Cleveland's Arcade

Cleveland's Arcade opened in 1890 as one of the first indoor malls in America. Obviously, working in retail, I had to check out this testament to time and consumption.

Driving into downtown from Cleveland Heights foreshadowed what was to come. Many once very prominent business, banks, etc. were shuttered on our way in, and the same was true inside the Arcade.

Maybe it is just the Gen-X in me, but I'm a little disappointed to experience the ashes of my predecessors. I echo my coworker's sentiments when she said, "I wish I could have seen this place when my grandparents were young."

The Arcade is gorgeous, and it still well maintained (probably thanks to the Hyatt which has converted many of the offices on the upper levels to suites). However, it is an empty, hollow, and fairly soulless shell of what I imagine it once was.

Arcade
401 Euclid Ave
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 696-1408
thearcade-cleveland.com

Tommy's Restaurant

Tommy's lived up to its hype. It's menu has great variety, the staff is friendly (at least when I went when there wasn't much traffic), and the food was fantastic.

Big Fun

Big fun is seriously the best thing about Cleveland. Forget sports, bars, even *gasp* do I dare write...the Grog Shop. Big fun was a favorite of mine in Columbus in the 90's. You could spend days going through 70's Star Wars iron ons alone. Yet, they closed their Columbus location and have remained in Cleveland ever since.

Remember what it used to feel like going into a toy store? Colors, packaging, and toys you could actually use your imagination with all waiting for you to part your hard earned or gifted cash with? Big Fun brings that all back with old-school Spencer's (in a good way) mixed in. From retro toys to gags like "fart gum," one could spend days alone looking, foraging, and buying their wares.

Added bonus: knowledgeable employees like Redwin make shopping there even more fun.

Big Fun
1814 Coventry Rd
Cleveland, OH 44118
(216) 371-4386
www.bigfunbigfun.com

Revive

Revive offers fair trade goods in a well-designed boutique atmosphere.

Added bonus: Friendly and knowledgeable staff (Danielle and Rose) and a cool founder (Lisa Dunn).

Revive
2248 Lee Rd
Cleveland, OH 44118
(216) 371-2778
www.revivestore.com

Howlies

Howlies played Cleveland's Grog Shop in Dec. 2008. Their presence while performing is magnetic, and, even though the crowd was minimal, they played with more energy than I've seen in a long time.

Grog Shop

I've painfully witnesses a number of bands not hit Columbus and play at the Grog Shop instead. So, when the chance came up to go for a band that I already wanted to see, I jumped at the opportunity (no thanks to Google Maps whose directions were totally confusing).

The space is fantastic. The size is between Wex's black box and Columbus' Newport. The atmosphere has a layered and slightly aged feeling to it, and you can walk right up to the stage. Although a little more sterile than Columbus' beloved Stache's (think more like Little Brothers), the space is terrific to see the next cool band.

Grog Shop
2785 Euclid Heights Blvd # 1
Cleveland, OH‎ 44106
(216) 321-5588‎
grogshop.gs

Cleveland

So I had the opportunity to go to Cleveland at the first of the month on business. Knowing that I had around three hours of free time the last day I was up there, I decided to find some cool & interesting things in Cleveland.

I tried searching the hip travel sites and shopping blogs, but very little came up. In fact, Gridskipper's advice was just to avoid the entire city. So, I turned to Yelp.

At Yelp, I happily uncovered Revive, Tommy's Restaurant, and a now defunct indie pharmacy that lead me to Dave's Market. There were a few things I didn't get to like the "Guardians of Traffic" and Cleveland's West Side Market, supposedly the largest indoor/outdoor market in the U.S. However, in all, I think it was a solid three hours well spent.

The following posts highlight the stores, areas, and great concert I was able to fit in while doing some research.

Enjoy!

B.Loar