Search results for '2014 interviewed Cleveland cocktail bar founder choice restaurant close 2015'

holiday lighting display brightens public square with 375k energy-efficient bulbs
Public Square in downtown Cleveland will be even brighter and safer this holiday season thanks to new, energy-efficient lighting donated by GE Lighting and installed by the City of Cleveland.

The city has installed new lamp-top posts and LED lighting throughout Public Square. The new bulbs are twice as efficient as the old ones.

GE Lighting donated 372,000 long-lasting LED bulbs for the holiday display, and there are 56,000 individual lights on the holiday tree alone.

“With millions of people visiting Downtown Cleveland each year and thousands living and working in downtown, there are more feet on the street now than in decades,” noted Joe Marinucci, president and CEO of Downtown Cleveland Alliance, in a release. “With the new lighting, Public Square is now brighter and an even more inviting gateway to Downtown Cleveland.”

The new lighting was unveiled just in time for Winterfest last weekend.


Source: Downtown Cleveland Alliance
Writer: Lee Chilcote
regulatory binder eliminates the mountains of paperwork from clinical trials
Researchers and hospitals literally can accumulate rooms full of paperwork documenting a single clinical trial. Rick Arlow offers a better method of document management without all that paper. RegulatoryBinder is an early stage software company focused on document management for medical clinic trials.
 
Arlow, who was earning a dual M.D. and Ph.D. a year ago, observed how much paper was wasted in clinical trials, came up with the idea to go paperless. So he quit his studies, formed RegulatoryBinder and joined accelerator FlashStarts in PlayhouseSquare.
 
“I have a tool that allows hospitals to store clinical trial data electronically,” explains Arlow. “Up until now, researchers would store paper in three-ring binders. There were literally rooms of paper.”
 
RegulatoryBinder’s Enterprise Document Management software provides up to a 33 percent increase in documentation productivity while standardizing the documentation system and saving researchers money. The biggest challenge Arlow encountered in developing a system of electronic records for clinical trials was efficiency and adoption.
 
“The large issue is, how do you do this in an efficient manner and still be compliant,” explains Arlow. “We had to find a way to provide the software, training and services and get people to adopt it.”
 
RegulatoryBinder is being used in pilot programs at University Hospitals and a number of other sites. Arlow says that so far people have been quick to adopt the technology.
 
RegulatoryBinder was one of six Northeast Ohio start-up companies to receive $25,000 from Lorain County Community College Foundation’s Innovation Fund. Arlow also recently received follow-on funding from FlashStarts. He plans to use the money to hire staff in customer support, marketing and sales, and to promote RegulatoryBinder to more markets. Arlow hired his first employee this month and plans to hire another before the end of the year. He anticipates two more hires in 2014.

 
Source: Rick Arlow
Writer: Karin Connelly
sports app is easiest way for athletes to get info they need to win
When remodeling a kitchen, people usually rely on friends for advice on contractors and architects. Brides use websites and friends as resources when planning their wedding. Entrepreneurs Brian Verne and Mike Eppich figured: Why not create a place where athletes can get advice on apparel?

So Verne and Eppich created Phenom, a mobile app where athletes can brag about the apparel and equipment they use to train. “Influences have a place,” says Verne. “Athletes are concerned with how they look and the products they are using.”
 
Phenom is designed to give amateur athletes a leg up on the decisions they make.
 
“Phenom connects athletes with the best gear, equipment and training opportunities based on what their peers are using right now,” says Verne. “From buying a new product to vetting a trainer, camp or combine, Phenom will become the easiest way for athletes to get the inspiration, advice, product information and professional reviews they need to win.”
 
Verne describes Phenom as “an app to promote your style and your hustle.” Users create a digital profile in a virtual locker to share what they like and are using. “The virtual locker has information on how they’re using that stuff, where they’re using it and how they’re training and competing,” explains Verne.
 
After first starting a successful performance apparel company, Verne and Eppich decided they needed to expand their vision. “We wanted an app that had a heartbeat, to capture things in real time – people getting ready to train and wanting to compare equipment,” says Eppich. “The whole idea is to see an athlete’s day or athletic career in every single segment, from the training they do to their post-workout after the game.”
 
Verne and Eppich have seven part-time employees in New York, a vice president of finance in Boston and are planning on hiring two to three full time developers in their Cleveland headquarters. On January 7, the two will head to New York to pitch Phenom to investors in First Growth Venture Network’s SecondGrowth.
 
To build awareness of the app, Phenom recently hosted an open house during a soft launch at their downtown Cleveland offices.

 
Source: Brian Verne and Mike Eppich
Writer: Karin Connelly
business of beer: new breweries lift neighborhoods on rising tide of craft beer
On any given night in Cleveland, it's not too difficult to see the economic impact represented by a seemingly simple glass of suds. Breweries had an undeniably positive effect on Ohio City, and now the arrival of more breweries promises to boost the economic prospects of other neighborhoods.
new york times travel section checks into new aloft
In a hotel review in the travel section of the New York Times, writer Erik Piepenburg checks into the new Aloft hotel on the East Bank of the Flats and files a glowing review.
 
"The Aloft Downtown gives Cleveland a major boost of bright, colorful and contemporary hotel design in an area -- and a city -- not known for style-centric accommodations," he writes.
 
The article covers the rooms, amenities and available dining options. "A Saturday night meal at Willeyville included delicious vegetarian options for me (grilled sweet corn, baked gnocchi), plenty of meat for a friend and a mind-blowing fried peach pie," he notes.
 
The bottom line, concludes the author, the new Aloft is a "terrific place for design geeks, foodies and fans of rust-belt chic who like their boutique hotel on the industrial side."
 
Read the rest right here.

bad girl ventures graduates latest class, awards loans
wolfs gallery on larchmere to relocate to historic building undergoing renovation
An east-side developer has purchased the historic streetcar power station on Larchmere Boulevard. Once home to the American Crafts Gallery, which is thought to be the oldest gallery of its kind in Cleveland and is now housed within the Dancing Sheep boutique down the road, the property has been vacant for years. Ilene Greenblatt, who has developed properties in Chicago before moving back to Cleveland to be near family, bought the building and expects to wrap up renovations by March.

"It's a very handsome building and I've always loved it," says Greenblatt. "When I saw it was for sale and the price was reasonable, I jumped in and bought it."

Renovating the building has not been quite as reasonable. Shortly after the purchase, the back wall caved in and the roof collapsed. Greenblatt soldiered on, fixing a leaky basement, cleaning out an old tunnel leading to the street that was stuffed with trash, and rebuilding a mezzanine that was too dangerous to stand on.

The property, which has soaring 30-foot ceilings, brick walls and large windows, will soon house Wolf's Gallery, a long-running fixture on the Cleveland art scene that opened a gallery on Larchmere a few years ago. Owner Michael Wolf plans to relocate to the 6,000-square-foot space in spring, a dramatic expansion from his current storefront.

"I love the people in the area, they're wonderful," says Greenblatt. "The building was neglected for so long, it needed a lot of money and a lot of work. But it will be here for at least another hundred years, easily."


Source: Ilene Greenblatt
Writer: Lee Chilcote
cleveland neighborhood progress launches city life tours to highlight urban vibrancy
Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, a nonprofit community development organization, has begun offering Cleveland City Life tours to expose suburbanites, millenials, empty-nesters, boomerangs and newcomers to town to all the city has to offer.

CNP Director of Marketing Jeff Kipp says the tours really are about helping Clevelanders see for themselves the positive change taking place in the city.

"We'll do the proverbial handholding and take you into the neighborhoods," he says. "You see the positive headlines and positive trends, but a big chunk of our population doesn't have firsthand experience with the city. This is about removing that intimidation factor and bridging the gap."

Tours starts in Ohio City and include stops in Detroit Shoreway, the lakefront, University Circle, Little Italy, Midtown, downtown and Tremont. Along the way, it also touches on neighborhoods such as Cudell, Glenville and Fairfax. Each lasts two hours, costs $12 and comes with a free Live!Cleveland/City Life T-shirt.
 
"As we drive through University Circle, we can reference the excitement that's happening in North Shore Collinwood," Kipp explains, adding that while the tours can't feasibly cover the whole city, they will highlight all city neighborhoods.

The tours are being marketed through CNP's website and partner organizations such as Global Cleveland and the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. There currently are tours scheduled between Christmas and New Year's and around the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend.

"This is a way to roll out the red carpet and give a reintroduction to your Cleveland neighbors," Kipp adds.
 

Source: Jeff Kipp
Writer: Lee Chilcote
new effort aims to 'meet the needs not define the needs' of local startup community
Startups @ City Club is a new collaborative effort between the City Club of Cleveland  and the Cleveland Startup Collective to bring the startup community together in educational, social and thought-provoking environments.
 
The first event was launched at Cleveland Entrepreneurial Week in November, with speakers on technology, product development, investing and the overall startup community in Cleveland. “The main goal of the entrepreneurial speaker series is to install the values of lean startup methodology, the entrepreneurial-driven startup community and mentor-driven startup development,” says Morris Wheeler, organizer and founder of Drummond Road Capital

Speakers included Chris Heivly, founder of MapQuest, venture partner and founder of TechPint Paul Singh and Alexis Giles, vice president of business development at MOX.
 
The Cleveland Startup Collective is a grass roots organization focused on lean startup methodology – launching a new product to market in as little as 10 to 12 weeks with as little capital as possible. “Life’s too short to build a product no one wants,’ says Wheeler. “A number of us over the past two or three years believe that at its core, startups and startup investing need to revolve around the entrepreneur. ”
 
Wheeler says entrepreneurs in cities like New York, Boston and San Francisco get together on Friday nights, drink beer and discuss issues around their businesses. While casual meetings are starting to take off in Cleveland, Wheeler says the city needs more.
 
“All of the other organizations like JumpStart are important to entrepreneurial success, but in our view we need to be meeting the needs of the startup community, not defining the needs of the community.”
 
Startups @ City Club plans to host four to six events a year, some of which will be partnered with other events like TechPint. “The idea is to have many different activities,” says Wheeler. “We’ll have dialogs, educational events, pitch events and social events.”
 
Source: Morris Wheeler
Writer: Karin Connelly
city of lakewood says madison avenue is next frontier for urban development
The City of Lakewood has issued 44 certificates of occupancy on Madison Avenue this year, and nine businesses are participating in the city's storefront renovation program. Planning and Development Director Dru Siley says these numbers show how much business interest there is along this traditional yet funky strip, which is seeing a wave of redevelopment activity spurred in part by Detroit Avenue's success.

"We want to reproduce the success we've had on Detroit, recognizing that Madison has unique character and flavor that make it distinct," he says. "Madison is a small business corridor. Of 300 businesses here, 95 percent of them are locally owned."

Siley says that Madison is home to independent restaurants and entertainment spots, professional services and service-oriented retail. Current vacancy rates hover around 14 percent, down from over 20 percent a few years ago. Lakewood is developing a new streetscape along Madison that will break ground fall of 2014. The city also is committing storefront renovation dollars to help attract businesses and redevelop properties.

Examples of new businesses attracted to Madison recently include Mahall's, a historic old-school bowling alley that has new ownership and added music, food and entertainment, and Barrio, a Mexican eatery. The streetscape project not only will resurface the street, but also reduce Madison to two lanes with a center turning lane to make it safer and accommodate bike lanes. No parking will be lost.

The City of Lakewood and LakewoodAlive hosted a forum entitled "Madison on the Move" on Wednesday, December 4th at Harrison Elementary School in Lakewood.


Source: Dru Siley
Writer: Lee Chilcote
missed opportunity? what must happen for new roadway to live up to its name
In this, the first installment in a two-part series, Fresh Water development editor Lee Chilcote takes a close look at the Opportunity Corridor, a 3.5 mile planned roadway that would connect I-490 with University Circle. The project is being promoted as a bike- and pedestrian-friendly boulevard, but skeptics have their doubts.
artist quits her day job to open art gallery in 5th street arcades
Cleveland artist Jessica Newell recently quit her job teaching Psychology at Cleveland State University to open a gallery in the 5th Street Arcades. Jessica's Gallery, as it's called, functions as a studio, a gallery for the artist's work and a showcase for rotating local artists.

"I love to paint," Newell explains. "I began receiving a lot of commissions from friends and family, and pretty soon I began to realize, 'I can make a business out of this.' I inquired about a place in the 5th Street Arcades and discovered that there was retail space available. With its walkable traffic, I figured I'd make a go of it."

Newell opened two months ago, and she says she's been thrilled with the traffic so far. Downtown apartment dwellers and condo owners are a great market for unique, local artwork, she says. She enjoys painting in her studio during the weekday lunch hour, because that draws customers to come in and look around.

Newell's paintings feature abstract representations of the Cleveland Metroparks and images of the city that "capture what the city could be." Currently, Jessica's Gallery also features the work of local landscape artist Michael Greenwald.

"It's amazing how this place has turned around," she says of the 5th Street Arcades, which are nearly 100 percent leased now. "Between Small Business Saturday and Winterfest, an incredible amount of people came in. It was packed."

Newell has also completed several murals around town, most recently for Piccadilly's Artisan Yogurt on Lorain Avenue in Ohio City, which just opened.


Source: Jessica Newell
Writer: Lee Chilcote
museum of contemporary art boasts impressive first-year numbers
In an Art Daily feature titled "MOCA Cleveland releases metrics of strong inaugural year in new building, Uptown," the art publication shares impressive numbers from the museum's first year in its new building.

"In the first year in their new building, MOCA delivered significantly expanded audiences and benefits," says the article.
 
Among them:
 
55,997 visitors took advantage of MOCA’s offerings, up 284 percent from recent years
 
650+ new members, tripling membership in MOCA’s new home
 
The numbers also show how MOCA’s impressive new building at the corner of Mayfield Road and Euclid Avenue acts as a beacon to draw people to University Circle and Uptown.
 
82 percent of MOCA’s visitors are coming to University Circle specifically to visit the Museum
 
70 percent of MOCA’s visitors are eating at a surrounding restaurant
 
24 percent are shopping while in the area
 
Read about the rest here.

forbes praises great lakes brewing, ohio city
In a Forbes feature titled “Beer Entrepreneurs Fuel Comeback of Struggling Cleveland Neighborhood,” staff writer Dan Alexander explores the history of Great Lakes Brewing Company and the birth of other small breweries in the area.
 
From humble beginnings to what the Ohio City neighborhood is today, Great Lakes Brewing Company has a lot to do with the area’s revival, the story confirms.
 
"Since 1986 the Conways have bought four buildings in the neighborhood, called Ohio City. They are the beer men who became unlikely leaders of the neighborhood’s revival. In the last decade, other entrepreneurs have joined the Conways in Ohio City. Since 2005, the crime rate in the neighborhood has plummeted 24%, and real estate values have more than doubled."
 
“It was a struggling neighborhood,” adds Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. “Twenty years later, you go over there, nighttime Friday or Saturday night, it’s going to be packed. Cars can’t move, people just everywhere.”
 
Alexander goes on to detail his meet-up with Sam McNulty, owner of six local establishments in the area. McNulty remains optimistic of the area, with everyone agreeing there is no reason he shouldn’t be.
 
Check out the full piece here.

nbc news covers 30th anny of 'a christmas story'
In a light-hearted feature titled, "Oh fudge! Cleveland celebrates 30 years of ‘A Christmas Story,’ NBC News contributor Rob Lovitt outlines the story of the film's popularity and the events surrounding its 30th anniversary.
 
"If you want to experience true fandom, consider a trip to Cleveland this weekend, where several thousand people are expected to gather to celebrate the 30th anniversary of that kitschy classic of holiday cheer and childhood trauma: 'A Christmas Story,'" he writes.
 
Friday and Saturday's anniversary celebration will feature tours, theatrical performances and appearances by cast members, including Ian Petrella (Ralphie’s brother Randy), Scott Schwartz (Flick the flagpole-licker) and Zack Ward (aka, neighborhood bully Scut Farkus).
 
Attendees will also be able to buy signed copies of Tyler Schwartz’ new book, “A Christmas Story Treasury,” attend a charity luncheon and see if they can avoid shooting an eye out with a genuine Red Ryder BB gun and target.
 
All told, Jones expects 4,000 to 5,000 people to attend the weekend festivities, which is certainly a testament to the movie’s continued appeal for both kids and adults.
 
Read all about it here.
hofbrauhaus cleveland breaks ground on new restaurant, brewery in playhouse square
This week, Brauhaus Cleveland LLC broke ground on the new Hofbrauhaus Cleveland in PlayhouseSquare in the most apropos fashion -- with a German oom-pah band, sausages and huge steins of beer. Project developers aim to complete the new restaurant and brewery by the end of 2014.

"Everything started in 1589 when the Bavarian kings decided the beer wasn't good enough for them, so they created their own brewery," extolled Maximilian Erlmeier, a former Hofbrauhaus Munich executive and chairman of Cincinnati Restaurant Group. "Now, every year two million people come to the Hofbrauhaus to enjoy food and great beer, and six million come to Oktoberfest. We thought, 'We should export this.'"

Hofbrauhaus Cleveland will become the latest franchise in the growing empire, which includes locations in Cincinnati, Chicago and Las Vegas. The Cleveland site will incorporate the Hermit Club and feature 24,000 square feet of space, including nearly 600 indoor seats and more than 1,000 outdoor seats in the beer garden. The famous Hofbrau beer will be brewed on site, and Bavarian dishes will be served.

The project is a huge win for PlayhouseSquare, which has in recent years developed a vibrant restaurant scene. The Hofbrauhaus project is one of the first development deals to push PlayhouseSquare's growth north towards Chester Avenue.

"We're really excited because this is one more step in PlayhouseSquare's growth," said Art Falco, President of PlayhouseSquare. "This is an incredible destination, but we want to see more young people here. With an outdoor beer garden right by CSU and PlayhouseSquare, we think this is a home run."


Source: Art Falco, Maximilian Erlmeier
Writer: Lee Chilcote
genomic test helps men with prostate cancer choose proper treatment path
Eric Klein, chair of the Glickman Urology and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, along with a team of researchers at the Clinic and Genomic Health, have developed a genomic test that determines the aggressiveness of prostate cancer and therefore helps doctors and patients decide the proper course of treatment.
 
“It’s a biopsy-based test that looks at how certain genes are turned on or off,” explains Klein. “Before it was developed we made an educated guess on how aggressive a man’s tumor was based on factors like age and health.”
 
Often there are multiple small tumors in prostate cancer. The Oncoptype DX Prostate Cancer test, developed for market by California-based Genomic Health, looks at the activity of certain genes within the tumor. Based on the results, treatment can range from surveillance to more aggressive treatment.
 
“We developed it in a way to tell what else is going on in the prostate,” says Klein. “About 20 to 25 percent of men who have this test are re-assigned to a different category of progression.”
 
Klein is pleased with what the test means for the treatment of prostate cancer. “First, it identifies those who have more aggressive cancer,” he says. “Second, it reassures those who choose surveillance.”
 
Klein has spent the past eight years developing the prostate genomic test. The University of California San Francisco spent three years validating the method, and it was released in May. The test is one of many advancements in genome-guided solid tumor analysis recognized by Cleveland Clinic Innovations as the number-two innovation in health care this year. Genomic Health has a similar test for treatment of breast cancer.
 
“This is the first foray into precision treatment for prostate cancer,” Klein says. “With this test a management decision can be made based on the characteristics of the tumor. It’s individual decision making based on that person’s disease. That’s’ where we want to be.”

 
Source: Eric Klein
Writer: Karin Connelly
heights libraries claim top rating from library journal fifth straight year
For the fifth year in a row, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library system has received the highest possible rating in the Library Journal’s 2013 Index of Public Library Service. Library Journal is a trade journal that reports news about the library world and has a nation-wide circulation of 100,000.

The five-star rating is given to the top U.S. libraries each year. Heights Libraries has earned five stars in five out of the six years that Library Journal has published the ratings, starting in 2008.

Libraries are rated on four criteria: circulation, visits, program attendance and Internet terminal use (public computers).
“This shows what we’ve known all along: People in our community are using the library regularly,” says Heights Libraries Director Nancy Levin. “For many customers we’ve become that 'third place,' the place besides work and home where they like to be. We are always busy, and I don’t see that trend reversing anytime soon.”

Heights Libraries wasn’t the only other Cuyahoga County area library receiving Star Awards; other area libraries to win are Cleveland Public (4 stars), Cuyahoga County (5 stars), and Lakewood (4 stars).

Read the rest of the report here.
happy dog to open east side location in iconic euclid tavern in university circle
The Happy Dog in the Gordon Square Arts District is famous for tasty hot dogs with crazy toppings, live music and adventurous cultural fare, including members of the Cleveland Orchestra recording an album live in front of the racetrack bar. Now the successful venue is heading east; in the ultimate win-win, the owners are opening their first east side location inside the now-shuttered Euclid Tavern.

"We've been approached many times, and there are a lot of things we could have done," says Sean Watterson, co-owner of the Happy Dog. "To be a part of bringing the Euclid Tavern back to life was the thing that made us go, 'OK, maybe we could do another one of these, and this is the place to do it.'"

The Happy Dog signed a lease on the space this week with University Circle Inc., which bought the building last year from the previous owners. The Euclid Tavern operated continuously as a bar from 1909 until 2001, making it the second longest-running bar site in Cleveland, according to UCI Director Chris Ronayne. New owners re-opened it in 2008 and stuck with it until 2013. UCI began renovating the space and looking for a new operator earlier this year.

"We were searching for the right tenant to live up to the iconic reputation of the Euclid Tavern as a music venue," says Ronayne. "We were in courtship with the guys from the Happy Dog for a while -- they know food, music and programming."

The Euclid Tavern has hosted national acts Chrissie Hynde, Pavement and Green Day, and also served as home base for legendary local acts like Mr. Stress. The tavern was also featured in the 1987 film Light of Day starring Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett.

Although plans are still being shaped, Watterson says the new venue will operate as the Happy Dog at the Euclid Tavern. A similar menu will be available, but some hot dog toppings will only be available at the east side location, and vice versa. The owners also plan more cultural programming through partnerships with area institutions such as the Cleveland Institute of Music and Institute of Art.

The same partnership that owns the west side Happy Dog, including Watterson, Sean Kilbane and chef Eric Williams, will open the Euclid Tavern location.


Source: Sean Watterson, Chris Ronayne
Writer: Lee Chilcote