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

rolling stone mag calls induction 'best in recent memory'
Rolling Stone magazine couldn't resist leading its review of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony with a Titanic reference, but writer Andy Greene quickly righted the ship, so to speak.

"Walking into Cleveland, Ohio's Public Auditorium for the 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony last night, it was hard to not think of the Titanic striking an iceberg on the very same day 100 years ago. In recent days Axl Rose and Rod Stewart, two of the biggest stars entering the Hall of Fame this year, pulled out of the show, making complete reunion performances by the Faces and Guns N' Roses impossible. Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante opted not to come, and the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch stayed home as he continues to recover from cancer," he wrote.

"One might think that these absences would sink the induction ceremony somewhere deep into the Atlantic Ocean, but it turns out they didn't matter much at all. In fact, it was one of the best Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in recent memory."
 
Highlights include a "note-perfect 'Sweet Child O' Mine," "an incredible medley of Beastie classics" performed by the Roots and Kid Rock, a "bombastic rendition" of Green Day's "Letterbomb," and the three-song set by Red Hot Chili Peppers that included "By the Way," "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" and "Give It Away."
 

Read more here.
cleveland heights poised to allow backyard chickens, lakewood may follow
You know the old saying: Once you start allowing chickens in your neighborhood, any four-legged creature can walk right in off the street.

Well, there goes the neighborhood!

Despite cries of fowl play, it appears that the City of Cleveland Heights is poised to allow residents to raise up to four chickens in their backyards. A group called Hens in Lakewood is lobbying their city to allow chicken-rearing too, yet the group is battling resistance from other residents and skeptical city council members.

The City of Cleveland Heights, once the pristine province of those fleeing the city for greener (yet livestock-free) pastures, may soon return to its roots. A century ago, many small farms flourished here. Although the proposed changes will not allow market gardening (where gardeners sell their wares), they will allow residents to raise their own eggs.

In a few weeks, the Cleveland Heights Planning Commission will consider new, sustainable zoning code recommendations that include allowing up to four chickens. If the board accepts the Planning Department's recommendations, the city will become one of the first suburbs in Northeast Ohio to allow chickens.

"We received a lot of phone calls about this issue, but the pro-chicken people were more vocal," says Karen Knittel, a City Planner with the City of Cleveland Heights. "Concerns were raised around chickens not being well-kept and attracting rats. We're easing into this to make sure people don't disturb their neighbors."

The proposals require chicken coops to be at least 10 feet from a resident's property line, and would-be chicken keepers will have to apply for a conditional use permit from the city that can be revoked if health or safety issues arise.

Despite the widespread flaps about backyard chickens, Jaime Bouvier, a Visiting Legal Writing Professor at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University, says that genuine problems are actually quite uncommon.

"In cities across the country, backyard chickens are always very contentious," she says. "Yet the issue causes more concern than warranted. Typically, there aren't huge amounts of people that do it, and it doesn't get out of control."

Bouvier has written extensively about the legal issues surrounding backyard chickens and aggregated model practices around the country. She has organized an Urban Agriculture Symposium that takes place at CSU this Friday.


Source: Karen Knittell, Jaime Bouvier
Writer: Lee Chilcote
embrace pet insurance credits growth to great customer service
Great customer service keeps Embrace Pet Insurance growing strong. Embrace has already exceeded its projected 25-percent growth in new policy sales this year. In fact, Monday was the company’s biggest sales day in its history. Now in its ninth year, Embrace's co-founder Laura Bennett credits her customers’ experiences with much of the company’s success.
 
“You can’t always assume it’s all the things you are doing, and you can’t always assume it’s the improving economy,” says Bennett. “People do their research and they always end up looking at Embrace because we have great customer service and a great product. There’s also a growing awareness of pet insurance.”
 
Embrace posts testimonials from pet owners about their positive experiences with the company and the cost savings from having pet insurance. “It can take a year or two or three before you need a claim, so we rely on client reviews,” says Bennett. “And we’re doing more marketing with outreach to veterinarians because people listen to them.”
 
Embrace recently added two positions to its contact center and is looking for an IT person and an internal process manager. They’ve grown from 23 people a year ago to 30 today. “It’s nice to be hiring,” says Bennett.

 
Source: Laura Bennett
Writer: Karin Connelly
all aboard: how rta is breathing new economic life into the region
Turning commuters, suburbanites and Joe and Jane Doe into "choice riders" -- those who choose public transit over driving -- has been an ongoing battle for mid-size transportation systems across the country, and Cleveland is no exception. Locally, that task falls on the shoulders of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority, which is taking significant steps to cultivate a new generation of riders.
photo essay of trip through cleveland

"US Route 6 is the longest contiguous transcontinental route in the USA," says the blog site Stay on Route 6. "Running from Provincetown, MA to Bishop, CA (and before 1964 to Long Beach, CA), Route 6 goes through 14 states. This is your guide along all of its original 3,652 miles. From Revolutionary War sites to pioneer settlements and western mining towns, Route 6 offers an in-depth lesson in US History, charms of yesteryear and comforts of modern times."

For this post, the writer takes readers on a visual trip through Cleveland, with stops along the way in downtown, Asiatown, University Circle, Little Italy, Lakewood, and Detroit Shoreway,

Check it out here.
emerald cities aims to bring green jobs, energy efficient buildings to cuyahoga county
A new initiative being pioneered by Cuyahoga County, Policy Matters Ohio and a bevy of partners aims to create more energy-efficient municipal buildings and catalyze the creation of green, living wage jobs.

Now that advocacy within the green jobs movement has shifted away from the state and federal level -- where activity is slow or nonexistent -- organizers are counting on this new initiative to help create a new model for energy-efficient construction as well as stimulate good, union jobs in Cuyahoga County.

"We were pushing on the national level, but when the cap and trade legislation fell apart, we still lacked a comprehensive energy strategy," says Shanelle Smith, local organizer for the Emerald Cities Cleveland-Cuyahoga County project. "We had the economic stimulus, but now that the money is on the ground, it's about organizing locally so it benefits all of us."

Emerald Cities, which was approved last week by Cuyahoga County Council, aims to "create a clean energy economy by developing community workforce opportunities, enhancing environmentally sustainable practices and working to make government buildings more energy efficient," according to a release.

The initiative aims to make municipal buildings in Cuyahoga County 20 percent more energy-efficient by 2020. Emerald Cities will achieve this by seeking financing mechanisms to help local governments pay for projects, creating community workforce agreements to help foster union jobs, and participating in the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Challenge.

"We want to build a pipeline to unionized apprenticeships for underrepresented communities," says Smith. "Our goal is to help create family-sustaining jobs."

Now that the initiative has been approved by Cuyahoga County, Emerald Cities partners are working together to assemble a strategic plan for implementation.


Source: Shanelle Smith
Writer: Lee Chilcote
flats east bank project lands five new restaurant tenants
Developers of the long-awaited Flats East Bank development broke ground in the worst economy in generations by hook or crook, breaking the project into phases and layering public-private financing together in a deal that was dizzyingly complex.

This week, they're singing a different tune as they celebrate new leases from five high-profile restaurant tenants, including well-known Akron restaurateur Ken Stewart and national country music venue chain Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill.

Four new restaurants will open as part of Phase I, which is expected to be complete in 2013. I Love This Bar and Grill will open as part of Phase II, which the developers hope to break ground on next year if they can assemble financing.

Ken Stewart's, well-known for steak and seafood, will add a new name to the downtown restaurant scene. Lago will move its successful Tremont location to a new, larger space in the Flats East Bank. Flip Side is a gourmet burger bar with two locations in Hudson and Columbus, while Dos Tequilas will be a high-end, urban taqueria.

Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill will add a new element to the downtown music scene. The developers hope the venue, a barbeque joint that will be shaped like a guitar, will tap into an unmet demand for live country music in Cleveland.

"We had interested operators from the beginning, but we took our time to select those that were most exciting," says Randy Ruttenberg with Fairmount Properties. "We're currently working on the capital stack for Phase II, which will feature around 150 residential units, waterfront retail and entertainment."


Source: Randy Ruttenberg
Writer: Lee Chilcote
new york times reviews induction ceremony
"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, a gleaming glass pyramid on the shore of Lake Erie, has become a proud symbol of this city. And Cleveland’s rock fans turned out in droves for the hall’s 27th induction ceremony on Saturday, only the third time it has been held here," writes the New York Times.

Highlightes include The Red Hot Chili Peppers playing with Slash of Guns N’ Roses, George Clinton of Parliament-Funkadelic and Ronnie Wood of the Faces and the Rolling Stones. For a Beastie Boys tribute, Kid Rock, Black Thought of the Roots and Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes rapped in old-school green Adidas jumpsuits.

"The ceremony, at the stately Public Auditorium -- a 1920s Beaux-Arts monolith a few blocks from the museum -- also honored Donovan; the blues guitarist Freddie King; the linked British invasion bands Small Faces and the Faces; the music executive Don Kirshner; and an array of backup groups."

"And in between encomiums, blistering jams and shaggy-dog stories about rockers’ early years, musicians spoke of cities as inspiration, common ground or hell."
 
Read the rest of the liner notes here.
techie camp teaches kids tech, prepares them for future careers
Tech Corps, the Columbus-based organization that brings technology education to school age children around Ohio, is bringing Techie Camp to Cleveland this summer at the University Settlement. The goal is to teach elementary and middle school kids computer programming, robotics and web development to better prepare them for a future in technology.
 
“Kids today are technology savvy, but there’s a real disconnect between the technology they use and programming,” says Lisa M. Chambers, national director of Tech Corps. “We know they like to play video games, but we want them to design video games.”
 
Techie Camp is designed to change that with a hands-on introduction to the field.
 
Sponsored by Time Warner Cable of Northeast Ohio/Western Pennsylvania, Techie Camp is a week-long program designed to educate and excite participants in technology and prepare them for future careers in the field. The hands-on program features daily projects on specific topics.
 
Studies show that even though today’s students are proficient in computers, very few express an interest in going into a technology career.

“Last year we didn’t see an increase in the United States in kids planning on a degree in computer science,” says Chambers. “We really have to make sure we have an early involvement with these kids. If we start teaching technology at an early age, so it becomes a part of the conversation early on, then they say, “this is what I want to do when I grow up.’”
 

Source: Lisa M. Chambers
Writer: Karin Connelly
cleveland revs up for rock and roll hall of fame induction festivities
In a long and sweeping feature in Rolling Stone, the magazine highlights the events in Cleveland surrounding the 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

"Bill Rowley, chair of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum board, compares the induction ceremony to a Super Bowl that comes to town every three years. Cleveland fans "not only support [the induction] financially, but they will be there at every party, every night, and it will be jam-packed," he says.

Read more here.
 
affordable church square commons now open in midtown, dedication ceremony to follow
There was good news and bad news when David Uram and David Burg learned in June of 2009 about their application for Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the State of Ohio. The owners of PIRHL, an affordable housing development firm, were seeking to develop a 44-unit housing project on Euclid Avenue in MidTown called Church Square Commons.

The good news was that they'd been awarded tax credits for the project. PIRHL has completed 24 successful projects in five states in the past seven years.

The bad news was that the tax credits were worth at least 20 percent less than they had been before the recession, ripping a giant hole in the project proforma and making it impossible to continue without securing additional funding.

That funding came in the form of about $1.8 million in federal stimulus dollars and $600,000 in Housing Trust Fund dollars from the City of Cleveland. The developers broke ground on Church Square Commons in November 2010 and completed it a year later. PIRHL is hosting a dedication ceremony with Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and other dignitaries and community partners on April 20th.

"This project provides much-needed affordable housing development in the City of Cleveland," says Uram. "Many low-income seniors fall behind in maintaining their homes and can't keep up. The project has also removed significant blight along Euclid Avenue, and helped facilitate redevelopment of the area."

The 44-unit project contains many green, sustainable features, including high-efficiency insulation that cuts down on heating bills for tenants. It also contains 4,000 square feet of common areas, including a hair salon, fitness center and community rooms, some of which are accessible to non-residents.

Uram, who helped found the company in his partner's basement and has a background in nonprofit community development, says affordable housing is a critical piece of redeveloping neighborhoods. "As we gentrify neighborhoods, folks in Cleveland need a place to live," he says. "It's a critical piece of the urban fabric."


Source: David Uram
Writer: Lee Chilcote
tedxcle: inspiration turned into action
"Events like TEDxCLE are changing how people feel about Cleveland and rebranding the city," says founder Hallie Bram Kogelschatz. More than simply inspirational, the annual event is about "inspiration turned into action." Despite a larger space -- the 700-seat Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art -- all tickets still managed to sell out in minutes. Here's a sample of what's in store.
sow food offers chef-made meals crafted from locally grown food
Imagine eating chef-made meals from food grown right around the corner. That’s the dream Brian Doyle had when he created Sow Food last year, which is a catering business built around locally-grown food.
 
”Last year my wife Jennifer and I wanted to create a business that was full-circle,” Doyle explains. “We wanted to add a farming component to our catering business because we were interested in adding food in areas considered food deserts.”
 
Doyle found a plot of land on W. 47th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Cleveland area using the land bank. There, he has created a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model that combines local farming with catering.
 
Members buy a share in the farm in exchange for gourmet meals prepared by chef Doyle. During the growing season -- June through September -- members get three meals for two people each week. The cost is $1,520 for 16 weeks of food presented in re-usable containers. Subscribers pick up their meals each week at the farm.
 
Doyle creates the meals from the farm produce while supplementing it with other locally grown meats and cheeses. “We try to feature other local producers of value added goods,” he says. “You’ll never find a national brand item in our bag.”
 
Last year, Sow Food had 10 customers. This year, the company already has 10 customers signed up. Doyle hopes to get to 30 customers, but will cap it at 50. “We’re thinking in small increments of growth,” he says.
 
Sow Food has two full-time employees and two seasonal employees. If they reach their targeted growth, Doyle plans to hire an additional full-time employee and two part-time employees.
 
Sow Food sub-leased kitchen space from a couple restaurants. This year, Doyle is hoping to find a permanent space.
 

Source: Brian Doyle
Writer: Karin Connelly
10 quintessential u.s. meals and where to get them
CNN recentlly published a list of "10 quintessential U.S. meals and where to get them."

"Grilled, fried, slathered in cheese, wolfed down on a street corner. These timeless stateside feeds never disappoint," states the travel feature.

Under the headline "Steak," reads the following:

"Just about every U.S. city has its legendary steak place, but Michael Symon’s Roast in Detroit is the one that sizzles in our dreams.

"The restaurant is located inside the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit hotel, but executive chef Andy Hollyday says don’t be intimidated by the valet or linen. Waiters here wear jeans and the loose, happy-hour vibe at the bar sets the tone for the restaurant.

"Hollyday’s favorite is the 450-gram house-aged rib-eye, aged for three weeks, then grilled over hardwood charcoal and topped with a marinade of orange juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and roasted blue cheese."

Read the whole list here.
wall street journal touts rock hall archives opening
A recent item in the Wall Street Journal highlighted the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame archives.

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation is best known for its raucous induction ceremonies -- on April 15, acts including the Beastie Boys, Guns N' Roses and the Miracles will be welcomed into the fold. But today, the 29-year-old institution is emphasizing a quieter aspect of its mission with the grand opening of a new library and archives facility near its Cleveland, Ohio, headquarters."

"The library's collection spans more than 3,500 books, 1,400 audio recordings and 270 videos. It includes contracts, correspondence and photographs donated by industry icons such as Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley's original guitarist, whose papers were recently acquired. The Rock Hall had been accumulating such materials for years, but it was difficult for the public to access them; there wasn't much room for storage and research in the museum's pyramid-shaped headquarters."

Read the rest here.
oregonian visits the rock and roll hall of fame and museum
In this travel feature for the Oregonian, a writer visits the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

"Ever wonder why geezer rockers continue to tour across the country playing songs that haven't been hits since Richard Nixon was president?" begins the item.

"Come to Cleveland and find out. Like tie-dyed pilgrims, the over-40 generation flocks to this glass pyramid in the heart of Middle America to relive the soundtrack of their lives at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

"The Beatles, Elvis, the Rolling Stones, Woodstock, R&B, Motown, Elton, Springsteen. All are celebrated in full glory. There's everything from Jimi Hendrix's hand-scribbled "Purple Haze" lyrics to Janis Joplin's 1965 psychedelic-painted Porsche."

Read the rest here.
metroparks to present emerald necklace centennial plan at public meetings
Do you want to see more mountain bike trails in the Metroparks? Or spur trails that lead visitors through secluded, natural landscapes? Could the Metroparks take over the city's ailing, neglected lakefront park system, which suffers from millions in deferred maintenance from the cash-strapped State of Ohio?

These issues and many others will be the focus of public meetings scheduled in April and May by the Cleveland Metroparks. The Metroparks is seeking to present and gather feedback on its Emerald Necklace Centennial Plan, a document that has been in the works for more than two years and will guide the park system for the next decade.

The focus of the Metroparks over the past 10 years has been on preserving a well-maintained park system while also completing a loop trail through the Emerald Necklace. The new Master Plan will address basic maintenance needs like roads and bridges, while also planning for new projects, such as completing more spur trails. The plan comes at a crucial time, as the park system is dealing with a decline in state funding and the need to pass a new operating levy in 2013.

There has also been discussion about the Metroparks taking over lakefront parks in Cleveland, as well as Wendy Park at Whisky Island and, ultimately, the newly-created Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve. According to Jim Kastelic, Senior Park Planner at the Metroparks, the Master Plan directly addresses these opportunities.

"When we surveyed Northeast Ohioans about whether Cleveland's lakefront parks should be operated by the same organization, 47 percent said  yes and 37 percent said they weren't sure," says Kastelic, who cites the Metroparks' recent acquisition of two acres at Rivergate Park in the Flats and its agreement to manage the Towpath Trail in Cleveland as evidence of its commitment to urban parks and recreation. "That tells us that it's something that we need to look at."

Kastelic says the Centennial Plan will also focus on such key areas as green infrastructure, health of surrounding watersheds, strengthening the Metroparks' role in urban areas and creating a regional greenway system.

Additional meetings slated for April and May will largely focus on plans for individual Metroparks. Once the plan is finalized, the Metroparks will develop a list of strategic priorities and seek a levy in November of 2013.


Source: Cleveland Metroparks
Writer: Lee Chilcote
space in old coventry school now co-working outfit open office
The Open Office opened in the Coventry School Building in Cleveland Heights on Monday, April 9, welcoming independent workers -- freelancers, small biz operators and mobile professionals -- a co-working environment to get their work done in a social atmosphere.
 
The Open Office, which will host its grand opening on May 2, offers office space, printers, fax machines and other office services on a membership basis. Memberships range from cubicles dedicated exclusively for full time members, to open memberships and part-time access.
 
“I’m very excited about what we’ve been doing over the past few weeks to transform the building from an old school to workspace,” says founder Andrew Auten. “We’ve been working with the school and the city to bring in more small business.”
 
Conference space is available for meetings and seminars. “The conference rooms are open to the public for reservations,” says Auten.  “We can hold much larger events, for up to 100 people too. The need for this kind of flexible meeting space is really growing.”
 
The Open Office has 12 desks for dedicated members. Auten already has eight dedicated members signed up. Two employees manage the office, while Auten is working with a consultant to help with social media in the space.
 
Other amenities include parking passes for members, a coffee bar by Phoenix Coffee and pastries and sandwiches from Luna Bakery Cafe.

 
Source: Andrew Auten
Writer: Karin Connelly
italian cultural garden to celebrate installation of new dante statue in june
After three years of fundraising -- and a generous last-minute gift from an anonymous donor -- a bronze statue of Dante Alighieri is now being crafted at Studio Foundry in Cleveland. It will be installed in the Italian Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park in June.

"I view this as a Cleveland project," says Joyce Mariani, Executive Director of the Italian Cultural Gardens Foundation, who championed the project after discovering unfinished plans for the Italian Garden that included the Dante sculpture. "It brings back an urban space, and reflects the greatness of what Italy has given the world. We're all beneficiaries of what the Italians have done."

The statue, which costs $135,000, was designed by Italian sculptor Sandro Bonaiuto, who was originally born in Cleveland. It presents Dante in his 30s, around the time he wrote the Divine Comedy.

In the statue, Dante gazes out from where he sits in a Renaissance chair with the Divine Comedy in one hand and a pen in the other. The base of the statue portrays heaven, hell and purgatory, and a scroll located beside the statue includes the epic poem's most famous canto in Italian and English.

The Dante statue will be dedicated on June 29th, and Mariani will host Opera in the Garden, a free performance, on Sunday, July 29th beginning at 6 pm.


Source: Joyce Mariani
Writer: Lee Chilcote
ever-expanding leandog launches lab to help entrepreneurs
LeanDog Software Studio has seen success as a software delivery firm and the team enjoys sharing their knowledge and mentoring others in the field. So the natural progression for the 55-person company was to expand into the world of fostering entrepreneurs in the tech field. The launch of LeanDog Labs does exactly that.
 
“Labs was really a part of our original vision of LeanDog,” says Nick Barendt, director of LeanDog Labs. “Very early on we were working with startups, but we were bootstrapped as a startup ourselves and cash poor. We really wanted to get back into working with Cleveland-based startups.”
 
LeanDog Labs teaches what they know to up-and-coming technology experts. They don’t invest in the companies; they are focused on being a technology partner. “We’re not looking to fund or provide office space. We’re there on the technology end to help entrepreneurs deliver their vision,” says Doc Norton, director of LeanDog Studio. “We’re looking to be a delivery partner in the startups.”
 
The company is in a position now to help out. LeanDog grew to 45 people from 18 people last year, and has hired 10 employees this year -- four of them just last week. Barendt and Norton see that growth as an opportunity to spread the expertise around.
 
“We're looking to work with entrepreneurs to help build their product vision,” says Barendt. “We have an absolutely amazing group of developers with incredibly diverse experiences, from mobile and web to financial and insurance to real time control and embedded systems, and we can make that collective experience available to our entrepreneurial partners.”

 
Source: Nick Barendt and Doc Norton
Writer: Karin Connelly