Artist Will Sanchez grew up in the La Villa Hispana neighborhood. But it wasn’t until he was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2003 for trying to rob a convenience store at 5404 Storer Ave. that he discovered his love and talent for art—and re-embraced his childhood community. In 2018, he opened La Cosecha Gallery in the exact same location he tried to rob 15 years earlier.

Beer and wildlife conservation might seem like an unlikely duo, but the new partnership between Cleveland's Terrestrial Brewing Company and the Cleveland Zoological Society (CZS) is proving otherwise.

Anyone who set foot in the Beachland Ballroom last Saturday might have thought the rumors of print media's demise have been greatly exaggerated. At the sold-out Concert for Truth, more than 450 people gathered to show their support for local journalism and those who bring us the news every day. The event featured 11 local musicians who volunteered their time and talents to raise about $5,000 for the 24 Plain Dealer employees who are being laid off after March.

With 20 cities in the running, Cleveland’s chances of becoming the next Say Yes to Education chapter—and only the fourth in the country to receive the distinction—were just a paltry five percent. Yet according to Say Yes founder George Weiss, it was no contest.

As FreshWater wraps up its inaugural On the Ground reporting series in Old Brooklyn, we're also excited to debut our first-ever video—produced in tandem with Cleveland.com. Videographer John Pana did a fantastic job weaving together three different vignettes to paint a vibrant picture of Old Brooklyn's appeal, featuring a local family, the owners of 2020 W. Schaaf Gallery (Danielle and Michael Gutierrez), and Alysha Ellis of Freshly Rooted. 

Right now, members of the Historical Society of Old Brooklyn are busily preparing for the organization’s annual “Potluck Show-n-Tell” event in November—when local history buffs will get the chance to show off their favorite collectibles from the neighborhood. (In the past, totems have ranged from depression glass to a Mabel Footes opera cape to a Dr. Otto’s business sign to turn-of-the-century pharmacy prescriptions.)

With heaps of history and major new business momentum, the ever-evolving Pearl Road is at a fascinating crossroads. Our writer Ken Schneck takes a proverbial spin down Old Brooklyn's main drag.

When LaRaun Clayton and his husband decided to buy a house, they sought a neighborhood where they’d be comfortable and fit in. “For us, it was about finding a place where we weren’t going to be the only ones,” shares Clayton. “Sometimes, being a same-sex couple—not to mention African-American—puts a target on you.” The couple looked in familiar places: Lakewood, Fairview Park, and Gordon Square (where they already lived). But the home prices were at the top of their budget, so their real estate agent took them to another neighborhood: Old Brooklyn.

A cupcake bouquet can make anyone's day—but, for some, it can make a world of difference. Enter Abolition Bakery, the brainchild of Old Brooklyn resident Rita Ballenger. Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, the home-based bakery operation donates a portion of its proceeds to help combat a devastating issue: human trafficking.

As Cleveland's largest neighborhood, Old Brooklyn has no shortage of compelling stories to be shared, and our storytelling event provided the perfect platform to do just that.

With ample greenspace, inviting residential streets, decent walkability, and an array of businesses, Old Brooklyn seems to check off many of the boxes for the modern urban family—even branding itself as “Cleveland’s accessible, family-friendly neighborhood.” But does it really live up to the hype?

The average distance an Old Brooklyn resident travels to visit a grocery store is 4.2 miles, and Save-a-Lot is the neighborhood’s only true grocery store within boundaries. For these and other reasons, Old Brooklyn is considered a food desert, where one-fifth of the residents report choosing between food and housing in terms of affordability. So beyond the burgeoning dollar menus of the neighborhood's abundant fast fooderies and not-so-abundant grocery stores, how does one navigate this food desert?

From 107 applicants to the lucky final seven, the second installment of Cleveland Chain Reaction has reached its exciting conclusion. This morning at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Fox 8’s Kenny Crumpton announced the seven winning businesses chosen to receive over $700,000 in investment (more than $200,000 over the initial commitment). The announcement also foreshadows the next wave of economic development in Old Brooklyn, this year’s Chain Reaction neighborhood.

Cleveland has long been considered a hotbed of healthcare innovation, but how healthy are its own communities at the neighborhood level? That’s the question that Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation sought to answer by commissioning an ambitious Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) for the Old Brooklyn neighborhood.

Every tree tells a story, but this one is for the (record) books. Aptly located behind the athletic complex at James Ford Rhodes High School, the Jesse Owens Olympic Oak tree pays homage to the track star of the same name who brought home four gold medals from the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin—and, right now, the tree is having a moment.

Driving down Pearl Road from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo to its intersection with State Road, it’s hard not to notice the eight whimsical carrot sculptures that dot the streetscape and ponder their significance. “There has been a lot of curiosity about it,” shares Vince Reddy of LAND studio, which helped bring the project to fruition. “People are always wondering, ‘Where did these things come from?’”
 

Barbershops offer much more than traditional haircuts in Old Brooklyn—where barber chairs double as school desks, as psychologists’ couches, as job counselor offices, and as safe spaces. 

Yesterday, a festive ribbon-cutting celebration feted the opening of William Rainey Harper—replete with drum corps, performances by Pre-K students, and an appearance by CMSD CEO Eric Gordon. The school welcomed its inaugural groups of Pre-K to third grade students on August 13, becoming only the third CMSD school to follow the International Baccalaureate model. It's also the first new public school to be constructed from the ground up in Old Brooklyn since the mid-1960s.

Where chocolate and cheese intersect, there are always plenty of foodies to be found, and this weekend’s joint pop-up between Lilly Chocolates & Confections and Old Brooklyn Cheese Company was no exception. It’s fitting these two businesses would team up at this moment in time—after all, both are poised to do big things in Old Brooklyn in the near future.