News Archive

The West Side Market is still the ultimate icon of local food, a place where many products are hand-picked or homemade, old-fashioned counter service still rules the day, and friendly small businesses anchor Ohio City while feeding all of Cleveland.

Or, as West Side Market Manager Christine Zuniga-Eadie puts it, “We’re so backwards, we’re forwards.” The market has changed, yet it remains a resource for the community.

Even as the market evolves, it continues to serve a critical role as a small business hub in the neighborhood. It is an incubator for 100-plus small, food-based enterprises, many of which – such as Campbell’s Popcorn and Orale – have expanded to other locations. 

Sam McNulty has a story he likes to tell. While traveling and drinking his way through Europe in his 20s, he saw someone crack an egg over a pizza in a small café in Italy.

“At first, I thought it was gross,” he says. “Then I tried it and it was delicious. When I opened Bar Cento, I thought, ‘We have to have a pizza with a fried egg on top of it.’”

These days, Bar Cento’s Sunnyside pizza, topped with provolone, pancetta, Blue Loon Farm eggs and black pepper, is one of the European-style restaurant’s most popular items. McNulty’s anecdote paints a vivid picture of Ohio City’s food scene. Drawing on cuisines from all over the world, it is nonetheless 100 percent authentic and local.

A fresh crop of entrepreneurs is changing the course of the road that runs through the heart of Ohio City. Having seen West 25th Street’s success turn the corner onto Lorain Avenue with Penzeys Spices, Crop Bistro and Bonbon Pastry & Café, they’re  now pulling that momentum westward.

One way to lure that energy is with a steaming bowl of chili. Ian Enggasser did just that when he launched Palookaville Chili with a couple of secret recipes and boundless determination in April 2011. The move came on the heels of a 10-year odyssey through New York, Florida and San Francisco during which he played in bands, drove a taxi and worked in the film industry. Eventually, the cost of living on the West Coast spurred the Richfield, Ohio native’s return to Cleveland.

On October 5, 2012, President Barack Obama came to town for a speaking engagement at Cleveland State University. Thousands of people waited in the rain downtown to hear the President speak. Shortly after President  Obama left CSU, he made a surprise visit to the West Side Market in Ohio City.

The President spent about an hour in the Market visiting and taking photos with vendors. The secret service secured the building and stopped letting people into the facility, ensuring intimate moments with those who happened to be in the Market during the visit.
No matter what political party you cheer for, it is a distinct honor to have the President of the United States visit the West Side Market and Ohio City. It was a moment that will be remembered at the Market for a century to come.