Downtown
This weekend, celebrate creative women at Women to Watch — Ohio, show your mother some love at EarthFest2015, get carried away with Cleveland Ballet, rock out at Record Store Day and more.
While it is not easy to move to a new country and a new city full of different cultures, languages and traditions, refugees not only make it work, they become some of Cleveland’s most successful entrepreneurs.
Gear up for an action-packed weekend! Shop the Cleveland Flea’s April Market, enjoy Danceworks at Cleveland Public Theatre, run a 5K to benefit colon cancer, learn tips for maintaining a beautiful yard without chemicals and more.
Attention foodies or anyone looking for a new dining experience: Dinner Lab announced last week that On July 24 Cleveland will become its 33rd location in its social dining experiment. Dinner Lab hosts regular pop-up dinners in unconventional, undisclosed locations in a setting that offers the chance to meet new people, try new great food and give feedback. It also allows chefs – about half from Cleveland and the other half from successful restaurants around the country – to try new concepts and new menu items.
Dinner Lab started in New Orleans three years ago. “Originally, there was nowhere to get really good late night food in New Orleans,” explains Dinner Lab HR director Hallie Dietsch. “What it evolved into is an opportunity to let chefs showcase their true passions.”
The chefs are not given boundaries to what they prepare. Diners are given a comment card to rate the food’s taste, creativity and other feedback. “As a member, you’re having a dinner that you most likely will never have again,” says Dietsch. “For the chef, it’s an opportunity to cook something he knows really well and enjoys cooking.”
There is a $125 annual membership fee to join Dinner Lab, and the five- to seven-course dinners cost between $50 and $65. Members can bring up to three guests with them. The chefs range from seasoned line cooks who are thinking about opening their own restaurants to Michelin Star chefs trying out new concepts.
Dinners are announced three weeks in advance of the event. Diners are told the date, the chef and the menu, but the location is not disclosed until 24 hours before the event.
Dietsch says Cleveland was chosen as the newest Dinner Lab location because of the population’s affinity for good food. “Cleveland is not known as being New York or Chicago, but Clevelanders are keyed in to good food and want to try new things,” she says. “We think people in Cleveland will be excited and ready for this. People are more interested in food and educated about food and they want to know what they’re eating and the chef’s inspiration.”
Cleveland’s first Dinner Lab chef will be Chicago-based Daniel Espinoza, who will cook a five-course modern Mexican meal titled “Anomar.”
Dinner Lab started in New Orleans three years ago. “Originally, there was nowhere to get really good late night food in New Orleans,” explains Dinner Lab HR director Hallie Dietsch. “What it evolved into is an opportunity to let chefs showcase their true passions.”
The chefs are not given boundaries to what they prepare. Diners are given a comment card to rate the food’s taste, creativity and other feedback. “As a member, you’re having a dinner that you most likely will never have again,” says Dietsch. “For the chef, it’s an opportunity to cook something he knows really well and enjoys cooking.”
There is a $125 annual membership fee to join Dinner Lab, and the five- to seven-course dinners cost between $50 and $65. Members can bring up to three guests with them. The chefs range from seasoned line cooks who are thinking about opening their own restaurants to Michelin Star chefs trying out new concepts.
Dinners are announced three weeks in advance of the event. Diners are told the date, the chef and the menu, but the location is not disclosed until 24 hours before the event.
Dietsch says Cleveland was chosen as the newest Dinner Lab location because of the population’s affinity for good food. “Cleveland is not known as being New York or Chicago, but Clevelanders are keyed in to good food and want to try new things,” she says. “We think people in Cleveland will be excited and ready for this. People are more interested in food and educated about food and they want to know what they’re eating and the chef’s inspiration.”
Cleveland’s first Dinner Lab chef will be Chicago-based Daniel Espinoza, who will cook a five-course modern Mexican meal titled “Anomar.”
"The rust belt city offers some old-fashioned, even old-world, charms. Readers ranked it at No. 5 for its rich food halls, like West Side Market—with spices, baked goods and delis—which dates back to 1912, when it catered primarily to the city’s immigrants."
Read the full story here.
Read the full story here.
"It's cheap, their museum is on point, and they have excellent taste in beer." So says Buzzfeed.
Check out what other cities made the list. Read the full story here.
Check out what other cities made the list. Read the full story here.
It's not just millennials who are looking to ditch the suburban doldrums and get in on the urban excitement. Baby boomers have become the fastest-growing group of people migrating to downtown.
Almost a year ago, Constantino’s Market COO Andrew Revy began planning for a pick-up and delivery service at its Warehouse District location. The market, which has been a downtown presence for 10 years, wanted to find a way to serve its busy customers with an easy way to get basic groceries, stock up for a party, or simply get dinner on the go.
“Everybody needs to eat, but people don’t have time to do shopping,” says Revy. “This is all about ease and lifestyle. We have such busy lives, this has been a driving need.”
A week-and-a-half ago, Constantino’s Warehouse District launched its Fast & Fresh program, which offers online ordering with in-store pickup or delivery within a five mile radius. Users can place an order online and a personal shopper will fulfill the order. The five miles extends west to Lakewood and east to University Circle. “It’s not like if you’re two feet out of the radius we won’t deliver,” Revy says. “We’re flexible.”
If the services go well in the Warehouse District store, Revy says Constantino’s plans to expand the services to its University Circle store and eventually deliver to all of Cuyahoga County.
The service is aimed at Constantino’s existing customer base, which includes the downtown resident population and the workforce. “Everything you would need, whether it’s milk, eggs and bread or if you’re having a party and need beer and wine and snacks, it’s straightforward shopping,” says Revy. “Everything in the store is available for delivery.”
Delivery and pick-up service is available Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Pickup hours are between 5pm and 7pm, delivery is between 6pm and 8pm. There is a $20 minimum for orders. The delivery fee is $5 or 10 percent, whichever is greater. Orders over $150 receive free delivery. The first delivery or pick-up is free.
“Everybody needs to eat, but people don’t have time to do shopping,” says Revy. “This is all about ease and lifestyle. We have such busy lives, this has been a driving need.”
A week-and-a-half ago, Constantino’s Warehouse District launched its Fast & Fresh program, which offers online ordering with in-store pickup or delivery within a five mile radius. Users can place an order online and a personal shopper will fulfill the order. The five miles extends west to Lakewood and east to University Circle. “It’s not like if you’re two feet out of the radius we won’t deliver,” Revy says. “We’re flexible.”
If the services go well in the Warehouse District store, Revy says Constantino’s plans to expand the services to its University Circle store and eventually deliver to all of Cuyahoga County.
The service is aimed at Constantino’s existing customer base, which includes the downtown resident population and the workforce. “Everything you would need, whether it’s milk, eggs and bread or if you’re having a party and need beer and wine and snacks, it’s straightforward shopping,” says Revy. “Everything in the store is available for delivery.”
Delivery and pick-up service is available Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Pickup hours are between 5pm and 7pm, delivery is between 6pm and 8pm. There is a $20 minimum for orders. The delivery fee is $5 or 10 percent, whichever is greater. Orders over $150 receive free delivery. The first delivery or pick-up is free.
With the click of an app, a car from Lyft or Uber can be at your door in minutes. Despite controversy, ridesharing services are making it easier to get around Cleveland without worrying about parking and driving.
This weekend, spend the day at the Cleveland International Film Festival, express your style at Cleveland Fashion Week, sip a glass of bubbly at the Week of Wine, and party at Near West Theatre’s annual benefit gala.
Before it closed its doors in 2006, the Odeon Concert Club was a famous Flats entertainment venue that once hosted such eclectic acts as Nine Inch Nails, Björk and the Ramones. This spring, the sound of rock music will be shaking the walls of the East Bank club once more.
The Odeon is scheduled for a grand reopening on May 1st, in the same 1,100-capacity spot it held in the old Flats. Cleveland-based heavy metal group Mushroomhead will headline the event, kicking off what owner Mike Tricarichi believes can be a new era for the much loved rock landing place.
"I don't know if people are going to expect a nostalgia trip or whatever," says Tricarichi. "This is going to be a destination compatible with what's forecast to be on the street with the (Flats East Bank) project."
The Odeon's interior is getting revamped for its new iteration, Tricarichi notes. Though the room's basic design will remain unchanged, a new sound and lighting system will be installed. In addition, inside walls will be painted and the club's infamously grotty bathrooms will get an overhaul.
"Everything's going to be fresh," says Tricarichi. "We're trying to make people more comfortable."
Tricarichi, president of Las Vegas-based real estate company Telecom Acquisition Corp., owns both the Odeon and Roc Bar, a 250-capacity club located nearby on Old River Road. He bought the Odeon building in 2007, one year after it shut its doors. The decision to reopen Odeon came in light of early success Tricarichi has had booking acts at Roc Bar, which itself reopened in December.
"We opened Roc expecting it to bring people down here, and it did," Tricarichi says.
Along with Mushroomhead, the Odeon has set a date for a Puddle of Mudd show and is working on bringing in horror punk act the Misfits for an appearance. Tricarichi, who spends part of his time in Las Vegas booking hotel shows, also expects to host comic acts at the refurbished Cleveland club.
"I've produced Andrew Dice Clay shows in Vegas, and he wants to play here," he says.
As Tricarichi owns the building, he views re-opening the Odeon as a worthy, low-risk experiment that can be a key component of a revitalized Flats entertainment scene.
"It's a stepping stone," he says. "We can be a piece of what's happening down there."
The Odeon is scheduled for a grand reopening on May 1st, in the same 1,100-capacity spot it held in the old Flats. Cleveland-based heavy metal group Mushroomhead will headline the event, kicking off what owner Mike Tricarichi believes can be a new era for the much loved rock landing place.
"I don't know if people are going to expect a nostalgia trip or whatever," says Tricarichi. "This is going to be a destination compatible with what's forecast to be on the street with the (Flats East Bank) project."
The Odeon's interior is getting revamped for its new iteration, Tricarichi notes. Though the room's basic design will remain unchanged, a new sound and lighting system will be installed. In addition, inside walls will be painted and the club's infamously grotty bathrooms will get an overhaul.
"Everything's going to be fresh," says Tricarichi. "We're trying to make people more comfortable."
Tricarichi, president of Las Vegas-based real estate company Telecom Acquisition Corp., owns both the Odeon and Roc Bar, a 250-capacity club located nearby on Old River Road. He bought the Odeon building in 2007, one year after it shut its doors. The decision to reopen Odeon came in light of early success Tricarichi has had booking acts at Roc Bar, which itself reopened in December.
"We opened Roc expecting it to bring people down here, and it did," Tricarichi says.
Along with Mushroomhead, the Odeon has set a date for a Puddle of Mudd show and is working on bringing in horror punk act the Misfits for an appearance. Tricarichi, who spends part of his time in Las Vegas booking hotel shows, also expects to host comic acts at the refurbished Cleveland club.
"I've produced Andrew Dice Clay shows in Vegas, and he wants to play here," he says.
As Tricarichi owns the building, he views re-opening the Odeon as a worthy, low-risk experiment that can be a key component of a revitalized Flats entertainment scene.
"It's a stepping stone," he says. "We can be a piece of what's happening down there."
Brian Schaffran has been riding motorcycles for 15 years, starting with a 1978 Honda CB750 he found on the side of the road in his hometown of Strongsville. He quickly fell in love, not just with the romantic notion of riding itself, but with the restoration and maintenance required to make his baby street-ready.
"There's a gratifying aspect to fixing something with your own hands," says Schaffran, 43.
A mechanical-minded DIY attitude is something Schaffran aims to impart with Skidmark Garage, a 2,800-square foot space for riders to roll in and work on their choppers, crotch rockets, hogs or other hotrodding euphemism of choice.
The garage, located in the Hildebrandt Building on the corner of Clark Avenue and Fulton Road in downtown Cleveland, will rent out tools, lifts and storage bays to motorcycle enthusiasts. If all goes well, the space will also create a community of folks to share advice, spare parts and perhaps a beer or two while they maintain their rides.
"I'm not a mechanic," says Schaffran, a former history and computer teacher at Saint Martin de Porres High School. "I'm providing a place to hang out and work on your bike."
Although the space is open for business, its owner is preparing for a grand opening celebration scheduled for May 2. Schaffran hopes to draw not just current riders, but people from surrounding city neighborhoods who don't yet own a motorcycle as apartment life leaves them few storage options.
"My average customer will probably be a guy in his 20s who bought some used piece of junk and doesn't have anywhere to put it," says Schaffran.
The bike-loving entrepreneur has been sitting on the idea for a community fix-it clubhouse since he himself was in his 20s. Living in Los Angeles at the time, Schaffran would borrow tools from friendly mechanics and tinker with his vehicles at home.
"Friends would come over and work in my garage, too," he says. "I thought how cool it would be to have a place with a couple of lifts for people to work on their vehicles."
Schaffran has excitedly expanded that picture in his head now that it's becoming closer to reality. "I can see a garage full of 10 or 15 guys helping each other out and fixing their bikes, no matter what time of day, then leaving here feeling like they accomplished something huge," he says.
"There's a gratifying aspect to fixing something with your own hands," says Schaffran, 43.
A mechanical-minded DIY attitude is something Schaffran aims to impart with Skidmark Garage, a 2,800-square foot space for riders to roll in and work on their choppers, crotch rockets, hogs or other hotrodding euphemism of choice.
The garage, located in the Hildebrandt Building on the corner of Clark Avenue and Fulton Road in downtown Cleveland, will rent out tools, lifts and storage bays to motorcycle enthusiasts. If all goes well, the space will also create a community of folks to share advice, spare parts and perhaps a beer or two while they maintain their rides.
"I'm not a mechanic," says Schaffran, a former history and computer teacher at Saint Martin de Porres High School. "I'm providing a place to hang out and work on your bike."
Although the space is open for business, its owner is preparing for a grand opening celebration scheduled for May 2. Schaffran hopes to draw not just current riders, but people from surrounding city neighborhoods who don't yet own a motorcycle as apartment life leaves them few storage options.
"My average customer will probably be a guy in his 20s who bought some used piece of junk and doesn't have anywhere to put it," says Schaffran.
The bike-loving entrepreneur has been sitting on the idea for a community fix-it clubhouse since he himself was in his 20s. Living in Los Angeles at the time, Schaffran would borrow tools from friendly mechanics and tinker with his vehicles at home.
"Friends would come over and work in my garage, too," he says. "I thought how cool it would be to have a place with a couple of lifts for people to work on their vehicles."
Schaffran has excitedly expanded that picture in his head now that it's becoming closer to reality. "I can see a garage full of 10 or 15 guys helping each other out and fixing their bikes, no matter what time of day, then leaving here feeling like they accomplished something huge," he says.
When kids commit themselves to an art form, they gain self-confidence and set high expectations for themselves. How do we create more access to arts education for youth in urban neighborhoods?