For 14 years Christie Murdoch has called Tremont home to her eclectic boutique Banyan Tree – selling unique clothing, jewelry, accessories and gifts to loyal customers. Last October, The Banyan Box became one of  the first tenants of Small Box Cleveland – a market of shops in renovated shipping containers.

 
Now, Murdoch is moving east and about to open her third Banyan Tree store at 11440 Uptown Alley in University Circle’s Uptown. “I feel like it’s a fresh and new area that people are just hearing about, just learning about,” says Murdoch of the location. “There’s a mixture of people coming here, and it’s different than Tremont.”
 
Murdoch wasn’t actively looking for a third location, but Uptown felt right. “I looked at spaces over the years, but it wasn’t right,” she says. “Then this came along and we were open to it. It turned out really nice. It has the same feel as Tremont, but more modern.”
 
The Tremont Banyan Tree has a solid East Side customer base, Murdoch says, but having an east side location will add to it. “Our east side customers are very loyal, but I think they’d come here more. And we love that we’re staying in the City of Cleveland.”
 
The Uptown store will carry similar items as the Tremont location, but Murdoch will adapt as needed. “In the beginning we will have very similar things,” she says. “Then, when we figure out who our client base is, we will bring in more items. We want to get to know our clients first, get feedback, then go from there.” The store will also showcase work from local artists and designers.
 
Murdoch grew up in retail – her mother owned a seasonal store – but didn’t initially intend to go into retail herself until she came across an empty storefront in 2001. “I had graduated from college and was looking for a job when I saw this space in Tremont,” she recalls. “And I decided I could do it.”
 
Fourteen years later, the Banyan Tree is one of Cleveland’s prized stores for shoppers looking for something a little different.
 
The Uptown location opens Thursday, October 8 with an opening night party at 6p.m with food, drinks and shopping exclusives. Regular store hours are Monday through Wednesday from 11am to 7pm, Thursday through Sunday from 11am to 9pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm.

At just 15 years old, Colin Beckford has the moves when it comes to his yo-yo. In fact, he is an international champion in the sport.

A survivor of childhood rape and molestation, Mike Pistorino has shared his story of triumph and survival with advocates and other survivors.

The ambitious Eastside Greenway project will take years to accomplish, but leaders are taking small steps to connect Cleveland's eastern suburbs through trails and corridors.

For the first time in four decades, CIA is united under one roof, opening a whole new set of possibilities for the innovative art school.

Hoteliers and tourism officials recently convened at Tri-C to discuss best practices in workforce development as Cleveland heads toward next summer's Republican convention.

Patrick Siegel has lived all over the country, the last 10 years in Minneapolis honing is trade as a tobacconist – hand-blending pipe tobacco.

Although he is originally from Chicago, when Siegel saw Lakewood on a recent visit to his fiance’s home town of Rocky River, he knew Lakewood was the place to open his own shop.

“It just seemed to click,” he recalls. “I love Lakewood, it’s just fun. I love the fact that it’s a walking community.”

So in May, Siegel opened Robusto & Briar, what he describes as the “perfect cigar shop and lounge,” The shop sells premium cigars, house blends of pipe tobacco and accessories in a refurbished 3,000 square-foot storefront at 1388 Riverside Drive.
 
Before Siegel could open for business, however, he had to rehab the former software company space all the way down to the floor. “We had to cut the whole place down to the studs and re-do it,” he says. “It was a hazard to the public.”
 
Siegel rebuilt the space using locally-sourced reclaimed and recycled wood, including the floors, barn doors made of alder and an 1880 back bar made of wormy chestnut that he scored from one of the oldest cigar distributors in Ohio.
 
Rather than use smoke eaters, which cause air pollution while clearing the room of tobacco smoke, Siegel opted for an environmentally-friendly air-to-air heat exchanger to clear the smoke inside.
 
The walls are adorned with pipe and cigar art “We have the obligatory picture of Winston Churchill, French impressionists and plenty of guys smoking cigars,” Siegel says. Two lounges feature high definition televisions and customers can relax in plenty of leather chairs and couches while enjoying their purchases. Siegel is in the midst of building some private meeting spaces in the lounge.  
 
The biggest feature is a 360 square-foot walk in humidor made of Spanish cedar – one of the largest humidors in the state.  “It’s the elephant in the room,” Siegel jokes. “We built the whole thing around it.”
 
Siegel has found backing for his shop from some unlikely people. “Even the non-cigar smokers have been supportive,” he says. “They say, ‘oh, I’m going to go find my friend who does smoke cigars.’ The decision to be here in this town was good.”
 
Right now Siegel has one employee and his fiancé, Nicole, helps out at Robusto & Briar.
 
 

Construction is slated to begin in January on a 20-floor luxury apartment building at Euclid Avenue and Stokes Boulevard in University Circle. The new high rise would add another high-end residential option in this booming, popular community.

One University Circle, at 10730 Euclid Ave., should be ready for occupancy by January 2018. The 280-unit building will include 268 units averaging about 1,000 square feet, 12 additional penthouses, a four-story parking garage, outdoor grilling area, fitness room and yoga studio. The building also will have a café and market, business center and residents’ lounge.

Dimit Architects designed the building, which includes a window wall and terracotta panel system for the exterior of the building. All of the units will have floor-to-ceiling glass, and some of them will have balconies or patios.

University Circle Inc. president Chris Ronayne, who likens the project to similar apartment projects in New York’s Central Park and Chicago’s Millennium Park, envisions a diverse group of tenants, from academics and millennials to empty nesters. “You’re going to see a pretty diverse cross-section of people in One University Circle,” he predicts. “People who appreciate the amenities.” The building will offer easy access to the RTA HealthLine.

Ronayne adds that the rising demand for city living in Cleveland will contribute to One University Circle’s appeal.

It’s all about density when it comes to revitalizing any neighborhood, he comments. The residential component is just one factor. Retailers and public transportation are the other components that contribute to a thriving city.

“When you’re looking at 280 units on 1.3 acres, you’re looking at the density of a major city,” he explains. “You need that kind of density to create foot traffic, retailers, for public transportation. We want a complete neighborhood where in a 20-minute walk you can find everything you need. The Circle has become a complete neighborhood.”

A portion of the land at 10730 Euclid Ave. currently houses the Children’s Museum, which will be moving to the Stager-Beckwith mansion in Midtown.
 
First Interstate Properties and Petros Development are partnering with University Circle Inc. on the project. Panzica Construction will be the general contractor.

An upcoming Global Cleveland event will encourage area companies to share best practices in hiring foreign-born brainpower.