cleveland Stadium for a riot.”
Cleveland police officer Bill Leonard had just pulled out of the Sixth District Jail sally port on June 4, 1974, when that call came over his radio.
It was a full moon that night and temperatures were hovering in the 70s. Leonard came west on the Shoreway, exiting at East Ninth Street.
Two naked women ran in front of his car.
“I thought, ‘Oh, it’s THAT kind of a riot,’” he says. It was a fraught time in Cleveland's history. The city was less than a decade removed from a riot in Hough and a shootout in Glenville. Gangland bombings were increasing, and a mob war was on the horizon. And the Indians, the class of the American League in the early 1950s, had spent most of the ensuing 20 years pondering a move out of town.
That Tuesday night was a perfect stew of bad vibes, bad blood and copious amounts of beer.
High in the press box at Cleveland Stadium, Randy Galloway was covering the game for the Dallas Morning News . Below him, it was the bottom of the ninth and everyone was loaded. It was 10-cent beer night, and a crowd of drunks was on the field, pushing, shoving and generally misbehaving.
“I wasn’t concerned, but the Cleveland PR guy said, ‘Lock the damn door and nobody gets in,’” Galloway recalls. “I thought, now we have something interesting going on.”
What appeared to be an Indians ninth-inning comeback against the Texas Rangers instead turned into a forfeit loss. The listed crowd of 25,134 drank an outsized number of beers (an estimated 60,000 cups) and did an outsized amount of damage.
The game was originally regarded as a disgrace. But it’s become a part of local legend, exemplifying the ethos summed up by a T-shirt popular in the 1970s: “Cleveland: You’ve Got To Be Tough.”
“I was witnessing history,” Galloway says. “I didn’t realize it at the time. The story just lives on in baseball lore.
“Of everything I’ve ever witnessed, that’s in my top five. Maybe my top three. It was one damn sight.”
TOM BONDA: My father (Indians owner Ted Bonda) and his group were struggling to get people to the games. We used to sit in the old Stadium Club and literally count the people coming over the West Third Street Bridge.
CARL FAZIO (DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING FOR THE INDIANS): It was a great challenge and a great opportunity. I believed in the Indians and believed in Cleveland.
We were going to leave no stone unturned, and my approach in year one was that we were going to try everything, be aggressive and figure out what works and what doesn’t work and then we’ll know what to do in ensuing years.
BONDA: We tried everything. We had the Great Wallenda walk across the stadium on a tightrope. I was actually up there. It was scary being on the roof. We brought in the King and his Court, a softball team.
MILT WILCOX (INDIANS PITCHER): They had Evel Knievel once. I actually helped him start his motorcycle. It had a kick starter, and he had been in so many wrecks he couldn’t do it himself.
BONDA: I’d come back to Cleveland after Arizona State [University] and moved into Park Center. We were trying to get people Downtown, and we’d sell beer for 10 cents at what we called parties at the park. I actually got really good at changing beer taps. We were doing so well, why not have a 10-cent beer night at the stadium?
It wasn’t an outlandish idea. Since the 1960s, beer nights had become a popular event for major-league and minor-league teams. The Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros had previously done them, and they’d become a regular part of the Milwaukee Brewers’ promotional schedule. (One of them, in 1971, led to a series of fights inside the stadium; of course, nobody remembers that one.) The Indians had hosted several before the 1974 season, and that year they put four 10-cent beer nights (as opposed to the regular price of 65 cents) on the promotional schedule, with the first scheduled for June 4, 1974, against the Rangers. A week before that, the two teams met in Texas.
GALLOWAY: THAT ENTIRE SERIES, THE TEAMS WERE JAWING BACK AND FORTH WITH EACH OTHER.
WILCOX: Gaylord Perry pitched the first game of the series in Texas, and I believe Lenny Randle got a couple hits off him. Gaylord ended up winning the game, and Randle popped off in the paper and said he was washed up.
DICK BOSMAN (INDIANS PITCHER): Lenny Randle said Gaylord wouldn’t be able to beat anybody without the spitball.
WILCOX: Gaylord saw me before the game and said, “If I was pitching tonight, Lenny Randle would go down all three times he came up. Not hit him, but knock him down.” And he looked at me and winked, so I knew what he meant.
The first pitch I threw was about two feet behind Randle. I didn’t really know how to brush guys back in those days. It wasn’t bad blood. It was just the way we played then.
BOSMAN: Next pitch, Lenny drops a bunt and Milt goes to cover first, and Lenny just low-bridged
him and down they go and we’ve got a pretty good donnybrook out there.
MIKE HARGROVE (RANGERS FIRST BASEMAN): Lenny just knocked him ass over teakettle.
FAZIO: That hit would make any NFL linebacker proud.
GALLOWAY: And then (Indians catcher) John Ellis comes over and he pops Randle, and all hell breaks loose. I’d seen a dozen scuffles or so in three years as a beat man, but I’d never seen a full-scale fight. And this was a fight.
TOM GRIEVE (RANGERS OUTFIELDER): People were actually getting pounded.
HARGROVE: I was in the dugout, so I went out and joined the fun. Usually, baseball fights are a lot of pushing and tugging, but this was knock-down, drag-out.
GRIEVE: When the Indians went back to the dugout, our fans were screaming at them. (Indians catcher) Dave Duncan got so mad that he jumped up on top of the dugout and tried to go into the stands. They had to pull him back in.
And then after the game, they asked (Rangers
“AND
THEN THAT
A––HOLE
PETE FRANKLIN WORKED PEOPLE UP ON HIS RADIO SHOW ALL WEEK AND SAID IT WOULD BE REVENGE AGAINST THE RANGERS, AND THAT HELPED INFLAME THE SITUATION. HE WAS GOOD AT THAT.”
DAN
COUGHLIN ( THE PLAIN DEALER WRITER)
manager) Billy Martin if he was concerned about going to Cleveland the next week. He said, “Ahh, nobody goes to the games anyway.”
DAN COUGHLIN ( THE PLAIN DEALER WRITER):
And then that a––hole Pete Franklin worked people up on his radio show all week and said it would be revenge against the Rangers, and that helped inflame the situation. He was good at that.
The Indians and Rangers were meeting again, and both teams were competitive in their respective divisions. The stage was set.
GALLOWAY: We walked over from the Hollenden House, and you could tell. Their people headed to the ballpark — and they were pumped up. It wasn’t an atmosphere you were expecting on a Tuesday night in Cleveland against the Rangers.
JOHN ADAMS (THE GUY WITH THE DRUM): People were showing up drunk.
GRIEVE: It was a bigger crowd than normal, but the stadium was so big that even 25,000 didn’t feel like a big crowd.
KEN ASPROMONTE (INDIANS MANAGER): After we saw batting practice, I saw a lot of people in the stands I hadn’t seen before. I said, “Wow, we’ve got a big crowd tonight.” They were already drinking beer.
LARRY MCCOY (UMPIRE): We walked to home plate about five minutes before game time, and there was kind of a cloud over home plate. I had no idea what it was. Two of the younger umpires said, “Don’t you know what that is? That’s marijuana.”
BOSMAN: You could get high just by breathing deep.
COUGHLIN: Every half-inning something was going on. It was stuff we’d never ever seen at a baseball game at any ballpark.
HARGROVE: Between innings, people ran across
the field. The first time, there were a couple people. The next inning there would be five. Then there would be 10. And then a lot of people. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot
GALLOWAY: Some of it was just flat-out funny. We had a father and son run out and moon the crowd.
JIM CLARK (A THEN 19-YEAR-OLD FAN): There was a woman dancing on the dugout. She was topless for a bit. She tried to kiss (umpire) Nestor Chylak.
GRIEVE: They couldn’t get her off the field. She probably weighed about 250 pounds, so they couldn’t pick her up. That was kind of harmless, but I think it was around then that we started to think, “If this is going on early, who knows what’s going to happen next.”
COUGHLIN: Streaking was popular in those days. This kid ran on the field stark naked. He was running along the outfield fence, but he couldn’t see what was going on on the other side of the fence, where the police were running alongside of him. Finally, he decides to climb over the fence, and police were waiting for him with a huge garbage bag. He gets over the fence, into the bag and they lugged him off. And the fans cheered.
HARGROVE: I think I got four pounds of hot dogs thrown at me that night.
BUDDY BELL (INDIANS THIRD BASEMAN): I was on the DL that night, so I was actually sitting upstairs watching the game. I had a great view. I’m looking down into the dugouts, and the players are yelling at the fans and the fans are throwing stuff into the dugout.
COUGHLIN: Fans were throwing firecrackers from the upper deck. By the middle of the game, things were starting to get out of hand.
WILCOX: You could tell every inning that things were getting hairier.
CLARK: In the fourth inning, (Rangers starting pitcher) Fergie Jenkins got hit and they were yelling, “Hit him again! Hit him again!” I thought, Wow, the alcohol is talking early.
LES FLAKE (CLEVELAND’S FAMOUS BEER GUY) : I had started selling hot dogs for the Indians that season. You couldn’t sell beer until you were 19. I was down the third-base line, and I think it was ’round 9 o’clock that I said, “I gotta get out of here.”
JIM SUNDBERG (RANGERS CATCHER): I was in the on-deck circle in the sixth inning, and I was looking around. I was a little paranoid, and I saw this thing come from out of the upper deck. It was a bottle in a paper cup. It was escalating as people got drunker.
CLARK: And Billy Martin was blowing kisses to fans from the third-base dugout.
FAZIO: I heard a guy on the radio say later, “I brought a couple batteries and a golf ball to throw at Billy Martin.”
HARGROVE: I had an empty gallon jug of wine land about 10 feet away from me. I kicked it off the field toward the railing, thinking the grounds crew would get it, but a fan grabbed it and went back into the stands with it. That’s the first time I felt really uneasy, because I felt like it was going to come back at me again.
KEN SANDERS (INDIANS PITCHER): We got the wives out of the stands, I think, in the seventh inning and got them into the locker room. We brought the bullpen into the dugout. Something was brewing.
The Indians were trailing 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth. George Hendrick doubled to lead off the inning, and then Aspromonte called for three straight pinch hitters: Ed Crosby, Rusty Torres and Alan Ashby. All three singled.
CLARK: John Lowenstein hit a sacrifice fly to score Crosby and tie the game. The place was just going berserk.
SUNDBERG: We were going to lose that game. They had the winning run on base.
GALLOWAY: The crowd was going nuts. I don’t think anyone had run on the field in a while. We look out in right field, and here comes a fan. He approaches Jeff Burroughs in right field, and I thought, He shouldn’t do that. Players are going to react. He reached for Burroughs’ hat, Jeff pushed at him. The kid went back, and Jeff fell down.
BELL: When I saw Jeff throw a punch, I left and made my way down. I figured it would be settled by the time I got down there. I got down there, and there were people everywhere. They weren’t attacking anyone or anything, but it was like one of those old science fiction movies where aliens invade and everyone’s running around.
BOSMAN: Billy Martin led the charge of the light brigade out of the dugout and all hell broke loose. The field was just full of people.
WILCOX: THEY HAD BATS AND WERE WEARING THEIR HELMETS. IT LOOKED LIKE A CAVALRY CHARGE.
COUGHLIN: From the dugout, it looked like Burroughs had been knocked down, so Billy Martin and the Rangers came out to rescue Burroughs, who’s in the middle of a big crowd in right field. That’s when it really exploded. The Indians had to come out and protect the Rangers from our fans.
ASPROMONTE: I said, “We gotta go help Billy.” We figured his 25 and my 25 could take care of it. The people were on the field swinging like hell, but mostly missing because they didn’t know where they were.
GALLOWAY: When the Indians came out of the dugout with bats, I thought, “Oh my God. Are both teams going to go at each other?” The Indians were coming out to help the Rangers, who were now surrounded by at least a couple hundred fans with more coming all the time.
SUNDBERG: We had Custer’s last stand in right
Once the game got completely out of hand with Indians players coming to help protect Rangers players, it was too late. The melee was underway; players and fans were injured and some arrested.
field. We were surrounded by fans, and we were in a little circle, and the Indians players came and joined us, and we gradually made our way back to the dugout.
There was this big guy who was threatening to kick my ass, and Dave Duncan — who was on the Indians — tackled him and before I knew it, Billy Martin was kicking him in the face.
SANDERS: (Indians pitcher) Tom Hilgendorf was standing next to me and somebody threw one of those folding chairs and bounced off Hilgendorf’s head.
BELL: Tom was really self-conscious about his combover. And one of the first things I saw was Hilgy holding his head, with his combover hanging down the front of his head. We laugh about the combover, but he could have been seriously hurt.
LEONARD: It was just bedlam. There wasn’t a whole heck of a lot we could do. We tried to contain the crowd. We might have been there about a half-hour, 40 minutes, before things started to calm down.
BOSMAN: You could tell order was not going to be restored. Pretty soon after Hilgy got hit, someone jumped out of the upper deck onto the foul screen and fell through. And we said, “We might as well go to the clubhouse.” So we retreated and sat there. You could hear it roaring out there. Word came down I guess about 45 minutes later that the game was forfeited.
HARGROVE: We got a police escort back to the hotel that night, and we were told to stay in our rooms until noon the next day, so we all went to bed hungry.
GRIEVE: They would have needed 500 security guards to get the field cleared. Nestor Chylak was so mad that we were walking through the tunnel, and he had his face mask and was slamming it on the light bulbs, smashing each one of them. He was just disgusted.
MCCOY: We tried to keep it from being over. Cleveland had been behind all night, and they had the bases loaded with one out. They had a chance to win the ballgame. Nestor made the
decision to call the game, and he made the right decision.
COUGHLIN: They couldn’t have resumed the game anyway. There were no bases. People had walked off with all of them.
GALLOWAY: The next day was a new ballgame. The crowd was fine. Everything was calm.
Clark: We went the next night, and there were 7,000 or 8,000. The crowd was like a recital, very subdued like they had to show folks they could behave.
Mercifully, there were no serious injuries, and only nine people were arrested. But the reaction, as expected, was disgust. Dave Anderson of The New York Times called it “the beer that made Cleveland infamous.” In the New York Daily News, Dick Young said, “They lure people into the park by offering a beer giveaway. So crowds go there to tank up, not to watch baseball. What do the Lords of Baseball expect?” “How utterly stupid,” wrote Wayne Minshew of The Atlanta Constitution “How insane. How disgusting.”
BONDA: My father thought it was a success. It got more fans than a typical Tuesday night. It’s not making you wealthy. It’s making payroll. My father was summoned to the league office in New York immediately. He argued like mad that it was a success, and they should be allowed to do it again.
There was one more 10-cent beer night, a month later against the Oakland Athletics. It drew an even bigger crowd than the one in June, for a pitching matchup between a pair of future Hall of Famers: Gaylord Perry for the Indians and Catfish Hunter for the A’s. Security was tripled. Fans were limited to two beers at 10 cents. “It was so quiet you could hear the foam breaking down in your cup,” Bob Sudyk wrote in the next day’s Cleveland Press.
DUANE KUIPER
IN 1974): All those guys had stories from that night. They said it was kind of bound to happen.
Everyone talked about it for a long time. There wasn’t one funny story. When you look at it now, it was a recipe for disaster.
There were two legendary forfeits in the 1970s, both because of, essentially, fan riots. One was 10cent beer night. The other was Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979. The Chicago White Sox held a promotion that night where fans would be admitted for 98 cents if they brought a disco album. The albums would be collected and detonated between games of a doubleheader. Comiskey Park was filled beyond its capacity, with crowd estimates as high as 60,000. By then, Milt Wilcox was with the Tigers, the visiting team that night. (Ironically, Chylak, at the time the American League supervisor of umpires, was in the stands that night, as well.)
GRIEVE: 10-cent beer night was a bad idea, but I don’t think anyone knew how bad it could be. I mean, we had it at our ballpark. Disco Demolition Night looked like a bad idea from the minute they came up with it.
WILCOX: We won the first game. I was scheduled to pitch the second game.
They were going to collect the albums, put them in a trailer they had out in the outfield and blow it up. They put in what they said was a small charge of dynamite. Well, it was too big a charge, and it
blew a hole in the field. I was out in the outfield warming up, and the concussion almost knocked me down, and people started streaming on the field. It was probably worse than 10-cent beer night. Cops were running on the field, the umpires were trying to get people off and they canceled the second game within a couple minutes. It was actually a little scary.
In the years since, 10-cent beer night has taken on a mythical sheen, and being there has become a badge of honor. NBC News legend Tim Russert, a student at John Carroll University in 1974, said he was there — and had a good time. “I went with two dollars in my pocket,” he says. “You do the math.” Drew Carey talked about how his friends bragged they were there. And eventually, in 2010, local brands started selling T-shirts.
VESLER (FOUNDER OF HOMAGE): In the early days, we didn’t have a license with MLB, so I tried to tell baseball stories without using the logos. To me, the T-shirt’s a storytelling canvas, and I always try to dig for things in a team’s history.
One of our first products was for the bean brawl game between the (Atlanta) Braves and (San Deigo) Padres in 1984. We did a shirt for the pine tar game between the (Kansas City) Royals and (New York) Yankees, and one of the bat burglaries (when Indians reliever Jason Grimsley stole one of outfielder Albert Belle’s bats, which had been confiscated).
We did one for 10-cent beer night, more to celebrate the absurdity of it, and not so much the outcome. It turned into a crazy seller. A fan wants something that’s a deep cut, below the surface of your typical logo. It’s a way for a fan to say, “I’m a true fan, and I know the history.”
BELL: We can kind of laugh about it because nobody got seriously hurt.
ADAMS: A lot of people have come up to me since to tell me they were there. Or their friend was there. Or their third cousin from a fourth marriage. There must have been 720,000 people there.
I watched it all unfold in front of me. It was the most bizarre game I’ve ever seen.
Neighborhoods are seeing an influx
This
New home construction opportunities offer sought-after, updated features for potential interested residents.
The Famicos Foundation is serving as a catalyst to help drive neighborhood growth through several projects. 9 UNION MILES
Progressive neighborhood involvement, local government commitment and planned strategies are promoting neighborhood growth.
Find out how K&D Group has been at the forefront of driving residential growth and lifestyle Downtown.
Learn how funding and a formal initiative will bring more housing and commercial development to maintain the legacy of the City of Cleveland’s middle neighborhoods. 19 ACTIVATING INVESTMENT BEYOND THE CIRCLE
An influx of investments and development in the neighborhoods surrounding University Circle is bringing even more opportunities to the community.
24 CLEVELAND NEIGHBORHOOD MAP
Grab a great book and head to Cleveland’s neighborhoods. You’ll find 10 don’t-miss spots to take in a good story in a great environment.
You can find something fun to do in every corner of Cleveland’s neighborhoods. Mark your calendar for attention-worthy events happening every season.
28 TAKE THE TRAILS
Whether you want to walk, run, bike or more you can find a great trail to meet your needs. Take a look at options that will get you started on the right path.
One University Circle offers a view that features University Circle and the growth around it.
Photo by Jeani Brechbill
Cleveland Public Library has 28 locations across the city serving over 260,000 library cardholders annually. We are home to the Ohio Center for the Book, Ohio Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, and CLEVNET library cooperation spanning 12 counties across Northeast Ohio.
Sign up for a Cleveland Public Library card today to enjoy FREE access to books, movies, and more! Apply in-person or at cpl.org
Locations are temporarily closed for reimagination Follow our progress at CPL.org/reimagine. Closures accurate as of May 1, 2024
Designed to promote an engaged lifestyle, this modern high rise attracts residents with shared interests and a health-and-wellness mindset.
FROM DR. SAMUDRAGUPTA BORA’S APARTMENT HOME IN ONE UNIVERSITY CIRCLE, he can step out on one of two balconies and take in an uninterrupted view across Wade Oval to the Cleveland Museum of Art, and from another vantage point, Lake Erie sunsets.
Dr. Bora is now founding director of Health Services Research Center at University Hospitals. He has lived across the States and all over the world. Dr. Bora maintains a gallery wall of all the places he has lived. Dr. Bora could move to any Cleveland community. At One University Circle, Dr. Bora found diversity, proximity to dining and the arts, a welcoming community and shared interests.
Developer Mitchell Schneider, founder and executive chairman of First Interstate Properties, says the property is about “embracing the eds, meds, culture and transportation” available in the Circle. One University Circle marked a milestone
in 2018 as the first high rise in the district in 40 years.
Aside from serving those who work in the Circle or close by, the property accommodates a growing market sector of suburban dwellers who might consider selling their home for an urban, culturecentered lifestyle.
Suites are about 20% larger than comparable apartment homes, ranging from 600-square-foot studios to homes topping 2,000. Property Manager Shana Centra says apartments, overall, are about 200 square feet more than similar properties.
Schneider says, “Because of the institutional life around it, we wanted the building to match the Circle’s offerings while offering a healthy place to live that supports a holistic lifestyle.”
— Kristen Hampshire
Mackenzie Persits wasn’t so sure about transferring from New York City to Cleveland for her husband’s internal medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic. But in 2021, Persits says pandemic life in a tiny studio was closing in on them. She is a visual content director for the New York Post, now working remotely.
The Persits moved to One University Circle sight unseen after a Zoom tour. Two days after unloading boxes, they adopted a Chocolate Lab. Now they also have a 16-month-old who loves strolls around the neighborhood. The couple often stops into nearby L’Albatros for French cuisine and brings the whole family (four-footed friend included) to the Brew Dog patio. Cent’s Pizza is also a favorite.
At home, they grill out at One University Circle weekly, relax poolside by the cabanas — and sometimes Persits works from the rooftop. “We love that they host regular activities,” she says, relating that the social environment has naturally led to new friends. KH
One University Circle was designed to enhance overall wellbeing. Windows are operable, allowing fresh air to flow indoors. Most units have at least one balcony. One University Circle is LEED Silver certified.
“The amount of glass in the building allows for natural light and exposure to the outdoors,” Developer Mitchell Schneider adds.
The fitness center and wellness studio will be complemented by a spa, which will feature a sauna and cold showers. Planned professional instructed classes are in the works in the 2800-square-foot fitness center, which is open 24/7. With health-andwellness amenities, plus an amenity deck and pool, residents can carve out important self-care time without the hassle of leaving home. KH
New-home construction opportunities with updated features are coming to Detroit-Shoreway.
UNTIL NOW IT WAS VERY RARE TO FIND A THREE-CAR GARAGE OFFERED WITH ANY NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. Even if you didn’t own three big vehicles, the extra storage was coveted for bikes, motorcycles and stuff your adult kids left behind. But now there is The Vantage.
“All five units of The Vantage have attached three-car garages,” says Ted Theophylactos, president of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services’ Ted & Co. team, and a self-proclaimed “car guy” who is loving that idea. “All homes have three bedrooms, and four of these units are 2,200 square feet and one is 2,400 feet. The buyers of these homes
need a little more square footage. Some will be empty-nesters coming from the suburbs, and they will have room here to put a college kid on the ground floor. Others will be those who lived in townhouses, but who want something a little different and bigger.”
All residences also feature outdoor space on the ground level. Theophylactos says he believes some residents prefer easy access from a living or dining area instead of a topfloor terrace.
“The Vantage is the right product for the times,” says Theophylactos, adding that unit prices are in the $700,000s and that this property still qualifies for the City of Cleveland’s former, full 15-year tax abatement.
Groundbreaking for The Vantage, located on Herman Avenue, is scheduled for summer 2024. Theophylactos describes the location as “a little more tucked away,” with “a mix of interesting retail and lakefront.”
— Jill SellTheophylactos also is excited about The Equinox, a nine-unit complex that may be move-in ready at the end of 2024 or early 2025. It’s the perfect year for this property’s sophisticated “shadow, light and eclipse” design concepts. The Equinox reflects this year’s obsession with the total solar eclipse in Cleveland. Its location provides a balance of vibrant city living and the serenity of the lakefront, according to Theophylactos. He also points to the property’s more affordable cost for such a desirable area. Units begin in the $470,000s, allowing a wider range of people to become part of the neighborhood’s fabric. JS
When completed, Edgewater South, another property listed by Theophylactos, will have only three townhome units. But good things come in small packages. Located at the top of Edgewater Hill and W. 74 Street, this complex’s exterior uses brick, corrugated steel and geometric designs to complement the neighborhood, but has its own striking personality. Ground is expected to be broken in 2025.
Unit 1 will be 1,816 square feet and is listed at $569,000. Unit 2 is 2,140 square feet and is priced at $674,900. Unit 3 is 1,816 square feet and lists at $569,900.
Located two miles west of Downtown Cleveland, Detroit-Shoreway is home to more than 90 small businesses and 50-plus galleries and artisans.
Gordon Square Arts District is a walkable adventure in the neighborhood’s center that includes unique cultural and dining opportunities. Highlights include: Capitol Theatre, an historic movie theater; Cleveland Public Theatre, a nationally recognized center for contemporary drama; Near West Theatre, a well-respected, community-based theater; and 78th Street Studios, a fascinating art and design complex with free gallery days.
And, as Theophylactos will tell you, residents of Detroit-Shoreway like to celebrate life. New residents won’t have to wait long for a unique festival or special neighborhood event to participate in and enjoy.
“I currently have 17 new homes being built in this neighborhood,” says Theophylactos. “And all the owners are going to be happy.” — JS
Famicos Foundation is an advocate for this neighborhood seeing growth.
GLENVILLE’S EAST BOULEVARD DISTRICT HAS BEEN ENTRENCHED IN HISTORY since the 1950’s and the early 1960’s. Reverand Isaiah Poke Jr. was pastor at St. Mark’s Church, Cleveland’s only all-African American Presbyterian Congregation. The head of the Cleveland NAACP, he was instrumental in the creation of the United Freedom Movement, a coalition of approximately 60 African American civic, religious, cultural and other groups opposing racism. His involvements brought him to the attention of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the NAACP; and James L. Farmer Jr., national chairperson of the Congress of Racial Equality.
Today, thanks in part to state and federal historic credits and the work of the Famicos Foundation, his historic church is being repurposed as St. Mark’s Community Center.
Famicos Foundation’s vision is a re-energized church building committed to the arts, education and the workforce where receptions spill over from the nearby Cleveland Cultural Gardens and alliances are created with neighboring University Circle institutions.
“We would love to have institutions help move this project forward, and we want this facility to represent the African American experience of that arts and culture district,” says Khalid Hawthorne, real estate development director of Famicos Foundation.
— Myra Orenstein
On a four-acre parcel at the intersection of MLK Boulevard and St. Clair Avenue lies the African American Cultural Gardens with a monument representative of the African American Experience’s past, present and future.
With land acquired on October 23, 1977, Phase One of the monument, designed by Cleveland architect W. Daniel Bickerstaff, was completed in 2016 and depicts the Door of No Return and the Corridor of No Return, each commemorating the transatlantic slave trade. Today, a $4 million fundraising effort is underway for the creation of a 60-inch platform depicting the emergence of this community.
“This monument represents the people of this country — their pride and resilience. It features descending waters indicating the journey and emerging waters representing our future,” explains Lavita Ewing, Association of African American Cultural Gardens board member and development chairperson.
“The North Star represents our ancestors coming to this new land. They followed that star, in search of opportunity. Water plays an important role in our culture. Here, students and the general public will learn how each phase of life contributes to our future.” MO
Cleveland Heights native Jeremy McBryde (aka the “Flava Finess’a”) left town over 15 years ago for Los Angeles, ultimately opening Comfort LA and Flava Neighborhood. These successful restaurants were recognized by Forbes, the LA Times, LA Weekly, Thrillist, Yelp Beyonce’s list, Kevin Hart, LeBron James and more. McBryde made his mark on Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” and judged some of its competitions.
“I was a west coast transplant in need of creation of a space that felt like family,” McBryde says. He was stocked with family recipes that felt like home. Maw Maw’s candied yams, Granny’s banana pudding and Cousin Kina’s mac-and-cheese all were reminiscent of his Cleveland roots. Famicos provided the enticement for his return.
Today, McBryde’s Comfort CLE is “a family reunion every time you come here,” he says. Communal seating places guests with people they know and soon-to-be-friends.
Comfort CLE, based on its LA counterpart and Flava Neighbor (a restaurant development house open on days when Comfort CLE is nonoperational) were started with Partner and Chef Renard Shanklin. MO
Union Miles is growing through a combination of progressive neighborhood involvement, local government commitment and planned strategies.
WHILE DEVELOPING A SITE FOR PROMOTING THE EFFECTS OF URBAN AGRICULTURE IS A KEY COMPONENT of the Walter Collins Veterans Homes at Harvard Avenue east of East East 93rd Street, this $3 million development required a brain-trust made up of participants from the Union Miles Development Corporation (UMDC), Ward Two City Councilperson Kevin L. Bishop, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Cuyahoga County, the State of Ohio, the City of Cleveland, CHN Housing Partners, City Architecture and Rid-All Green Partnership.
The result is a community of 11, twobedroom, one-bath, 1,000-square-foot singlefamily homes built to provide affordable housing for male and female veterans in southeast Cleveland, many of whom have unmet housing needs. To qualify, prospective
tenants will undergo an intake process through the local Veterans Administration.
Rid-All Green Partnership will engage the veterans through interactive programming onsite, teaching best practices for successful urban agriculture and promote healthy living and providing actionable stability for these veterans.
— Myra Orenstein
Keep your eyes open as Mount Pleasant, Union Miles and Lee Harvard neighborhoods undergo major transformations thanks in great part to $15 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
By allocating $5 million to the neighborhoods (at press time, exact amounts distributed to each of the three neighborhoods were still to be determined), Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb is earmarking funding for residential home repair and rehabilitation, commercial corridor improvements and public and green space.
Bibb has also engaged Cleveland native and Harvard Divinity School Graduate Marvin Owens as senior strategist tasked with bringing City resources and external funding
to these three targeted neighborhoods. Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Cuyahoga Land Bank and Community Housing Solutions will be working with Owens and Union Miles Development Corporation on program implementation.
Bibb has promised to dedicate funding to Black, underserved neighborhoods earmarked for storefront improvements. Its White Box Program revitalizes occupied as well as vacant buildings to their original/ clean state. Its acquisition and stabilization program will encourage potential investors to acquire and repurpose existing properties. And its green space/public ground funds will further establish pocket parks, parking facilities and art projects. MO
A master plan is in development stages. In the Union Miles retail corridor, an initiative set forth by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, UMDC and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress focuses on areas including East 93rd Street, Kinsman, Union Miles and Mt. Pleasant neighborhoods.
While external changes may be the most noticeable in the Union Miles neighborhood, internally a major expansion is taking place. The Union Miles Development Corp. service area footprint has expanded to include the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood.
The CDC will serve as a catalyst that will align the neighborhoods, creating a larger engaged community that can mean more voices and progress.
With this new change comes a new brand for Union Miles Development Corp. Three neighborhood community sessions were held in the neighborhood with over 200 neighborhood residents’ input to assist in creating a new name for UMDC. MO
K&D takes its role as a steward of seriously.By Jill Sell
Adecade ago, the K&D Group was transforming the 21-story East Ohio Gas Building (the first all-glass structure in Downtown Cleveland) into the upscale Residences at 1717. Karen Fanger, president and COO of K&D Group in Willoughby, has always been a hands-on real estate owner, especially with regards to design and decorating. “Our properties must be warm and welcoming from the lobby to the suite. Each building has its own feel,” says Fanger.
For 1717, she envisioned carpeting that featured small flames, a nod to the building’s proud history. “Unfortunately, the designer first sent sketches that looked like Harley-Davidson flames. I was thinking more like a small pilot light,” says Fanger, referring to the company’s long tradition of supplying gas for furnaces and appliances to homes and businesses. “We did get that corrected. But in every renovation we do, we try to honor the historical contents of that property.”
Those decisions — large and small — have taken a lot of thought since K&D was
city living
founded in 1984 by Fanger and CEO Douglas Price. Today the company owns 40 properties and manages about 10,000 residential units.
“We own probably 35% of the Downtown market,” says Price. “We are sort of at the point where we don’t want to get much bigger. But looking at future expansion means we may go back to buying buildings again, probably on the West Side.”
With 2 ½ million square feet of commercial space in Downtown Cleveland, K&D is “the largest commercial landlord in Downtown,” according to Price. Commercial real estate makes up a third of the business’ portfolio, which also includes 15 buildings designated for senior living.
“We are very proud of what we do in the area. We provide the very best product. And we are moderately priced. We aren’t the most expensive in any of our markets. But we have touched a huge part of Northeast Ohio’s population and will continue to do so,” says Price, who has been vocal in advocating for development incentives in the area.
K&D’s ownership list is long and impressive, including Reserve Square, The Residences at 668, Residences at Halle, The Residences at Hanna, Residences at Leader and other projects. Both Fanger and Price agree, however, that their hand in creating The Terminal Tower Residences was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to breathe life back into what is Cleveland’s most iconic building. And it was challenging. K&D owns The Terminal Tower, but not Tower City Center, so as Price says, “there were lots of things to get around creating residences from the 15th floor and down.” By the end of June 2024, K&D will know whether the third try to get state historic tax credits for the proposed renovation of the former United Church of Christ headquarters (recently known as the 700 Prospect Avenue building) will be successful. It’s been frustrating for Price, who is ready to go on the project, and says the state needs to dedicate more funding to the tax credits and revise its award process.
We are very proud of what we do in the area. We provide the very best product. And we are moderately priced. We aren’t the most expensive in any of our markets.”
— K&D CEO, DOUGLAS PRICE
Over 40 years of making you feel at
Reserve Square Residences at 55 The Residences at 668 Residences at 1717 Residences at Halle The Residences at Hanna Residences at Leader Stonebridge Waterfront The Terminal Tower Residences
K&D has it all. Be close to the action, close to home in our Downtown Cleveland communities. Located near the popular Warehouse, Gateway, and Playhouse Square Districts and public transportation, entertainment and dining options abound right outside your door. Rooftop patios, fitness centers, restaurants, community rooms, attached parking, in-suite washers and dryers... our on-site amenities make everyday living a breeze.
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“Ohio, and especially Cleveland, has been a leader in historic restorations and we have done most of them. We are a national leader in converting office buildings and now it’s getting tougher. We don’t want to lose our leadership on this,” says Price, adding that the project will also offer a significant percent of affordable housing.
Fanger said K&D usually has another project in the wings, but likes to complete a major project before moving on to the next. However, delays in obtaining the necessary tax credits for 700 have caused us to delay moving forward.
“As far as what’s next, our eyes are always open, and we are always looking,” says Fanger. “I look at this as an opportunity to do things within the company. There are always internal improvements such as processes or software enhancements you can improve or change. So, when you have time like this, you take advantage of it.”
There is never a problem finding K&D building residents who like to talk about where they live.
“I can sit in my living room, look out my window and see huge bridges and ships coming through all day,” says Cleveland resident John Stursa, who lives in the Stonebridge Waterfront complex, alongside the historic Superior Viaduct in The Flats. “I call the view my life-size screen saver. It’s the same cool view they show all the time on television.”
Stursa has been living at Stonebridge for almost three years. Initially he and his roommate were interested in the building because it was a dog-friendly property.
“We also wanted to make sure we could take the dog for a walk and Heritage Park is close, they just re-did it, and it’s a nice little area,” says Stursa. “The dog was a major reason we chose Stonebridge, but I also
I can sit in my living room, look out my window and see huge bridges and ships coming through all day. I call the view my life-size screen saver.”
STONEBRIDGE WATERFRONT RESIDENT, JOHN STURSA
looked around at other places and Stonebridge was just cool.”
Stursa says he is grateful that the nearby and historic Center Street Swing Bridge over the Cuyahoga River opened last fall after several years of rehab work. That gives him easy access to restaurants and entertainment venues.
“I even like walking to Cavs and Guardians games. It’s so easy. We make our way into Tower City and then you are inside for the rest of your walk,” says Stursa. “And you can get last-minute, inexpensive tickets because we don’t really have to plan far ahead. We can be there in 10 minutes.”
Besides its convenient location, Stursa appreciates Stonebridge’s ability to respond to
any request for maintenance work “either the same day or the next.”
Stursa is director of marketing and operations for Underdogs, a marketing agency. He is also co-owner of “I’m From Cleveland,” a media outlet that focuses on positively promoting Cleveland’s culture, including music, fashion and sports. When Stursa proudly wears his “I’m From Cleveland” trademarked apparel, that includes Stonebridge. ***
Dean Frederick is an accountant who works Downtown and lives in the new Residences at 55, near Public Square and the Warehouse District. After graduating from John Carroll University with a master’s degree in 2022, Frederick was ready to live on his own for the first time.
“The 55 building couldn’t have worked out any better for me,” says Frederick. “I looked at other places around Cleveland, like Tremont, but they have the same pricing as living Downtown. When this came up, I couldn’t jump on it faster. It’s just the perfect spot for me. I like to walk and it’s in the middle of everything.”
Frederick appreciates “the fantastic security guards” at 55 and being able to always feel comfortable. He also gives a thumbs up to the outside patio where he can “go watch a sunset,” as well as 55’s community room where he enjoys studying.
“I’ve never had an issue with anything at all here,” says Frederick. “If I do put in a ticket (for maintenance), I’ll go to work, come home, and see a note on my counter that says everything is good to go.”
Frederick also likes his unit’s open floor plan because he likes to cook and entertain. An island allows him to “see into the living room” from his “perfect kitchen.”
“I told everyone that I am going to paint everything in my future homes the same colors. I like it that much,” he says.
Middle neighborhoods on the fringe of inner-ring suburbs are essential to life in America.”
DANNETTE DAVIS
Accessible housing, walkable communities, local businesses and a legacy of families who desire to stay in the city are hallmarks of Cleveland middle neighborhoods. Now funding and a formal initiative will help restore housing and commercial development to sustain the legacy.
They’re stable, sustainable and can offer a city lifestyle. They aren’t the most or least invested neighborhoods — they’re in the middle and accessible urban, walkable communities. Middle Neighborhoods on the fringe of the inner ring are in an opportune position to attract homeowners and business.
BY KRIST E N H A MPSHIRE“These are walkable places in the city where residents can afford to live, and they have other choices,” says Tania Menesse, president and CEO, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP).
These are longtime, family-centric areas in Cleveland with single-family homes, mom-and-pop businesses and generations who have stayed. They’re often legacy neighborhoods. While there hasn’t been a lot of change, this also means evolution and preservation is essential.
“The middle neighborhood is essential for keeping the balance because if there is only low-income or high-income, where is there to grow?” says Dannette Davis, the City of Cleveland’s Middle Neighborhood project director.
Davis relates. She grew up on Cleveland’s southeast side and remembers thinking as a girl, “I’m going to get a job and buy a nice house with a big back yard in Collinwood or Glenville,” she says, remarking that middle neighborhoods on the fringe of inner-ring suburbs are “essential to life in America.”
In August 2023, Cleveland City Council approved a middle neighborhoods effort, earmarking $7.3 million of federal revenue recovery funding it received combined with an additional $3-million pledge from the state. CNP has also secured investments from philanthropic partners including Rocket Community Fund.
The initiative targets four neighborhoods: Old Brooklyn, Jefferson-Puritas West Park, Collinwood-Nottingham and North Shore Collinwood, and Lee-Harvard. Funds will rehabilitate 200 homes overall and roughly six commercial investments per neighborhood, says Briana Perry, CNP’s senior vice president of equitable neighborhood revitalization.
Menesse adds, “These are longtime Cleveland neighborhoods with mature trees, parks and sidewalks — amenities people often associate with suburbs.”
The Middle Neighborhoods initiative is a growing national movement to address the long-term viability of cities where there is a trend of eroding homeownership, predatory investors and aging buildings. But these communities are in prime locations, offer housing within reach, are typically diverse and offer conveniences.
There’s an attractive lifestyle ready to go with some rehab investment that the Middle Initiative aims to achieve.
“Middle neighborhoods share three things in common,” says Bryan Gillooly, executive director, Jefferson-Puritas West Park CDC. “One is relative stability with the threat for instability, and we maintain our population. We are not experiencing complete disinvestment or flight. We also have a lot of diversity.”
This is true across middle neighborhoods, but each community has different nuances.
There is untapped opportunity in middle neighborhoods to trigger a chain reaction of rehabilitation, investment and home ownership. It’s city life and family-centric, close to the city core and features numerous assets and urban living amenities.
“We believe with some really targeted intervention in specific areas of these neighborhoods, we can move the market,” Menesse says, adding that middle neighborhoods “are almost market ready.” If a half-dozen rehabilitated homes can lift appraisals and generate real estate comparables, existing homeowners will realize equity, families will stay in the city and new residents will move in.
Perry says, “Buyers have opportunities to choose suburbs where they can get a home office, a fourth bedroom, another bathroom or a
finished attic. We’re focusing on how our investments can make middle neighborhood houses more competitive.”
There’s the housing piece, which includes working with existing property owners and enlisting in local contractors to update and breathe new life into about 10 homes per target neighborhood per year for the next three and a half years. Partnering CDCs have additional development initiatives, Perry adds.
The commercial investment piece involves white box efforts to create a blank canvas in business real estate with electrical, HVAC, utilities and dry wall to bring spaces up to code.
“We will also work with commercial property owners
on signage improvements and storefront renovations,” Perry says of additional grants, noting a goal to draw new tenants and more traffic.
Sustaining walkable commercial corridors and providing opportunities for in-demand services and retail is essential for maintaining middle neighborhood stability. “If you have no economic center and people have to travel to get their resources, what reason would they have to stay?” Davis asks.
Already, Cleveland’s middle neighborhoods have a solid foundation of commercial business. For instance, Lee Harvard Shopping Center is 90% occupied, says Elaine Gohlstin, president and CEO of the Harvard Community Services Center.
“That is a lot we can hang our hat on, but we need a new look and to give our businesses dollars to repurpose their businesses so they continue to stay in the community,” Gohlstin adds.
An infusion of middle neighborhood investment is designed to secure a vital future and provide access to homeownership and a desirable city lifestyle.
Here is what’s underway and on the development docket in Cleveland’s four target middle neighborhoods. The hope is to prove success and repeat the model in other middles.
We believe with some really targeted intervention in specific areas of these neighborhoods, we can move the market.”
The area known as Jefferson Park stretches from Lorain Avenue and will be a focal point for middle neighborhoods investment, Gillooly says. There are two home rehabilitation projects underway with a goal of 10 this year, and projects might include adding another bedroom or bathroom and general rehabilitation.
“By using grant money to complete these projects, neighbors’ home values will increase and then they will have the equity to redo their own kitchens and bathrooms,” he says. “It raises market value, overall.”
Proximity to the playground and green space at Jefferson Park, easy access to
Lorain Avenue and connectivity to nearby Kamm’s Corners makes the targeted corridor ideal for stimulating investment throughout JeffersonPuritas West Park.
Additionally, the neighborhood CDC partners with the Home Repair Resource Center (HRRC) to offer home repair workshops to residents at no cost.
“We’re trying to push beyond home maintenance and are looking forward to initiatives through CNP, the city and all the middle neighborhoods,” Gillooly says, adding that white box improvements to commercial properties will provide opportunities for local businesses.
The CDC in conjunction with West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development will conduct
a market study for the Lorain Avenue commercial corridor to find out what types of businesses residents feel the community was lacking and will support. “We want to attract the right things,” Gillooly says. “Are there offerings that should be available to our residents that they can afford and are probably driving out of the neighborhood to access?”
“The study will help guide us as to what types of businesses or neighborhood residents, combined with visiting traffic and traffic passing through,
Middle neighborhood means we want to go up, not down,” says Elaine Gohlstin, who lives in the community and raised her children in what is called “the suburb in the city” and has one of the highest home ownership rates in Cleveland.
could economically support,” Gillooly says. “Of all the commercial offerings our neighborhoods want and need, which ones can we feasibly sustain?”
This type of deep-dive community engagement is how long-term revitalization continues an ongoing tradition of staying in and supporting the neighborhood.
This community has a great legacy as a middle-class neighborhood, and we want that legacy to stand.” ELAINE GOHLSTIN
“This community has a great legacy as a middle-class neighborhood, and we want that legacy to stand,” Gohlstin says, relating that generations continue to call Lee-Harvard home. Houses are passed on to children, grandchildren and so on.
“We are working on vacant and abandoned houses, and we work with local contractors who live in the community and are interested in rehabbing them to sell at a modest rate,”
she says, envisioning the middle neighborhoods initiative as a pathway for first-time homebuyers and young families to stay in the city.
The city identified the 14acre previous site of the John F. Kennedy High School and 3.1-acre Gracemount site, a former school, as development opportunities for mixed-use space such as affordable housing and businesses that support the Lee-Harvard Community Plan.
Gohlstin says she is encouraged by widespread participation during five townhall meetings to gather feedback on what neighbors want to see from these sites. Each drew about 200 community members. They agreed, “We want to see some open, outdoor space where people can gather.”
Because of North Shore Collinwood’s lakefront location, proximity to University Circle, Downtown and Lake County, “We have seen a migration of folks from the inner ring, and I’m very happy about that,” says Councilman Michael Polensek, representing Ward 8.
The neighborhood is home to four longstanding Catholic churches — the only neighborhood where one did not close — along with a base of schools; two miles of lakefront beaches; three Metroparks, including Euclid Beach, Villa Angela and Wildwood; and a connector bike path coming online that will connect the three Metroparks.
“We have all this potential,” Polensek says, adding that code enforcement is essential to stabilization.
Polensek, as the “dean” of city council and longest-serving member since 1978, has been engaged in four decades of various redevelopment initiatives, and now middle neighborhoods. He says he hopes the program will help “build a foundation of homeownership,” where residents become stakeholders and work to help stabilize communities.
Necessary steps: shoring up unpaid property taxes, preventing teardowns and promoting quality of life necessities including public safety, along with leveraging middle neighborhood investments.
Developers are taking interest in the neighborhood, such as Rebuild Cleveland’s Seth Task, who also leads a team at Berkshire Hathaway. Habitat for Humanity is applying for permits to construct 10 modular ranch homes here.
Polensek is passionate about his ward, which encompasses Collinwood Nottingham to the south, North Shore Collinwood, Collinwood Village and the eastern section of Glenville. Mortgage assistance and gap financing has been on his radar to create a market. “Our parents owned homes here. Our grandparents owned homes here.” He wants this to continue. “I’ve never lived anywhere else," he says. I am supportive in any way possible.”
Historic stability is a hallmark of Old Brooklyn, says Lucas Reeve, executive director of the neighborhood CDC. “We have done a lot of work to intervene with aging housing stock and condition of homes,” he says, relaying a concerted effort to prevent “bulk buying groups” and predatory investors from buying up homes to rent out.
“We try to overinvest in those homes, and once fully rehabbed, they are naturally occurring affordable housing for families who benefit from home ownership,” Reeve says, noting the CDC has taken on a “fair amount” of those projects during the last few years.
Old Brooklyn CDC also offers home buyer workshops and through partners, access lending programs that provide down payment assistance and educational resources.
With the middle neighborhoods effort and CNP partnership, Reeve says those investments will push improvement at “the higher end” of the neighborhood to drive up housing values while modernizing housing stock for modern buyers.
This translates to a second bathroom, office space and offering at least three bedrooms in single-family homes. Outdoor space is a priority, too. “By us investing in the bottom end of the market to combat predatory investors
and at the top end to drive comps and bring folks into the neighborhood, we can continue stabilizing this area and compete against surrounding suburbs,” Reeve says.
As part of the middle neighborhoods’ commercial corridor investments, Old Brooklyn CDC will help facilitate grant funding through a match program. “For every dollar a commercial property owner puts toward improvements, we will match those funds to help make upgrades possible so a new business can come in and sign a lease,” Reeve says. “This helps support property owners so those investments aren’t all out-of-pocket.”
Reeve emphasizes that the over-arching goal is sustainable stability in the neighborhood. He says, “We want to be inclusive and bring new people into the neighborhood, new businesses and create pathways to home ownership.”
A flurry of investment & development in neighborhoods surrounding University Circle are creating more work-life-stay opportunities with access to meds, eds and culture.BY KRISTEN HAMPSHIRE
The energy surrounding University Circle in the form of new housing, retail options and mixed-use space is fueling livework-stay opportunities in surrounding neighborhoods.
Within the corridors adjacent to Cleveland’s center for eds, meds and culture, there are a range of projects led by area community development corporations (CDCs).
“We are thrilled to see a number of investments,” says Elise Yablonsky, chief place management officer at University Circle Inc.
In the Circle proper, Yablonsky points to the Circle Square project that includes The Artisan on Chester Avenue with 298 units and Library Lofts on Euclid Avenue with 207 units.
Meanwhile, a new Martin Luther King Jr. Library branch is also due to open this summer, while the future Circle Square with 66,000 square feet of retail and about 300 residential units by Midwest Development Partners is underway.
Stokes West will offer 255 apartments and eight townhomes developed by ACRE via a ground lease with University Circle Inc., Yablonsky adds.
Groundwork is in play to complete a master plan to chart
a course for streetscapes and public spaces, Yablonsky adds, relating a goal to connect the Circle’s institutional assets to commercial developments.
She emphasizes the Greater University Circle Initiative, a legacy of The Cleveland Foundation, to encourage and fund initiatives linking the Circle and surrounding neighborhoods. “It’s part of an ongoing effort to facilitate and support institutions in buying, hiring and living local,” she says.
University Circle Inc. President Kate Borders underscores the symbiotic relationship between strong, growing surrounding neighborhoods and vitality in the Circle to generate a positive ripple effect.
“We think this is a world-class neighborhood and that is because of everything within the Circle and the neighborhoods surrounding us,” she says.
Now is a tipping point. “We have been master planning for years and what people are seeing now is the culmination of that,” says Denise VanLeer, executive director, Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation.
Innovation Square is a shining example that catalyzed real estate development in Fairfax with a completed greenspace called Playwright Park, a new Meijer Fairfax Market and housing at The Aura.
Meanwhile, Cuyahoga Land Bank’s extensive Circle East and Circle North initiatives build off of nearby amenities, says Dennis Roberts, its director of real estate development.
Learn about what’s happening in these neighborhoods.
Focused on transformation, Frontline Development Group does more than construct buildings. “We want to build community,” says Sheila Wright, president and managing partner of Frontline Development Group, which she launched in 2017, and then with the City of Cleveland entered into an agreement to acquire about 5 acres of land in the Hough neighborhood.
Today, its Allen Estates project at historic League Park is designed as a mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood of 300 housing units — modern residences, brownstones and midrise apartments with commercial tenants at ground level. The project spans along East 65th Street from Linwood to Wade Park and the East 66th Street corridor connecting to the Cleveland Foundation’s headquarters and the new Cleveland Public Library branch.
“Most of my life in Cleveland, I’ve heard people talk about the
need for investment on the east and south sides, and it’s happening,” Wright says. “With support, investment and attention, there is an explosion of activity.”
Wright says the level of economic activity in progress is “not the normal course” and instead represents “an injection of investment we are seeing play out.”
Gordon Crossing at the southwest corner of East 101st Street and Woodward Avenue will include a three-story building with 54 (46 of those secured by the low-income housing tax credit) apartments in the Newton Avenue Historic District in partnership with Frontline Development Group and Woda Cooper Companies. There is also a project by Famicos Foundation called Henrietta Homes, coming online this summer.
Khalid Hawthorne, the organization’s real estate development director, says vacant lots in Hough offer an avenue to “kickstart development and provide
accessible price points.” Famicos Foundation has been rooted in the Hough community for more than 50 years, providing services from neighborhood revitalization to social services and affordable housing solutions.
He points to other important Hough projects: Innova Apartments in the southeast corridor, Axis at Ansel and The Lumos. The Inspiron Group of Cleveland is building the 131-unit Addis View apartments with up to four phases amounting to 400-plus apartments planned. Marous Development Group is planning for a 127-unit building at East 82nd Street and Chester Avenue.
In nearby Glenville on the corner of East 105th Street and
We want to build community.”
Superior — once referred to as The Gold Coast — Famicos Foundation has been rehabilitating its large homes. “The last one we sold on East Boulevard went to someone who moved from Cleveland to Washington, D.C. and back to Cleveland,” Hawthorne relates. “The house next door had been abandoned and because they saw what we were doing, it sold and is now being rehabbed.”
Famicos is also preserving Glenville’s St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church with plants to create a multi-purpose community center. Residents can feel the momentum, he adds. “They are seeing that development is happening and it’s optimistic for the future of their neighborhood.”
Innovation Square in Fairfax offers a spectrum of housing options including mixed-income multifamily units, single-family homes for sale and rental townhomes. The Fairfax Meijer Market “is huge,” says VanLeer, noting that residents have wanted a grocer in the neighborhood for years. The urban concept store includes products from more than 150 local businesses and employs workers from close by.
VanLeer emphasizes a proud history in Fairfax. “There are
families who have lived here for four or five generations,” she says. “Even when people move away, they come back.”
Every year, a Fairfax reunion draws people from all over the country, she adds. “We are in a great location between University Circle and downtown Cleveland,” she says, adding that Opportunity Corridor has played a catalytic role. “It all works together.”
Also in Innovation Square, Knez Homes is constructing 62 single-family homes. “We are also working on a 100% affordable building that is projected to break ground at the first quarter of next year as a low-income, tax credit project,” VanLeer says.
Meanwhile, on East 89th Street, where some large Victorian homes that could not be maintained were torn down, large Victorian-looking structures are
replacing the homes; they will be apartments. The apartments will resemble the historic architecture the area is known for, VanLeer says. The $10.5 million East 89th Rising Hous-
ing Development is planned by Timothy Tramble, president of We Rise Development and president and CEO of the Saint Luke’s Foundation. He is also a Fairfax resident.
There are families who have lived here for four or five generations. Even when people move away, they come back.”
In an area including Cleveland’s eastern gateway to University Circle and East Cleveland, the Cuyahoga Land Bank is leading a $122 million redevelopment plan that will consist of more than 200 homes to jumpstart transformational development with an estimated economic impact of $60 million in new property value — and aside from additional income and tax benefits, an expected 610 construction jobs will be created.
A commercial building will anchor the district, and Circle East includes a “heavy emphasis on sustainability,” Dennis Roberts, director of real estate development at Cuyahoga Land Bank, says, pointing to rooftop solar power to reduce energy bills, greenspaces and EV chargers.
Roberts says Circle East will become “an entirely new neighborhood” within a 30acre footprint including 18 parcels on Euclid Avenue. “We think that is ideal for commercial redevelopment, retail and amenities,” he says, adding the five-year plan comes after two studies conducted in 2015 by Case Western Reserve University and in 2020 by Cleveland State University. “This is an ideal place to strategically develop to spur further investment.”
Circle North, an area just north of Circle East District, is another location where the Land Bank is heavily engaged in development. Some Land Bank initiatives include building new homes — completed residences
on East 116th Street and Ashbury Road, and three in-progress on Beulah Avenue. “Our strategy at the Land Bank is to find neighborhoods that need government intervention, and we believe with the investment of our time, talent and treasure we can tip that community and get it into a good place to create a market,” Roberts says.
We endeavor to build the city of the future, and if you are going to build new homes, they should be inspirational and something other cities will aspire to.”
− Dennis Roberts
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Since 2009, the Cuyahoga Land Bank has set out to reactivate and repurpose vacant, blighted, neglected and tax-delinquent properties in the county. It acquires the land, stabilizes properties through renovations or newhome construction, sells them to private owners and strategizes for short- and long-term economic development.
None of this happens alone. The Land Bank collaborates with agencies, public officials, community development corporations, private developers and other social service organizations.
Regarding the Circle East initiative, “Nothing of this scale has been developed in a
lifetime in this neighborhood,” says Dennis Roberts, director of real estate development. Groundbreaking is slated for fall 2024 for the five-year, $122 million plan.
The Land Bank is catalyzing other new marketed growth, too. For example, they will use their recent $10 million ARPA grant from the City of Cleveland
Nothing of this scale has been developed in a lifetime in this
across various wards to build quality affordable housing.
Homebuyer education is another Land Bank priority. They do this through their nonprofit brokerage, Realty Reimagined, which provides a variety of resources and courses, included pre-approval clinics and post-purchase classes where buyers learn about maintenance,
insurance and how to become an engaged community member among other topics.
Roberts adds, “We help people with credit challenges or who are new to the homebuying process, and we are actively building a pipeline of buyers to take advantage of the development opportunities coming online.”
Discover the Top 10 places to immerse yourself in a book in the city.
7. 1.
1. 10.
Whiskey Island DOWNTOWN
If you know, you know. This gem of a location offers 32 acres of urban greenspace with lakefront views. There’s always a good vibe in this beachy environment. Grab your favorite book and enjoy the sunshine (or the shade). Every once in a while, be sure to look back at Downtown to enjoy the unique vantage point from Whiskey Island.
Eastman Reading Garden DOWNTOWN 2.
It’s an obvious choice — go the library, right? Well, Cleveland Public Library’s main branch Downtown provides the Eastman Reading Garden, a quaint outdoor space nestled in between its two buildings. Bring your own book or borrow one from the library.
3.
West Side Market OHIO CITY
City life comes with a basic level of hustle and bustle. This holds true for the West Side Market, an iconic institution that exemplifies Cleveland. You’ll see all walks of life and catch the many scents and smells synonymous with a culture-filled public market. Elevate to the mezzanine level and have a seat with a good read. The shoppers provide a nice white noise as you sink into your chosen script.
Creek Falls SLAVIC VILLAGE/ UNION MILES
A waterfall lends its own kind of crescendo. Mill Creek Falls sits near the border of Union Miles and Slavic Village. The ever-flowing gush of water dropping 48 feet can sooth the mind and allow for this tuckedaway park in the city to be a fantastic reading location.
As far as parks go, this one is top notch. Cleveland’s Cultural Gardens honors our region’s ethnic diversity. It also provides a beautiful backdrop for a reader seeking some serenity. Pick any one of the official 35 gardens and start flipping some pages.
Camp Cleveland TREMONT 9. 8. 7. 6.
This stretch of Towpath Trail in Tremont offers a great reading spot. Located at the northern end of West 10th Street in the neighborhood, Camp Cleveland is a cute little park with swinging benches overlooking the Cuyahoga River and providing sweeping skyline views. The location honors the largest of Cleveland’s six Civil War training camps for the Union. Get comfortable and start reading — and be prepared to say hello to a few friendly walkers and cyclists also enjoying the trail.
Edgewater Park EDGEWATER
Cleveland favorite lakefront park (it’s actually a tie with Euclid Beach in Collinwood) just begs for you to visit with a good book. Manicured greenspace, beautiful scenery, sparkling waves and a refreshing breeze off the Lake all add up to one incredible book-reading experience. With park benches, huge trees, pavilion space, a beach house and, of course, the beach spread across 147 acres, there is no shortage of places for you to settle in.
Nord Family Greenway UNIVERSITY CIRCLE/HOUGH
Beginning on the grounds of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Nord Family Greenway connects University Circle to the Cleveland Clinic campus. The gorgeous parkway provides a multi-level experience worthy of the city’s finest institutions that surround it. Grab a bench seat or bring a blanket and get comfortable.
Waterloo Plaza
Who doesn’t love an arts district? At the corner of Waterloo Road and East 156th Street sits a modest little plaza that provides 360 degree views of the Waterloo Arts & Entertainment District. Complete with outdoor furniture, nearby galleries and coffee shop and the world-famous Beachland Ballroom just down the street, you are bound to get all the urban neighborhood feels while taking in a few chapters of your favorite novel.
Tucked behind a CMSD preK-8 school, the Ben Franklin Community Garden is a unique retreat within the densely populated Old Brooklyn neighborhood. This garden holds over 200 plots for resident gardeners, a small stage for performers, a garden house and some seating options. With book in hand, you’ll smell the flowers, appreciate the volume of fruits and vegetables being harvested in the county’s largest community garden, and get welcomed by the smiling faces of neighbors tending their plots.
Learn how you can experience the city’s energy during every season.
By Jill SellCLEVELANDERS LOVE TRADITION and loyally support annual events all year-round. Every month has a parade, festival or celebration that gets bigger and better each year. (Dates listed are for 2024 unless noted.)
Summer is peak outdoor festival time. Parade the Circle (June 8) celebrates cultures, art and fantasy in its own unique way. A non-commercial parade with bigger-thanlife puppets, outrageously gorgeous costumes and always a few quirky surprises, begins at 12:00 pm (noon) at the north entrance of the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) and turns University Circle into a wild dream. Sponsored by LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, Pride in the CLE
(June 1) begins at Public Square. Marchers gather at Mall B and C for the Pride Festival with its health and wellness, village, live entertainment, food trucks and vendors, community resources, job boards, activist opportunities and more. Lots of banners and lots of encouragement to “come as your real self.”
The nationally recognized Tri-C JazzFest (June 20-22) features nearly 500 artists from Africa, New Orleans and your own Cleveland neighborhood performing in indoor and outdoor concerts. Check out the street performers, shopping and the refreshment tent at this year’s 45th festival.
(September 21) can trace its roots to 1989. Now one of the top 10 single-day regattas in the United States, this competition leaves many other cities in its wake.
Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 through October 15) is a constant blur of bright colors, happy sounds, fantastic murals and cultural activities involving several neighborhoods, institutions and businesses.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo presents two late summer/fall events that are family favorites. The Asian Lantern Festival features large-scale lantern displays, culturally inspired cuisine and interactive and themed areas. One of Cleveland’s best after-dark activities, it celebrates its 7th year in 2024. Boo at the Zoo in October is the place for trick-or-treating, movies and a great opportunity to wear that tiger costume.
Brite Winter (February 22, 2025) is one of the region’s fastest growing annual celebrations. A wide variety of Northeast Ohio musicians, artists, street performers and others dare you to come outside and enjoy Cleveland’s creative side. And that’s despite any lake-effect snow, chill factor, hail or freezing rain.
The “monsters” look like a cross between a Shaggy Dog standing on two legs and a Yeti wearing a red and white tie. The costumed characters are a little hard to explain, but everyone loves them and appreciates that they scare away winter and welcome spring. The 13th Annual Cleveland Kurentovanje (March 1, 2025) is celebrated at the Slovenian National Home and with a parade through the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood.
Cleveland’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is technically in winter by the calendar, but we always pretend it is the start of spring. Held, of course, on March 17 every year, the parade is one of the best and biggest of its kind in the country. The first Cleveland parade we know of was held in 1842. Lots of honor guards, pipes and drums corps, Irish dance schools, voluntary infantry, unions, Irish social clubs, parishes and more. Everyone is Irish on St. Paddy’s Day.
In 2025, The International Cleveland Film Fest (March 26-April 5, 2025) celebrates its 49th year of showing a marathon of documentaries, foreign films, shorts and avant-garde entries. More than
100,000 people from across the country come to Playhouse Square to see the power of film firsthand.
The traditional dragon dance always gets the most respect from every generation who attends the Cleveland Asian Festival in May. But there is much more to this event, including the Asian-Pop Dance Competition (featuring Nepali Hip Hop and Bollywood/India dancers and others), martial arts demos, and food and drink you must try. Think grass jelly drink, Korean shaved ice, mango sticky rice and Vietnamese iced coffee.
The Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival marks 45 years in Cleveland in 2025, now the largest Indian Classical music festival outside of India. Dance, musical competitions and traditional goods are offered.
Dyngus Day Cleveland (always the Monday after Easter) celebrates its 15th year of Polish-American culture in Northeast Ohio in 2025. This giant polka party, with more than 45,000 people), is held in the Gordon Arts District with paczki, pussy willows and kishka sausage. With a goal to eventually celebrate all of Cleveland’s Eastern European cultures, this festival is on the right track.
Cleveland offers a web of connected paths to let you explore the city by bike, foot and more.
By Jill SellTHINK OF IT AS A GIANT GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS. The ultimate goal is complete, easy, safe and connected access for cyclists, hikers, dog walkers, rollerbladers and others. Use of the trails can lead to transportation, economic, recreational and wellness benefits.
“The reason people love trails is because the stress level is low when you are divided away from cars,” says Jason Kuhn, communications and events manager for Bike Cleveland, a nonprofit advocacy organization that promotes safety and transportation options.
Greater Cleveland has hundreds of miles of trails that are the envy of many cities. Existing trails weave in and around the region and several major ones connect to Cleveland’s urban and downtown areas. Connectivity of trails has been possible because of the cooperation of The City of Cleveland, Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and others.
The 101-mile Towpath Trail follows the route of the historic Ohio and Erie Canalway through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, past woods, fields, suburban and urban sites and snakes its way close to Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood to connect with other city trails.
Red Line Greenway (alongside RTA’s right-of-way) takes users through three Cleveland neighborhoods. You’ll see a fun mix of serious cyclists, scooters, baby carriages, recumbent cyclists and even unicycles here.
Morgana Run Trail follows a former Lake Erie Railroad corridor through Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood. The paved trail provides access to several scenic mini side trips, including Morgana Bluffs Nature Preserve, a natural area with a short trail loop.
Calley Mersmann, senior strategist, transit and mobility, City of Cleveland, suggests visitors and residents alike also check out
Lakefront Reservation’s multi-use trails, accessible through several connectors. Users of the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway (from Euclid to Lakewood), Lake Erie Water Trail, Whiskey Island Trail (from Edgewater Park to Wendy Park) and other routes can experience great views. Those include Lake Erie with its divine sunsets and sunrises, the Historic Coast Guard Station, Edgewater Beach House and the 55th Street Marina, as well as butterflies, water fowl and native grasses and fascinating, historic manufacturing relics. Things should get even better for those who appreciate “people power.”
The Memorial Bridges Loop Trail is a proposed 3-mile loop around the Cuyahoga River Valley, connecting east and west using the Detroit-Superior Bridge and LorainCarnegie (Hope Memorial) Bridge. It has been called a vital piece needed to connect downtown with the neighborhoods.
“It’s always very popular for runners and walkers and when completed it will be a game changer for these folks,” says Phil Kidd, the City of Cleveland’s Complete and Green Street program manager. “It will also greatly benefit cyclists.”
Also on the drawing board is RAISE: Cleveland East Side Trails, a $19,500,000 proposed project by Cleveland Metroparks. If funding is approved in June 2024, the Slavic Village Downtown Connector North and Morgana Run/Booth Avenue Extension will be another major puzzle piece that finds its fit.
Cooperation between park and city police, plus 400 volunteer Trail Ambassadors, keeps the trails safe and clear, according to Sara Byrnes Maier, Cleveland Metroparks principal planner.
“If a branch falls on a trail, our volunteers will alert Cleveland Metroparks staff if they can’t take care of it themselves,” says Byrnes Maier.
Weather can affect beach water quality. Get early water-quality predictions for Edgewater Beach and Villa Angela Beach every morning all summer long, beginning Memorial Day weekend.
@NEORSDbeaches | neorsd.org/beaches
Local nurses share why education is at the center of what they do
Plus: Meet the nurses of tomorrow
When a nurse leads a hospital system, the hours of seeing people—for who they are, for what they feel, and for what they need—is the experience needed to build a new kind of hospital system, intentionally structured to serve every person. Be seen. Be heard. Be well.
These nurses demonstrate that care-based continuing education is critical to advancing the best in healthcare. By Chrissy
KadleckAdvancing excellence in nursing education is the core mission for the Ohio League for Nursing, an inspired organization with more than 200 committed members and agency supporters.
A constituent league of the National League for Nursing, the Ohio League for Nursing (OLN) works in concert to ensure a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the nation’s health.
Addressing issues facing all nursing education programs through advocacy and leadership, the OLN has an active membership that is passionate about the development of scholarly, research-oriented nurse educators with a compassion for teaching the next generation of nurses how to deliver quality patient-centered nursing care.
The OLN also supports initiatives designed to establish a seamless infrastructure that promotes lifelong learning and academic and professional progression
of appropriately educated nurses — from practical to doctorally prepared.
Along with many supported initiatives and programs, the OLN strives to achieve these three goals: lead the professional growth and development of nurse educators in all education and practice settings; promote collaboration among nurses to enhance education, practice and research; and promote growth, diversity, sustainability and excellence of OLN as an affiliated constituent league of NLN.
Meet six stand-out nurse educators who exemplify this mission of advancing excellence and serve as high-achieving role models in the state.
With nearly 45 years at the Cleveland Clinic, Cindy Willis attributes her notable longevity to a passion for her role which centers on creating impactful nursing
Cindy Willis
Celebrating Excellence in Nursing
JUNE 8, 2024 Holiday Inn in Independence
The 13th annual Faces of Care Gala presented by the Ohio League for Nursing (OLN) and Cleveland Magazine will honor outstanding nurses in Northeast Ohio. The event will celebrate nurses working on the frontlines and the next generation of nurses who will join their ranks. It also spotlights some of the educators who are sharing their vast knowledge and experience to mentor the nurses of the future.
The Northeast Ohio region is lucky to have a wealth of important and dynamic medical centers, agencies and schools of nursing that are influencing the community making the world a better place. Faces of Care Gala is supported by sponsors, including MetroHealth, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, Cuyahoga Community College, Ursuline College and Akron Children’s. Their dedication to nursing and nursing education is crucial to the community.
development programs and seeing them through to fruition.
“I haven’t retired because I’m so committed to the Cleveland Clinic and nursing itself that I love seeing nurses develop, and I love seeing programs being developed,” says Willis, senior director of Nursing Education at the Clinic, a role she has held for more than 25 years.
Her career trajectory was charted young. Willis volunteered as a candy striper at the local hospital where she grew up in Wellington. Her neighbor had been the manager of nursing and taught her how to make beds and help with various supportive tasks.
“That’s what made me want to go into nursing,” says Willis, who now has two master’s degrees, one in nursing and an MBA. She earned her doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) in 2015.
I really didn’t know I wanted to do this, but after I got into it I realized that it was my passion to coach and guide people in their careers.
- Cindy Willis”
As a new graduate, she worked at Fairview Hospital for eight years, then went to Lutheran Hospital as a nurse manager, and went into nursing education in 1996.
“At Lutheran, the head of education came to me and said ‘I watch how you train people. I watch how you coach people, and we would like you to be part of our program,’” she recalls. “I always say it’s the best decision someone else made for me. I really didn’t know I wanted to do this, but after I got into it I realized that it was my passion to coach and guide people in their careers.”
She points to the Clinic’s Nurse Associate Externship Program, a 10-week summer program she helped create in 2015. The popular program has created a pipeline of new nurses into the Clinic, with more than half of participants joining the health system after they graduate.
“We target about 120 to 150 nursing students pursuing bachelor’s of science and associate nursing degrees who are between their junior and senior year,” she says.
The nursing students come to the Clinic, and they work side by side with nurses on a particular unit.
“They follow the mentor’s schedule and practice their skills so they become very,
I always tell my students to be a lifelong learner and master of your field.
- S. Carlton Betts Jr.
very comfortable,” she says. “There are many a-ha moments, and they learn to be an advocate for their patient.”
S. Carlton Betts Jr. leads by the platinum rule: He wants to treat people the way they want to be treated.
In his dream job as program director of nursing education at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Betts says from the moment he met his first male nurse while serving in the U.S. Navy, he was inspired to emulate this officer’s same level of professionalism and integrity in his own life and career.
“When I went into nursing, there weren’t a lot of guys in nursing and there weren’t a lot of minority guys in nursing,” says Betts, a certified psychiatric mental health nurse and certified nurse executive advanced. He is also on the clinical faculty at Ursuline College, Case Western Reserve University and Cuyahoga Community College. “I always tell my students to be a lifelong learner and master of your field. I don’t care if you go back and get a formal education, but always stay on top of evidence-based practice, peer-reviewed journals. Always stay on top of whatever your specialized part of nursing is.”
When he started teaching in 2017, Betts became passionate about making sure the next generation of nurses appreciated being nurses and the opportunity to touch people’s lives and make a difference in their lives when they’re at one of their most challenging points.
“If I can get them at the beginning of their career and let them know, ‘Hey, what you’re doing is special; what you’re doing is a privilege. I can make an impact on our profession as a whole,” he says.
Betts says he is deeply humbled by recognition from his peers and students. “I didn’t think I was doing anything special, and then
I started getting feedback from the students and from the lead faculty,” he says, remarking how much he cared about their success as nurses. “I was just being me.”
A 37-year veteran of UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Patricia Beam’s leadership has left a lasting impact on the thousands of nurses and countless young patients who have been cared for at the pediatric hospital.
Beam, pediatric nursing professional development specialist, has focused on helping nurses transition from the academic setting to the hospital setting. She also helps those transitioning to a second career or from high school. This is what she calls “planting seeds out in the community to grow more nurses.”
“That truly is what this role is all about,” she says. “We look at the students who are preparing to be nurses: what are the competencies and what are they expected to do to complete that program. We work together with the schools, letting them know how things are changing in the hospital so that they are prepared.”
The big piece has always been the transition which is now called the nurse residency program.
Regarding her professional development role, Beam says, “It’s looking at how do we keep them engaged, whether it is through continuing education, whether it is helping them prepare for added certification once they identify a specialty, and then putting them on a trajectory, a career path.”
The daughter of a Cleveland fireman, Beam was the one who would listen when her dad would talk about responding to medical situations. She went to Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati and her
first job was as an emergency nurse at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
“I went back to school knowing that I wanted to get into education,” she says. “I enjoyed teaching both the families that would be coming through the emergency department and also helping with the staff there and teaching them.”
Beam has helped form some of the best pediatric nurses throughout her career. She has also had a voice nationally with the Society of Pediatric Nurses.
“Even at the bedside, all nurses are leaders,” she says. “We need to flourish in our profession and we need to nurture ourselves. At this point in my career, I’m nursing the nurse. I can just so naturally relate to them because of what’s involved with that care for a child.”
It was a high school girl’s excitement to wear scrubs and tennis shoes to work that led Ebony Hardee to choose nursing as her profession, but it was a deep passion for teaching the next generation of nurses that has kept her there for 23 years.
A nursing faculty member at Ursuline College, Hardee previously worked at Cuyahoga Community College for nine
years during which time she was a faculty member, program manager and an associate dean in nursing.
Hardee is very dedicated to ensuring that nursing students are ready and prepared to transition to practice, and she employs many innovative teaching strategies to reach people in all kinds of learning styles.
“I believe in meeting students where they are,” she says. “In order to do that, I try to build a rapport with the students, get to know them so I can adjust my approach based to their learning style. That is challenging at times because it does rely on you to build relationships with a lot of people, but I want them to know that there are people here to help. I look at it as a team effort.”
That means approaching students and regularly checking in to see how they are doing, if they need additional help, and making sure they know what resources are available.
“I want to create a conducive environment where it’s a safe zone where students feel like they can be themselves,” says Hardee, who teaches a medical–surgical nursing course and a pathophysiology nursing course. “Nursing students have a challenging time already trying to balance
Even at the bedside, all nurses are leaders. As leaders, we each need to flourish our profession and we need to nurture ourselves.
- Patricia Beam
“
” I want to teach them the importance of getting to know what’s going on in their communities.
- Ebony Hardee
clinical and lab and lecture. Sometimes they just need a little grace.”
Hardee has a passion for supporting students from under-represented, under-resourced and under-prepared backgrounds. “I try to treat all students the same, but students that may come from underrepresented backgrounds may need some additional support or some additional time with maybe that one-on-one interaction to ensure that they are understanding the concepts,” she says.
An engaged leader, Hardee serves as the chair of the nominating committee for the Northeast Region of the Ohio League for Nursing.
“I do this because, one, I enjoy people, and I like to get to know people. If we want our students to become involved in organizations, I like to try to model what I preach,” she says. “I want to teach them the importance of getting to know what’s going on in their communities.”
Life circumstances led Jill Matthes Baxter to yoga and meditation, and once she realized the benefits of mindfulness, she wanted to bring the practice to her nursing students.
“I did my doctoral thesis on mindfulness and how to reduce stress in nursing students and faculty,” she says. “That is definitely a passion of mine.”
As director of the Doctor of Nursing Program at Ashland University specializing in pediatrics, Baxter says the deeper she dove into mindfulness concepts, the more she realized it should be the first line of defense — from the bedside to the classroom.
“Especially for children because we don’t want to start them on medications. If you can teach them coping strategies and how to deal with their own emotions that they’re experiencing, it’s much more effective,” she says. Baxter has added a mindfulness spot in every online course she teaches to share resources and evidence-based articles, free apps and links to meditations that they can access.
In fact, she uses it before every exam. “A big part of mindfulness is to not judge the way that you’re dealing with something. And that’s such a hard thing for students. They’ve got this instant anxiety, and they
judge everything they do and their performance,” she says. “We do a lot of breathing and just centering to make sure that they have a positive state of mind.”
A regularly sought after speaker, especially since the pandemic, Baxter says most of her publications center on the topics of resiliency and mindfulness. And it has the potential to have a dramatic impact. “If you’re able to help the students, and they’re also helping the patients, it’s kind of a full circle,” she says.
Baxter was a clinical nurse at Rainbow Babies & Childrens Hospital for more than 10 years before joining the faculty at Lorain County Community College, where she taught for eight years before going to Ashland.
“I really loved education. When I worked at the hospital, I taught a clinical group of nursing students and just fell in love with it and decided that I really had a passion for teaching and went back to school to get my master’s,” she says.
It was one of those stories where mother knows best, she says. “There was a point in time growing up where I couldn’t decide if I wanted to be a nurse or a teacher. My mom said ‘If you become a nurse, you can always be a teacher. But if you’re a teacher, you can’t be a nurse.’”
Even before she was recognized as Volunteer of the Year for working so many hours as a teen candy striper at her local hospital, Mary Grady would pretend that her broken Twist N’ Turn Barbie was a patient. From her earliest childhood memories, she knew she wanted to take care of people.
As soon as she graduated from high school in Arkansas, she attended a hospital school of nursing and became a licensed practical nurse. She then married, moved to Cleveland and earned her bachelor’s degree at Ursuline College.
“I identify with the community college nursing student because I was one of those pregnant moms going to nursing school,” says Grady, nursing programs administrator and professor at Lorain County Community College. “I can remember the week after having my daughter, I had to take a final and I brought someone to watch her
If you’re able to help the students, and they’re also helping the patients, it’s kind of a full circle.
- Jill Matthes Baxter
in the library so I could take the test and then breastfeed her after.”
Specializing in pediatrics, Grady worked at Rainbow Babies & Childrens Hospital for years. “I just loved being a nurse and I never thought of doing anything else,” she says. But then she was asked to fill in as a clinical instructor and everything changed. Soon she was enrolled to get a master’s degree to pursue a teaching career, and later a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree. “I love to watch the light bulb come on when people finally get it.”
Immediate past president of the Northeast Region Ohio League for Nursing,
“I’m committed to growing the next generation of nurses and ensuring their
educational prep meets the needs of patients they’ll serve,” she says.
Join a community of faculty and students advancing the nursing discipline.
• #10 Bachelor of Science in Nursing*
• Master of Nursing
• #14 Master of Science in Nursing*
• #20 Doctor of Nursing Practice* (DNP)
• DNP Nurse Anesthesia
• Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)
*U.S. News & World Report, 2024
I’m committed to growing the next generation of nurses and ensuring their educational prep meets the needs of patients they’ll serve.
- Mary GradyGrady found herself in the hospital with a kidney stone last year. Half of the nurses who cared for her had been her students. “I felt very comfortable that the people taking care of me were people who I had had an impact in their education because I knew they were going to do something right.”
She is resolute that nursing cannot be solely taught from a book. “We have to collaborate with all of our clinical partners to stay up to date on everything. Evidence comes out that the way we administer things or implement skills or even view a disease changes, and we have to make sure those changes are reflected in what we’re teaching our students as well.”
From your exemplary work to your continuous dedication. You reflect our world class care.
Congratulations to the nurses being recognized as the Faces of Care Award recipients. Thank you for the impact you’ve made in the nursing community.
ClevelandClinic.org/Nursing
Meet some standouts from the next generation of nurses.
By Sarah Webb
Aurrion Stokes
Cleveland State University
Aurrion Stokes dreamed of becoming a doctor, but after taking a year off from school and transferring to Cleveland State for nursing, she felt like she was exactly where she was meant to be.
“I felt like this was my purpose. I’m supposed to be helping people,” says Stokes, adding that her mom, a fellow nurse, has encouraged her throughout her nursing journey.
Stokes currently works at University Hospitals Parma in a stepdown unit in the ICU and plans to continue in that department after graduation.
“I love hearing people’s stories and learning about people’s brains, and it helps me put myself in other people’s shoes,” Stokes says.
For other nursing students, Stokes advises them to remember their motivation.
“In hard times, remember your ‘why,’” Stokes says. “If you have a community and support system, lean into them during your journey.”
Seth Campbell began college with the intention of becoming a doctor before pivoting to a degree in public relations at Heidelberg University. However, he continued to
work at a long-term care facility as a patient care aid.
He completed his master’s degree and worked in higher education for 10 years, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he heard — and heeded — the call to return to the health care field.
“Seeing Cleveland rolling out the vaccine distribution, I volunteered to assist and saw the nurses on the front lines delivering the vaccine in every type of community around Cleveland, and that reignited my passion to see the good that can be done,” Campbell says.
A graduate of Cuyahoga Community College, Campbell recently accepted a position at the Cleveland Clinic as an RN homecare resident (a home health care RN position).
“Home health is an area that I can take my experience in higher education, working in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives and apply it in delivering community health care,” Campbell says.
WELCOME TO OUR NEW COLLEGE OF HEALTH. WE PROVIDE INDIVIDUALIZED ADVISING TO GUIDE STUDENTS THROUGH A VARIETY OF HEALTHCARE PROGRAMS, ENSURING EACH INDIVIDUAL'S NEEDS ARE MET. OUR OFFERINGS INCLUDE:
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In addition, we're excited to announce new programming in health coming soon. In our College of Health, we prioritize discernment and personalized guidance, empowering students to pursue their healthcare aspirations with confidence and support. Join us on your journey towards a fulfilling career in the dynamic field of healthcare.
University of AkronWayne College
Lauren Berrey, graduate of the University of Akron-Wayne College, didn’t consider becoming a nurse until she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 16 years old.
“The nurses who cared for me took so much time to sit with me and walk me through it,” Berrey says. “I decided the day I was diagnosed that not only was I not afraid of needles, but I wanted to be there for people in their tough life changes. I had always loved the nurses who cared for me, but didn’t realize how much they impacted my life until I was older.”
Diabetes wasn’t the only obstacle Berrey faced growing up. Also a cancer survivor, Berrey recently accepted a position at Akron Children’s Hospital’s hematology and oncology unit.
“The hematology and oncology specialty really touches my heart because I am a
cancer survivor. I knew from the moment I cared for a patient who had cancer that I was interested,” Berrey says. “I know it is not an easy field, but I want to be there for them while they are going through everything.
Nicholas Valenta didn’t think about going into health care until a family member became ill.
“I was able to see the impact nurses had on their care during their hospital stay,” Valenta says. “I also liked that it was such an in-demand, versatile field with the potential to improve the health and well-being of a lot of people.”
In the nursing program at Case Western Reserve University, Valenta learned about public health and research.
“I’ve learned that many small changes can result in a large change in policy
and/or procedure, with the potential to impact many at the community, state or even national level,” he says.
After graduating, he plans on working in in-patient care for a few years, likely in the operating room, before pursuing a Master of Public Health degree.
“I’m most looking forward to influencing policy,” Valenta says. “I would like to play a role in shaping (health care) into a more effective, functional system.”
Kaitlyn McKeen has always wanted to help people in any way she can — nursing has opened up an avenue for her to fulfill that goal.
“I see nursing as an opportunity to be able to provide support for others and how rewarding that can be,” McKeen says.
McKeen moved to the U.S. from Canada in 2018 and waited to enroll in nursing school but eventually applied thanks to her husband’s encouragement. Fast forward to 2024 and McKeen is set to graduate from Lakeland Community College, with plans to pursue a career in the operating room while working to achieve her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and eventually her Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA).
“I am looking forward to being able to work with so many amazing and inspiring people,” McKeen says. “I’m excited to be able to work with a team that does everything they possibly can for the patient’s benefit.”
Svetlana Van Ness Lorain County Community College
Svetlana Van Ness discovered she wanted to go into nursing after serving as an
occupational therapy assistant in acute and post-acute settings.
“I have been fortunate to assist people in regaining their functional abilities and independence; however, this feeling that I wanted to learn how to take care of my patients’ nursing needs is what led me to this journey,” Van Ness says.
During her time at Lorain County Community College, Van Ness says she has appreciated the expertise, knowledge and experience of the instructors.
“As a student, and especially as an immigrant, I greatly value their ability to make students feel heard, understood, supported and accepted,” Van Ness says. “This sense of belonging has certainly made the rigor and intensity of the nursing curriculum less intimidating.”
After clinical rotations in medical–surgical, behavioral health and critical care settings at Firelands Regional Medical Center in Sandusky and in obstetrics at Mercy Health Hospital in Lorain, Van Ness plans to begin her career in a medical-surgical unit.
Christos Tomaras Ursuline College
Raised in a small village in Greece, Christos Tomaras helped take care of several loved ones from a young age.
“I was raised in a household with my grandparents, so I was involved in their care,” Tomaras says. “I learned a lot from their stories and their health conditions.”
Years later, when Tomaras’ college adviser suggested a career in nursing, Tomaras, a first-generation college student, realized it was a no-brainer. A graduate of Ursuline College, Tomaras has completed clinical rotations at University Hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth. He recently accepted a nursing position at the Mayo Clinic in the Emergency Department and Level 1 Trauma Center.
“Emergency medicine is magic; I love the fast-paced environment and the diversity of the patient population,” Tomaras says. “I get to learn something new every single day.”
Rocky River is home to a world-class pottery museum, impressive public art installations, unique galleries and so much more.
Often referred to as the Jazz Bowl, the New Yorker Bowl was commissioned by Eleanor Roosevelt around 1930. It was designed by artist Viktor Schreckengost, who was a sculptor for Rocky River’s Cowan Pottery Studio. The bowl is now displayed in the Cowan Pottery Museum at the Rocky River Public Library.
The mission of the Welsh Home is a “Legacy of the Heart” following the traditions of the Women’s Welsh Clubs of America to respect the spirit of each resident.
After a hospital stay, our number one goal at the Welsh House is for you to return home safely.
Recover in our Private Rehab Suites with:
· Physical Therapy
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Mayor Pamela E. Bobst
Executive Assistant to the Mayor Mary Ellen Umerley
Art serves many purposes. It can bring people together, beautify communities, foster creativity and provide therapy. Rocky River is privileged to have a vibrant art scene. In addition to our annual Fall Arts Festival, our Senior Center hosts its own art show and offers seniors ample opportunities to create through art classes, a robust theater program and more.
Many artists and creators call Rocky River home, some of whom you’ll get to know in this publication. Two of them have made it their mission to provide closure for people who’ve lost loved ones. As part of an organization called Loose Ends, these “finishers” complete arts and crafts projects that people were not able to finish themselves before they passed away. It’s truly a labor of love.
Our city also is home to a renowned art museum, the Cowan Pottery Museum. Located in the Rocky River Public Library, the museum holds more than 1,300 pieces of art from Cowan Pottery Studio, one of the leading potteries in the U.S. during the 1920s. We encourage you to stop by and explore this unique collection.
While you’re in town, be sure to visit some of our exceptional galleries and shops that specialize in local art and handmade goods. There are so many to explore in the city, and you’ll read about a few of them in the following pages.
And if you love music, look no further than our Summer Concert Series, where you can enjoy live music against the backdrop of Rocky River’s beautiful parks.
We look forward to seeing you in River this summer.
With kindest regards, Mayor Pamela Bobst
Rocky River offers myriad opportunities to create, collect and appreciate art of all forms.By Ruth Corradi Beach
Laurie Schaefer, program coordinator for the Rocky River Senior Center, says that when it comes to the center, “the hardest is getting people to come in the door. Once they come in the door and they see this isn’t what their idea of a senior center was, that’s it.” They’re hooked. A major draw for the Senior Center is the impressive variety of opportunities for art and expression, thanks to the classes offered in its numerous classrooms and auditorium. Plans are underway to build a gymnasium and more classrooms.
The center offers classes in eight types of art, including ceramics, watercolor, pen and ink and acrylic painting. “It’s such a nice facility, and what we do is enthusiastically supported,” says Patty Tobin, who teaches ceramics at the center. “And if we need something within reason, it’s provided.”
Schaefer attributes much of that support to the mayor. “We have the backing of the mayor [Pamela Bobst], who is very supportive of the Senior Center and our services and classes,” she says. “Mayor Pam has our back in providing all these classes.”
Each year, the public is invited to see the art that’s created at the center. This year's Senior Center Art Show runs through June 3 and is now in its 32nd year.
“It’s a way for people to sell some artwork and a way for them to display what
they have learned and let people see what’s happening,” Schaefer says.
Artists don’t have to be enrolled in a Senior Center class to enter their artwork; it’s open to anyone in the area 55 years and older. The cost to enter is $4 per item, with the money going to the Art Show opening event.
There are opportunities for much more than visual art at the Rocky River Senior Center. Music classes and even a ukulele club (which has been so popular that three more classes were added), as well as dance classes including ballet, tap, line, theater, Irish, jazz and Zumba, are all on offer.
The center’s 300-seat auditorium presents approximately 12 professional performances a year in partnership with Local 4 Music Fund, and the Senior Theater (comprising seniors from the center) performs three days of shows twice a year with over 800 people in attendance.
In addition to learning something new or pursuing a passion, local seniors get a lot more out of spending time at the Senior Center, says Schaefer. “A big part of the value [here] is the socialization. That’s huge,” she says. “A lot of people think that when they retire, that’s it, and this is a whole new beginning. Being active and being social as you get older is so important.”
“Every classroom is full of creative people doing creative things,” adds Tobin. “There’s a lot of laughter.”
“Every classroom is full of creative people doing creative things. There’s a lot of laughter.”
–PATTY TOBIN
The Rocky River Public Library, like most public libraries today, houses a lot more than books. But in addition to the various forms of media, the children’s programming and the many services offered, the Rocky River Public Library is a place of art, which is apparent immediately. There’s a community art case that showcases local artists (including library staff members) as well as nonprofits and other organizations, a staircase that features a mural, and art in the teen room created by Rocky River teens. The library also is home to the Cowan Pottery Museum, which holds a collection of roughly 1,300 pieces from Cowan Pottery Studio, where artists created pottery in Rocky River between 1920 and 1931.
“Now that the house [where Cowan Pottery was made] is no longer there, the museum is the main place. We are the hub of that art deco ceramics knowledge,” says Rob Isom, the library’s marketing manager.
Greg Hatch is a historian and the curator of the Cowan Pottery Museum. He points out that the museum is open for private tours, requesting that those who wish to visit call ahead to make sure someone is there to take them around.
Visitors also are invited to take part in the Crafting with the Curator program, which happens three times a year.
“It’s an art activity responding to a piece in our collection, specifically a piece on display,” Hatch explains. “All the activities this year are in response to our exhibit, Let There Be Light. Folks look at a candlestick design, and then we have a beeswax candle making craft to respond to that. Another activity will be where folks can make their own ceramic candlestick.”
During each activity, Hatch offers background and historical information.
“So many items were designed to have an everyday use,” he explains. “So the artist working on the design had to think not only of aesthetics but how it would be handled. I like to give the history and kind
of the marketing, the use, what the artist might have been thinking. It allows for a better conversation between visitors and the actual pieces.”
Every year, a Cowan Featured Artist is named, a working artist specializing in ceramics. Hatch chooses a prompt that relates to Cowan Pottery, like “things meant to be used,” or “experimenting with glazes.” He collects all the entries, then displays them anonymously, and the entire library staff votes on the featured artist, whose work is displayed during the month of August. The entire collection is online so every piece can be viewed at any time.
Rocky River Public Library patrons have even more ways to try their hand at art.
“Now we have a craft corner, like a takeand-make, where people can bring and take items,” says Dori Olivos, who works in the Adult Services department. “People donate and take high-quality fabric, paper, stamps, markers, unused craft kits and crepe paper.”
Library Director Jessica Breslin notes that other available items include ribbon and even driftwood.
“What’s there is super useful,” she says. “Libraries are the ultimate recyclers to begin with, and this is a way of extending that. People can find new hobbies without breaking the bank.”
In addition, the library has a collection of craft kits people can check out, including weaving kits, quilling kits, a punch-needle kit and a weaving loom, each of which comes with a list of resources to help them learn about the kits they’re using.
“Libraries are the ultimate recyclers to begin with, and this is a way of extending that. People can find new hobbies without breaking the bank.”
– JESSICA BRESLIN
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Afew years ago, Seattle resident Jennifer Simonic had a life-changing experience. Her friend Patty’s mother passed away before finishing blankets for her two sons. “I have slept on Patty’s couch under the blanket her mother made,” she says. “I knew she’d want to finish blankets for all her children.”
While Simonic herself does crochet, these blankets were too large for her to take on at the time. But her friend Masey Kaplan said, “What if we could find someone to finish this for Patty’s mom?” A “finisher,” if you will.
Identifying a need, Simonic and Kaplan, who is also a fiber artist, started Loose Ends with a simple website. Now, not even two years later, there are 24,000 registered “finishers,” as they are known, in 64 countries. The site details each available finisher’s location, talent and skill level.
The number of finishers has grown faster than the number of projects submitted, and Simonic is trying to get the word out via funeral homes and estate sales agents.
“I saw this and thought, ‘I want to do this for someone else.’ What a cool way to honor somebody.”
– BECKI ALGERI
Becki Algeri’s embroidery. The watering can is part of a quilt she and her mom are working on together to complete for a friend who passed away.
We would like to extend a big “Thank You” to Rocky River and surrounding communities. We are grateful for your continued business and look forward to meeting and welcoming residents to our wonderful community.
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Two Loose Ends finishers are based in Rocky River, and both are awaiting their first project. One is Becki Algeri, who picked up hand embroidery and Swedish weave (similar to cross-stitch) during the pandemic and heard about the Loose Ends project via social media.
“My mom had a friend who passed away a year ago and gave her unfinished project to my mom and said, ‘Do with this as you see fit.’ [My mom and I] teamed up, quilting and hand-embroidering, finished it up and sent it to her friend’s daughter as a remembrance of her mom. I saw this and thought, ‘I want to do this for someone else.’ What a cool way to honor somebody.”
Another Rocky River resident who is awaiting a project to finish is multimedia artist Linda McConaughy. Though she works in many forms, she chose to sign up as a quilter for the Loose Ends project. When asked how she’ll approach an unfinished quilt, she says, “I have a design wall in my studio. I would probably hang it up, look at what’s there first — patterns, color story — then see what’s available — what they had, or match, to the best of my ability, similar colors and shapes, maybe doing some sketches to figure out their direction.
“When I went away to college, my mom made a quilt for me,” she adds. “I still have it, and I’ll never get rid of it. Sometimes people start projects like that for friends or family and can’t finish it. I want to help them finish that so [those friends and family] will have something they can keep forever.”
The Fall Arts Fest, a daylong celebration of local artists, showcases a variety of mediums.
By Kristen HampshireThe already quintessential Old Detroit district, with its collection of unique shops, creative dining and entrepreneurial venues, will transform into a lively, local artisan fair for the Fall Arts Fest, on Sept. 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sponsored by the Rocky River Parks & Recreation Foundation, the event helps raise funds for valuable park improvements and an annual student scholarship, says Chris Klym, foundation president. Live acoustic music, 60 local artists displaying wares across mediums and eclectic shopping are just a few hallmarks.
“It’s an opportunity for our community to visit with and support local artists and makers,” Klym says, noting that the walkable venue and proximity to River businesses offers more to explore.
Check out the work of two Rocky River artists who will showcase their pieces at the 2024 event:
Meg Greenwald MG Studio
Fluid art by Meg Greenwald is made by combining artistic acrylics, house paint, pigment powders and sometimes “bling” like crushed glass or glitter to create functional pieces for the home.
“I love experimenting with different color combinations, the freedom of creating and the originality of each piece of work,” says Greenwald, an innate creator who has dabbled in various mediums over the years.
Now, her works are centered on adding a dose of paint magic to everyday items like coasters, trivets, charcuterie boards, serving trays, light switch plates and furniture, such as side tables. Greenwald gains inspiration from her surroundings and the most unexpected visual run-ins, such as noticing a pretty color combination on a tissue box or a color scheme on a pillow.
“I am also inspired by going to art shows,” she says, in anticipation of the Fall Arts Fest.
Valerie Lesiak
Picture Book Studio
Valerie Lesiak’s home studio archives a rich and whirlwind art career of nearly 40 years at American Greetings, where she worked on projects including the Care Bears and gained inspiration from mentors like Ziggy creator Tom Wilson. She quips, “As a line designer, my art career started in the B.C. — before computers.”
Now in her Picture Book Studio encore, she designs whimsical, vibrant illustrations “painted” in Photoshop with layers of character and meaning. Notably, her Alphabet Soup series of 8-by-8-inch
canvases disguises letters in playful scenes. “You can choose to see the letter…or not,” she says.
Works in the Flower Fun collection include cheery daisies partnered with hydrangeas, or pitchers brimming with multicolored blooms. “My job was to come up with ideas,” she says, explaining that her brainstorming process is much like ideation for greeting cards. “If you were thinking of ‘birthday,’ what are all the different ideas you could come up with?”
Lesiak says, “You can tell I lived in a greeting card world!”
What she loves most is seeing viewers’ sense of wonder and “aha” when they decode an illustrative letter and “watching them light up.”
Saturday, June 15, 4-9 p.m. 1250 Linda Street
The Rocky River Chamber of Commerce’s annual Taste of River festival returns to Linda Street this year and will be bigger than ever, says Chamber Executive Director David Lipinsky. “We’re expanding our footprint, moving farther south on Linda Street,” he says.
Approximately two dozen Rocky River dining establishments will take part, with two beverage stations serving beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks. There will also be a band and full soundstage, creating a party atmosphere. Lipinsky notes, “Our goal is to highlight restaurants and bars in the area, to bring everyone together to celebrate our culinary community.”
Rocky River is the place to be this summer, thanks to the efforts of the Recreation Department and Chamber of Commerce, along with lots of help and enthusiasm from the community.
The Recreation Department is planning a Summer of Fun, explains Bob Holub, Rocky River’s director of recreation. “We’re really trying to focus on community-building. Everyone coming together — neighbors, friends, family, classmates — in a way that meets everyone’s needs and schedule, for a small-town feel,” he says.
The evening concerts will be family-friendly, but they’re also an opportunity for a date night, Holub says. Events will be held monthly with vendors, inflatables and more. Each event will conclude with a concert at City Hall Park and optional childcare (for a fee) provided by Recreation Department staff at Hamilton Ice Arena.
The Hilliard Hustle 5K, featuring local vendors and food trucks
CONCERT: Funkology
July 14 Car Show, touch-a-truck (service vehicles) for little ones, the annual Pie in the Park and food trucks
CONCERT: Revolution Pie
August 4
Kiddo Kingdom, including a petting zoo, a mermaid swimming at the pool, a bike parade, food trucks and touch-atruck, including diggers and the Zamboni
CONCERT: Perfect Choice
Check rrcity.com for event start times. All concerts begin at 7 p.m.
An eclectic collection of shops in Rocky River offers original finds packaged with a personable experience.
By Kristen HampshirePop into local boutiques and peruse Rocky River’s homegrown venues for artwork, handmades, antiques and one-of-a-kinds. Come along while we visit some local gems. 1 2 3 4 5
Since 1970, River Gallery has been dedicated to promoting and sustaining local artists, offering a diverse showcase of paintings, metalwork, blown glass, ceramics, fabricated jewelry and wood pieces. The collection is ever evolving and thoughtfully curated, says second-generation owner G. Ara Hamamjian.
At any one time, an average of 60 artists are represented in the gallery, and north of 90% of them are Ohio-based.
“I was born into this,” Hamamjian says, sharing a passion for art with his clients, who support gallery shows and many of whom have become friends.
“I enjoy curating the body of work that artists produce and present at the gallery — and the work speaks for itself,” he says, adding that artists also “bend his ear” and recommend talent for the gallery. “It’s a real relationship,” Hamamjian says.
if you go: “Be present and enjoy the work,” Hamamjian says. Check online for upcoming exhibitions. rivergalleryarts.com/exhibitions
Tart Boutique owner Valerie Priebe invites you to step into a dreamy space chock-full of fun, whimsical finds. “I’ve nicknamed the store, ‘cute shop,’ because that is what everyone says when they walk in,” she says, relating that many guests come in seeking gifts but treat themselves, too.
From Blue Q oven mitts, bags and catnip (each sporting witty sayings) to Amano
Studio jewelry pieces, Camp Craft cocktails and Finchberry lotions, there’s something in store to wear, display, set the table with or decorate your space.
Priebe also curates some local handmades from vendors like Furbish & Fire Candle Co., Cleveland Sewing Co. and Rocky River-based artist/illustrator Angela Oster. You’ll find some vintage items, too, such as pottery, glassware and vases. And don’t miss the selection of brass candlesticks.
Most important, Priebe says, “I want Tart to be a place where everyone feels welcome.”
if you go: Take time to peer in the windows — and plan on taking a few pics. Priebe’s creative displays started a while back when she dressed some skeletons to showcase. She continued changing them for the seasons. Scenes include the skeletons trimming a Christmas tree, chasing a pot of gold and riding a bicycle built for two. “They even got engaged and then married as Frankenstein and his bride, and they’ve ridden a giant, inflatable red dog through a winter wonderland,” Priebe says. The skeletons dressed as Barbie and Ken on a pink snowmobile were also a hit.
tartboutique.net
With a cozy fireplace and full kitchen display stocked with handmade, imported Italian pieces — from biscotti jars brushed in vibrant colors to tableware and artwork — Solari Home is designed to transport guests to the Old Country while offering a taste of how they could transform their living environments.
In fact, the shop was inspired by owner Terrie Viets searching for pieces for her own home. The hunt led her overseas to Italy, where she began meeting with artisans and families in generations-old ceramics workshops. One exclusive line Solari carries, Ubaldo Grazia, dates back to the 1500s.
At Solari, nearly every piece in the store can be customized, Viets says.
“There is no limit to the shape, size or design,” she explains. From dinnerware to
linens, the shop’s partner vendors, such as Grazia, will create pieces from scratch.
Since starting Solari Home 22 years ago, Viets has made 57 trips to Italy. Her shop is a constantly evolving collection of treasured pieces that are also everyday favorites for the home. You’ll also find Murano glass jewelry, hand-painted handbags, paintings and artwork representing talent from all regions of Italy.
“The first thing people say when they enter is, ‘It’s so warm and colorful,’ and Solari means ‘sunlit,’” Viets says.
if you go: Solari Home offers tours of Italy, tastings, cooking classes and other events. solarihome.com
Celebrating 45 years in Rocky River, One World Shop started in the basement of Lakewood Presbyterian Church. It was created as a fair trade Christmas market to counter the holiday’s over-commercialization and support people living in poverty who lacked a market for the items they produced.
Today, One World Shop retains this mission as a nonprofit, where a team of
volunteers can help you select interesting items that support and empower artisans and their families. From unique musical instruments like African thumb pianos and djembe drums to colorful baskets, body care products and jewelry, every purchase promotes fair trade and sustainability.
These values are intertwined. For example, artillery jewelry from Ethiopia and Cambodia are earrings or necklaces made from bombs or bullets. “They dig up the shards, melt them and recycle them into jewelry,” explains Colleen Cannon, retail coordinator.
One World Shop also works with Hopes Landing in Tiffin, Ohio, a rehabilitation home for women surviving domestic abuse and human trafficking, who make candles and lotions.
if you go: Check out one of the shop’s new classes, such as quilling, and an around-the-world chocolate tasting. one-world-shop-cleveland.myshopify.com
Explore a thoughtful collection of antiques, artwork and eclectic merchandise styled by designer Mitchell Sotka in his eponymous Old River boutique that inspires
learning to love, loving to learn in Rocky River
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“a way of living.” Pieces range in age and style, from the 18th century to modern day.
Furniture mingles with fine art, decorative porcelain pairs with crystal collectibles, and there’s vintage barware, silver, jewelry, plus a timeless design aesthetic that informs Sotka’s selections.
“People have said they come here to relax and be inspired by beautiful things,” says Sotka, who also provides in-home design services.
if you go: Mitchell Sotka hosts a variety of trunk shows, celebrating local artisans and jewelers.
mitchellsotka.com
Bradstreet’s Landing
Rocky River is a creative tapestry with a growing variety of public artworks, including inspiring sculptures and vibrant murals.
By Kristen HampshireFunctional public art by way of creative bike racks, a thought-provoking sculpture that reminds us of our responsibility to be engaged stewards, and inspiring murals that transform buildings into message-bearing canvases are some of the ways Rocky River is a venue for expression.
“Public art builds community; it uplifts you and makes you think,” says Mayor Pamela Bobst, highlighting numerous projects throughout the city. “It’s a source of pride and provides an outlet for local artists,” she adds, relating that even some public trash receptacles are fresco canvases.
A sculpture of a steelhead fish emerges from the reimagined Bradstreet’s Landing pier, the work of local public artist, sculptor and industrial designer Stephen Manka. The symbolic feature is designed to be filled with plastic bottles — a message to keep the beaches clean. Artist James Ray created the storytelling piece. “This emphasizes the importance of Lake Erie as a natural resource and our responsibility to properly dispose of waste,” says Director of Public Safety-Service Rich Snyder.
Mayor Bobst adds, “This is a special place with beautiful lake views, and the sculpture is a reminder that we need to protect it.”
Murals throughout the Rocky River Recreation Center were created with intentional themes that align with each space. Artist Stina Aleah reinvented the expansive
Daniel J. Chavayda, AIF®, CPFA
Daniel J. Chavayda, AIF®, CPFA
Registered Principal Wealth Consultant
Registered Principal Wealth Consultant
2932 Wooster Rd., Suite 101
Rocky River, OH 44146-2922 440.333.1980 Office • 440.815.2272 Fax
2932 Wooster Rd., Suite 101
Rocky River, OH 44146-2922
440.333.1980 Office • 440.815.2272 Fax
daniel.chavayda@lpl.com • www.danieljchavayda.com
daniel.chavayda@lpl.com • www.danieljchavayda.com
walls with works that speak to each room’s purpose. For instance, a mind-body space features a lotus flower, and the indoor rowing room is painted with Cleveland’s skyline, rolling waves and vibrant fish. “She has brought new life to these spaces in a very meaningful way,” says Holub.
These murals add to a foundation of public art that began with a 2013 croquet-themed bike rack project triggered by a letter from then 13-year-old Eric Ulchaker, who suggested to Mayor Bobst that the city could use more bike racks. She embraced his interest and enlisted the beautification committee, “which took the idea and ran with it,” she says.
More recently, a colorful and symbolic tree of “hands” arranged as leaves honors donors to Elle’s Enchanted Forest inclusive playground. And the new Safety Town campus with whimsical winding roads and buildings that resemble Rocky River landmarks is just as much art as it is a space to teach safety lessons.
Rocky River Public Library is home to a new immersive mural, A Walk in the Park, by Evan Laisure, located in the staircase leading to the children’s area. Featuring more than 150 plant varieties and animal species native to Ohio, it is educational, entertaining and “gets your creative juices flowing,” says Jessica Breslin, library director. Spot scenes from the Metroparks, playful creatures and a landscape that “brings the outdoors in,” Breslin says. “It’s very much in line with Rocky River Public Library’s history of providing access to art in a public space.”
Summary. To create the list, the magazine contracted nationally recognized DataJoe Research to facilitate a multifaceted research campaign that included (a) firm roster requests, (b) an online survey delivered directly to real estate professionals and consumers and (c) a media analysis.
DataJoe started with information obtained from primary government sources and then expanded on this information using the firm rosters, survey submissions and data collected from the media analysis. In the firm roster requests, DataJoe reached out to a high percentage of the firms in the region, requesting rosters and sales performance information from our firm contacts. In the online survey, real estate professionals were asked to nominate their peers who excel. We also invited readers to nominate agents who exemplified excellent service. Finally, in the media analysis, DataJoe conducted Internet research to isolate criteria associated with top performing agents. This algorithm factored in individual agent listings and sales as available to the public, awards and other criteria to establish indicators of high performance.
DataJoe then compiled the above components to create an aggregate score, with confirmed sales performance as the most heavily weighted metric. Winning agents were those with the highest composite scores.
Agents do not and cannot pay to be included as part of this list. DataJoe acknowledges that not every top performer in the region made the list. However, their research yielded a high volume of data that enabled them to pinpoint a large number of top performers.
DataJoe checked for license and disciplinary action as available to the public. If they found any disciplinary action against an agent by the state regulatory board, that agent was excluded from the list. Finally, DataJoe presented the tallied result to the magazine for its final review and adjustments.
Final note. We recognize that there are many good real estate agents who are not shown in this representative list. This is only a sampling of the huge array of talented professionals within the region. Inclusion in the list is based on our research campaign and the opinions of responding professionals in the region. We certainly do not discount the fact that many, many good and effective real estate agents may not appear on the list.
Chris Bergin
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Lucien Realty Lakewood 216-244-7175
Eric Lowrey
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Lucien Realty Lakewood 216-650-0365
Donna Trunko
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Lucien Realty Lakewood 440-567-9024
Kimberley Guelker
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Lucien Realty Amherst 440-346-0915
Anne Marie Rath Fathom Realty Columbus 216-272-9770
Brian Miller
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Chardon 440-487-5566
David J. Reimer
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty
Shaker Heights 216-798-0750
Katherine Anne White-Ridley
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Shaker Heights 440-241-4624
Diane Armington
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Chagrin Falls 216-390-0910
Annalie Glazen
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Chagrin Falls 216-544-8769
Susan Metallo
David Sarver
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty
Moreland Hills 216-214-0221
Seth Task
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Moreland Hills 216-276-1626
Allie Carr
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Cleveland 216-952-8884
Angela Griffiths
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Cleveland 440-213-4547
Chris Schlenkerman
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Professional Realty Cleveland 216-798-4100
Michael F. Kaim
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Mentor 440-228-8046
Eric Lakia Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Mentor 440-413-9171
Joseph A. Zingales Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Concord 440-346-2031
Alison Baranek Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Stouffer Realty Fairlawn 330-289-5444
Kimberly Mowers
Disclaimers. DataJoe uses best practices and exercises great care in assembling content for this list. DataJoe does not warrant that the data contained within the list are complete or accurate. DataJoe does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. All rights reserved. No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without written permission from DataJoe.
Questions? For research/methodology questions, contact the research team at nominations@datajoe.com.
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Chagrin Falls 440-477-3465
Sharon Friedman Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty Moreland Hills 216-338-3233
Judy Makaryk Rosen
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Professional Realty
Moreland Hills 216-533-7850
Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Stouffer Realty Medina 330-597-9124
Asa Cox
Century 21 Asa Cox Homes Painesville 440-479-3100
Ryan Corrao
Century 21 DePiero & Associates Inc Parma 440-669-1295
Chris DePiero
Century 21 DePiero & Associates Inc Parma 216-870-2161
Debbie Garson
As the #1 Brand in Northeast Ohio, we continue to lead with unparalleled service and expertise. Our agents’ dedication and professionalism have earned them this prestigious recognition.
Patricia Gouker
Century 21 DePiero & Associates Inc Parma 440-842-7010
Mark Vittardi
Century 21 DePiero & Associates Inc Parma 440-666-3405
Donna Hamblen
Century 21 HomeStar Solon 440-725-9369
Mike Ferrante
Century 21 HomeStar Solon 216-373-7727
David Gurary
Century 21 HomeStar Solon 216-438-8888
Linas Muliolis
Century 21 HomeStar Solon 216-387-3204
Christine Pratt
Century 21 HomeStar Solon 440-420-0073
Sheree Klausner
Century 21 Premiere Properties Pepper Pike 216-505-4568
Harvey Lewis
Century 21 Premiere Properties Pepper Pike 216-253-6497
Katerine
Michalopoulos
Century 21 Premiere Properties Pepper Pike 216-704-6020
Seth Young Century 21 Premiere Properties Pepper Pike 216-374-8589
Larry Steinbacher
Century 21 Transcendent Realty Medina 440-503-5820
Craig Cantrall Chestnut Hill Realty Inc Beachwood 216-249-2021
Jon Mavrakis Citiroc Real Estate Company Lakewood 216-245-3343
Brian Gilbert
Coldwell Banker Schmidt Family of Companies Westlake 440-315-5761
Patricia Frederick Coldwell Banker Schmidt Family of Companies North Ridgeville 440-537-4685
Christopher Frederick Coldwell Banker Schmidt Family of Companies North Ridgeville 216-210-7653
Majdey Taye Coldwell Banker Schmidt Family of Companies North Ridgeville 440-454-2456
Jennifer Burke Coldwell Banker Schmidt Family of Companies Brecksville 216-905-8240
James Arnos Cutler Real Estate Cleveland 216-407-5347
Gladimir Lobo Dwelling Network Solon 440-232-9111
Veena Bhupali Elite Sotheby's International Realty Shaker Heights 216-598-1477
Jane Evans Elite Sotheby's International Realty Pepper Pike 216-401-3052
Karen Eagle Elite Sotheby's International Realty Chagrin Falls 440-773-6187
Kristin Baum Engel & Völkers Distinct Real Estate Pepper Pike 330-921-8918
Inna Muravin Engel & Völkers Distinct Real Estate Pepper Pike 440-521-4555
Adam Zimmerman Engel & Völkers Distinct Real Estate Pepper Pike 216-513-2728
Michael Rath ERA Real Solutions Realty Rocky River 440-263-8615
Jeff Rath ERA Real Solutions Realty Rocky River 440-382-3337
Dustin Purtan eXp Realty LLC Wadsworth 330-648-4905
Brady Secre eXp Realty LLC Cleveland 440-537-2332
Patricia Bourne eXp Realty LLC Chagrin Falls 216-403-5321
Jennifer Campanella eXp Realty LLC Westlake 330-636-6438
Caprina Gates eXp Realty LLC Westlake 440-465-0074
Sam Livingston eXp Realty LLC Westlake 216-659-1540
Zachery Rollins eXp Realty LLC Westlake 330-591-1289
Santina Saporito eXp Realty LLC Westlake 440-521-7800
Ashley Saxe eXp Realty LLC Lakewood 440-862-2568
Lenny Vaccaro eXp Realty LLC Lakewood 216-650-8188
Joe Vaccaro eXp Realty LLC Lakewood 216-731-9500
Catherine Haller eXp Realty LLC Akron 330-472-3261
Brian Salem eXp Realty LLC Avon 216-244-2549
Will Penney eXp Realty LLC Stow 330-760-2866
Benjamin Murphy eXp Realty LLC Independence 440-252-4472
Michael Henry eXp Realty LLC Chagrin Falls 216-973-1402
Sharon LaBuda eXp Realty LLC Brecksville 216-906-9047
Amy Hoes eXp Realty LLC Medina 330-416-1597
Michael Coleman HomeSmart Real Estate Momentum Chardon 440-478-2770
Joseph Rutkowski HomeSmart Real Estate Momentum Westlake 216-337-6656
Krista Viola HomeSmart Real Estate Momentum Westlake 440-668-2482
Mary Weidner HomeSmart Real Estate Momentum Westlake 440-554-2065
Barbara Levine HomeSmart Real Estate Momentum Beachwood 216-559-4408
Latonya Oliver HomeSmart Real Estate Momentum Beachwood 216-215-4317
Yvonne Leduc HomeSmart Real Estate Momentum Mentor 440-667-7510
Michael Monaco HomeSmart Real Estate Momentum Mentor 216-536-9585
Greg Pernus HomeSmart Real Estate Momentum Mentor 440-823-6491
Amy Price House To Home Real Estate Professionals LLC Sheffield 440-308-9151
Karyl Morrison Howard Hanna Hudson 330-903-6448
Jill Bardy Howard Hanna Strongsville 216-544-9564
Melanie Bowen Howard Hanna Strongsville 440-667-6589
Mary Kay Dykes Howard Hanna Strongsville 440-503-1444
Erica Elswick Howard Hanna Strongsville 330-472-4861
Jennifer HerronUnderwood Howard Hanna Strongsville 440-371-2862
Jason Ivory
Howard Hanna Strongsville 216-402-0386
Kim Kramer Howard Hanna Strongsville 216-570-7060
Tatyana Krilova Howard Hanna Strongsville 216-225-1509
Irene l. lammarino
Howard Hanna Strongsville 440-821-4412
Anthony May
Howard Hanna Strongsville 440-570-2999
Kristie Ohlin
Howard Hanna Strongsville 440-773-7760
Ann Paydock
Howard Hanna Strongsville 440-669-1294
Inna Prudinnik
Howard Hanna Strongsville 330-741-9036
Kathleen Sopko Howard Hanna Strongsville 440-773-7652
Art Volpe Howard Hanna Strongsville 216-789-9023
Tammy Koleski Howard Hanna Elyria 440-935-4910
Helen Barnett Howard Hanna Cleveland Heights 216-269-8895
Ernie Cahoon
Howard Hanna Cleveland Heights 216-440-1210
Geoffrey Hoffman
Howard Hanna Cleveland Heights 216-496-4212
Chris Jurcisin
Howard Hanna Cleveland Heights 216-554-0401
Eileen Clegg McKeon
Howard Hanna
Cleveland Heights 216-233-6726
David Sturgeon
Howard Hanna Cleveland Heights 216-375-4486
Jeffrey Curtis Howard Hanna Lakewood 216-316-2317
Aaron Powers Howard Hanna Lakewood 440-523-9187
Haley Turner Howard Hanna Lakewood 234-380-7654
Jennifer Hite Howard Hanna Amherst 440-864-4844
Heidi Huffman Howard Hanna Amherst 440-714-1353
Colleen Milner
Howard Hanna Amherst 440-396-3381
Leslie Pavlich
Howard Hanna Amherst 440-752-0907
John Craighead
Howard Hanna Rocky River 216-870-9641
Kimberly Crane Howard Hanna Rocky River 440-652-3002
Mary Beth DeClerck Howard Hanna Rocky River 440-263-7481
Aileen FitzGerald Howard Hanna Rocky River 440-227-5878
Meredith Hardington Howard Hanna Rocky River 216-618-2040
Carly Horner Howard Hanna Rocky River 216-333-9860
Amy McMahon Howard Hanna Rocky River 216-999-2139
Kelley Meyer
Howard Hanna Rocky River 440-263-1066
Judy Nupp
Howard Hanna Rocky River 216-337-0247
Thomas O'Dougherty
Howard Hanna Rocky River 216-978-7878
Whether you are buying or selling your first home or your forever home — The Bentley Group’s 30 years combined experience selling the city & the suburbs, & our 470+ client success stories, makes our team the one you want on your team.
Carolyn Bentley (216) 470-1502
carolynbentley@howardhanna.com www.carolynbentley.com
Keith Tisch (216) 789-8840
keithtisch@howardhanna.com www.keithtisch.com
Lori Scott (216) 236-3603 loriscott@howardhanna.com
Jennifer Dugan (440) 915-2826 jenniferdugan@howardhanna.com
Jennifer
Dolores Pescatrice
Howard Hanna Rocky River 216-870-2600
Todd Reinart
Howard Hanna Rocky River 440-567-6643
Gregg Wasilko
Howard Hanna Rocky River 440-521-1757
Marikate Wazevich
Howard Hanna Rocky River 440-823-3504
Julie Weist
Howard Hanna Rocky River 216-288-3403
Dan Weist
Howard Hanna Rocky River 216-288-3404
Hope Yantek
Howard Hanna Rocky River 216-212-7208
Michael Balog
Howard Hanna Aurora 330-802-4874
Lori DiCesare
Howard Hanna Aurora 216-548-2608
Sherry Hornak
Howard Hanna Aurora 205-533-4555
Kathleen Novak Howard Hanna Aurora 330-562-6188
Mary Strimple Howard Hanna Aurora 330-671-3179
Michael Della Vella
Howard Hanna Westlake 440-821-9181
Pat Graham Howard Hanna Westlake 216-952-5556
Ronda Jedrzejek
Howard Hanna Westlake 216-337-9941
Bev Montgomery
Howard Hanna Westlake 440-821-8585
Diane Podway
Howard Hanna Westlake 440-476-5007
Michelle Ramirez Howard Hanna Westlake 440-371-3750
Jamie Samaha
Howard Hanna Westlake 216-925-2063
Brian Victor Howard Hanna Westlake 440-793-0100
Mike Vonderau
Howard Hanna Westlake 440-871-3050
Danielle Voytek
Howard Hanna Westlake 440-793-0100
Greg Willis
Howard Hanna Westlake 216-389-9715
Jackie Collesi
Howard Hanna Shaker Heights 216-780-8607
Marilyn Kahn
Howard Hanna Shaker Heights 216-554-3930
Cathy LeSueur
Howard Hanna Shaker Heights 216-355-7005
Kristen Eiermann
Howard Hanna Avon 440-935-0993
Christina Higgins
Howard Hanna Avon 440-227-3636
Scott Kennedy
Howard Hanna Avon 440-503-3120
James Miller
Howard Hanna Avon 440-222-0403
James Patti
Howard Hanna Avon 216-254-3621
Annette Pisco
Howard Hanna Avon 216-410-1468
Wendy Rounds
Howard Hanna Avon 440-497-8001
Lisa Kinsner Scheer
Howard Hanna Avon 440-670-6024
Arlene Smith
Howard Hanna Avon 440-785-9196
Carolyn Bentley
Howard Hanna Cleveland 216-470-1502
John Corral
Howard Hanna Cleveland 330-705-5518
Heike Daigle
Howard Hanna Cleveland 419-602-0098
Autumn Enovitch
Howard Hanna Cleveland 216-973-8694
Patricia Knight Gary
Howard Hanna Cleveland 703-303-9532
Jim Haffey Jr.
Howard Hanna Cleveland 216-402-5027
Julie Kline
Howard Hanna Cleveland 216-789-0112
Lindsay Kronk
Howard Hanna Cleveland 216-536-2446
Julie Marous
Howard Hanna Cleveland 440-479-4681
Sean Payton
Howard Hanna Cleveland 216-509-6418
Sharon Gay Phelps
Howard Hanna Cleveland 216-331-8743
Michael Rastatter
Howard Hanna Cleveland 216-258-4273
Kristin Rogers
Howard Hanna Cleveland 440-279-7080
N Ann Schleckman
Howard Hanna Cleveland 216-272-5311
Sean Szczepinski
Howard Hanna Cleveland 330-421-3496
Theodore Theophylactos
Howard Hanna Cleveland 216-375-7060
Jill Hensel
Howard Hanna Bay Village 440-506-2054
Katie Manos
Howard Hanna Bay Village 440-258-5304
Amy Margiotti
Howard Hanna Bay Village 440-221-8657
Kathryn Taylor
Howard Hanna Bay Village 440-668-2249
Sarah Urbancic
Howard Hanna Bay Village 440-263-0612
Carolyn Wilson
Howard Hanna Bay Village 440-759-9903
Michael Warren
Howard Hanna Madison 440-667-7046
Bobbie Burey
Howard Hanna North Olmsted 440-503-3591
Misti Mancuso
Howard Hanna North Olmsted 440-668-3299
Marie Nader
Howard Hanna North Olmsted 216-407-1974
Paul Paratto
Howard Hanna Willoughby 440-516-4444
Michael Ross
Howard Hanna Willoughby 440-520-9294
Paul Blumberg
Howard Hanna Pepper Pike 216-633-5338
Janice Carson
Howard Hanna Pepper Pike 440-622-8181
Jenny Chin
Howard Hanna Pepper Pike 216-323-1216
Suzanne Deering
Howard Hanna Pepper Pike 216-496-9365
Susan Hennenberg
Howard Hanna Pepper Pike 216-469-5169
Adam Kaufman
Howard Hanna Pepper Pike 216-831-7370
Sally Messinger
Howard Hanna Pepper Pike 216-240-9911
Cici Riley
Howard Hanna Pepper Pike 216-410-3114
Susan Smith
Howard Hanna Pepper Pike 216-548-1072
Linda Febus
Howard Hanna Medina 330-722-6662
Janet Gommel
Howard Hanna Medina 330-242-2020
Jamie Powers
Howard Hanna Medina 330-805-5197
David Rudolph
Howard Hanna Medina 330-714-0066
John Stevens
Howard Hanna Medina 330-421-1319
Jodi Hodson Howard Hanna Stow 234-205-8410
Anne Harmody Howard Hanna Chagrin Falls 216-287-0864
Laurel Worley Heater
Howard Hanna Chagrin Falls 440-821-7100
Michelle McQuade Howard Hanna Chagrin Falls 440-823-2448
Terry Mitchell
Howard Hanna Chagrin Falls 440-465-9611
Heather Price Howard Hanna Chagrin Falls 216-526-4402
Mary Beth Wolfe
Howard Hanna Chagrin Falls 440-785-4334
Barbara Wilson Howard Hanna Medina 330-807-2778
Rhonda Ashby Howard Hanna Solon 440-829-8674
Lee Freeman Howard Hanna Solon 216-701-6407
Karine Garfield Howard Hanna Solon 216-695-9677
Stan Gudalevich Howard Hanna Solon 216-905-9635
Meredith Kronenberg Howard Hanna Solon 440-636-3069
Sheritha Miller Howard Hanna Solon 216-402-6776
Debra Moore Howard Hanna Solon 216-701-3002
Michele Sues Howard Hanna Solon 216-470-2965
Teresa Slowey Whitham Howard Hanna Solon 440-263-0504
Heather Young Howard Hanna Solon 440-759-7189
Marysue Murray Howard Hanna Mayfield Village 216-598-2104
Judie Crockett
Howard Hanna Mentor 440-336-0663
David Crockett Howard Hanna Mentor 440-336-0662
Margie DeMastry Howard Hanna Mentor 216-695-5276
John DeSantis Howard Hanna Mentor 440-974-7283
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Howard Hanna Mentor 440-669-8826
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Howard Hanna Mentor 440-974-7846
Mary Sams
Howard Hanna Mentor 216-347-0771
Chris Davidson
Howard Hanna Brecksville 440-263-2669
John Lambert
Howard Hanna Brecksville 440-539-5981
Suzanne Lambert
Howard Hanna Brecksville 440-539-5981
Heather Srodek
Howard Hanna Brecksville 216-544-7171
Susan Turner
Howard Hanna Brecksville 440-724-2321
Andrea Gould
Howard Hanna Macedonia 216-402-7169
Valeriia Ivanchenko
Howard Hanna Macedonia 330-692-1652
Diana Mague Howard Hanna Macedonia 216-808-1497
Stephanie McFearin Howard Hanna Macedonia 440-554-7712
Julia Mellon Howard Hanna Macedonia 330-348-1243
Karen Samonte
Howard Hanna Macedonia 216-849-3726
Jennifer Schneider Howard Hanna Macedonia 216-990-6607
Philbert Shy
Howard Hanna Macedonia 216-219-0091
Valarie Fendrick
Howard Hanna North Royalton 216-789-5400
Joseph Keller
Howard Hanna North Royalton 440-567-9283
Tracy Marx
Howard Hanna North Royalton 440-915-5417
Maureen Miner
Howard Hanna North Royalton 440-382-3187
Debbie Mottl
Howard Hanna North Royalton 216-215-7542
Katherine Rothman
Howard Hanna North Royalton 440-864-3782
Sandy Chrisant
Keller Williams Chervenic Realty Fairlawn 330 472 1706
Jerry Kayser
Keller Williams Chervenic Realty Stow 440-478-7078
Brad Miklovich
Keller Williams Chervenic Realty Stow 216-287-6357
Julee Alexy
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-667-5097
Jessica Allgood
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-420-1368
Callahan Anne
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-941-5765
Lori Baker
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-527-0501
Rose Baker
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-956-8109
Jayne Bialecki
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 419-346-7522
Mark Colucci
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-590-5219
Penelope Coutris
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-503-6100
Gregory Erlanger
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-916-7778
Mark Gepperth
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-477-0166
Jordan Gonzales
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 419-973-7461
Suzanne Herron
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 419-304-2351
Betty Higgins
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-452-5098
Megan Hornsby
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 419-559-5699
Charles Jaite
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-476-9726
Chuck Kelley
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-533-7683
Thomas Kelly
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-369-1351
Sheila Korek
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-892-2211
Kyle Lawrence
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-408-3082
Virginia Lindsay-No-
votny
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-407-7759
Pradnya Martz
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-935-8280
James Matheos
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-309-6720
Christy Morek
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-341-3225
Ann Renee Musat
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-342-0032
Joann Musbach
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-225-7506
Hannah Pannetti
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-403-2447
Patrick Pellerite
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-728-0943
Maria Pettet
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-567-4498
Brandy Phillips
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-351-9051
David Reddy
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-406-4746
Sue Sasseville
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-317-0422
Sabrina Semidey
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-903-7710
Gavriel Septon
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-262-4700
Jessica Smith
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-387-6846
Kevin Szymczak
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 419-290-6101
Michael Thies
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-408-3082
Ashleigh Vasi
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-822-7973
Jane Vitou
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-725-1434
Stacy Watson
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 440-829-2355
Maureen Zappone
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-513-5552
Edwin Huck
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-470-0802
Anthony Bartinelli
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-572-1200
Jessica Baumer
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 570-620-6577
Antonio Biasiotta
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-223-0575
Ahren Booher
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-537-4502
Rhonda Buynak
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-376-3623
Erin Chappelle
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-373-1950
Jennifer Deal
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-732-2232
Bunny Dennison
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 330-858-2345
Jennifer Duncan
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 330-241-3723
Emily Duncan
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 330-800-6265
Sharon Fletcher
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 330-802-8938
Gina Grassi
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 216-952-9078
Beth Hedtke
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-783-2115
Sergio Helou
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-502-1428
Jason Hoag
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 216-287-8500
Melissa Hollingsworth
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-382-9367
Mara Kaulins
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-590-5656
Danielle Kilbane
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 216-258-8884
Tresa Klein
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-342-5766
Kristopher Kramer
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 330-391-1545
Joy Larson
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-732-0711
Sara Medrick Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 216-924-4288
Mark Metz Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 330-690-3122
Natasia Metz Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 330-808-4289
Yatra Moscarino Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 216-990-7095
Jennifer Paul Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-596-8917
Dominic Picione Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-390-9510
Laura Schuller Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-371-1467
Pamela Simon Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 216-403-3981
Michael Smith Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 330-401-7473
Jennifer Starinsky Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-804-4292
Christine Stowell Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-263-8630
Bruce Trammell Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 216-970-2143
Nick Virzi
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-821-5737
Matthew Werner Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 440-429-6657
Justin Weseloh
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 216-832-9015
Kathleen Joy
Keller Williams Elevate Lakeside 419-341-0142
Roger Nair
Keller Williams Elevate Medina 330-350-0016
Stacy Nugent
Keller Williams Elevate Medina 216-299-5092
Frank Ruma
Keller Williams Elevate Medina 440-212-5626
Alyssa Snyder
Keller Williams Elevate Medina 330-749-6732
Ivana Carson
Keller Williams Elevate Medina 216-401-8686
Robert Blaise Rosser
Keller Williams Elevate Medina 330-419-0420
Christine Williams
Keller Williams Elevate Medina 216-695-6972
John Grillis
Keller Williams Elevate Brunswick 216-396-9218
Morganne Kaster
Keller Williams Elevate Brunswick 440-226-2713
Daniela Maragos
Keller Williams Elevate Brunswick 440-292-5656
Napoleon Titschinger
Keller Williams Elevate Brunswick 216-333-3777
Linay Lencioni
Keller Williams Elevate Brunswick 330-242-1108
Sajag Patel
Keller Williams Elevate Brunswick 440-263-0553
Diane Weseloh
Keller Williams Elevate Brecksville 216-440-0432
Jennifer L. Lombardo
Keller Williams Elevate Brecksville 216-410-5293
Chris Lombardo
Keller Williams Elevate Brecksville 216-859-1986
Troy Bratz
Keller Williams Elevate Strongsville 216-702-2196
Jennifer Allen
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-796-4833
Tim Ambrose
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-862-0560
Natalie J. Antosh
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-364-4663
Darren Burke
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-341-2002
Linda DiPietro
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 216-390-6969
Jody Finucan
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-221-6383
Joseph Gentile
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-479-3545
Shannon Gerome
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 216-536-9669
Emily Kerwood
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-823-3264
Paul Koerwitz
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-487-9730
Cari Nelson
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-840-2845
Marianne Prentice
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-463-2970
Kortney Ramacciato
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 216-780-3840
Tiffany Schwegel
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-477-3065
Sharon Zunkley
Keller Williams Greater Cleveland Northeast Mentor 440-477-3276
Scott Carpenter
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Lakewood 216-262-1723
Art Obleton Jr. eXp Realty LLC Westlake 216-482-9035
Sean Nowak
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Rocky River 904-909-0506
Alexandra Spino
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Rocky River 216-322-7655
Darian Thomas
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Rocky River 440-328-5709
Matt Chase
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Rocky River 440-452-2000
Wesley Croft
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Rocky River 440-941-1377
Pete Formica
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Rocky River 440-521-1447
Andrew Ginter
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Rocky River 440-781-8737
Daniel Malloy
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Rocky River 440-308-2468
Lindsey Mooney
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Rocky River 216-777-9177
Scott Phillips Jr.
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-849-8333
Jason Beard
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Warrensville Heights 216-659-5520
Michael Arko
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-520-4270
Jason Baran
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-280-5357
Patrick Barmann
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-990-5719
Evanne Barone
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-532-3310
Jermaine Brooks
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-224-4326
Jermaine Burge
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-215-5727
Teri Chmielewski
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-407-7249
Joseph M. Cicero Jr.
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-343-7503
Lori Dague
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-796-0301
Ankur Dhasmana
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 732-718-1188
Wendy Poltorek Dickson
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-337-3521
Eddie Donley
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 330-289-0047
Sally Frye
Keller Williams Living Solon 216-785-5955
Edward Golden
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-821-7985
Gale Grau
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-513-8467
Margarita Hubert
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-503-1693
Doxie Jelks
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-470-3492
Kim Kapustik
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-396-2108
Jake Lohser
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-408-8795
Clifford Louis
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 203-554-9020
Nicole McHale
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-409-2834
Jon Murchison
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-256-6179
Jeremy Ols
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-263-8915
Uday Patel
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-780-7000
Linzie Potoczak
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-650-0407
Rebecca Runge
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 330-803-6519
Shoshana Socher
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-255-7377
Melanie Sweeney
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-288-0199
Eric Uchbar
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-342-1408
Ryan Young
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-859-1201
Jade Kim Zivko
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-338-5918
Christine Case
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-702-5494
Carol Y. Joiner
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-554-3413
Larry Wanke
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-215-1165
Setrena Young
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-390-0682
Robert Zimmer
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-406-5729
Lincoln Coverdale
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 720-588-4626
Lanz Dela Roca
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-823-4690
Ryan DeLuca
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-413-5193
Maria Eder
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-956-1303
As the winner of Cleveland Magazine’s 2023 School Spirit Photo Contest, we asked Solon High School senior Cate Rukin to capture her school’s spirited vibes for a special photo collage in this issue. Here are a collection of Cate’s favorite photos from the 2023-24 school year. A fan of big sports and big schools, Cate plans to attend The Ohio State University in the fall and major in public health.
Want to see your photos here next year? Follow Cleveland Magazine on social to get notified about our upcoming photo contest!
Lisa Gaines
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-990-1721
Deborah Garson
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-509-4275
Rudolph Jones III
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-665-4165
Jeffrey Longo Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-554-3949
Polly Lorenzo
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 330-354-7014
Michael McCandless
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 216-287-0877
Colleen Miklus
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-479-8766
Lisa Sisko
Keller Williams Greater Metropolitan Cleveland 440-796-8043
Lauren Witt
Keller Williams Citywide Westlake 216-543-9424
Jose Medina
Keller Williams Legacy Group Realty North Canton 330-605-9185
Jenny Salvaggio
Keller Williams Legacy Group Realty Pepper Pike 440-724-5581
Melissa Kaufman
Keller Williams Legacy Realty Group North Canton 330-415-5931
Kathleen Bergansky
Keller Williams Living Solon 216-316-0788
Sandra Braun
Keller Williams Living Solon 216-299-0575
Melinda Chamberlin
Keller Williams Living Solon 216-598-7085
Stacey Jones
Keller Williams Living Solon 216-577-5874
Michaleen Paul
Keller Williams Living Solon 440-840-3538
Audrey Jenks
Keller Williams Living Solon 330-388-0789
Amanda Pohlman
Keller Williams Living Solon 216-526-8302
David Preseren
Keller Williams Living Solon 440-339-3060
Carly Sablotny
Keller Williams Living Solon 440-521-1704
Donna Toth
Keller Williams Living Solon 216-210-8684
CJ Trivisonno
Keller Williams Living Solon 440-227-4260
Jessica Chodaczek
LoFaso Real Estate Services Brunswick 216-407-8896
Sam LoFaso LoFaso Real Estate Services Brunswick 440-342-2945
Amanda Ondrey M.C. Real Estate Medina 330-802-9618
Renee Beech
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-488-5141
Shelly Blankenship
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-622-0348
Rick Bocchieri
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-227-1857
Stephanie Bosworth
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-231-0458
Terri Brandetsas
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-669-1008
Jeffrey Carducci
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-749-5358
Jodi Consolo
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 216-210-8436
Scott Davis
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-364-4485
Clorice Dlugos
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-812-2542
Kathy Fawcett
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-821-4558
Erin Giannetto
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 216-538-3845
Theresa Hadad
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-429-5200
Melissa Harford
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-463-2424
Courtney Hatfield
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 330-704-2621
Amanda Kritzer
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 216-469-0535
Melissa Lendvay
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 216-970-2902
Jerry Lesak
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-487-2157
Gina Meyer
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-226-1642
Laura Mokwa
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-463-7531
Mimi Osbourne
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 216-559-6464
Damir Paulic
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-220-2225
Nicole Peterson
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-901-9696
Denise Quiggle
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-251-9985
Jeff Resnick
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 216-526-2633
Nicole Rodriguez
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-227-3444
Theresa Seese
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 216-666-1411
Shannon Velotta
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-477-1906
Kay Zabivnik
McDowell Real Estate Mentor 440-477-4382
Joyce Molnar MSL Realty Wadsworth 330-419-9427
Chris Olsen
Olsen Ziegler Realty Brecksville 216-702-0537
Ericka Bazzo On Target Realty Inc Rocky River 216-799-6283
John Vrsansky Jr. On Target Realty Inc Rocky River 216-849-6775
Gregg Boehlefeld Platinum Real Estate Mentor 440-975-5854
Tim Cline Platinum Real Estate Mentor 440-749-5182
Sophie Boehlen Premier Heights Realty LLC Cleveland Heights 216-849-8032
David Sharkey Progressive Urban Real Estate Inc Cleveland 216-533-1617
Timothy M. McMahon Jr. PWG Real Estate LLC Mentor 419-308-6313
Deborah Clark RE/MAX Above & Beyond Hudson 330-703-0146
Kimbedy A. Malin
RE/MAX Above & Beyond Hudson 330-958-2355
Joshua Anion
RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 216-469-1456
Shannon C. Burrelli RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 440-342-0792
Jeffrey Cimbulich
RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 216-406-6275
Robert J. Cole
RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 440-241-5221
Michael Delmore RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 216-308-6444
Thomas Didonalo RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 440-503-6728
Jaclyn Drager RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 828-514-9918
David Greathouse RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 440-409-9121
Pamela Hakaim RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 440-935-4294
Jacki A. Jakacki RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 216-375-1158
Luba Kohut RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 440-829-8598
Jim Oblak RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 440-476-7959
Ben Parojcic RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 440-667-3735
Brlanna Romero RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 216-224-9916
Dennis Wolf RE/MAX Above & Beyond Middleburg Heights 216-389-4974
Christopher J. Barthol RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-342-6458
Jenna Bartone RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-669-9775
Kathryn Dix Brahler RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-724-4313
Christina Carpadis RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 216-215-4232
Danielle Farai RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 216-299-2245
Jessica Felty RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 216-256-9723
Roxana A. Galateanu RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 216-324-1054
Tom Garuccio RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-382-0630
Emmy Gregory RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-668-4057
Taylor Helmink RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 216-219-1954
Steve Junker RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-537-0567
Zachary Nicolay RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 216-973-6484
John Oskowski RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-785-4999
Christine Revay RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-376-4181
Roger J. Scheve RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-477-1188
Vanessa Schiavi RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-454-5782
Tasha Sherman RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 440-781-3196
Jason A. Smith RE/MAX Above & Beyond Westlake 419-515-6300
Anthony Colantuono RE/MAX Above & Beyond Broadview Heights 216-299-2359
Celebrating 25 years OF EXCELLENCE.
Discerning homeowners throughout Northeast Ohio trust Hurst Design Build Remodel to make their remodeling dreams come true. Hurst’s detailed process, innovative design, and fine craftsmanship combine to create an extraordinary remodeling experience. Learn more about our award-winning work by scheduling a consultation or stop in to visit our Design Center in Westlake, Ohio.
Silvana Dibiase
RE/MAX Above & Beyond Broadview Heights 216-347-9990
Beverly Gates RE/MAX Above & Beyond Broadview Heights 216-554-7200
Angela P. Giarikos RE/MAX Above & Beyond Broadview Heights 216-598-0039
Sharon Hajek RE/MAX Above & Beyond Broadview Heights 440-785-9651
Cheryl Wiegand Schroer RE/MAX Above & Beyond Broadview Heights 440-897-7771
Richard Ward RE/MAX Above & Beyond Broadview Heights 440-488-8659
Tabatha Whewell RE/MAX Above & Beyond Broadview Heights 216-978-7933
Sally Crist RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 330-999-9234
Kathleen Dafonseca RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 440-570-3024
Jack Krusinski RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 216-789-6736
Ann E. Laudato RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 440-221-3491
Paula McQueen RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 216-903-6708
Michelle MehafeyTaylor RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 216-233-8316
Mark Piscilelli RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 440-342-9913
Shellie M. Rockwell
RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 440-382-2942
Kimberly Rutherford RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 216-272-1541
Luke Schimpf
RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 440-364-7574
Sheila A. Stupka RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 440-263-8358
Barb Szabo RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 440-263-7496
Lisa Szaraz RE/MAX Above & Beyond Brecksville 216-577-5437
Joseph E. Dirk RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Rocky River 216-702-7247
Anthony Latina RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Rocky River 440-465-5611
Katherine Bartlett RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Medina 330-858-0257
Sherri G. Costanzo RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Medina 330-807-2722
David J. Fox RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Strongsville 216-789-6890
Lisa Humenik RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Strongsville 440-476-4959
Holly S. Pratt RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Strongsville 440-925-6774
Gary L. Post RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Avon 440-935-0341
Artnetta Vines RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Avon 440-452-7580
Angie Molitoris RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Cleveland Heights 216-299-9503
Jose F. Rodriguez RE/MAX Crossroads Properties Cleveland Heights 216-310-7609
Debbie L. Ferrante RE/MAX Edge Realty Canton 330-958-8394
Michael M. Azzam RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon 440-503-9609
Jamie Claxon
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
440-382-7775
Frank Costanzo RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
216-598-2491
Steve Flores
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
216-374-5193
Robert F. Gallmann
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
440-343-0314
Xinyun Jiang
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
216-312-3177
Augustine Kazek
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
330-242-6937
Steven Morris
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
216-386-2686
Tyler Powell
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
330-565-5164
Lynn B. Simon
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
216-577-2223
Gretchen Spacek
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
440-343-0313
Heather Spirko
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
440-667-0560
Jovon Stewart RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
216-401-0273
Christopher Szabo
RE/MAX Haven Realty Solon
440-334-8581
Nicolette Maksim RE/MAX Haven Realty Twinsburg 616-893-0954
Michelle Tyszka RE/MAX Haven Realty Twinsburg 330-603-3335
Elizabeth A. Sill
RE/MAX Innovations Madison 440-983-1071
Michael Atkinson
RE/MAX Real Estate Group Avon Lake 440-773-5577
Lou Barbee RE/MAX Real Estate Group Avon Lake 440-899-0000
Kathleen F. Chisar RE/MAX Real Estate Group Avon Lake 216-973-3500
Charlotte Baldwin RE/MAX Results Ashtabula 440-812-3834
Dennis M. Falvey RE/MAX Results Concord Township 440-477-4310
Bettie J. Schmikla RE/MAX Results Concord Township 440-537-7653
Ann E. Blair RE/MAX Rising Burton 440-682-0155
Dan McCaskey RE/MAX Traditions Chardon 440-773-5542
Dan O'Reilly RE/MAX Traditions Chardon 440-821-3484
Susan Loparo RE/MAX Traditions Shaker Heights 216-390-8500
Nancy A. Frederico RE/MAX Traditions Cleveland Heights 216-299-3599
Lucien Pruszynski RE/MAX Traditions Chagrin Falls 330-785-8550
Mark B. Schecter RE/MAX Traditions Chagrin Falls 216-215-6118
Steph Snavely RE/MAX Traditions Chagrin Falls 440-503-0222
Nancy L. Bartlebaugh RE/MAX Trends Realty Uniontown 330-564-5632
Nikki Fanizzi
RE/MAX Trends Realty Uniontown 330-807-7005
Brittany Bosch Redfin Cleveland 216-350-0713
Roger Peters Regal Realty Inc Parma 216-789-0262
Mary Shoemaker
Kathleen Cislo Russel
Sandusky 216-258-5886
Kevin Russell Russell
Strongsville 440-554-3297
Michelle Green Russell
Strongsville 440-342-0269
Chris Kilbane Russell
Strongsville 440-915-8257
KathyMontgomery Russell
Strongsville 216-466-4442
Michelle Stanifer Russell
Strongsville
Michael Terrigno
Strongsville 440-773-4619
Trista E. Tharp Russell
Amherst 440-452-9117
David Breslin
Russell Real
Westlake 216-407-8696
Mary K. Kerlin
Russell
Westlake 440-835-8300
Jodi Kidd
Russell
Services Westlake 216-973-9698
Robert Bodossian
Russell
Estate Services Brecksville 440-376-4630
Alex Carney Russell
Brecksville 440-382-7720
Nicole Guizzotti
Russell
Brecksville 216-906-2694
Jesse Kracht Russell
Brecksville 440-212-5656
Libbie Tenaglia
Russell Real Estate Services
Brecksville 440-915-8331
David Axford
Russell Real Estate Services North Ridgeville 440-281-3010
Chad Schneider
Russell Real Estate Services North Ridgeville 440-225-8449
Emily Simkovich
Russell Real Estate Services North Ridgeville 440-897-2078
Jodi Stevens
Russell Real Estate Services North Ridgeville 440-221-6437
Jonathan Wright
Russell Real Estate Services North Ridgeville 440-739-0533
Adam Bellinski
Russell Real Estate Services
Medina 330-723-2777
Aaron Dolata
Russell Real Estate Services Medina 440-364-7031
Tammy Frazier
Russell Real Estate Services Medina 330-321-6508
Christopher Meekins
Russell Real Estate Services
Medina 330-416-0975
Jill Mader
Russell Real Estate Services Olmsted Falls 216-905-5902
William Bambrick Smartland Realty Eastlake 216-410-5899
Drew Vaneck Westway Realty Cleveland 440-899-5044
Leslie Worsech
Worsech Real Estate Services Lakewood 216-513-7497
Lou Barbee understands real estate is not about houses.
As our real estate market continues to shift and change, for Lou Barbee, one thing that will never change is her belief that real estate is about people — not property.
Lou’s twenty-five years in real estate have given her the experience to guide her clients through all the industry’s permutations.
With over $500 million in property transfers, her profession has given her so much more than sales. It has given her a host of people that are now friends and even “family.”
Listening to her clients and understanding their goals has been her key to creating environments to support their lives now and in the future.
Results are her guarantee — but caring for her clients remains Lou’s first priority.
“I’m so grateful and still having fun,” she says.
“Where else could I meet so many interesting people, guide them through one of their biggest financial decisions, become friends, and then, someone actually pays me for having fun?”
Lou Barbee sees Real Estate from a different perspective — YOURS.
907 East Aurora Road, Macedonia 216-402-7169
Energetic, passionate and knowledgeable are a few qualities Andrea Gould offers her clients. “I look forward to my people becoming like family members and dear friends,” she says.
A lifelong Clevelander, Gould’s hands-on customer service, marketing and negotiation skills drive this creative, multi-million-dollar agent to consistently exceed her clients’ expectations.
She considers all aspects of real estate when working with clients, including their stories and what’s driving them to their next chapter. Her motivation comes from her strong sense of family, her loyalty and pride in a job she loves.
Gould is known for her integrity, candidness, strong work ethic and self-proclaimed amazing sense of humor. She also has been recognized as a Howard Hanna Best of the Best and one of Cleveland Real Producers Magazine’s yearly Top REALTORS. She has earned an Ohio Association of REALTORS Award of Distinction & Achievement and ranked in the top 5% of REALTORS nationally.
andreagould@howardhanna.com andreagould.howardhanna.com
It may be hard to find someone who loves real estate more than Teresa Slowey Whitham. Her personal experience with corporate relocation took her through four states in 10 years and has given her a passion to help families relocate happily and well-adjusted in their new communities.
Buying, selling and building homes is what prompted her to spend a few years renovating and flipping houses before becoming a licensed real estate agent. Slowey Whitham knows all aspects of real estate. Her work ethic is strong, and she treats clients like friends. Her motivation comes from the joy her buyers feel when she finds the perfect home and sells theirs quickly at a fair price. Living in Solon for the past 21 years, she is an expert in her market and the surrounding areas. She has personally invested in her community and believes in its strength and value.
Slowey Whitham continues to be named one of Howard Hanna’s Best of the Best, receiving the Ohio Association of REALTORS Pinnacle of Performance award and the National Sales Excellence Award year after year.
teresasloweywhitham@howardhanna.com teresasloweywhitham.howardhanna.com
Michelle Mehaffey-Taylor was essentially born to be a REALTOR. Her passion for homes began in childhood, as her parents introduced her to open houses and the art of home rehabilitation. With over 20 years of experience, she understands the significance of “home” at every stage of life. She also guides clients with investment properties. Her empathy and dedication to seamless transactions make her a trusted advisor, and she has been named a top 5% REALTOR in Cleveland since 2018.
RE/MAX Above & Beyond 7570 Chippewa Road, Brecksville
216-233-8316
Michelle.Mehaffey@remax.net
Michelle-Mehaffey.remax.com
Experience, integrity and enthusiasm define Kathryn Taylor’s approach to real estate, which has led Taylor to consistently being a Bay Village top office listing leader and sales producer. Taylor takes great pride in her clients’ satisfaction by always striving to deliver fully on their needs and goals. Taylor’s superior customer service skills have resulted in her routinely earning the annual, distinguished Quality Service Award, as well as ranking her in the top 1% company wide and top 5% nationally.
kathryntaylor@howardhanna.com kathytaylor.realtor kathryntaylor.realtor
I have consistently been a top producing broker with Coldwell Banker for 27+ years, and I have the support of a strong real estate family with over 100 years of combined experience supported with the tools of the industry’s oldest and largest real estate brand. I wake up every day excited about what I do and I enjoy the opportunity to earn my clients’ business.
32648 Center Ridge Road, North Ridgeville 216-210-7653
thefrederickteam@gmail.com thefrederickteam.com
Geoffrey is a lifelong Greater Cleveland resident with over 20 years of experience in real estate. As a certified new home specialist and top producing agent, he specializes in the Heights, near-east suburbs and covers all of Cuyahoga County and beyond. He sells historic homes, new homes, and everything in between.
12435 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights 216-496-4212
geoffreyhoffman.howardhanna.com
Howard Hanna Rocky River Office 19204 Detroit Road, Rocky River 440-227-5878
aileenfitzgerald@howardhanna.com
elizabethgleim@howardhanna.com
Aileen FitzGerald* and Elizabeth Gleim bring over 40 years of full-time real estate experience to each and every transaction. They pride themselves on knowledge and personal service from first meeting right through the entire transaction.
27121 Center Ridge Road, Westlake 216-407-8696
davidbreslin.russellrealty.com
David Breslin* consistently ranks in the top 5% of REALTORS nationwide. His most important goal is to provide excellent service to buyers and sellers to earn their trust, referrals and repeat business.
2100 Center Road, Avon 440-227-3636
christinahigginshomes.com
A winning combination of experience and compassion gets you to the finish line with Christina Higgins*: marketing, negotiating, communication, explanation, strategy advice, pointing out defects and more!
8949 Brecksville Road, Brecksville 440-724-2321
susanturner.howardhanna.com
Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist. Energy, experience and integrity are essential in any transaction. Susan Turner* thanks her many clients who depend on her for those qualities over and over again!
Laurello Vineyards is a family-owned winery providing hand-crafted, award-winning wines and specially prepared foods as well as beer on tap. Laurello’s offers premium, vinifera wines in addition to unique blends and delicious ice wines. We invite you to stop by to experience our boutique winery.
4573 Route 307 East, Geneva, OH 440-415-0661, laurellovineyards.com
Heineman Winery
Celebrating 135 years of family traditions, Heineman’s is the oldest family-owned and -operated winery in Ohio. This award-winning winery is also home to the world’s largest known Celestite geode and offers tours of the winery and Crystal Cave. Visit the tasting room featuring wines made on-site, while enjoying fresh cheeses.
978 Catawba Avenue, Put-In-Bay, OH 419-285-2811, heinemanswinery.com
French Ridge Vineyard
Enjoy a true taste of Holmes County in Ohio’s Amish Country! Visit our winery overlooking 23-acres of vineyards in the scenic hills offering peace and tranquility. Enjoy our delightful wines offering 22 varietals. Stay the night in our cozy cabins and enjoy dinner, live music, and a beautiful sunset.
2586 Township Road 34, Killbuck, OH 330-377-4962, frenchridgevineyards.com
Guggisberg Inn, Winery & Riding Stables
A Country Inn overlooking the beautiful Doughty Valley in Ohio’s Amish Country. Boutique Agricultural Winery on premise. Grab a bite to eat from The Charming Bistro located in the Inn. Come and stay a while in one of our comfortable rooms. On premise Horseback Riding Stables available.
5025 State Route 557, Millersburg, OH 330-893-3600, guggisbergswissinn.com
At Lost Tail Winery and Vineyard, we believe life is better lived outdoors and wine enjoyed in handcrafted, small batches. We are open year-round and offer live music, The Hungry Hiker food trailer (new in 2024), book club, workshops, BrewGroup meetings, trivia games, makers markets/ festivals and more. 5228 State Street NE, Canton, OH 330-754-9643, losttrailwinery.com
We are an upscale, country winery with a friendly, relaxing atmosphere. We offer dry Vinifera wines and sweet Labrusca and fruit wines, hard ciders, craft beers, and cocktails. Enjoy food from our kitchen and patio, and new in 2024 bring your dogs to experience our new “Barking Lot” dog park.
6062 S Ridge Road W, Geneva, OH 440-466-0626, thewineryatspringhill.com
Laurentia Vineyard and Winery is located within the Grand River Valley. Situated upon 48 acres of estate vineyards, Laurentia’s award winning wines, such as our Double Gold Stoltz Block ® Cabernet, may be perfectly paired with a variety of boards, shared plates, and artisan flatbreads.
4599 S. Madison Road, Madison, OH 440-296-9175, laurentiawinery.com
This summer, escape to Gervasi Vineyard, a unique, Tuscan-inspired winery resort and spa. Enjoy three distinct restaurants, a luxurious suite and the comforts of high-end amenities, as well as an outdoor patio with beautiful lake views. Treat yourself to a tranquil spa treatment or the intimate wine-tasting room in The Cave. 1700 55th Sreet NE, Canton, 330-497-1000, gervasivineyard.com
THEIR HAPPY PLACE
BY LYNNE THOMPSONTUBE DUDE IS A WELL-KNOWN FIGURE on the Lake Erie shoreline, a sunny yellow smileyface equivalent of a highway mile-marker that boaters use to indicate their location on the water, says Jess Oster, owner of general contractor Oster Services in Lakewood. The powder-coated steel, sculpture by Sarasota, Florida, artist Scott Gerber, also overlooks the summertime fun destination a Bay Village couple created in the sloping backyard of their gray-sided Dutch colonial. The pool, together with the pool house and curving overhead deck, looks like a scaled-down version of what vacationers might find on a cruise ship — minus the house, of course. “[It wasn’t] completed for long when they actually had a wedding in their backyard,” Oster says. “That’s the sort of thing they really enjoy doing.”
The property wasn’t exactly suited for the project the couple envisioned.
Oster explains that the backyard is located on an old riverbed. “The soils are historically unstable,” he says. Jim Schilens of Engineered Technical Solutions in Westlake installed a deep foundation to support the pool and pool house, along with a sheet-pile wall to protect against erosion and a cove for personal watercraft.
Oster and his team of contractors then began building the pool house. Lakewood-based architect Mark Reinhold added a gray TimberTech deck and staircase off the house’s first floor — a space created on top of an existing storage area — and counterparts off the lower level to access the pool house’s rooftop deck, pool house and 36-by-16-foot pool, the last of which was installed by Highland Construction of Richfield.
“What we wanted to do is have enough landings, have enough places to gather, many levels going down to the pool and the shoreline,” he explains.
The homeowners requested the bright yellow slide on one side of the house, an alternative to taking the steps from the lower level.
“It’s a quick way down,” Oster says from experience.
Reinhold’s design optimizes the property’s east and west views as well as the pool house’s limited square footage, an effort that created room for under-cover lounging. A blue mirror extending over the length of blackgranite-topped cabinetry along one wall (a feature suggested by Mike Kelly of Cleveland-based Glass Inc. that makes the reflection of sky and lake look even bluer on a clear day), together with the owners’ wall-mounted TV and ceiling-mounted fans, provide the look of an outdoor bar with stainlesssteel-fronted refrigeration units, a Kegerator and storage without the service-bar-with-stools itself.
“Having a place where anybody can go up and get their drink or get their snack seemed much more natural,” Reinhold says. He relegated the gas
grill to a lapis-blue-tiled exterior-wall alcove that helps protect from the elements and conceals ventilation. “We didn’t want to take [the pool house] over as an outdoor kitchen,” he says. “Cooking can happen and should happen, but [it] shouldn’t slow down gathering around the bar.”
Similarly, no walls enclose the shower in the bathroom, rendering it a wet room to save space. Oster concedes that the square wall-mounted sink and commode get wet when swimmers rinse off before and after taking a dip.
“[But] the whole thing is something you can hose out and keep clean,” he says.
The stamped concrete extends to TimberTech pool decking. Oster ex-
plains that it allows rain and melting snow to drain into an underlying system that empties into the lake.
“[The decking] dries quick,” he says. “It’s comfortable to walk on. And it just fits this installation better. Water management is a big deal on these lakefront projects.”
Oster credits the lady of the house with the blue-and-yellow color scheme, executed in everything from the sky-blue cushions on the whiteframe pool-house sofas to the yellowand-white-striped accent pillows and towels.
“They really wanted it to be visible — [they] had a unique opportunity to make something really cool [looking] from the water, not just around the
The blue-and-yellow color scheme is executed in everything from the cushions on the sofas to the striped accent pillows and towels.
pool deck,” he says.
The couple also retained Oster to convert the storage room off the lower level into a barrel-ceilinged steam room. His team executed a design on one wall in black and white pennyround tile, a feature visible from the changing area through the glass wall separating the two spaces. A woodslat bench conceals the steam unit; a cabinet door hides the electrical panel. Like the pool house, it is designed to be hosed down.
Oster says the homeowners completed the project by adding Tube Dude as a year-round message to guests and passers-by.
“Anyone who’s out on the lake should be happy,” he says.
LAKEWOOD | $1M
CLIFTON LAGOONS. A very rare property in a very special location. Double lot. This artist’s home is filled with unexpected and delightful “quirks.” Casual Lake Erie lifestyle. One of only a few Lagoons properties built on land (not water). A 2nd floor balcony spans the home with spectacular yacht club, river, and Lake Erie views.
HINCKLEY | $320K
Five amazing acres with natural woods boundaries and walking trails in back. Vintage 1943 stone house offering exceptional privacy, wood burning fireplace and family room with window walls that bring the outdoors in. Short walk to Metroparks Top of Ledges. Horse trails across the street. Secluded country living close to I-71, 77, & 271.
ELYRIA | $299K
NEW (never lived in) model home at Ridge Water. Loads of upgrades. Many “designer” selections. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. Neutral. Bright. Great room flowing into the gorgeous white Shaker and stainless kitchen w/island and quartz counters. Private master suite. Luxury flooring, Sliders to patio. Home management system. Irrigation and landscaping
LAKEWOOD | $1M
CLIFTON LAGOONS. Lake Erie access year round, storage for your boat in your 80x18 boathouse. A rare opportunity. Vaulted great room opens to the true “cook’s kitchen.” 1st and 2nd floor bedrooms. 3rd floor office with sliders to the 80 x18 deck overlooking the lagoon & Lake Erie. Clifton Beach privileges: Tennis. Playground.
RIVER | $1.495M
Spectacular riverfront homesite with sweeping 180 degree views of the MetroParks and Rocky River. A stunning “Tudor” colonial featuring 5 bedrooms, 6 baths. (1st
THE ROLLING STONES announced their 1975 tour “with the shy diffidence for which they are famous,” said The New York Times — by playing “Brown Sugar” on a flatbed truck driving down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
Their Tour of the Americas, which saw the band play 45 dates in three months, included a stop in Cleveland, as the featured act in the second World Series of Rock series of concerts at Cleveland Stadium in 1975. The mammoth stadium became home to a series of mammoth rock concerts the year before. Daylong rock concerts were in style at that point, and Belkin Productions was able to bring in the biggest acts of the day.
The opening acts for the Stones included the J. Geils Band. And then at 7:13 p.m., to the strains of Aaron Copland’s “Fan-
fare for the Common Man,” the Stones took the stage with a lineup that included Ronnie Wood, the guitarist for Faces (he would become a member of the Stones the following year after Faces’ breakup) and Billy Preston, who’d become known as “The Fifth Beatle” for his collaboration with the Fab Four.
Some 82,000 fans showed up as the Stones rocked Cleveland Stadium for more than two hours, with a show that included a custom-built stage and 22 tons of electrical equipment. Cleveland’s grande dame of rock, The Plain Dealer’s Jane Scott, called them “the last survivors of the 1964 Golden Age of Rock.”
As the now 60-year-old band visits Cleveland Browns Stadium on June 15, they remain the undisputed holders of that title.
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