Another string of positive media stories on Cleveland (Lakewood, Congress: tax, to live)

[j_ws]

Originally Posted by TheProf

Battery Park does have a few on-site restaurants, including one in the adjacent Shoreway Lofts adapted ex-factory building near the tunnel to the beach.

No longer. Vita Urbana closed in mid-December. That closing was preceded by Graffiti closing in October. CHA is also now reopened in Ohio City. I forget when they left Battery Park.

Right now all that's left is Terrestrial. The Edison also has some commercial space and I believe there is movement on getting it occupied. However, the location of these neighborhoods with minimal through traffic means it's hard to sustain businesses. With the lower-density, suburban apartment complex setup of the Edison I'm cautious about what would actually do well there. Parkview and Tina's are on the border, but they're old, established places that didn't need the traffic to begin with.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by j_ws

No longer. Vita Urbana closed in mid-December. That closing was preceded by Graffiti closing in October. CHA is also now reopened in Ohio City. I forget when they left Battery Park.

Right now all that's left is Terrestrial. The Edison also has some commercial space and I believe there is movement on getting it occupied. However, the location of these neighborhoods with minimal through traffic means it's hard to sustain businesses. With the lower-density, suburban apartment complex setup of the Edison I'm cautious about what would actually do well there. Parkview and Tina's are on the border, but they're old, established places that didn't need the traffic to begin with.

Wow, I didn't know Graffiti had closed. That's a major blow, because that's a substantial building which has had bar and/or restaurant activity well preceding Battery Park, and it had recently been remodeled and expanded. Graffiti really enhanced BP and without it, or any restaurant in the BP pavilion, seriously takes the whole complex down a notch. I hope there are replacements soon.

[j_ws]

Originally Posted by TheProf

Wow, I didn't know Graffiti had closed. That's a major blow, because that's a substantial building which has had bar and/or restaurant activity well preceding Battery Park, and it had recently been remodeled and expanded. Graffiti really enhanced BP and without it, or any restaurant in the BP pavilion, seriously takes the whole complex down a notch. I hope there are replacements soon.

Yeah, it was sort of a Parkview situation before BP was built up. I know a lot of people didn't love the jump in price point from Reddstone to Graffiti. However, it was supposedly not solely a decision of economics as the owner is also doing a meatball concept pop-up thing inside of Porco which is doing well.

" The reasons behind the closure are two-fold, the owner says.

“Winter is a slow season over there, so we saw that coming,” explains Okin. “But I seriously believe in our meatball concept. I don’t want to be the guy who spreads himself so thin that I don’t do it right – and it just makes sense to do it right now.” (https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and...hood-is-closed)

Anecdotally speaking, Graffiti was never super packed when I was there and I wandered over a decent amount.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by j_ws

Yeah, it was sort of a Parkview situation before BP was built up. I know a lot of people didn't love the jump in price point from Reddstone to Graffiti. However, it was supposedly not solely a decision of economics as the owner is also doing a meatball concept pop-up thing inside of Porco which is doing well.

" The reasons behind the closure are two-fold, the owner says.

“Winter is a slow season over there, so we saw that coming,” explains Okin. “But I seriously believe in our meatball concept. I don’t want to be the guy who spreads himself so thin that I don’t do it right – and it just makes sense to do it right now.” (https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and...hood-is-closed)

Anecdotally speaking, Graffiti was never super packed when I was there and I wandered over a decent amount.

We had drinks at Graffiti late last summer after, having parked and walked through the tunnel and over the elevated walkway to the new Metroparks beach house at Edgewater Park, which is magnificent btw. ... There were 4 of us, and we sat in the lovely courtyard of Graffiti. The service was great, the facilities were fantastic and the staff was wonderful -- after a potty stop before we departed, they gave us a tour of the historic old building which had been lovingly restored into the restaurant and courtyard. The sky seemed the limit though it was pretty empty for us, too, though there were some other couples though it was a Sunday evening.

I'm so sorry to hear it closed because BP is almost finally fully built out, with the new apartment buildings under construction. It seemed Graffiti was on its way to becoming one of those Cleveland institution, go-to places... Oh well, these failures tend to cosign my original point of BP and Edison's relative isolation away from Detroit-Shoreway's and Gordon Square's commercial street grid and hub. Stone Mad restaurant and bar, a few blocks away on W. 65th has been a major hit and, last we saw, was still packed and thriving. But those few blocks apparently are a big difference, as Stone Mad, being one W. 65, is a straight shot from Gordon Square (and the Capitol Theatre) itself and, obviously, there's traffic to its door.

Admittedly once your inside BP it can be confusing. Hopefully, though as I said, the Graffiti property can be revived into another similar venue and, maybe, some other restaurant can go back into the BP pavilion. There needs to be some kind of critical mass within the complex in order for any restaurant or bar to be successful beyond just the many residents who now live there.

[bjimmy24]

Battery Park is entirely poorly conceived. What a shame. Could have been a thriving urban neighborhood which we desperately need in Cleveland. Instead it's sterile suburbia. Don't be fooled. Terrestrial is good though.

[j_ws]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Battery Park is entirely poorly conceived. What a shame. Could have been a thriving urban neighborhood which we desperately need in Cleveland. Instead it's sterile suburbia. Don't be fooled. Terrestrial is good though.

The new apartment building definitely helps. When the second one goes up on W73 it'll hopefully help even more. It might also help when they finally build a road between 70th and 73rd. What BP needs is food aimed at a cheaper price point. The immediate area has few easy, low-cost options that could serve people who just want to run and grab something without it being a $35 experience every time.

To TheProf's example of StoneMad, I agree. Il Rione is now also open directly across the street from Stone Mad and is going strong.

[andrew61]

Here's a Trivago article on Cleveland I came across tonight. The author, Joe Baur, is a young travel writer from Mentor who was living in Ohio City but recently moved to Germany, IIRC. I've been following him on Facebook.

The Ultimate List of Things to Do in Cleveland and Where to Stay

[treesinthewind]

In the Seattle Times, they had this article on alternative cities and Cleveland is in the article.
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/seattle-2-0-doesnt-exist-but-flyover-country-offers-hidden-city-gems/?utm_source=marketingcloud&utm_medium=email&utm_ca mpaign=Morning+Brief+5-3-18_5_3_2018


Although I don't know why flatness is a con. I hate hills.

[JohnDBaumgardner]

Originally Posted by treesinthewind

In the Seattle Times, they had this article on alternative cities and Cleveland is in the article.
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/seattle-2-0-doesnt-exist-but-flyover-country-offers-hidden-city-gems/?utm_source=marketingcloud&utm_medium=email&utm_ca mpaign=Morning+Brief+5-3-18_5_3_2018


Although I don't know why flatness is a con. I hate hills.

This article is rife with incorrect information related to the terrain and topography of Cleveland. The shore of Lake Erie is 569 feet (173 m) above sea level; however, the city lies on a series of irregular bluffs lying roughly parallel to the lake. In Cleveland these bluffs are cut principally by the Cuyahoga River, Big Creek, and Euclid Creek.

The land rises quickly from the lake shore. Public Square, less than one mile (1.6 km) inland, sits at an elevation of 650 feet (198 m), and Hopkins Airport, 5 miles (8 km) inland from the lake, is at an elevation of 791 feet (241 m).

Throughout the city one will discover heavily wooded and scenic bluffs, ravines, and canyons. Most of the higher elevations are concentrated on the eastern side of Cleveland, as one would ascend steep hills leading up to the "Heights" suburbs.

These include: Shaker Heights; Cleveland Heights; University Heights. The aforementioned suburbs rest on an eastern plateau, which is a portion of the Appalachian foothills.

Numerous streets ascend very steep hills in the eastern portions of Cleveland ... Belvoir Blvd, Lee Road, Green Road, Forest Hills Blvd, Highland Road ... just too many more to mention.

My point is that this writer has likely never visited Cleveland. If he had, he would certainly know that Cleveland is NOT flat!!!

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by JohnDBaumgardner

This article is rife with incorrect information related to the terrain and topography of Cleveland. The shore of Lake Erie is 569 feet (173 m) above sea level; however, the city lies on a series of irregular bluffs lying roughly parallel to the lake. In Cleveland these bluffs are cut principally by the Cuyahoga River, Big Creek, and Euclid Creek.

The land rises quickly from the lake shore. Public Square, less than one mile (1.6 km) inland, sits at an elevation of 650 feet (198 m), and Hopkins Airport, 5 miles (8 km) inland from the lake, is at an elevation of 791 feet (241 m).

Throughout the city one will discover heavily wooded and scenic bluffs, ravines, and canyons. Most of the higher elevations are concentrated on the eastern side of Cleveland, as one would ascend steep hills leading up to the "Heights" suburbs.

These include: Shaker Heights; Cleveland Heights; University Heights. The aforementioned suburbs rest on an eastern plateau, which is a portion of the Appalachian foothills.

Numerous streets ascend very steep hills in the eastern portions of Cleveland ... Belvoir Blvd, Lee Road, Green Road, Forest Hills Blvd, Highland Road ... just too many more to mention.

My point is that this writer has likely never visited Cleveland. If he had, he would certainly know that Cleveland is NOT flat!!!

The hilliness of Cleveland perhaps is most evident to visitors when exploring Lake View Cemetery, or heading up Mayfield Road from Euclid Ave. through Little Italy.

Cedar Hill also is a well known elevation taken by travelers out of University Circle.