WVIZ PBS Artistic Choice in Cleveland Gordon Square section

January 1st, 2012 § 0

Sweet Moses Soda Fountain & Treat Shop sets Saturday grand opening in Gordon Square

March 23rd, 2011 § 0

Published: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 10:59 AM Updated: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 11:19 AM

New enterprises keep adding to the unfolding tapestry of the Gordon Square Arts District. And it’s especially cool that the latest opening brings something sweet to the mix.

Sweet Moses Soda Fountain & Treat Shop, 6800 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, is holding its grand opening Saturday. And it is just the right addition to Gordon Square. Vanilla-colored walls hung with vintage posters and oversize postcards, handsomely restored booths and dozens of other old-time touches — including a vintage root-beer barrel and a grand 1940s-era Bastion-Blessings soda fountain fronted by a 16-foot marble counter — lend a welcoming throwback feeling to the place.

“I really wanted to create an experience here, and I knew the feeling I wanted guests to take away — a multigenerational experience,” says Jeff Moreau, who operates Sweet Moses with his wife, Ellen.

“I want people to walk in here and feel glad that it’s in the neighborhood, happy that it’s in the city,” says Moreau, a veteran of the advertising business who wanted to try his hand at something different. “I want my 83-year-old mother to walk in with her friends and say ‘Wow, this reminds me of my childhood,’ but also have a 20-year-old appreciate the fact that it’s cool, it’s not a chain and it’s not in a ‘lifestyle center.’ It’s something that a lot of them will be experiencing for the first time.”

With treats like these, there should be plenty of smiles and memories in the making. House-made classic flavors of ice cream, cookies, brownies and chocolates — barks, fudges and filled “cups” — made with Belgian dark, milk and white chocolate are among the treats. By the way, don’t miss the great white cheddar popcorn and caramel corn.

Those confections and others were showcased during a pre-opening party this past weekend. Guests were invited to sample traditional fountain fare that shares names with area landmarks, such as the Gordon Square (a large homemade brownie topped with house-made Bananas Foster ice cream, hot fudge and warm homemade real-butter caramel), the Shoreway Sundae (hot fudge-topped coffee ice cream showered with almonds and toffee pieces) and the $25 Terminal Tower (a scoop of each of Sweet Moses’ 10 classic flavors, draped in a landslide of marshmallow cream, hot fudge, warm caramel, pecans, candy sprinkles and cherries).

The Moreaus intend to eventually maintain late closing hours, making the shop a stop for after-theatergoers and others who “want something sweet but don’t want to eat it out of a cup in a parking lot,” Jeff says. If you want a sneak peek before Saturday, the shop will be open noon to 9 p.m. through Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Friday. 216-651-2202.

[Cleveland.com Article] [PDF]

Cleveland Foundation awards $12.9 million in grants Friday, part of about $80 million it awarded this year

December 20th, 2010 § 0

Published: Saturday, December 18, 2010, 5:10 AM

By Amanda Garrett, The Plain Dealer

View full sizeGus Chan / The Plain DealerThe Cleveland Foundation is awarding a $250,000 grant to the Gordon Square Arts District to begin the second phase of renovations to Cleveland Public Theatre.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Foundation on Friday awarded $12.9 million in grants to nonprofit groups, including $150,000 to support the transition of Cuyahoga County’s government.

The year-end awards show the foundation’s annual giving — about $80 million in 2010 — is back in line with what it was before the economic downturn, said Robert Eckardt, the foundation’s senior vice president for programs and evaluation.

Last year, as the foundation’s holdings dipped, it provided about $2 million less in grants than it had the year before.

At their peak, the Cleveland Foundation’s assets totaled about $2 billion. That fell to about $1.6 billion at the depth of the recent financial crisis, Eckardt said, but had rebounded to about $1.7 billion by Sept. 30.

The Cleveland Foundation, like many college endowments and other substantial grant-making organizations, considers its finances over several years rather than snapshots in time. That prevents sudden drop-offs and sudden rises in grant making, Eckardt said.

Much of the grant money awarded Friday funds economic transformation, public-education reform and neighborhood redevelopment.

Yet $150,000 was set aside as a special grant to help the county.

“The change to a new form of county government is dramatic,” Eckardt said in a prepared statement. “We believe that getting the right people into the right positions is critical for the success of this structure.”

Matt Carroll, who is directing the transition, said the grant was awarded to the Economic Growth Foundation — part of the Greater Cleveland Partnership — and will be spent in three ways:

• About $110,000 will pay for a national search to fill three jobs — fiscal officer, chief information officer and director of development.

• About $20,000 will pay for the ongoing integrity audit that incoming County Executive Ed FitzGerald launched shortly after his election. FitzGerald hired a former FBI agent who is also a certified public accountant for the job. He will submit his report examining possible misconduct and waste by year’s end.

• About $20,000 will pay transition staffing costs.

Carroll said he has had informal talks with other grant-making bodies about funding that would pay for headhunters to help fill other key positions in the new government.

“We are wide open for the best possible people to come in,” Carroll said, adding that interim staff members will fill key positions until permanent workers are hired.

Some of the other grants awarded by the Cleveland Foundation included:

• Three grants worth $970,000 to the lead partners of MyCom, a countywide youth development program. More than half the money — $550,000 — will be spent on activities for children when school is not in session.

• A $400,000 grant to Shorebank Enterprise Group to support Green City Growers, a sprawling greenhouse at East 55th Street and Kinsman Road that will grow lettuce and herbs without using soil. The greens will be sold to local hospitals and food distributors.

• A $250,000 grant to the Gordon Square Arts District to begin the second phase of renovations to Cleveland Public Theatre.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: agarrett@plaind.com, 216-999-4814

[Original Cleveland.com Article] [PDF]

Bites: Neighborhood Soda Fountain Opening in Cleveland… Really

December 15th, 2010 § 0

And more local food news

by Douglas Trattner

Jeffrey Moreau had always envisioned opening a sweet shop upon retirement. He just didn’t realize that retirement would come so soon.

The former creative director of a Cleveland ad agency is putting the finishing touches on Sweet Moses, a 1920s-style soda fountain that will open in late January in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood west of downtown. “This will be unique not only for the Gordon Square area, but for all of Cleveland,” he says.

Lamenting the loss of the neighborhood soda fountain, Moreau hopes to revive the tradition in grand style. The 2,500-square-foot space at 6800 Detroit Ave., just down the block from the Cleveland Public and Capitol theaters, will be filled with authentic equipment and furnishings. The focal point of the room is the actual soda fountain, featuring antique mirrors, back-lit stained glass, a restored dipping and soda station, and Tennessee-marble countertops, all rescued from defunct shops.

Moreau describes the feel as less ’50s-style malt shop and more ’20s- and ’30s-era soda fountain.

“I didn’t want this to look like a Disney version of a soda fountain that you’d find in a lifestyle center,” he explains. “I wanted it to look and feel authentic, like it belongs in the neighborhood.”

Moreau will stick to “classic, traditional American favorites,” made with quality ingredients, he says. “It’s amazing the things you can do with just sugar, butter, cream, vanilla, and cocoa.” Ice creams, fudge, chocolates, and caramel popcorn all will be made on-site. Turtles will be made with Belgian chocolate and sundaes topped with homemade caramel, fresh hot fudge, and house-roasted nuts. From the soda fountain will flow root beer floats, chocolate phosphates, and ice cream sodas.

Moreau settled on the name Sweet Moses, he says, because of its Cleveland — as in Moses Cleaveland — connotations. “I wanted a name that is grounded in old Cleveland, one that you wouldn’t find anyplace else.”

Seth Kaspy has taken over as executive chef at Hudson’s North End Market (7542 Darrow Rd., 330-656-1238, northendwinefoodfun.com), replacing outgoing chef Jeff Jarrett. Formerly chef at the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club, Kaspy is busy instituting a menu of his own.

[Cleveland Scene Article][PDF]

Evening at XYZ & CPT to benefit GSAD 12.9.2010

December 6th, 2010 § 0

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YOU’RE CORDIALLY INVITED
to an evening at XYZ & CPT to benefit GSAD
in the heart of the Gordon Square Arts District

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010

The evening kicks off at the District’s newest establishment:

5:30 p.m. XYZ Tavern

6421 Detroit Avenue (next to CPT)

Cocktails & hors’ d’oeuvres
and continues to Cleveland Public Theatre

6:30 p.m. More cocktails and seating at CPT

7:00 p.m. “Connie’s Avant Garde Restaurant”

for a five-course dinner and theatre

This uproarious musical performance is a unique theatrical-culinary event mixing the ingredients of fine food, wine and ensemble theatre together in a hilarious parody of avant garde grandiosity. Comedy, death, violence and a five-course meal!

Individual tickets: $75

Reservations: Call Maria Asher @ 216.961.4242 x222 or masher@gordonsquare.org
RSVP: by Friday, December 3, 2010

Five-Course Menu

(With local produce subject to availability)
Roasted chestnuts and mushroom tartine
Curried butternut squash soup
Herbed apple and fennel salad
Maple-glazed ham with cranberry compote
Brown-buttered radishes
Sage-roasted sweet potatoes
Drunken chocolate Bundt cake

Dietary restrictions: Conni’s Avant Garde Restaurant is able to accommodate food allergies and vegetarian needs. Please contact the box office to communicate dietary restrictions in your party. (216) 631-2727 or rcole@cptonline.org.

Fall in Love… in Gordon Square

July 17th, 2010 § 0

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Discover GSAD Day June 12th, 2010 Event Overview Video

July 16th, 2010 § 0

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The History of Gordon Square Skit – Discover Gordon Square Arts District Day 2010

July 16th, 2010 § 0

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WCPN Around Noon: Gordon Square Barbecue Call-In

June 30th, 2010 § 0

Original Article

Dee Perry welcomes friendly Gordon Square restaurant rivals Marlin Kaplan of Luxe and Eric Williams of Happy Dog for a special barbecue call-in show, as we get ready to grill for the 4th of July holiday. Listeners can call to either 216-578-0903 or toll-free 1-866-578-0903 or email our chefs with your cooking questions or suggestions.