News Archive

The Brews + Prose reading series at Market Garden Brewery on West 25th Street ain’t exactly your typical author reading. While most readings take place in quiet libraries or bookstore basements, this one is held in Ohio City’s hottest new bar, bringing together great literature and craft beer.

“There’s a gap between the hushed, almost church-like readings of universities and libraries and the places you can enjoy yourself and have a glass of beer,” says Dave Lucas, a poet and Lyndhurst resident who spearheaded the event with Market Garden Brewery to celebrate talented Cleveland authors.

“We want to remind people that literature is fun,” he adds. “Readings shouldn’t be the broccoli of literary life, yet you shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality.”

If you find 28 year old manager and bartender Michael Smith behind the bar when you’re at Momocho you’re in luck. You don’t have to talk to him long to realize that not only is he friendly and welcoming, but he is also quite the character. A West Side native, he grew up and went to school in Sheffield Lake, then attended the Cleveland Institute for Medical Massage and has been working at Momocho for four years now.

Whether it was kismet or good luck, he found his current position on a Craigslist listing for a manager. “It was kind of a fluke,” he says, later stat-ing that finding his job at Momocho is one of his best memories in Ohio City. “I was broke and looking for a job and I saw a listing for a bartender and man-ager and I applied.”

The West Side Market kicked off a weekend-long celebration of its Centennial birthday on Friday,
November 2nd.

That afternoon, a group of third and fourth graders from Urban Community School gathered on the balcony to lead the crowd in a chorus of “Happy Birthday.” Then they helped to blow out the candles on a cake decorated by Market vendor Cake Royale with a historic postcard of the West Side Market.

As cheers of celebration went up from the crowd, people lined up to get a piece of cake donated by
Grandma Frieda’s and Reinecher’s Bakery.

On Saturday, November 3rd, the Market closed early to get ready for the Centennial Gala. Fifteen local and national chefs and nearly 1,000 guests helped to raise $175,000 for the West Side Market Capital Fund.

High priority improvements will be targeted for the first phase of the capital campaign in 2013, including upgrading the public restrooms and repairing the coolers.

It’s hard not to notice the attractive bike racks that have been popping
up around Ohio City lately. Much more than simply utilitarian places to hitch your ride, these racks are at once urban sculptures and retail signage for local businesses. They were designed by Rust Belt Welding, two Cleveland entrepreneurs who are making a living doing what they love.

“We wanted to do creative, bicycle-related projects, and we knew there was a need for more bike racks because we’d ride around town and say, ‘I wish there was one here,’” says Grant Smrekar, who created Rust Belt Welding with his friend Lou Erste four years ago in order to build bike frames, something that remains the core of their business. “We wanted there to be an artistic quality to these projects, and for the bike racks to represent the place they’re at.”