From cable TV shows to busy downtown streets, food trucks are all the rage these days. Yet short of firing up a Winnebago or launching a fleet of food trucks, owners' growth plans are limited by size. "It's such a small space, everything has to be done more frequently," complains Jae Stulock of Umami Moto, which dishes out Asian fusion cuisine to hungry lunch crowds and late night revelers everywhere.

Stulock's solution? First, he found an unused kitchen in the Agora Theatre that could be used for all-important prep work. Once that was secured, he decided to launch a restaurant to complement his fast-moving food truck business.

"It was the right place, the right time, and the right people," says Stulock of his decision. "Opening a restaurant had always been part of the plan, and when the Agora space became available, that moved the plan up a couple of years."

Last month, Agora Theatre owner Hank LoConti donated the complex to the nonprofit MidTown Cleveland Inc. and developer Fred Geis. The partners plan to complete a multimillion dollar makeover of the property that includes preserving the concert hall. MidTown Cleveland officials envision the Agora as the centerpiece of a mixed-use district that serves the growing Health-Tech Corridor. Leaders here are completing a study of the E. 55th and Euclid intersection and hope to spur additional office, retail and apartment development in the area.

Stulock says his restaurant should help. "We're planning to call it the Hipp because we want to draw on nostalgia for the Hippodrome in Cleveland," he says. "It will feature the same Asian-themed food as our truck, but will also introduce other international flavors paired with contemporary American cuisine."

The Hipp, which is slated to open in early February, will initially be open for lunch and happy hour; dinner will be added down the road. At least five more food trucks are set to hit Cleveland streets this spring, and Stulock hopes the synergy between Umami Moto and the Hipp will also help him to stand out from a crowded field.


Source: Jae Stulock
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The prevailing impression of regionalism that has been bandied about Northeast Ohio for the better part of a decade is all wrong, says a collaborative group of area nonprofits. While the consolidation of countless municipalities is useful, it is not intrinsically regionalism. True regionalism, they argue, is defined by economic activity -- not political boundaries.

While we pride ourselves here at Fresh Water in having crisp, professional prose, the truth is, without art, a feature is just font on a page. Pictures tell a thousand words, we're told, but the best ones simply leave us speechless. Every masthead and feature image since we launched this pub over a year ago has been shot by Fresh Water shooter Bob Perkoski. Here is a collection of some of his finest work.

When Fresh Water launched in September 2010, we promised to highlight Cleveland's most progressive and creative people, businesses and organizations. But more importantly, we endeavored to place those subjects against the most compelling backdrop of all: Cleveland and its wonderful neighborhoods. Each Thursday, our readers are invited to dig a little deeper into this city we call home. What follows is a list of the 10 most-read features of the previous 12 months. Looking at the subject matter of those stories, it's clear that the most important topics to our readers include neighborhood development, sustainability and transportation, and, of course, food and booze.

"My primary objective is to bring 100,000 newcomers to Northeast Ohio," says Larry Miller, newly appointed president of Global Cleveland. Miller brings more than 25 years of talent attraction and international human resources experience to the organization tasked with promoting the quality of life in and around Cleveland.

While U.S. job growth overall might be stuck in neutral, IT professionals should be chomping at the bit. Experts say technology occupations will be at the leading edge of job growth for at least the next decade. Better still: Three of the hottest cities for IT jobs right now are here in Ohio.

Every year, Cleveland’s emerging healthcare economy nourishes dozens of successful medical start-ups. Unfortunately, as many of these firms grow, they are forced to relocate to the 'burbs or out of the region entirely because of a lack of flexible, tech-ready urban space. Now, thanks to the MidTown Tech Park -- and Health-Tech Corridor -- start-ups have good reason to stick around.

Last month, crowds poured into the third annual F*SHO, an exhibit that showcased locally made contemporary furniture. The goal of the Midtown event was to promote what is widely being described as a burgeoning local industry. This year's F*SHO was twice the size of last year's. If you didn't make it, check out Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski's visual tour.

Four Northeast Ohio organizations are one group of just 20 national winners of the Obama administration's $37 million Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, a multi-agency competition to support the advancement of high-growth industry clusters across the country.
 
NorTech, JumpStart, MAGNET and Lorain County Community College came together to cooperatively apply for the $2 million grant that will help create jobs in the region. The program, the Northeast Ohio Speed-To-Market Accelerator (STMA), is designed to accelerate the speed-to-market for near-production or pilot-production prototypes in the advanced energy and flexible electronics industry clusters in Northeast Ohio.
 
The fact that the groups collaborated on the project is no surprise.

“There’s a history of organization in this region -- we work together collaboratively all the time,” says Cathy Belk, chief relationship officer with JumpStart. “The fact that we already knew each other made it easy to identify the needs and work together on the proposal.”
 
Each organization will assist in its area of expertise, from company advising to workforce development. The STMA consists of three components, explains Byron Clayton, vice president of NorTech. “The first step is holding outreach workshops to let companies know the service areas we are targeting. The second step is one-on-one counseling and a path-to-market analysis. The third step is to deliver the services.”
 
Aside from offering expertise and guidance, the four groups plan to speed up the jobs creation process within new companies. “We are asking what can we do to help you to speed this process up,” says Clayton. “We’re working together as a region, as a network of nationally-recognized organizations.”

 
Sources: Cathy Belk, Byron Clayton
Writer: Karin Connelly

When savvy small business owners with an eye for form and function set their sights on historic Cleveland properties, the resulting atmosphere soars beyond the reach of boxy suburban strip malls and bland skyscrapers. Behold recycling on the most profound level: repurposing spaces created decades ago into modern, functional, and inspiring workplaces.

Cleveland HeartLab is moving quickly in the prevention and detection of cardiovascular disease. The company, spunoff from the Cleveland Clinic in 2009, is a clinical laboratory and disease management startup that has developed a series of diagnostic tests for determining the risk of heart disease and stroke.
 
The company, which has grown from eight to 80 employees in two years, just completed an $18.4 million Series B financing round with Excel Venture Management and HealthCare Ventures, both out of Boston.
 
The investment will allow Cleveland HeartLab to expand -- both in employees and market acceptance. In addition to its current offerings, the company plans to introduce additional diagnostic tests in 2012. "The goal is to eliminate the threat of vascular inflammation," he says.
 
"The funding allows the company to double in size again," says Jake Orville, president and CEO. "And we've just committed to moving off [the Clinic's] campus to the Health Tech Corridor."
 
Orville predicts the company will double again in the next two years, adding positions in management, sales, marketing, and research and development. He attributes his company's growth to a talented, dedicated staff.

"We have the gift of really good novel technology," he says. "Combine that with really good people and a really good business plan."
 

Source: Jake Orville
Writer: Karin Connelly

F*SHO, a trade show that showcases the growing cadre of contemporary furniture designers who call Cleveland home, is set to take place on Friday, Sept. 9th in a Midtown warehouse.

This year's show, which is the third annual, will be bigger than ever. It features more than 20 designers, including two that are based in Columbus and Toledo.

"The furniture design industry here keeps growing -- this year we even had to turn a few people down," says P.J. Doran of A Piece of Cleveland (APOC), who organized the event along with Jason Radcliffe of 44 Steel. "We'd like this event to evolve each year, and hopefully begin attracting more out-of-state designers."

The show's organizers hold the event in a new space each year to highlight unique properties. In addition to the building's raw industrial beauty, the artwork of owner Giancarlo Callicia, a sculptor, will also be on display. Part of the designers' challenge, Doran says, lies in how to take advantage of the open space.

"This isn't a typical trade show with velvet ropes and white platforms where the work is displayed," he quips. "Each designer will personalize their display."

Doran is particularly excited about the younger designers taking part in the show, many of whom are graduates of the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) who emphasize sustainability. "These pieces are made to last," he says. "We call them heirloom pieces, which means there are multiple lives to the product."

He should know: APOC fashions furniture products using 'upcycled' lumber from reclaimed from buildings before they are deconstructed or demolished.

Doran expects more industry collaboration and more buzz about Cleveland's growing furniture design community to come out of this year's event. "We started the FGroup last year as an offshoot of the furniture show, and people started working together," he says. "We're showing there's strength in numbers."

As for the customers, Doran loves seeing visitors' surprised faces the night of the show. "People are always surprised by how much is being made in Cleveland."

F*SHO takes place on Friday, Sept. 9th from 2 to 11 p.m. at 6550 Carnegie Avenue.


Source: P.J. Doran
Writer: Lee Chilcote

"We're taking boarded-up schools in Cleveland's neighborhoods and bringing them back to life," says Alan Rosskamm, CEO of Breakthrough Schools. "This is about keeping families in the city." With a lofty goal of opening 20 new charter schools by 2020, Breakthrough is on a mission to provide quality education to Cleveland students regardless of zip code. Opponents, on the other hand, argue that charters create a two-tiered education system that siphons off the best students.

What started out as a small printing company run out of a little office in Euclid by two guys with a background in graphic design and printing T-shirts, has blossomed into a booming print business, Jakprints, which has sprouted three sister merchandising companies: IndieMerch, IndieMerchandising and IndieMerchstore.

Founded in 1999 by Dameon Guess and Jacob Edwards, Jakprints has leveraged the partners' artistic talents, knowledge of the music industry, and instinct for what customers need into a thriving enterprise. The four companies are now spread across 146,000 square feet in two Midtown buildings, employing 130 full-time staffers.

"I never would have had a clue we would grow to this size," says Dameon Guess, co-owner and vice president of operations. "It's the kind of thing where you put your best intentions into it and just get rewarded each day and you get to come back and do it again."

Jakprints specializes in custom full-color offset printing, apparel printing, embroidery and sticker production. IndieMerch, IndieMerchandising and IndieMerchstore serve as outlets to develop merchandise and distribute unique creations on the likes of T-shirts, coffee cups and other goods. "We never got the feeling of 'abandon ship,'" Guess says. "We just kept going."

Jakprints continues to grow. Guess says they plan on hiring five to 10 more people over the next year for everything from production and sales to administrative positions.

Additionally, the team plans to launch an on-site creative incubator, where individual offices will offer artists of all types reasonable rent, shared receptionist, internet access and space to exhibit work. Guess would also like to add a coffee shop to the mix.

"It will be a culture that will support future endeavors," says Guess. "It will be a space to network, meet other artists and be downtown."


Source: Dameon Guess
Writer: Karin Connelly

According to Robert Hatta, not everybody is cut out for the startup world. He should know -- as Vice President of Entrepreneurial Talent for Jumpstart, Hatta helps emerging companies find the right talent. "How do you know if the pace, pressures and pivots of a startup are right for you?" he asks in this guest column. "There was a time when I wasn't sure it was for me."