Cleveland Heights residents are finally getting a new grocery store in the former Dave’s Market space on Cedar Hill in the Cedar-Fairmount business district, ending a two-year stretch without a walkable supermarket in the district.

The California-based discount chain Grocery Outlet is scheduled to open next summer, following a $1 million incentive package issued by Cleveland Heights to property owner and landlord Sal Russo, whose family has owned the property for more than 90 years and once operated Russo’s Stop-n-Shop in the same location.

Residents and business owners say they are hopeful that the new grocer will fill a much-needed void in the neighborhood.

Grocery Outlet in New Jersey“It’s very nice to have a grocery right next door, not just for personal shopping, but for the restaurant as well,” says Jake Orosz, owner of Fairmount Cocktail Bar, an immediate neighbor of the former Dave’s space. “A semi-full-service store will be big. This is a walking district. If I’m in a hurry, it will be nice to grab something to eat.”

Dave’s shuttered its Cedar-Fairmount location in October 2022 after acquiring the former Zagara’s Marketplace space on Lee Road—marking the first time in nearly a century that the Cedar-Fairmount neighborhood lacked a grocery store.

The Russo family’s search for a replacement involved mostly fruitless conversations with more than 20 grocery and pharmacy operators, says Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren. Grocery Outlet, a company with 500 nationwide locations, offers prepackaged items that are similar to the Aldi and Trader Joe’s chains.

However, residents seeking fresh or prepared foods will have to shop elsewhere, Seren says. Outdated infrastructure and better opportunities elsewhere deterred Heinen’s and other grocery retailers from occupying the building.

“I understand if your preferences were not met, but Whole Foods and Heinen’s were not available for this location,” he says. “Municipalities and property owners don’t tell grocery owners where to locate—the Russos found a willing partner in Grocery Outlet, so it’s important for us to work within the environment we’re given.”

Cedar-Fairmount business districtA neighborhood fit?

The $1 million incentive package for Grocery Outlet includes the city’s $660,000 purchase of a private parking lot located behind the Firestone Auto adjacent to the grocery store—a lot owned by the Russos and their Grandview-Bellfield Development.

Another $340,000 is earmarked for $5 million in infrastructure improvements needed for the store property—a list that encompasses plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Grocery Outlet will incur the costs of the remaining improvements.

Cleveland Heights has seen its share of investment in recent years, with projects like The Ascent at Top of the Hill filling out the bustling neighborhood. Meghan McMahon moved into the residential mixed-use development in August 2022, two months before Dave’s closed its doors.

“Dave’s would be great when you needed quick things,” says McMahon, a grant coordinator with the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District. “If I was at The Fairmount, I’d just walk over.”

McMahon is lukewarm about the Grocery Outlet announcement. While she agrees that Cedar-Fairmount needs essential community retail, she says she would have preferred Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods for her needs.

“There’s not a Trader Joe’s in Cleveland Heights or in the vicinity,” McMahon says. “They have quality products and a little more higher-end food, with healthier ingredients and quicker options. I’d shop at Grocery Outlet for something I forgot, or if the kids were here and I wanted to make chops or a cake.”

Although there is not a grocery option within walking distance in the neighborhood, residents can drive to the Dave’s Market on Lee Road, the Dave’s at Shaker Square, or the Meijer’s-owned Fairfax Market near Cleveland Clinic’s main campus.

Entrepreneur Orosz understands the disappointment about the lack of upscale grocery options, yet says he believes residents are overestimating the city’s current economic state.

“There’s not some massive recession going on, but there is a labor crunch where everyone is lobbying for workers,” says Orosz. “This style of grocery in the current labor market will probably survive and do well, and I hope this is a place where everyone can shop.”

Seren argues that commitment to the location is the most critical aspect of the Grocery Outlet deal, especially as Cleveland Heights looks to create a denser, more pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.  

“People may even have moved to Cedar-Fairmount in part because that [grocery] amenity was there,” he says. “Having an option for a cost-effective grocery experience was something we wanted to make sure we weren’t standing in the way of, at the very least. This was just an opportunity to put our money where our mouth was.”