Businesses closing in Cedar-Lee (Cleveland, Cleveland Heights: sales, 2014, crime)

[that412]

Cedar Lee Pub is announcing that it will be closing, after Sweetie Fry did the same earlier in the week.

What's the deal? I always had the impression that Cedar-Lee was doing pretty fine as like a "Coventry East," plus the theater gives it something of an "anchor" destination. I don't know much about the pub, but I know Sweetie Fry had a very good reputation, so it's a little concerning to see seemingly viable businesses in one of Cleveland's relatively few walkable business districts having to close their doors. I hope this isn't a harbinger of things to come, because Cleveland is going to need more neighborhoods like Cedar-Lee if its remarkable progress is to continue.

[theurbanfiles]

Well I think there were/are really three things at play here.

1. Several high profile crime cases recently in the area have probably scared off some business, and potentially even some business owners.

2. There has been SUCH an influx of new neighborhoods and attractions blossoming in Cleveland over the last 5-10 years. East 4th, Horseshoe Casino, Warehouse, Ohio City, Gordon Square, even a slight improvement in Coventry/University Circle recently has taken away some of the crowd

3. Location. The neighborhood, unlike Coventry and Little Italy and others, has certain spots that had been/are teeming, but not one long strip. The infill could make it feel potentially less secure. Also, more people probably want to move to spots closer to town where there is public transport.

It is a shame if that strip is truly on the decline, and I would be happy to have someone convince me otherwise, as Sweetie Fry and other places down there really are cool, so I hope I am wrong. Perhaps the bitcoin thing will help.

[SquareBetterThanAll]

I've noticed in general that people seem to be waiting for city neighborhoods to fail. What I mean is, a couple of shops close and people are ready to call it a death spiral, yet if the same thing happens at a strip by South Park nobody bats an eye.

And I don't mean Cleveland Heights specifically, it seems to be a common thing around here. It's perception, I guess.

[theurbanfiles]

I agree with you, and I find it amusing because it anyone had actually been to downtown, university circle, Gordon square, tremont, others I'm prob forgetting, etc. They'd literally see it's turned day and night for the better. Coventry is one of the most fun/hip neighborhoods in not just Cleveland but the entire country so it isn't going anywhere anytime soon, neither are Cedar Fairmount or Little Italy. As for Cedar Lee, they have to work on removing bad rep, and finding another way to draw people, which wasn't really an issue for them in 04 or so when they and Coventry were really the only two major, pleasant feeling neighborhoods in the city. More comp isn't a bad problem to have though, for our city.

[averysgore]

Originally Posted by SquareBetterThanAll

I've noticed in general that people seem to be waiting for city neighborhoods to fail. What I mean is, a couple of shops close and people are ready to call it a death spiral, yet if the same thing happens at a strip by South Park nobody bats an eye.

And I don't mean Cleveland Heights specifically, it seems to be a common thing around here. It's perception, I guess.

Yeah, seriously. Two stores closing doesn't mean two eternally empty storefronts! Most likely new businesses will fill the space within a few months. That's just the nature of starting a local business - some of them will stay and become "institutions," but many won't make it and will be forced to move or close. My favorite local coffee shop just closed down, which saddened me, but I learned that the owner couple wanted to retire and move south. So it could be anything like that.

[Minervah]

The is from the owner of "Sweetie Fry" in the "Future Heights" news I get via email

'Keith Logan, owner of Sweetie Fry, posted a letter announcing the closing of his business at its storefront at 2307 Lee Road, and on its Facebook page, on Monday, Oct. 13. “It is with great sadness that I announce that Sweetie Fry will be closing this week,” the letter began. “It turns out that we just couldn't sell enough indulgent snacks to support a restaurant. Most successful restaurants these days are focused on healthy food meal—and that’s a good thing. I guess Sweetie Fry was a little too quirky.”

With flavors such as sweet corn and black pepper, the restaurant may have been a little edgier than the typical ice cream parlor, but Heights residents loved it. They voted Sweetie Fry the Best New Business in 2012, the year it opened, and honored it with the Best Place for Sweet Treats award in this year’s FutureHeights Best of the Heights contest, announced in September.

“We gave it a try for three years, and we just weren't able to get over the hump—the break-even hump,” said Logan. “We needed more space, and although the city—particularly Greg Zucca [economic development director]—was very helpful and pointed us in the right direction, in the end, we couldn't make the financing work.”

Logan said he had tried many ways to tweak the business model, such as wholesale and sales to restaurants, but had limited success. “We were heading into our slow season and didn’t have the reserves to keep it going.”

Logan invited residents to write notes to the business on sticky notes he placed in a dog dish by the restaurant’s front door, and by Tuesday morning, several notes had been left.'

It goes on to say how so many loyal customers will miss the place. It's tough getting a restaurant up and running and to keep it running successfully.

[that412]

Originally Posted by averysgore

Yeah, seriously. Two stores closing doesn't mean two eternally empty storefronts! Most likely new businesses will fill the space within a few months. That's just the nature of starting a local business - some of them will stay and become "institutions," but many won't make it and will be forced to move or close. My favorite local coffee shop just closed down, which saddened me, but I learned that the owner couple wanted to retire and move south. So it could be anything like that.

Both of the articles seemed to indicate that it wasn't just a case of the owners deciding to move on, but rather they're actually having a difficult time making enough money to warrant staying open. So I made the OP because I wanted to hear from people who are more in tune with Cleveland as to what, if any, the underlying factors at play here might be, and whether it's something to keep an eye on.

I'm well aware of what's happening elsewhere in the city, but it's way too soon for a city on the up the way Cleveland seems to be to have reached over-saturation to the point that two well-reputed establishments in a walkable business district have had to close. Look at the rise of Gordon Square in recent years, for instance. The businesses there aren't suffering from competition from other, well-established popular areas in close proximity. Not to mention, it'd be one thing if people really were just preferring go to Coventry or whatever, but the owner of the pub specifically cited Cedar Center Plaza as a primary culprit.

I can see the relative lack of transit options being an issue, but it's still a little surprising to me that an area like Cedar-Lee, which seems like it should be poised to really take off as the region does, instead appears to be running in place.

[Marty711]

The owner of Sweetie Fry basically said it best. It was a quirky concept. I'm guessing many people didn't understand the melding of fries and ice cream.

As far as the Pub goes, I think the emergence of the Bottlehouse has much more to do with its decline than Cedar Center does. Bottlehouse seems to be packed non-stop. The Pub couldnt keep up with the times and paid a price.

As others said, Cedar Lee has always been hit and miss. There's many spots that haven't been able to thrive no matter what's been there. Some of their longtime anchors like Lemongrass are considered to be a shadow of what they once were. Quite honestly, there's not much hipness in the Cedar Lee district. It sorta lacks an identity besides being the home of art house cinema. It isn't on the level of Coventry or Gordon Square and I'm not sure it ever has been. Most of their restaurants aren't destinations. If they added a few, perhaps that could get the ball rolling. I don't think the addition of Joey's or a carry out soul food restaurant is the answer to solving its identity problems.

[theurbanfiles]

It's almost like there's several mini neighborhoods within that one street. I heard they are doing the street beautification thing down there, is there any possibility with that street that they could develop some type of a critical mass of stores, as that seems like it has been the blueprint for success of most of the neighborhoods.

[andrew61]

Look, Cleveland Heights in 1970 had a population of over 60,000. Today it's around 45,000. That's a decline of some 25 percent.

You're not going to be able to support as many businesses with a shrinking population. Add to that the fact that poverty, which was once an inner-city thing, is now increasing in the suburbs, and you have even fewer people who can afford to patronize businesses like that.

Sure, you can overcome such demographic shifts if you're in a destination area which draws patrons from other parts of the city and region. But when you have more and more destination areas popping up in a region whose population is still shrinking, it can mean that competition for customers gets pretty rough.

In addition, I don't know if Cleveland is quite ready for such innovative and unusual food combinations. Here in Chicago, such endeavors are a dime a dozen -- I can't open up a paper here and read restaurant reviews without learning of creative people coming up with such concoctions as spicy chicken served inside a glazed donut, for example, or a beverage made with gin plus a puree of kimchi and Cheez-It crackers mixed together, or someone making pizza with exotic toppings I never would have dreamed of putting on a pizza. I have eaten burritos that had all the standard Tex-Mex elements plus Thai curry mixed in. Such concoctions have become commonplace here, but I don't know if Clevelanders are there yet. I think it's good that entrepreneurs keep trying, though. Maybe one day Clevelanders' tastes will catch up.