Open Doors Academy, which started in 2002 as an after-school program for at-risk youth at St. Paul's Church in Cleveland Heights, now works with over 330 adolescents at eight school sites each year. Nearly 100 percent of Open Doors' participants attend college or a post-secondary program.

To accommodate its growth, Open Doors recently moved into a newly renovated, 5,700-square-foot office at 3311 Perkins Avenue. Executive Director Annemarie Grassi says that the organization has come out of the closet -- quite literally.

"We started in a space in the Heights Medical Building in Cleveland Heights that was maybe 400 square feet, and that was a huge upgrade from our office before, which was located in a St. Pauls Church closet," says Grassi. "Then we moved to 1,800 square feet, but everytime you turned around there was more growth."

The new office, which was completely raw before the landlord built it out, features open space with pods for various work teams and hoteling spaces for field workers who only come into the office occasionally. The project was paid for by a grant from the Ames Foundation and a donation from a generous individual.

Grassi says that Open Doors is effective because it offers a comprehensive support program for at-risk youth, involving families, teachers and school support staff in efforts to bolster student achievement and leadership. Unique features include required service work as close as Cleveland and as far away as Honduras.

"We combine high-quality programming with strong outcomes," says Grassi. "When a kid sees that their parent is invested in the program, then they're more likely to be invested, too. We focus on creating the whole child."

Grassi says that Open Doors, whose hallmark is engaging youth every school day from 6th-12th grade, is replicable. "We want to be in every high school in Cleveland and the inner ring suburbs 20 years from now," she says.


Source: Annemarie Grassi
Writer: Lee Chilcote

When it opens this spring, The Katz Club Diner will become the sixth enterprise to hazard a bet on the twin diner cars on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. But this time around -- thanks to the skill and experience of chef-owner Doug Katz -- the odds are not stacked against its success.

Five student entrepreneurial teams will compete in the semifinals at the Ohio Clean Energy Challenge in Columbus on January 29, presenting their business plans and technologies to a panel of judges for the chance to win $10,000 and an opportunity to go on to the Midwest regional competition in Chicago.

The event is hosted by the University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio (UCEAO) and NorTech as part of the Department of Energy’s National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. This is the second year the competition has been held in Ohio.
 
“We’ve expanded quite a bit this year,” explains Ashley Sparks, senior project coordinator at NorTech. “Each team was paired up with an industry mentor who could really help the teams build on their ideas and get feedback.”
 
The businesses represent various ideas in clean energy solutions. “It’s paramount for this region to have students really interested in commercialization,” says Byron Clayton, NorTech vice president. “These are students who are involved in bringing jobs here and it addresses the brain drain issue in that these businesses they create keep them here.”
 
The top team in the Ohio competition will go on to compete for $100,000 in Chicago at the Midwest regional competition. In addition to the five Cleveland teams, there are seven other teams from around the state.
 
“This challenge helps raise awareness of these startup companies in the state and the region,” says Clayton. “This challenge brings new innovations to the area, provides funding, creates mentoring opportunities and access to venture capital.”

 
Source: Ashley Sparks, Byron Clayton
Writer: Karin Connelly

Downtown has lacked a soul food restaurant for years. That's changed now that Soul Republic, the successful restauranteurs behind Angie's Soul Cafe, Jezebel's Bayou and Zanzibar, have opened Stonetown Southern Bistro at 627 Prospect Avenue.

The casual venue, whose menu features "soul food with a twist" and is similar to Zanzibar at Shaker Square, aims to fill a gap in the marketplace. "This is one of those everyday locations, as opposed to a place you'd go as a treat on date night," says Adrian Lindsay, Stonetown's general manager. "That niche has been missing down here. It's something overdue for this area."

Lunch entree prices are in the $6 to $9 range, while dinner menu items are priced from $10 to $14. Stonetown is located in the former Nexus Coffeehouse space on the ground floor of the 668 Euclid Avenue apartment building (Prospect Ave. side).

Soul Republic has reconfigured the space so that it features a lounge and bar with hightop tables and a dining room. A homemade wine cabinet separates the two.

The menu is a "soul fusion" concept similar to Zanzibar, says Akin Alafin, general manager of Soul Republic, but it  includes many new items as well. These include buttermilk fried yardbird with red velvet waffle, lobster shrimp and grits, fried crawfish, lobster quesadilla with arugula sauce, and the Stone Rolls.

Stonetown has been getting a great reception so far, says Lindsay. The key to success for the company, which employs eight family members and has become something of a soul food dynasty, has been consistency, the incorporation of fresh ingredients from local farmers and the West Side Market, and not taking shortcuts. "They want soul food; it's gotta be cooked for the soul."

The restaurant, while still in the soft-open phase, does feature the full menu, says Alafin. Weekend brunch will start on Saturday, January 26th and run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. So far, Soul Republic has invested more than $200,00 into the space and has hired 11 people.

Stonetown Southern Bistro is Soul Republic's fifth restaurant in the Cleveland area.


Sources: Adrian Lindsay, Akin Alafin
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights Library is transforming a 4,000-square-foot former YMCA gym connected to its Lee Road branch into a high-tech community classroom and home for the Cuyahoga County Small Business Development Center.

The renovation, which broke ground in December and will be completed in June, is aimed at better serving the community while also supporting small business entrepreneurship in the Heights communities.

The new Heights Knowledge and Innovation Center (HKIC) will be free and open to the public. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will be operated by the Monte Ahuja College of Business at Cleveland State University.

"There are a number of things about this project that are very innovative, and one of them is that an SBDC has never been in a library," says Library Director Nancy Levin. "We want to publish our results and try to make it an example for others."

Libraries have been evolving for some time into hubs for small business, and many now offer meeting rooms and workrooms. The project fulfills a vision identified in 2006 during community meetings, Levin says. The six workrooms currently available at the main library are nearly always completely full, she adds.

Other features of the project include a new computer lab with 26 work stations, expanded wireless access in the HKIC lounge area, additional study rooms, iPad rental, a production work area with office supplies, and a digital multimedia lab.

The $485,000 project is being paid for by the Heights Libraries Building and Repair Fund. It was designed by studioTECHNE and the contractor is Sterling Professional Group.


Source: Nancy Levin
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The health of Lake Erie has come a long way in the past 40 years, and it is now considered by many to be a case study of a recovering ecosystem. Yet not very many people know that, in part as a result of cleaning up our water pollution as well as our close proximity to a Great Lake, Northeast Ohio companies have developed rich expertise in water technology.

To leverage this cluster, influence policy, and conduct research and education, a group of organizations have launched The Alliance for our Water Future, a new nonprofit organization that seeks to spur innovative solutions to freshwater issues locally and globally.

"Silicon Valley is an example of what one industry cluster can do for a region," says Byron Clayton, Vice President at NorTech. "Companies all worked together in that region to leverage their strengths. In Northeast Ohio, we have a great legacy in cleaning up industrial waste water. We identified areas where we have the best chance of competing, and that's been the focus of our water technology cluster."

The areas that NorTech identified are automation and controls (identifying the best, most efficient way to control water), absorbents (extracting contaminants from water) and corrosion resistance (preventing water systems from corroding).

NorTech's role is to identify, organize and accelerate clusters. The Alliance will help promote this success story and spur cross-sector collaboration. By working together, the groups involved in the Alliance hope to make a global impact.

"This is about the economic future of our region," says Fran DiDonato, Program Manager of the Alliance. "If we can show that we had success with cleaning water, then that gives us credibility when we export our solutions to other places."

Two Northeast Ohio companies, MAR Systems and ABSMaterials, were recently selected by the Artemis Project as 2012 Top 50 Water Companies. Rockwell Automation is also considered a major player in the water technology field.

The founding members of the Alliance are NorTech, Case Western Reserve University, Port of Cleveland, Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland State University, Hiram College, Great Lakes Science Center, Kent State University, MAR Systems and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.


Source: Byron Clayton, Fran DiDonato
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Small plates. Classic cocktails. A wine list curated by a well-traveled owner with a zest for local food. Shared tables made from old flour bins and lots of cozy nooks for hanging out with friends or snuggling up to a date. A menu filled with items like gnudi and braised lamb.

These are just a few of the wonderful things Fresh Water uncovered during a recent tour of Toast Wine Bar, which is set to open next month in the Gordon Square Arts District after six long years of planning.

Local resident and attorney Jillian Davis first purchased the building in 2006, with plans to open a place where she could share her love of great wine and locavore cuisine with others. The building, which had been vacant for years, is a former bakery and residence that came with cool window seats and built-in cabinets.

Then came a nasty spat with the church next door, which first opposed her liquor license but later came around. After her plans were approved a year ago, Davis started construction with the aid of contractor and furniture designer John Arthur. Toast is now drywalled out and Davis says that she plans to open in February. We know: We'll believe it when we see it. But trust us, folks, it's pretty darn close.

"The space was filled with stuff we could reuse; everything is just kind of getting recycled, which is cool," says Davis, pointing out the empty spot where the bar, which is being built from old doors and will have a zinc top, will be installed.

Davis is very excited about her cocktail list, boasting such colorful names as Vieux Carre, Widow's Kiss, Hanky Panky and Sir Alex. "I'm really into the cocktail renaissance," she says. "If you come here, you'll be able to have liquor, but only what I want you to have." Yes ma'am. And at 13 bucks a pop, we bet they'll be good and strong, too.

The opening of Toast is expected to create eight new full-time jobs in the city of Cleveland. Davis wouldn't disclose her total investment amount, simply saying that she's "doing it on the cheap" with some help from the City of Cleveland's Neighborhood Retail Assistance Program, a commercial bank loan and equity.

Davis, who has traveled the world drinking and eating, is excited about the launch. "When I'm not at work, I read about food and wine, cook and eat. It's my passion."


Source: Jillian Davis
Writer: Lee Chilcote

About 15 years ago Nick Stevovich was experiencing the familiar burn in his legs from bike racing. He thought to himself, there has to be a better way to pedal a bicycle.

“I thought how do I overcome leg fatigue and still get the same performance,” he says. “About the same time I was rollerblading.” With that the idea for Motion Resolution was born.

Stevovich is developing an improved bike pedal that uses some of the concepts of rollerblading. “It changes the stroke cycle, has greater efficiencies and uses different muscles for greater speed,” he says. “It distributes the work of your legs a little more evenly, and the pedals stride in and out in a skating motion.”
 
Stevovich plans to market the pedal to tri-athletes and racing cyclists. “The pedals fit on any bike -- if you saw them you probably couldn’t tell the difference,” he says. “I’m hoping it changes the way people look at bike pedals.”
 
Working out of the Incubator at MAGNET, Stevovich recently received $25,000 from the Lorain County Community College Foundation Innovation Fund. He plans to use the money to develop additional prototypes and show proof of concept.
 
For now, Stevovich’s wife is working on marketing and a Kent State graduate student is writing her thesis on the bike pedal concept. He plans to show his product at a bike show in Las Vegas in September, and hopes to bring the pedals to market by 2014.

 
Source: Nick Stevovich
Writer: Karin Connelly

Genna Petrolla is working in Cleveland’s economic development department, improving the city’s website and blog, as well as helping to increase exposure to the city’s loan and grant program. She is one of three people at city hall in a two-year fellowship through the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) fellowship program.

Launched in September by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Cleveland State University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, SC2 is a pilot initiative that is designed to strengthen cities by developing their economic visions. It is funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and overseen by the department of Housing and Urban Development.
 
“This federal program placing individuals in city governments is innovative,” says Kathryn Hexter, director of CSU’s Center for Community Planning. “It’s a new way for the federal government to help cities. Three mid-career fellows for two years work on priority items for the city.”
 
While the cities get skilled help with priority projects, the fellows get valuable insight into city programs. “The fellows get experience and leadership and public management training,” says Hexter. “The idea is they would stay on with the cities if it works out, but it’s not a requirement.”
 
All three of the fellows worked in Cleveland before getting involved in the SC2 program, and each has an average of 10 years of work experience. Petrolla, who has a background in marketing and community development, applied for the fellowship on a whim and says she is enjoying the experience. “I’m learning so much from it, I love it,” she says. “It’s been really cool watching this initiative play out here.”
 
The other two fellows are working in the building and housing department and the Cuyahoga County Land Bank.

 
Sources: Genna Petrolla, Kathryn Hexter
Writer: Karin Connelly

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) has launched an ambitious $125 million campaign to renovate and expand its campus in University Circle. Dr. Evalyn Gates, the particle physicist who has led the museum since 2010, wants the new structure to become a hands-on learning lab for green building, science education and environmental stewardship.

"Our role is to give kids a taste of real science with real scientists in a hands-on, minds-on kind of way," says Gates. "We can do things in a museum that can't be done in every classroom. Natural history is about our understanding of the world around us. We can help people better understand our place in the natural world."

CMNH will demolish a portion of its older, 1950s-style building and renovate the rest of it. The museum also will add two light-filled wings, a glassy lobby, and 300-space parking garage. The re-do will bring activity that now takes place in the bowels of the building -- such as paleontology work -- into a more publicly accessible space where people can more easily see it. CMNH has long sought to expand, but its plans were put on hold when the recession hit a few years ago.

Gates believes that the philanthropic appetite exists to fund CMNH's expansion and it can be completed within the next several years. CMNH has already begun to reinvent itself since she assumed the role of director. One example is the SmartHome, Gates says, which was a draw because it was hands-on.

As examples of science education, Gates cited programs like the junior med camp and vet camp, school field trips to the planetarium and a partnership with the Cleveland schools that allows every second grader to visit CMNH for free.


Source: Evalyn Gates
Writer: Lee Chilcote

For 15 years, Declan Synnott has owned and operated the popular Parnell's Pub on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. In the ever-fickle bar biz, that's eons.
 
Synnott, who moved to the States from Dublin, purchased the bar (nee The Charles Stewart Parnell) from its previous owner in 1997. He expanded the bar into the adjoining space in 2004.
 
Synnott's next expansion will be a tad more ambitious: In March, Parnell's Downtown will open in PlayhouseSquare, in a space that has seen its share of short-lived operations. Most recently, it was home to Corks Wine Bar, which lasted a little less than three years.
 
"I plan on doing the same thing as Parnell's in the Heights, but just do it downtown," Synnott explains.
 
That means offering a casual, comfortable atmosphere, live soccer on the tellie, good prices on whiskey and the best Guinness drafts in town, and zero food.
 
"I want to cohabitate with all the restaurants down there like I have for all these years in Cleveland Heights," he adds. "There is a fine array of restaurants down there already. My expertise is in the beverage side of things. I'm going to stick with what I'm good at."
 
Other than some cosmetic changes, Synnott does not foresee making any significant changes to the space at 1415 Euclid Avenue (next door to the Allen Theatre), which in recent years also was home to Hamilton's Martini Bar.
 
Outgoing owner Greg Bodnar says that the crowds never materialized for him at Corks.
 
"The biggest problem down there is that nothing much goes on unless there's a show; and even then, it's an hour before the show and maybe an hour after," Bodnar explains. "If anything is going to make it there, an Irish bar will have the best chance."
 
In addition to the theatre crowd, Synnott hopes to attract commuters, neighborhood residents and of-age college students.
 
Synnott's partner in the business is Joseph Rodgers, who for 16 years was a bartender at Flannery's.


Sources: Declan Synnott, Greg Bodnar
Writer: Douglas Trattner

Jonathan Yale has always been socially conscious. As an athlete, he is also concerned about what foods he puts into his body. Those two principles came together when Yale and Phillip Williams founded HooftyMatch last August, an online marketplace for buying and selling locally produced meats.

“It started from a nutritional aspect,” says Yale. “I actually went to farms and bought some whole animals. I started educating myself on all the different factors of why it’s better meat.”

Yale and Williams came up with the idea for HooftyMatch after seeing a booming trend in farm-to-table eating and a strong desire to consume meat from humanely treated animals.
 
“We focus on farmers and the trend of beef without hormones or antibiotics,” says Yale. “We want to make that higher-quality product easier to get into the market. We want to have a consumer-friendly product where our customers can buy directly from our site and have it shipped to them or they can pick it up from a set location.”
 
A portfolio company in LaunchHouse Accelerator, HooftyMatch received a $25,000 investment. The company also won Startup Lakewood’s Ideation Challenge last summer.
 
Yale plans on starting a monthly Cleveland Meat Series with "localvore" restaurants to market HooftyMatch and educate people. “There are definitely people who want this and we want to say it’s out there,” he says. “It's good for farmers, it’s good for the restaurant business, and it’s good for people. It’s kind of like a win-win-win.”
 
HooftyMatch plans to officially launch its site next month.

 
Source: Jonathan Yale
Writer: Karin Connelly