Search results for 'Will Hollingsworth restaurant recommendation 2014'

homegrown printshop jakprints grows to 130 full-time staffers, with more on the way

What started out as a small printing company run out of a little office in Euclid by two guys with a background in graphic design and printing T-shirts, has blossomed into a booming print business, Jakprints, which has sprouted three sister merchandising companies: IndieMerch, IndieMerchandising and IndieMerchstore.

Founded in 1999 by Dameon Guess and Jacob Edwards, Jakprints has leveraged the partners' artistic talents, knowledge of the music industry, and instinct for what customers need into a thriving enterprise. The four companies are now spread across 146,000 square feet in two Midtown buildings, employing 130 full-time staffers.

"I never would have had a clue we would grow to this size," says Dameon Guess, co-owner and vice president of operations. "It's the kind of thing where you put your best intentions into it and just get rewarded each day and you get to come back and do it again."

Jakprints specializes in custom full-color offset printing, apparel printing, embroidery and sticker production. IndieMerch, IndieMerchandising and IndieMerchstore serve as outlets to develop merchandise and distribute unique creations on the likes of T-shirts, coffee cups and other goods. "We never got the feeling of 'abandon ship,'" Guess says. "We just kept going."

Jakprints continues to grow. Guess says they plan on hiring five to 10 more people over the next year for everything from production and sales to administrative positions.

Additionally, the team plans to launch an on-site creative incubator, where individual offices will offer artists of all types reasonable rent, shared receptionist, internet access and space to exhibit work. Guess would also like to add a coffee shop to the mix.

"It will be a culture that will support future endeavors," says Guess. "It will be a space to network, meet other artists and be downtown."


Source: Dameon Guess
Writer: Karin Connelly


promising artificial lung development can mean long-term mobility for patients

A team of researchers has developed an artificial lung that uses regular air, not pure oxygen, and is portable, marking a huge step forward for people with acute and chronic lung disease. The research is a result of collaboration between CWRU and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center.

"The most significant finding is that we have demonstrated a small scale, prototype artificial lung," says Joseph A. Potkay, research assistant professor in CWRU's department of electrical engineering and computer science. "It represents a major leap forward toward a self-contained, portable or implantable device that would use ambient air, rather than oxygen cylinders, and would thus give patients full mobility."

Current artificial lung systems require heavy tanks of oxygen, limiting patients' portability -- and they can be used only on patients at rest. Also, the lifetime of the system is measured in days. This new prototype is much smaller in size -- equivalent to a natural lung.

"These results prove that constructing a device with features similar in size to those found in the natural lung can result in large improvements in efficiency over current alternatives, thereby enabling portable devices," says Potkay. "This technology will be used in portable heart lung machines and portable systems for the treatment of acute and chronic lung disease or as a bridge to transplant."

Potkay and his team began developing the lung in early 2008 and will begin animal testing in two years. Human trials should begin in 10 years. The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Lung disease affects over 200 million people worldwide.


Source: Joseph A. Potkay
Writer: Karin Connelly


neighborhood crawl intended to highlight cle public transport system
"Partying is hardly the main purpose," promises RTA Bar Crawl organizer Joe Baur.

To be held Saturday, August 27, the Crawl will utilize public transportation to ferry attendees from urban location to urban location, with stops Ohio City, University Circle, Little Italy, Larchmere/Shaker Square and E.4th Street. The day-long event steps off at 1 p.m. and winds down in Ohio City at 8 p.m.

"The purpose of the RTA Bar Crawl is to show Clevelanders and our suburbanite friends that our public transit system is a safe mode of transportation to get around the city," Baur explains. "It's also my hope that people will come away from the crawl envisioning life living in Cleveland proper. Walking, riding a bike or taking public transit to work, being part of the ongoing revitalization and knowing your fellow Clevelanders instead of going from boxed house to box car to office, back home to fall asleep and repeat."

Baur says the inspiration for the event came to him after listening to the "Mike Trivisonno Show," when the host said he would never step foot on the RTA, adding that downtown is filled with people who can't afford to live in the suburbs.

"Meanwhile, I'm laughing to myself," he adds, "because I fought like hell to get out of the suburbs!"

The event will also benefit the charity We Run This City.

For more info, click here.
csu to raze viking hall, its first dorm, to clear way for development
The bunker-like concrete building at the corner of Euclid and E. 22nd was built in 1971 as a Holiday Inn. It became Cleveland State University's first dormitory in 1986. Over the years, Viking Hall has come to be seen as something of a relic -- and a barrier to the new, outward-focused identity of the university.

Now, after being closed since 2010 when CSU opened the nearby Euclid Commons residential development, the Campus District eyesore is set to be demolished. CSU has applied for a $2 million "Clean Ohio Fund" grant to help pay for asbestos removal and demolition, and university officials have stated their intention to bring the building down as soon as possible. Grant awards from the Ohio Department of Development will be announced in November.

CSU aims to turn the site into a $50 million commercial, retail and residential development. Currently, the university is preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to obtain ideas from developers for potential uses of the property.

The demolition of Viking Hall and preparation of the site for future development is part of a larger effort by the university to transform its campus into a more welcoming, more residential campus. Promoting student life and building a walkable campus environment and retail amenities will encourage students to apply to CSU while helping to improve the neighborhood, say university officials. CSU also received a boost from the completion of the Euclid Corridor project, which has improved infrastructure and spurred new development in the area.

CSU officials plan to use the project to better link Euclid with Wolstein Center to the south. A public walkway or green space are possibilities. The university would like to find a developer for the site by sometime next year, and begin construction by 2013. CSU plans to remain involved in the development project to ensure that its outcome aligns with the goals of the campus Master Plan.

Adding to a slew of recently completed development projects, the university also has announced plans to partner with Polaris Real Estate Equities to develop Campus Village, a $45 million, 308-unit project being built on Chester at E. 22nd that aims to attract faculty, staff, graduate students, professors and young professionals to live on campus.


Source: Cleveland State University
Writer: Lee Chilcote




nortech to host advanced energy conference

NorTech is helping to harness the alternative energy business and translate it into big business in Northeast Ohio. The Advanced Energy B2B Conference and Expo at the John S. Knight Center in Akron on September 14 and 15 will bring together the major energy players to network, educate and discuss the future of advanced energy.

"We will take a look at where we're heading and how we can beat the rest of the country," says Dave Krapinski, NorTech vice president. "The whole driving force is to provide a rich forum to come together and form collaborations."

The event will cover the major sectors of advanced energy including, biomass/waste-to-energy, energy storage, fuel cells, nuclear, smart grid, solar photovoltaic, transportation electrification and wind energy. The conference is 80 percent filled, with 75 companies signed up to exhibit. Half of the conference time will be dedicated to talks on a variety of energy-related topics, while the other half will focus on building relationships.

The bottom line is advanced energy can lead to jobs in a wide range of sectors. "The exciting part about advanced energy is certainly jobs for scientists, but also jobs in traditional manufacturing, sales, construction jobs -- just a broad range of jobs beyond white coats," says Krapinski.

The point of the conference is to pull together and learn from each other's successes. "Advanced energy is a hot topic everywhere," says Krapinski. "We can accomplish more if we work together. A lot of people don't realize what's going on. We want to generate a lot of excitement."


Source: Dave Krapinski
Writer: Karin Connelly


clark-fulton residents fight blight by beautifying old gas station
Kate Dupuis moved from Bay Village to a condemned Queen Anne Victorian in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood of Cleveland nearly 20 years ago. Now she's fighting to save her adopted community from the ravages of neglect, disinvestment and the foreclosure crisis.

The near-west side neighborhood has been hard hit by the economic downturn and is littered with boarded-up, vacant properties. Yet Dupuis insists that it's worth salvaging -- and it can happen if residents are organized, she adds.

"Our agenda is to bring some attention to a long-neglected neighborhood that has the viability to be saved," says Dupuis, a stained glass artist who chairs the neighborhood's volunteer-led Housing Committee. "Our housing stock is wonderful and extremely affordable, and we have committed, solid residents. But the neighborhood's at a tipping point -- we need to address our urban blight."

Towards that end, Dupuis and other residents have organized a project to fix up an historic, vacant gas station at W. 44th and Storer Ave. in the heart of the neighborhood this Saturday. A team of volunteers will cover the long-neglected building with plywood, repaint it, install a pathway of concrete pavers, and add landscaping that transforms the empty property into a park-like setting.

The project is part of a larger effort by the Housing Committee to involve residents in improvement projects while pressing the city for additional resources. "We have properties in our community that have been vacant for years, and along with that comes the attendant crime," says Dupuis. "We're pushing the city to remedy the worst of the worst by tearing down these houses."

Dupuis stresses that the Housing Committee is also helping to preserve the neighborhood's building stock. This Saturday's effort is one such project. The event is co-sponsored by Cleveland Housing Court and the Stockyard, Clark-Fulton and Brooklyn Centre Community Development Corporation.

Although Dupuis says there isn't much new investment taking place on Storer Ave, she notices subtle, positive changes in the neighborhood. "We're giving people in the community hope because we're taking action and doing things."


Source: Kate Dupuis
Writer: Lee Chilcote


radio format change brings jobs - and talk - to cleve

Beginning August 29, 92.3 FM will switch formats from alternative rock to Cleveland's first and only FM sports talk radio station. Owned by CBS Radio, Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan (WKRK-FM) will feature locally produced programs hosted by familiar Cleveland voices, along with headline updates every 20 minutes and a full lineup of NFL and college football play-by-play coverage.

"CBS has done this across the country with terrific results," says market manager Tom Herschel. "We saw the opportunity in Cleveland and we're taking it."

On-air personalities will be made up of local and national names. Nationally-known talent Kevin Kiley will team up with Cleveland's own Chuck Booms weekday mornings for the area's only local morning drive sports-talk show. Adam "The Bull," formerly of WFAN in New York, will fill the afternoon drive time slot. Andy Roth has been named as program director and joins the station from Buffalo's WGR. He also has experience at stations in New York and WIP in Philadelphia.

The remainder of The Fan lineup will be announced at a later date. The new station will produce openings in a variety of areas, from on-air positions to back office jobs. "We're filling the other day parts with great talent and many people with local Cleveland sports ties," Herschel says. "The new station will result in a significant amount of hiring. The numbers will develop as we go along, but it will definitely be a jobs boost for the area."

Source: Tom Herschel

Writer: Karin Connelly

women-owned businesses selected to showcase at build it big event
Five women-owned businesses in Northeast Ohio have been selected by Springboard Enterprises to showcase their companies and participate in a networking program, Build it Big: Cleveland. The companies, selected for their high growth potential and track record of milestone achievements, will present their businesses at a showcase on September 14 at Key Tower.

The five companies represent the diversity of enterprises in Northeast Ohio -- from retail and publications to business products and services to social media. The companies are: All Points Connect, Mindset Digital, iGuiders, Bonitas International and Your Teen magazine.

"Build it Big identifies companies that already have successes and want to achieve that next milestone," explains Katie Gage, manager of programming for Springboard. "It's a chance to plug them in to the entrepreneurial community."

Twelve companies applied to participate in the Build it Big: Cleveland program. After a 10-minute presentation and 15 minutes of Q & A, the five companies were chosen. "They are now meeting with Springboard partners in advisory sessions to address strategies for growth," says Gage.

The Springboard partners include KeyCorp, Meaden & Moore, and Thompson Hine. Since January, 2000, Springboard has helped over 400 women-led companies raise more than $5 billion in equity financing, including 8 IPOs, and legions of high value M&As. Eighty percent of Springboard companies are still in business, generating $4 billion in revenues and creating tens of thousands of newjobs.


Source: Katie Gage
Writer: Karin Connelly


home tour to highlight neighborhoods around shaker square
A group of residents in the Shaker Square-Larchmere community of Cleveland have organized the second Neighborhoods of Shaker Square Home Tour to promote the neighborhood's many amenities and raise funds for a legacy project in the community.

The home tour will take place on Saturday, September 17th from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. The event will highlight the neighborhood's varied housing stock, showcasing single-family and two-family homes, luxury condominiums and apartments.

To attract tour-goers to "live, work and play" within the neighborhoods around Shaker Square, event organizers are touting not only the unique homes within the area, but also the art, antique, restaurant and entertainment establishments in the Shaker Square and Larchmere commercial districts.

In a press release, organizers also cite amenities such as a grocery store and cinema in walking distance; mouth-watering restaurants and farmer's market; proximity to the Shaker Square RTA station; and financial incentives towards purchasing a home through the Greater Circle Living Program.

The weekend kicks off Friday, September 16th with "Rooftop Revelry Over the Square," a fundraiser that will take place on two Shaker Square condominium rooftops that feature spectacular city and skyline views.

Organizers say they intend to use the funds raised from both events to make an as-yet-to-be-named "legacy gift" to the Larchmere Boulevard enhancement project. This $700,000 improvement project will redevelop the Larchmere streetscape with new lighting, street trees, decorative crosswalks, sidewalks and other amenities.

Tickets to the Neighborhoods of Shaker Square Home Tour cost $15 if purchased online beforehand or $20 on the day of the event. The tour begins at Sergio's Sarava on Shaker Square. Tickets to "Rooftop Revelry" cost $75 and include home tour admission.


Source: Katharyne Starinsky
Writer: Lee Chilcote




state and local foodbanks launch compelling 'nothing' campaign
Each day, thousands of hungry Ohioans eat nothing.

The Cleveland Foodbank in association with the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks and Charter One, have launched the Nothing Campaign to bring awareness about the growing issue of Hunger in Ohio. Cans of Nothing can be purchased for $3.00 and will provide at least 12 meals to help feed our hungry friends and neighbors.

To learn more and to make a donation, visit this site.
avengers flick to explode onto streets of cleve
"If you're all about 'The Avengers,' then Cleveland is the place to be," says this recent item on MTV's website.

The article reports that the four-week filming schedule is for a pivotal -- and explosive -- scene in the Marvel Comics superhero flick.

"Word is that a big battle will be shot [in Cleveland]. Odds are it will be the biggest battle of the film and appear toward the end."

"A movie like this is guaranteed to have a big battle," the article continues. "But now it seems we can pinpoint it to Cleveland, so it ought to be especially fun to watch filming there. Apparently there will be lots of explosions in the downtown."

Read the rest here.

chris 'hodge podge' hodgson to land on food network this sunday
This coming Sunday, August 14, food truck impresario Chris Hodgson will make his cable TV debut when Season 2 of the Food Network's "Great Food Truck Race" takes to the airwaves.

Hosted by Tyler Florence, the series features eight top food trucks competing for a $100,000 grand prize. Over the course of seven weeks, the trucks engage in a cross-country battle, with one team being eliminated at each stop. Thanks to omnipresent social media, Hodgson fans in Cleveland know that our favorite lunch-wagon guru makes it clear to the final week with his newly christened second truck, Hodge Podge. What happens next is a well-guarded secret.

Each week, Happy Dog will host hosting a viewing party. Hodgson will have both food trucks parked outside the Detroit Shoreway venue to feed fans. The show will be broadcast on all five of the bar's flat-screen TVs.

Check the schedule here.

cudell neighborhood wins competition to receive free community orchard
If community renewal can be spoken of as planting seeds for change, then count the Cudell neighborhood of Cleveland as a change-maker. The community recently won a free orchard from the Edy's Fruit Bars Communities Take Root program.

On August 30th, dozens of new fruit trees will be planted near W. 85th and Franklin Boulevard on vacant land that was recently home to dilapidated row houses.

According to Jeanette Toms, Special Programs Coordinator with the nonprofit Cudell Improvement Inc., the neighborhood secured the gift after winning enough votes in an online competition to place among the top five entries in the country. Facing stiff competition from entries around the country, Cudell solicited votes from as far away as Florida, Italy and Portugal in order to land the win.

"My dad lives in Florida, so when he came to visit, we asked him to help spread the word among his friends," says Toms. "You could vote once per day."

The competition is sponsored by Edy's Fruit Bars and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, an international foundation that is "dedicated to planting fruit-bearing trees in places that best benefit the community -- public schools, city parks and low-income neighborhoods," according to the program's website.

Cudell Improvement plans to install an irrigation system to ensure the trees are properly watered. In three to five years, when the trees begin bearing fruit, the group plans to give the fruit away to neighborhood residents and food pantries.


Source: Jeanette Toms
Writer: Lee Chilcote


cleveland design competition to generate ideas for new campus international school
The Cleveland Design Competition, an open ideas challenge that aims to spur fresh architectural thinking in Cleveland, will soon showcase ideas for a new K-12 public school in downtown Cleveland.

The event organizers, architectural designers Michael Christoff and Bradley Fink, plan to showcase the designs and announce the competition winners at a public ceremony that will be held at the Cleveland State University Student Center beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19th.

This year's competition focuses on designing a permanent, new home for the Campus International School at CSU, a Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) school that is one of 17 innovative schools that was launched under the CMSD's Transformation Plan. On the website, event organizers cite high-performing schools as key to attracting and retaining residents in Cleveland.

Campus International School is now located in temporary, leased space at First United Methodist Church at E. 30th and Euclid Avenue. The school is growing by about 60 students per year, and anticipates outgrowing that space by 2013.

The popular school, which uses a curriculum based on the International Baccalaureate Program and aims to instill international-mindedness and an ethic of community service among its students, has attracted so many applicants that CMSD is now using a lottery system to fill the school's open spots.

While there are currently no plans to build a new school, CSU officials have stated their preference for a site bounded by Payne and Superior Avenues and East 18th and 19th Streets that consists largely of parking lots owned by the city. CSU's Master Plan calls for spurring more development at the northern edge of campus.

The Cleveland Design Competition is funded mainly by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.


Source: Cleveland Design Competition
Writer: Lee Chilcote












i live here (now): melissa reid, fox 8 reporter
As one of Fox 8's newest talents, Reid is still learning the ropes not only as they apply to work but also life in Cleveland. She and her husband moved to town from Pittsburgh just over four months ago, and they're still feeling their way around. Settling downtown, Reid says they are having a blast discovering their new surroundings -- especially the restaurants. (But she's still a Steelers fan.)
arteriocyte to expand cle production facility, add 15 to 20 jobs

Arteriocyte, a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company with offices in Cleveland and Hopkinton, Mass., has been awarded a $1 million grant by the Ohio Department of Development's Third Frontier Commission. The company, which develops proprietary stem cell and tissue engineering based therapies, will use the grant for the development and commercialization of hematopoietic stem cell expansion for clinical applications.

The move is part of the Ohio Third Frontier Biomedical Program to accelerate the company's Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) of its NANEX technology for clinical use under the product name HemaEx.

"The technology takes a small amount of stem cells and gets a large amount of stem cells," explains Adam Sorkin, Arteriocyte's director of research and development. "We are converting our existing process that is suitable for research to a process that is suitable for use in humans.".

Arteriocyte's therapies help find cures for chronic heart disease and peripheral artery disease, among other diseases.

The company, which was founded in 2004 as a spin-off out of CWRU, has seen rapid growth in the past couple of years, going from four employees to 80. The expansion will create between 15 and 20 jobs in the production facility.


Source: Adam Sorkin
Writer: Karin Connelly


ESPN mag names melt bar & grilled one of the 10 best sports bars in usa
Melt Bar & Grilled, Cleveland's favorite grilled cheese emporium, has nabbed a spot in ESPN Magazine's list of top ten best sports bars in the country.

"We've been to thousands of them," the magazine claims, "dark, dank bars with the same overfried food, flat beer, sticky floors and TVs that never seem to have the right game on. But every once in a while, we stumble upon a joint that makes us happy we gave up our remote for the night. These are those joints…"

Melt sits at No. 10 and was the only restaurant listed in the tri-state area of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

"Think watching the Cavs is hard to stomach?" quips the mag. "Try eating five pounds' worth of grilled cheese and fries in one sitting," referring to The Melt Challenge, a dare to down Melt's monster grilled cheese featuring 13 different cheeses, three slices of grilled bread and a pile of hand-cut fries and slaw -- more than five pounds of food!"

ESPN's nod is the latest in a long string of national attention, which includes "Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives," USA Today, Esquire, "Man vs. Food" and others.

leandog software to buy, renovate former hornblower's barge
When John Stahl launched LeanDog, his now four-year-old software development company that has grown to 34 employees, he was looking for a space that would stretch his clients' minds and embody the expansive thinking LeanDog tries to instill.

He found what he was looking for in a former Lake Erie barge, which dates back to 1892 and was last used as the floating restaurant Hornblower's. "We help companies envision who they want to be," says Stahl. "With a view of the trains, the Rock Hall, Lake Erie and downtown Cleveland, we figured this was the place to do that."

Now Stahl has partnered with the owner of Arras, a 20-year-old marketing and brand innovation company that currently has offices in the Terminal Tower, to purchase and renovate the barge, now permanently moored at 1151 N. Marginal Road. The project will add a full second story to accommodate the companies' growth.

Stahl and his business partner plan to purchase the barge for $500,000. They have also received a $275,000 loan package from the City of Cleveland towards the costs of renovations. That welcome support is part of a larger effort by the city to lure technology companies to the waterfront district, Stahl says.

The entrepreneurs will create open offices that maximize employee collaboration -- in essence modeling what LeanDog teaches. "We help companies change how they work, even as we deliver software," says Stahl. LeanDog is a practitioner of 'Agile' software development, which fosters an open, flexible culture.

The 34-employee company also hopes its offices will continue to serve as a meeting space for Cleveland's tech community. Currently, LeanDog hosts software user groups as well as organizations like Cleveland Startup Weekend and Cleveland Give Camp. "It's part of our values to help the community," says Stahl.

Stahl also plans to create a dock so visitors can arrive by boat. The second floor bar will disappear -- but not for long. Stahl hopes to recreate it on a new third-floor deck, complete with stunning views of Cleveland's skyline and Lake Erie sunsets.


Source: John Stahl
Writer: Lee Chilcote




$11m investment by bluebridge will create secure cloud computing

BlueBridge Networks in Cleveland and Bluemile in Albany, Ohio, have joined forces to offer a virtual powerhouse in data storage and recovery services. The joint venture offers the most robust, scalable and secure cloud computing platform with state of-the-art architecture and service delivery for companies and organizations.

The $11 million investment lets the two data centers easily provide cloud computing to large companies nationwide. Data can be passed quickly between Cleveland and Columbus thanks to Bluemile's acquisition of fiber optic internet cable that stretches between the two cities. BlueBridge's local clients include Hyland Software, Olympic Steel and Rosetta.

"Part of the value is you have a regional company that thinks regional, coupled with human interaction," says Kevin Goodman, managing director of business development and partner with BlueBridge. "We're going to bring cloud business here. Instead of sending your stuff to Seattle or Herndon, Virginia, you're sending it to Cleveland or Columbus."

No other regional data service center in the country provides this type of secure cloud computing. The collaboration enables a certain level of protection in times of emergency or data recovery needs. "We can deliver state-of-the-art, robust, efficient platforms and create jobs," says Goodman. "We've planted the right seeds and built the right infrastructure."

In fact, the partnership has created more than 60 jobs this year, 10 of them in Cleveland in sales, engineering and back-office positions, and BlueBridge is planning to hire even more in the near future. "We've had solid, constant double-digit growth," says Goodman. "This has us poised for exponential growth and jobs."


Source: Kevin Goodman
Writer: Karin Connelly