Sat-Sun, September 14-15, 2024 Mon-Wed, September 16-18, 2024
Free Book Giveaway at the West Side Market
AWBA City Club Friday Forum with Ned Blackhawk
When Artists Go to Work: 2024 AWBA Author Symposium
Literary Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference - In Person Fri-Sat, September 20-21, 2024
2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Ceremony
Sun, September 22, 2024, 10:00 a.m. Fri, September 27, 2024, 11:30 a.m. Fri, September 27, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
#CLEreads Young Adult Book Festival (CPL)
Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC) Sat, September 28, 2024, 11:00 a.m. Tue, October 1, 2024, 9:00 a.m. Sat-Sun, October 5-6, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
UPFRONT
WILL SHAKER SQUARE’S $5-MILLION MAKEOVER BE ENOUGH TO SWAY FUTURE TENANTS?
ON A RECENT THURSDAY afternoon, there was a cacophony of sounds emanating from Shaker Square. Construction workers in neon vests were smoothing out freshly-paved roads. Leaf blowers worked down the block from contractors to clear weeds. Painters ran their white brushes up and down cracked facades.
“It’s kind of like puzzle piece matching,” says Michael Price, a contractor with Capretta who was shaping wood trim to match the aesthetic of the square’s original. Price looked at a sill. “Some of this is 100 years old. It’s really stood the test of time.”
This Whitman-esque orchestra of machinery is proof that, since this past spring, Shaker Square’s new owners and operators are working to reshape Cleveland’s oldest outdoor shopping district as an appealing place for 21st century, post-pandemic shoppers.
But even more so, to fashion this octagon of retail off Shaker Boulevard as a safe bet for developers and new tenants eager to buy into such vision-even as inflation, high interest rates and competition with Amazon continues to loom.
That hard belief—that a modernized Shaker Square is necessary—is what drove Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and Burten, Bell, Carr to buy the square in August 2022 from its previous owner, Coral Co., for $11 million.
CNP head Tania Menesse, who grew up nearby in Shaker Heights, said the pair of nonprofits’ spending of millions to fix up outdated heating and electrical, install elevators, jazz-up wrought iron-wrapped patios could help prevent another foreclosure, a fate suffered by its previous landlords in 2021. The other option is to let the area linger at its very worst: a pre-war relic battered by vacant storefronts.
“This just doesn’t work in the market on its own,” she told Scene, walking through the square on Thursday. “That’s what the last 40 years has shown us – is that it just doesn’t work completely on its own.”
Menesse pointed to the paint jobs and trim updates around her as a signal of her severity: “It should be that a private owner ultimately says, ‘Yeah, I buy into this and I want to be part of it.’”
For decades in Cleveland, the historic retail gem on the city’s East Side battled the highs and whims of shifting shopping patterns, met with idealistic developers starry-eyed at Shaker Square’s original value as a public place-to-be. Just like Downtown’s Public Square and the near-west side’s Gordon Square, for example.
A value that has ultimately rested on the shoulders of restaurateurs, bar owners and retail store operators.
Tania Menesse, the director of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, has been stalwart in her pedestrianfocused view of how to improve Shaker Square.
Shortly after a $20-million rehab in 2000, Douglas Katz opened his awardwinning restaurant Fire Food and Drink on the southeast corner of the square. Later, Yours Truly, there since the early 1990s, re-upped its lease. In 2005, Dave’s Market was convinced to open a grocery store on the southwest quadrant.
And thanks to an agreement with CNP to split a $700,000 bill for repairs, Dave’s made a commitment to re-up its lease for another six years.
“It was going to be a very
challenging situation if the city and others didn’t step in to make this whole thing happen,” says Dave’s owner David Salzman.
Unfortunately, enthusiasm couldn’t survive Great Recession economics.
Years later, Coral Co., who owned the square since the mid aughts, defaulted on a $11 million loan and went into foreclosure. The pandemic shuttered Fire, rocked the Atlas Theater and just about killed any and all public events.
When City Council voted in 2022 to provide $5 million in loans to Manesse and team, the Square barely had working security cameras. Its sewage system was backed up.
“It was raining in Dave’s—the roof was leaking!” Menesse recalls. “There was no heat in the Montessori School sometimes during winter.”
“Like, these were not small issues,” she said.
That state of affairs had urged Menesse and BBC to focus on interior repairs first and foremost. (“We didn’t just put lipstick on a pig,” adds Menesse.) Since last year, $1 million has gone into updating heating and cooling systems; $278,000 into lighting; $180,000 into modernizing the electrical system; $1.6 million into
re-doing all of the center’s flat-roof coverage.
“They’ve been working on our basements,” says Tracy Fowler, owner of Fashions By Fowler. “We’ve got a whole new heating and cooling system. I mean, anything we’ve been asking, they’ve been on it.”
But is the $5 million spent so far enough to convince outsiders that Shaker Square is worth further investment? Or, as one of the myriad promo signs teasing its new phase reads, that it “deserves a brand as classic as it is”?
Although CNP and BBC own a majority of the six acres of visible greenery and pedestrian space, the public right-of-way and the barrage of constant car traffic cutting through its six intersections is largely out of their control. (Though Menesse hopes curb cuts and pedestrian medians might be installed.) As is unpainted patio fencing. As is the perception of safety and the reality of crime.
That quantity of necessary improvements seems to be a cause of Brandon Chrostowski’s criticism. Chrostowski, who’s owned Edwin’s on the square since 2007, and has lived with his family
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Photo
Mark Oprea
just east of the square since 2014, believes that the efforts of CNP and BBC are well-meant albeit somewhat discombobulated.
“We’re appreciative of the work for sure, but it’s come with more challenges than expected,” said Chrostowski, without much clarification. (He had once tried, yet failed, to buy Shaker Square for $5 million.) “The disorganization and multiple management companies have made things much more difficult than they should have been.”
Others would simply be pleased if the place looked better than it has in recent years.
“I think they really need to do something about the RTA,” James Muhammad, a nearby resident in his seventies, told Scene. “Yes, it’s nice in there and all that. But they need to paint it. Do something.”
“At least they got that new coffee shop coming,” adds Cleve Jones, referring to Indigo Cafe, which is set to open this fall in the former Biggby Coffee.
The Indigo opening, along with a new photography studio and restaurant, segues nicely into Menesse and team’s next goal: to survey the public—again—to see what else could be done to Shaker Square to make it worthy of increased foot traffic.
They’ll be hosting a feedback event from 4 to 7 p.m. on September 19. –Mark Oprea
Hello Cleveland, a One-Stop-Shop for Live Music Listings, Debuts with Rock Hall Bump
For as long as Cleveland’s had a music scene there have been attempts— some longer running than others—to promote it.
Meaning, to get potential audience members to shows. You had the Plain Dealer’s Friday! Magazine (until 2020). You had The Free Times, River Burn, and this publication. (The last man standing, cough cough.) Today, you have Eventbrite, Facebook, Google, Destination Cleveland. And new ones popping up discreetly from time to time.
Yet the main argument from Sean Watterson and Cindy Barber, venue owners who debuted highlights from the Greater Cleveland Music Census at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame recently, is simply: Cleveland does not have one, trusted, go-to compilation of live event listings. (Eighty-three percent of venues complained they still need help “finding audiences.”)
To put it otherwise: The scene, just as it is spatially, isn’t centralized.
Out of this argument comes Hello Cleveland, an aspirational one-stop shop for goings on in the city’s live music and comedy industry.
Created with help from the Rock Hall’s IT department, the site debuted recently with automated show listings from 16 local venues, from the Beachland Ballroom to Watterson’s Happy Dog to the House of Blues and No Class.
“This here is a decade in the making,” Watterson said during his and Barber’s presentation last Thursday. “Because we lost that one place to go in a lot of ways.”
Clearly influenced by the minimalism and ease-of-use of Washington, D.C.’s own live music portal, users of Hello Cleveland can filter events by date, venue and region. The latter two where the service, Watterson told Scene, will see improvement in the next year or so, as more venues are added to the mix.
But who should Hello Cleveland
ignore or include? Are tinier venues like the Little Rose Tavern and Spotlight Cleveland worth adding just as much as the larger corporate entities that run Blossom and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse?
In an interview after his speech, Watterson implied that venues will be added to Hello Cleveland based on a loose submission process with little hardened criteria.
Watterson urges venues to reach out to Cleveland Rocks or the Cleveland Independent Venue Association to have their calendars included, though Hello Cleveland won’t be adding space for theaters at this time.
“I mean, it’s really just, Do you look like a live music or comedy venue?” he said. “The idea here is to be complete when it comes to live music and comedy. We’re not setting out to be exclusive or elitist. But we’re not going to capture absolutely everything.” –Mark Oprea
April’s Solar Eclipse Brought in Roughly $25M Across the Region, Destination Cleveland Says
Those six minutes in spring, wherein the moon engulfed the sun, lured hundreds of thousands of sky-watchers to grassy fields and urban rooftops across the region.
And all those visitors seeking meaning and joy in those fleeting, dim minutes brought in quite a load of cash—$25 million, to be exact.
A dozen celestial events, from NASA’s Total Eclipse Fest on the lake, to Lorain’s own Solar Eclipse Viewing Party, brought in tens of millions in spending on hotels, food, transportation and shopping, Destination Cleveland announced recently.
Hotel stays, which were a hot commodity in Downtown Cleveland, made up a huge chunk of that money.
(And Airbnbs, with some running for as much as $2,000 to $3,000 a night.) Every county in the region saw occupancy rates spike 80 percent on average on April 7 and 8, compared to the same dates in 2023.
But as was the case after the 2016 Republican National Convention and the World Series that followed, such figures speak to greater implications than just money spent. Region-wide spectacles, worthy of years-long planning, help convey needed PR for Cleveland as the city continues to sell itself nationally as a viable place to move—to escape unattainable home prices or ongoing climate concerns.
“Being in path of totality put Cleveland in the national spotlight,” Destination Cleveland CEO David Gilbert wrote in a release.
That, and the NCAA Final Four Championship that ran concurrently with the eclipse festivities, Gilbert added, “has a direct and lasting impact on how people perceive Cleveland.”
But will those six minutes of celestial magic nudge out-of-towners to buy into Cleveland’s somewhat promising future?
A lot has been written about Cleveland’s promise as a climate haven city, or how its apparent leadership in the office conversion uptick will lead to population spikes. But pinning down moves tied to specific high-profile events is a lot harder – even impossible – to ascertain.
Just as it is to pin that $25 million solely on the actions of tourists.
“I’ve got to state this honestly: 95 percent of our attendance was Clevelanders,” said Mike Miller, the owner of the Music Box Supper Club, which hosted its own rooftop eclipse party.
Though Miller sold tickets ($125 a pop) to 300 rooftop partygoers, just a small fraction of those, he said, went to people living outside Cuyahoga County. The upshot is that the Music Box’s unique vantage point of a once-in-alifetime event sells, in Miller’s mind, the notion of partying on the river to those who don’t do it on the regular.
That multiplier effect could increase as Downtown Cleveland attracts more private development, á la Bedrock’s $2 billion neighborhood south of Tower City, or Mayor Bibb’s pursuit of the North Coast Lakefront Plan.
“I mean, we see it all the time: One concert for us always leads to 10 concerts,” Miller said. “And do those people move here? Yes, I think some of them do.” – Mark Oprea
Photo by Mark Oprea
FEATURE
CELEBRATING CLEVELAND BOOK WEEK 2024
Is Cleveland the most literary city in the country?
From September 14 to October 6, 2024, it will be.
By Literary Cleveland
THE 2024 CLEVELAND BOOK Week (more like three weeks this year) is the biggest yet, featuring more than 100 hours of literary events with the best authors in the country. Oh, and nearly every event is free.
The 2024 Cleveland Book Week is a collaboration between the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards (AWBA), presented by the Cleveland Foundation, the Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC pronounced “glossy”), the Cleveland Public Library, and Literary Cleveland.
The goal is to elevate Cleveland as a national center of literary excellence, highlight brilliant writers that other places overlook, and sharpen our local literary conversations.
Literary Cleveland will kick off Book Week with the tenth annual Inkubator Writing Conference, the largest free writing conference in the nation. The 2024 conference theme is “Create Dangerously,” taken from the work of keynote speaker Edwidge Danticat. In times of national and global conflict when silence can sometimes seem like the safer choice, writers lead with courage by addressing difficult topics and speaking truth to power. The conference features virtual events September 16–18; 40+ workshops on writing and publishing at the downtown Cleveland Public Library on September 20–21; and community programs throughout the month, including a poetry bike ride and a free book giveaway at the West Side Market. See the full schedule and register for free at inkubator.litcleveland.org.
Next, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards will honor groundbreaking books that advance our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures. This year, Anisfield-Wolf events run September 27–28, with the free awards ceremony to be held Friday, September 27 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center and “When Artists Go to Work,” the 2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award Author Symposium, taking place at The City Club of Cleve -
land on September 28. The 2024 AWBA winners coming to Cleveland are Ned Blackhawk for The Rediscovery of America (Nonfiction), Teju Cole for Tremor (Fiction), Monica Youn for From From (Poetry), and Lifetime Achievement winner Maxine Hong Kingston. Learn more at anisfield-wolf.org.
Then on Tuesday, October 1, Cleveland Public Library will present the free #CLEReads YA Book Festival celebrating stories encouraging young readers to find their voices and advocate for personal and community well-being. This year’s festival features authors of YA fiction and nonfiction focused on mental health, self-care, social justice, and more. The festival aims to inspire teens to pursue healthy, empowered lives and positively impact the world around them. Keynote Speaker is hip hop artist and actor Common, author of the new book And Then We Rise. Learn more and reserve your spot for this free event at cpl.org/cle-reads. Book Week programs will culminate in the free Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC) on October 5 at the Cleveland Public Library Lakeshore Branch, 17133 Lakeshore Blvd. (in the Old Villa Angela Auditorium) with a focus on “Black Books, Black Business, Black Excellence.” This year’s conference features in-person appearances by New York Times bestselling author Kimberla Lawson Roby giving the Langston Hughes Literary Keynote (followed by a book signing) and leading literary agent Cherise Fisher presenting the Alice Dunbar Nelson Professional Keynote (and a small group workshop). The free sessions open to the public will run from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. GLAAWC concludes on Sunday, October 6 with a virtual screening and discussion of “Colored to Black,” a film on the African American experience presented in partnership with the DEMASKUS Theater Collective of Pittsburgh. Time to be determined. Learn more and register at glaawc.us.
To celebrate this year’s Cleveland
Book Week, Scene is featuring poetry by local writers alongside Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winners. Read and enjoy!
Ned Blackhawk — AWBA Winner in Nonfiction
Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone) is the Howard R. Lamar Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University. He is the 2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner in nonfiction for his book The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History. Blackhawk will be featured at The City Club on Friday, September 27 at 11:30 a.m. as part of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards events.
Excerpt from The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History
When and where does the story of America start, and who constitutes its central cast? What are the main subjects, or acts, of this national drama? Are the English colonies the site of the origins of America? Did those who proclaimed themselves “We, the People” ever intend to relinquish their exclusive control? What were the legacies of the expansion of the United States across Indigenous homelands in the nineteenth century? How have Native nations responded to the overwhelming presence of federal power within their everyday lives?
Scholars have worked for generations to answer these questions, and starting in the late twentieth century, scholarly as well as tribal projects began to expose a rich historical universe that had been previously neglected. From the Makah Cultural and Research Center in Neah Bay, Washington, to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center in Mashantucket, Connecticut, for example, nearly two hundred tribal museums and cultural centers now articulate the histories of these respective Native communities. New source materials — oral traditions, ethnographies, Indigenous languag-
es, and the archival records from multiple empires — have also helped create new historical and literary studies.
Native Americans have now emerged from the shadows of historical neglect in their full complexity, living in varied societies, speaking centuries-old Indigenous languages, and governing often vast territories. Many continue to live in the homes of their ancestors and tend gardens that predate European arrival, such as the twenty-one Pueblo Indian nations of Arizona and New Mexico, who maintain North America’s oldest continuously inhabited communities. This rediscovery of American history continues to swell. Each year new courses, publications, and partnerships between tribal communities and non-tribal institutions continue to shape the practices of researchers, teachers, tribal members, and students of all ages who yearn for more accurate, multiracial histories. Tribal governments have grown in their size and capacities, providing the clearest examples in American politics of the inherent sovereignty of tribal communities. Some, like the Navajo Nation, govern hundreds of thousands of citizens across millions of acres. Others employ thousands of Native and non-Native workers in their industries and economies. These nations reside within the borders of the United States, where they maintain autonomy, sovereignty, and power in concert with the federal government.
If our schools and university classrooms are to remain vital civic institutions, we must create richer and more truthful accounts of the American Republic’s origins, expansion, and current form. Studying and teaching America’s Indigenous truths reveal anew the varied meanings of America.
release me from this trap, for you cannot sell my feathers, for my black feathers are not beautiful, and neither are they proof against the wind and rain.
But the hunter placed a stick in the trap as a perch for the magpie, and placed a roof on the trap to shelter the magpie, and then the hunter went away.
And the trap was on the ground, and the coming night was near, and the predators began to wake in the shadow of the woods, and therefore the magpie was afraid.
And the hunter returned, and the magpie said, Hunter, you should release me from this trap, for I am no threat to you, nor do I prey upon your beasts, nor do I feed upon your gardens or your crops.
But the hunter placed a larger trap around the smaller trap and turned to go away.
And the magpie cried, Hunter, you must release me from this trap, for no animal preys on me, so therefore I am not bait for any quarry you might wish to trap and kill.
Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
Monica Youn — AWBA Winner in Poetry
Monica Youn is the author of Blackacre (Graywolf Press, 2016); Barter (Graywolf Press, 2003); and Ignatz (Four Way Books, 2010), which was a finalist for the National Book Award. She is the winner of the 2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in poetry for her book From From.
Parable of the Magpie in the Trap
A certain magpie was caught in a wire-mesh trap.
And the trap was small, and the magpie could not fly, neither could it stretch out its black wings.
And the trap held no food nor did it hold water, and the magpie was hungry and thirsty in the shadowless sun.
And then the hunter came, and the magpie said, Hunter, you should release me from this trap, for I am no food for you, and my meat is stringy and foul in the mouth.
But the hunter put food and water for the magpie in the trap, then the hunter went away.
And then the cold rains came and the wind, and the magpie huddled in the trap, and the magpie could not dry its feathers, nor was there any dry place for the magpie to rest its feet.
And the hunter returned, and the magpie said, Hunter, you should
Now the hunter spoke, and said, Magpie, others will not come for you to eat you; others will come for you to attack you, and to drive you from their lands.
For know now, Magpie, that you are not bait because you are wanted, but you are bait because you are hated, and it is because you are hated that therefore you are valuable to me.
And the magpie cried and said, Hunter, what quarry is it that you take such pains to trap and kill?
And the hunter said, Magpies, and then the hunter went away.
Teju Cole is a novelist, essayist, and photographer. He is currently the Gore Vidal Professor of the Practice of Creative Writing at Harvard and a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine. He is the 2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner in fiction for his book Tremor.
Excerpt from Tremor
How is one to live without owning others? Who is this world for? White people taught us that the world could be dominated by means of religion and warfare collected for the sake of pleasure and scholarship, possessed through travel, and owned by anyone willing to claim and defend that ownership. How is one to live in a way that does not cannibalize the lives of others, that does not reduce them to mascots, objects of fascination, mere
Ned Blackhawk|Dan Renzetti
Teju Cole |Cleveland Foundation
terms in the logic of a dominant culture? The more expansive his interests in the world the more urgent these questions become. “Travel photography,” “travel writing”: they have become dead terms and he can’t make them live. Walking through the Medina Koura in the center of Bamako with the camera in his hand he wonders what photographs of such a place can even be. He often tells his students that there is no such thing as a good photograph, not if such a judgment is based merely on how pretty an image is. It matters, he tells them, who made the photograph and what afterlife it has beyond the moment in which it was made. Sometimes the students object. Is he saying that a white person can never photograph in Africa? Isn’t it the right of the artist to make art, to obey the inner creative urges from which any worthwhile art emerges? He turns the question around to them: who taught you that your rights are more important than other people’s rights? The excuses made for the display of African bodies are familiar to him. Those excuses are sometimes blunt and unconvincing and sometimes seductive. One wellknown white photographer makes mockingly exploitative work but in presenting it always appends a statement that the work is intended to “overturn stereotypes.” Everywhere in contemporary photography is the same old vampirism but now it is smart enough to come with good wall text.
Maxine Hong Kingston is the author of The Woman Warrior, China Men, and The Fifth Book of Peace, among other works. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the presidentially conferred National Humanities Medal, the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation, and the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award. She is the 2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award Lifetime Achievement Winner.
Excerpt from The Woman Warrior
“You must not tell anyone,” my mother said, “what I am about to tell you. In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well. We say that your father has all brothers because it is
as if she had never been born.
“In 1924 just a few days after our village celebrated seventeen hurry-up weddings — to make sure that every young man who went ‘out on the road’ would responsibly come home — your father and his brothers and your grandfather and his brothers and your aunt’s new husband sailed for America, the Gold Mountain. It was your grandfather’s last trip. Those lucky enough to get contracts waved goodbye from the decks. They fed and guarded the stowaways and helped them off in Cuba, New York, Bali, Hawaii. ‘We’ll meet in California next year,’ they said. All of them sent money home.
“I remember looking at your aunt one day when she and I were dressing; I had not noticed before that she had such a protruding melon of a stomach. But I did not think, ‘She’s pregnant,’ until she began to look like other pregnant women, her shirt pulling and the white tops of her black pants showing. She could not have been pregnant, you see, because her husband had been gone for years. No one said anything. We did not discuss it. In early summer she was ready to have the child, long after the time when it could have been possible.
“The village had also been counting. On the night the baby was to be born the villagers raided our house. Some were crying. Like a great saw, teeth strung with lights, files of people walked zigzag across our land, tearing the rice. Their lanterns doubled in the disturbed black water, which drained away through the broken bunds. As the villagers closed
in, we could see that some of them, probably men and women we knew well, wore white masks. The people with long hair hung it over their faces. Women with short hair made it stand up on end. Some had tied white bands around their foreheads, arms, and legs.
“At first they threw mud and rocks at the house. Then they threw eggs and began slaughtering our stock. We could hear the animals scream their deaths — the roosters, the pigs, a last great roar from the ox. Familiar wild heads flared in our night windows; the villagers encircled us. Some of the faces stopped to peer at us, their eyes rushing like searchlights. The hands flattened against the panes, framed heads, and left red prints.
“The villagers broke in the front and the back doors at the same time, even though we had not locked the doors against them. Their knives dripped with the blood of our animals. They smeared blood on the doors and walls. One woman swung a chicken, whose throat she had slit, splattering blood in red arcs about her. We stood together in the middle of our house, in the family hall with the pictures and tables of the ancestors around us, and looked straight ahead.
“At that time the house had only two wings. When the men came back, we would build two more to enclose our courtyard and a third one to begin a second courtyard. The villagers pushed through both wings, even your grandparents’ rooms, to find your aunt’s, which was also mine until the men returned.
From this room a new wing for one of the younger families would grow. They ripped up her clothes and shoes and broke her combs, grinding them underfoot. They tore her work from the loom. They scattered the cooking fire and rolled the new weaving in it. We could hear them in the kitchen breaking our bowls and banging the pots. They overturned the great waist-high earthenware jugs; duck eggs, pickled fruits, vegetables burst out and mixed in acrid torrents. The old woman from the next field swept a broom through the air and loosed the spirits-of-the broom over our heads. ‘Pig.’ ‘Ghost.’ ‘Pig,’ they sobbed and scolded while they ruined our house.
“When they left, they took sugar and oranges to bless themselves. They cut pieces from the dead animals. Some of them took bowls that were not broken and clothes that were not torn. Afterward we swept up the rice and sewed it back up into sacks. But the smells from the spilled preserves lasted. Your aunt gave birth in the pigsty that night. The next morning when I went for the water, I found her and the baby plugging up the family well.
“Don’t let your father know that I told you. He denies her. Now that you have started to menstruate, what happened to her could happen to you. Don’t humiliate us. You wouldn’t like to be forgotten as if you had never been born. The villagers are watchful.”
Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on. She tested our strength
Maxine Hong Kingston|Cleveland Foundation
to establish realities. Those in the emigrant generations who could not reassert brute survival died young and far from home. Those of us in the first American generations have had to figure out how the invisible world the emigrants built around our childhoods fits in solid America.
The emigrants confused the gods by diverting their curses, misleading them with crooked streets and false names. They must try to confuse their offspring as well, who, I suppose, threaten them in similar ways — always trying to get things straight, always trying to name the unspeakable. The Chinese I know hide their names; sojourners take new names when their lives change and guard their real names with silence.
Chinese-Americans, when you try to understand what things in you are Chinese, how do you separate what
band kids; we stood in a practiced line, clutching free Frosty cards meant for children, ready to receive our cold communion, a holy body to melt away our teenage sins.
And oh, how we sinned— whispered to our stand partners every time the conductor had to remind the trombonists they were not gods; practiced our double-tonguing with theater kids in private practice rooms; came in late to rehearsals, fries in one hand, flutes in the other.
The summer of senior year, too many neglected nuggets led to an infestation.
Spiders spilled from the bells of sousaphones.
Cockroaches crept from a cello’s womb. We ate in the cafeteria that semester, choked down our pride with cardboard pizza, turned west toward Wendy’s in prayer and wept.
Philip Metres is the author of twelve books, including Fugitive/ Refuge (Copper Canyon 2024) and Shrapnel Maps (Copper Canyon, 2020), and he is professor of English and director of the Peace, Justice, and Human Rights program at John Carroll University. Philip will be presenting at Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator Writing Conference at the downtown Cleveland Public Library on September 20–21.
Raise Your Glass
is peculiar to childhood, to poverty, insanities, one family, your mother who marked your growing with stories, from what is Chinese? What is Chinese tradition and what is the movies?
If I want to learn what clothes my aunt wore, whether flashy or ordinary, I would have to begin, “Remember Father’s drowned-in-the-well sister?” I cannot ask that. My mother has told me once and for all the useful parts. She will add nothing unless powered by Necessity, a riverbank that guides her life. She plants vegetable gardens rather than lawns she carries the odd-shaped tomatoes home from the fields and eats food left for the gods.
Kristin Gustafson is a poet and editor from Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Her poetry has been published in over a dozen literary magazines and she is one of Literary Cleveland’s 2023–2024 Breakthrough Writing Residents. Kristin will be presenting at Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator Writing Conference at the downtown Cleveland Public Library on September 20–21.
Ode to the Wendy’s on Cedar Road
The Wendy’s across the street from my high school might have well been a holy site. The pilgrimage, a rite of passage for
—after Fadhil al-Azzawi
A toast to the thirst that won’t be quenched
To the drought that dries up in the rain
A toast to the drunk who finally stops drinking and drinks loneliness again
A toast to the fire that guts the past and clears way for future
A toast to the country
that misplaces its border guards To the borderland
Monica Youn |Cleveland Foundation
between our lives and the dream of our lives
To the one who won the election for a country that no longer exists
To the president who dreams he’s lost his arms and wakes with an itchy scalp
A toast to the walls
that grow doors overnight
A toast to the migrants the authors of movement who write with their feet
To beauty that has no reason but herself, a toast
A toast to the youth who don’t know history tells them it’s not possible
To us in the middle of the thicket
& the only way forward is further in
To the aged who live their last years
where they’ve always lived— in another country
A toast to the dream of the other country the other country that is & is not in this one
A toast to social media and its endless feeds
where the phone eats first
A toast to the Internet
that helps us forget what we never knew we needed to know
To the freedom where no one is free
unless everyone is free
To the last page of the Internet
which reads:
GO THE FUCK OUTSIDE
A toast to the host and the guest the ghost and this house
where we die together tonight and rise in some distant yesterday
our bodies hiding in the light of a forgotten open page
Jenna Martínez is a queer Mexican-American femme writer and printmaker from San Antonio, Texas. Her writing has appeared in or is forthcoming in The Kenyon Review, Homology Lit, and One Page Poetry, and she is one of Literary Cleveland’s 2023–2024 Breakthrough Writing Residents. Kristin will be presenting at Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator Writing Conference at the downtown Cleveland Public Library on September 20–21.
Skinny Dipping at the People’s Beach
Brooklyn, New York City summer sun and piss leak out of the subway walls and concrete. Heat eats the city in gulps.
We take the Q to the soft rim of continent.
Our clothes drop in the sand without a sound.
Water so cold, like it doesn’t fit in the arms of summer.
Up to our necks, the water barely ripples, biting out any heat I can remember. On our first date, you say, I think I can worship you.
Kortney Morrow is a poet creating from her studio in Cleveland, Ohio. Her work has received support from 68to05, The Academy of American Poets, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Prairie Schooner, Tin House, and Transition Magazine. Kortney will be presenting at Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator Writing Conference at the downtown Cleveland Public Library on September 20–21.
Neyow’s Fruit Punch Vibrant red, the color of oblivion.
The color of that kid’s backpack. Schools out. A bell rings through the brain.
Across the street from the kindergarten, armed men defend bronze symbols. Above, snakes dangle from oak trees, their red tongues slithering across the sky. I’m in the backseat, slumped.
Sipping 32oz of fruit punch, mixed with light & dark liquor. At this rate, I might not make it. The clouds storm through my empty stomach. A voice sings America, please take my hand. The car door opens & my foot finds the floor — only to tumble.
Hands stretched, searching for absolution.
It’s a mysterious shade of red. Fruit punch has no fruit in it.
Conor Bracken — Local Author Conor Bracken is the author of The Enemy of My Enemy is Me (Diode Editions, 2021), as well as the translator of Mohammed Khaïr-Eddine’s Scorpionic Sun (CSU Poetry Center, 2019) and Jean D’Amérique’s No Way in the Skin Without This Bloody Embrace (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2022). He teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Conor will be presenting at Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator Writing Conference at the downtown Cleveland Public Library on September 20–21.
The List
The war. Lead paint. The globe of a single unhalved grape. Leaping dog. Ebbing tide. A slide
into any of the crevasses blue and jagged
between the medial and lateral moraines.
Small parade of unspookable half-starved handfed deer. Tick a box on the list of things that might end a child and the list expands
to include now rancid cheese, acid rain, mislaid rakes. Outbreak, traffic, mass shooting, sleep.
I do not love the list
but I care for it. I feed the world into its mouth which it stamps into
pellets I then toss to my reared-up hopping vigilance. It isn’t love but vigilance gets along with love the way the tongue-eating louse, a parasitic isopod that feeds on the blood and mucus of snappers, gets along with snappers: by severing with its foreclaws the muscle from the mouth and then functionally replacing the tongue while causing no other known damage to the host.
I think of this as she and I squat on the sidewalk chalking shapes the rain will blur when she dashes giggling toward the road.
The list would never do this. I lunge, and feel the way the louse must feel,
lashed to the snapper’s whims, battered by every choice it hasn’t made with its entire disconnected, inseparable body.
I clutch her to my chest as a Honda shushes by and her crying eventually lapses. She calms, climbs down, and puts
the finishing touches on a purple squiggle
she says is me. Of course it’s not. I might be flat on the sidewalk.
I might be smudged around the edges, uncertain
where I end and where the rough fact of concrete starts. But come the rain, its trillion blunted blades, its patient sawing down of bluntness into smooth, I’ll still be here, terrified one of us might learn
GET OUT Everything to do in Cleveland for the next two weeks
WED 09/11
Walnut Wednesday
Walnut Wednesday is one of summer’s great traditions. Today from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Perk Plaza at Chester Commons — at East 12th and Walnut streets — food trucks gather to serve up lunch to area residents and employees. Follow the Downtown Cleveland Alliance on Facebook for weekly updates on vendors, entertainment offerings and more. The series continues through Sept. 30. Admission is free, but the food will cost you. downtowncleveland.com.
THU 09/12
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School
Founded in 2005 in a dive bar in Brooklyn, Dr. Sketchy’s has now spread to more than 100 cities around the world. Dr. Sketchy Akron, a monthly drink and draw event that takes place on the second Thursday of each month at Jilly’s Music Room in Akron, gives patrons the opportunity to “draw glamorous underground performers in an atmosphere of boozy conviviality.” The fun begins at 7 p.m.; it costs $10 to draw.
111 N Main St., Akron, 330-576-3757, jillysmusicroom.com.
Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays have hovered around the .500 mark all season long. The team, which plays in the tough AL East where it’s fighting for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs, swings into town tonight for a four-game series against the Guardians. First pitch is at 6:40. 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb. com/guardians.
Pride & Prejudice
Based on a Jane Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice centers on the outspoken Elizabeth Bennet, a woman who shows no interest in marriage until she meets the handsome, enigmatic Mr. Darcy. Cleveland Play House presents this rendition of the play at the Allen Theatre. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30, and performances continue through Sept. 29. 2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
A View from the Bridge Cain Park in Cleveland Heights hosts the performance of this Arthur Miller play about an Italian-American family. Tonight’s performance takes place at
7, and performances continue through Sept. 15.
14591 Superior Rd., Cleveland Heights, 216-371-3000, cainpark.com.
FRI 09/13
Shubh Saran
This New York-based guitarist draws from progressive rock and fusion and classical and contemporary Indian music. He performs tonight at 7:30 at CODA. Da Land Brass Band and Abstract Sounds open the show. 2247 Professor Ave, 216-274-1200, danteboccuzzi.com.
SAT
Chalk Festival
09/14
This annual festival features sidewalk artistry by professional chalk artists and local community groups, families, and individuals, all using Cleveland Museum of Art’s south plaza and walkways that wind through the Fine Arts Garden and down to Wade Lagoon as a colorful canvas. A modern expression of a Renaissance tradition from 16th-century Italy in which beggars copied paintings of the Madonna by Raphael and his contemporaries using chalk on the plazas outside cathedrals, the festival takes place from noon to 5 p.m. today and tomorrow. 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.
Free Hispanic Heritage Month Concert
Sammy DeLeon y su Orquesta and Las Sirenas Mariachi Band perform at this special free event that takes place tonight at 7 at Severance Music Center.
DJ IamYulissa will spin Latin tunes in the Grand Foyer. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
SUN 09/15
Bassem Youssef
The comedian who once worked as a heart surgeon in Egypt brings his latest tour, dubbed the Middle Beast Tour, to MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage. Tonight’s concert begins at 7. 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.
MON
09/16
Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins
The Guardians take on their division rivals tonight at 6:40 at Progressive Field as a four-game series gets underway. The Twins will need the wins to stay in the playoff hunt, and the Guards will need the wins to take the division title. Should be a tight series. 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb. com/guardians.
TUE 09/17
Outlab: Experiments In Improvised Music Musicians are invited to bring instruments or any sound making device (drum kit and keyboard provided) that can be used to explore collective group improvisation. Please bring your own amps if needed. The monthly session begins at 8 tonight at the Bop Stop. Admission is free. 2920 Detroit Ave., 216-771-6551, themusicsettlement.org.
WED 09/18
Les Misérables
Set against in 19th century France, Les Misérables has been one of Broadway’s biggest hits. Seen by more than 130 million people worldwide in 53 countries and 22 languages, the latest incarnation of the musical comes to Connor Palace today at 7:30 p.m. Performances continue through Sunday. 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
THU 09/19
Cirque du Soleil: OVO
The latest Cirque du Soleil production arrives at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight at 7 for a three-night stand. Performances also take place at 7 tomorrow night, at 3 and 7 p.m. tomorrow night, and at 1 p.m. on Sunday. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins
The Guardians take on their division rivals today at 1:40 p.m. at Progressive Field as a four-game series between the two teams concludes. The Twins will need the win to stay in the playoff hunt. 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb. com/guardians.
The Price Is Right Live
A live version of the popular game show comes to the State Theatre tonight at 7. Prizes may include appliances, vacations, and possibly a new car. 1519 Euclid Avenue, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
The Chalk Festival returns to Cleveland Museum of Art. See: Saturday, Sept. 14.|Greg Nold
Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique
Violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann joins the Cleveland Orchestra as it takes on one of Tchaikovsky’s “most resounding final statements,” as it’s put in a press release. The concert begins tonight at 7:30 at Mandel Concert Hall. The concert repeats at 3 p.m. on Sunday. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
FRI 09/20
Devotional 2024
The annual event honoring the great punk/New Wave act Devo returns to the Beachland Ballroom. Tonight’s festivities begin at 7 and the event takes place tomorrow night at the club as well. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
Andrew Schulz: The Life Tour
Press materials for the comedian’s current tour promise that he’ll discuss current events, politics and “the beautiful chaos of creating life” at tonight’s show. The event begins at 7 at the State Theatre. 1519 Euclid Avenue, 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
Third Friday
From 5 to 9 p.m., many of the 78th Street Studios resident artist studios and galleries will be open as part of this monthly event. There will be live music, and Local West, a Gordon Square sandwich shop, will serve food. BARneo will have a selection of adult beverages as well. Admission is free. 1300 West 78th St., 78thstreetstudios.com.
SAT 09/21
Artist in the Atrium
Every third Saturday of each month, stop by the Ames Family Atrium between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to get a firsthand look at the art-making process. Each session provides the opportunity to engage and interact with a different Northeast Ohio maker during pop-up demonstrations and activities.
11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.
Old Brooklyn Art Hop
Businesses along the Broadview/ Spring corridor in Old, Brooklyn are participating in this monthly Art Hop event that highlights a growing creative sector in Old Brooklyn that includes three new art galleries which opened within the last 15 months. Multiple other area businesses also feature creative events and/or products. The event is free. oldbrooklyn.com.
Sarah Silverman: Postmortem
The two-time Emmy Award-winning comedian, actress, writer and producer comes to the State Theatre tonight at 8. 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
SUN 09/22
Browns vs. New York Giants
Today at 1 p.m. at Browns Stadium, the Browns take on a New York Giants team that’ll be attempting to recover from a year in which they lost nearly twice as many games as they won.
100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, clevelandbrowns.com.
Shining Star CLE 2024
The finals of this event featuring the top high school singers returns to the Mimi Ohio Theatre tonight at 7. They’ll compete for nearly $20,000 in college scholarships. Sept. 22. 1501 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
MON 09/23
Ghost Files Live
A live version of the popular ghost hunting TV show rolls into the Agora tonight at 6:30. 5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.
TUE 09/24
Guardians vs. Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians relive the Battle for Ohio tonight at 6:40 at Progressive Field. The Reds have struggled to win this season despite having one of baseball’s most exciting players in Elly De La Cruz. 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb. com/guardians.
Kolesnikov in Recital
Pianist Pavel Kolesnikov plays J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations at this concert that takes place tonight at 7:30 at Reinberger Chamber Hall. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
This musical pays tribute to the Rock Hall Inductee who’s sold millions of albums and won 12 Grammy awards. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron. 198 Hill St., Akron, 330-972-7570, ejthomashall.com.
A WELCOMED RETURN
Rainbow Kitten Surprise comes back
with ambitious new album, its first in six years
By Jeff Niesel
THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS have been difficult for the indie rock act Rainbow Kitten Surprise. But the band has turned a corner; the recently released Love Hate Music Box represents the group’s first new album in six long years. Since their last album in 2018, they’ve had to cancel multiple tours as lead singer Ela Melo grappled with mental health issues that left her unable either to perform or write new music. After receiving a bipolar disorder diagnosis in 2022 and announcing that she was transgender, she began to write new material for what would become the 22-song LP.
“Some of the ideas are really old, but for the most part, they came together in the last year or two with [producers] Daniel [Tashian] and Konrad [Snyder] helping to shape the songs,” says guitarist Darrick “Bozzy” Keller via phone from Nashville, where the band was prepping for the tour that brings it to Jacobs Pavilion on Tuesday, Sept. 24. “We worked in Nashville at Konrad’s. He’s the best and really stuck with us through the whole process.”
Keller says the album title is “straightforward.”
“It’s about the toxicity of a relationship,” he says. “It’s love and hate and sour and sweet. It’s that toxicity of a relationship and how it affects someone. I don’t know where the ‘music box’ came from. I know Ela was a dance major in college and was inspired on the ballet side and what not. It’s kind of funny because each album has been so different. There’s not really a standard or precedent for it. I’m sure the next album will be totally different too. I think that’s good. It keeps you on your toes and you
can’t get complacent and you’re always growing.”
With its synthesized bleeps and blips that give way to upper-register vocals, album opener “Peter Pan” casts a hypnotic, James Blake-like spell.
“That synth loop was really all Ela had to work with at first,” says Keller when asked about the tune.
“She worked with [producers] Daniel [Tashian] and Konrad [Snyder]. It was that one synth loop that transformed in a day. It was one of those songs where she was like, ‘I don’t know if it will be finished or if it will make the album.’ Lo and behold, it becomes the first song.”
Another album highlight, “Overtime,” features country singer Kacey Musgraves. Her supple voice contrasts with Melo’s ethereal vocals, but the song ultimately comes across as if it’s a gentle lullaby.
“Ela mentioned that she wanted to have a guest sing on that song specifically,” says Keller. “I guess Kacey worked with the same producer as us, so it worked out. When she laid down her vocals, we knew she was the one for that job.”
Keller says he thinks of the shimmering “Superstar” as a “gay trans anthem.”
“I don’t want to speak for anybody, but it has the vibe of ‘I’m free and I’m awesome, and I don’t care what you think.’ It’s about how you can’t hold someone back.”
The band formed 10 years ago now and took an eclectic approach from the start.
“I think it’s pretty organic,” says Keller when asked about the group’s sound. “We all met and had different music tastes. We each bring elements from our own styles. When we started out in Boone, NC, it was jamming with an acoustic guitar outside of our dorm rooms. We all loved indie rock. I feel like we could all bring our own flavor to it. For me, it’s Americana and bands like Band of Horses and the Avett Brothers. I even like R&B stuff. I draw from so many different things.”
Keller used to book all the band’s shows in the early days and says it wasn’t always easy to get gig.
“I will never forget; I called every single bar or venue in town and only two ever got back to me,” he says. “The first bar gig was Galileo’s.
It was a really cool bar. They had trivia. It was a random day of the week that they would have a band. It was hard, but at the same time, we were in college, so there was always some kind of event. We played charities. It was just getting your name out there.”
The ambitious new album captures so many different moods and so many different styles of music, and Keller says the live show will reflect that.
“I think we’ll continue with the sound of the album,” he says. “Each of these songs sounds so different from each other. And we have a good mix of old songs and new songs. It’ll still the same show that people know and love. We did a two-week tour in May. We played the songs we learned for that tour, and it gave me a new appreciation for the new songs and makes you bond with them ever more and appreciate them even more.”
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE, MEDIUM BUILD.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise.|Aubrey Denis
A FRESH START
18 years and a dozen restaurants later, Matt Fish takes Melt back to its Lakewood roots
By Douglas Trattner
IN 2006, MATT FISH OPENED
Melt Bar and Grilled in the former White Door Saloon in Lakewood. To say that the concept took off is an understatement, with the homegrown brand growing from one tavern to more than a dozen locations across the state. Now, 18 years later, the chain is down to one. In this interview with Scene, Fish discusses the journey. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
SCENE: Where did the idea for Melt come from?
FISH: I was working at Johnny Mango. I would come home after work every day and write down ideas. I was going to open up a craft beer bar. If you remember 2006, craft beer was not anywhere close to what it is today. And the more I worked on the menus, the more I found myself gravitating towards these grilled cheese sandwiches. So I thought craft beer was going to be the driver. The grilled cheese would just be this cool little sidekick.
But that’s not how the customers responded?
I was like, I’ll make 15, 20, maybe 50 sandwiches in a weekend and people are going to come in for the beer. But holy mackerel, when we opened up, it was a complete flip-flop. I thought I was opening a bar that just happened to have this cute little grilled cheese menu and I ended up opening a grilled cheese restaurant that just happened to have a really killer beer list.
You were at the forefront of the niche-menu trend, with places showcasing foods like hot dogs, tacos, meatballs and mac and cheese.
Exactly. I’d never seen it done before. I wasn’t trying to be an innovator, I was like,
Hey, McDonald’s focuses on hamburgers. Pizza joints are a dime a dozen. Why can’t I do grilled cheese? Nobody was doing exactly what I wanted to do.
You had only been open a couple years when the Food Network came through. How did that affect your business.
We were very early on in the “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” world and the “Man v. Food” world. It really put us on a national platform. We were then known coast to coast as to what we were doing. It puts you on the map and it kind of puts you in a different light.
Your first big move was to open a second location across town in Cleveland Heights. Was that to take some pressure off the Lakewood store?
That’s what the thought was, but it did not work. We got busier in Cleveland Heights and we got busier here, and that’s really what propelled us.
Around that time, it felt like you were opening a new restaurant every year.
To be honest with you, a lot of it
was self-preservation. Somebody else that’s out in the world who has more money than me, more talent, more whatever, is going to potentially bring a competing grilled cheese restaurant into Cleveland. Opening multiple stores was to plant my flag and say, gourmet grilled cheese, Melt Bar and Grilled. We own that concept.
You guys were cruising along with 10 full-service locations until 2020. How did Covid upend your plans.
We waited too long to make adjustments. We listened to our gut and we also listened to the media and we listened to analysts and we listened to everybody else who kept saying, it’s going to come back. People are going to be throwing money around. So it was leading up to the end of 2022 when we said, it’s not going to come back. We need to make some significant changes.
Earlier this summer, you pulled the plug on all remaining stores except Lakewood. What led to that decision?
The restaurant industry has been an incredible struggle for the last
four to five years. This year in particular is probably the hardest year that I’ve worked in the restaurant industry in 33 years. I said, I don’t want to be a multistore owner anymore. It was truly a financial decision to say, I’m going back to Lakewood only. It makes more sense for me. It makes more sense for my family, it makes more sense for the community.
It’s a bittersweet outcome, you bringing it all back down to the place where it all began. I was never going to close this space. If this location closed, Melt was going to close.
What can people expect to find when they return?
We’re going to take care with everything we do. We’re going to get back to the way things were in `06. The service levels are going to be as good or better. The food is going to be better. The atmosphere is going to be better. And I’m going to be here with my staff.
Courtesy photo Melt
BITES
Paloma at Van Aken District to Briefly Close to Usher in an ‘Evolution of the Concept’
By Douglas Trattner
ZACH AND ALYSSA LADNER
– along with partner Carl Quagliata –opened Paloma two years ago at Van Aken District in Shaker Heights. Now, after earning a reputation as a casual but chef-driven taco restaurant, the team is preparing to make a shift. On September 14th, the restaurant will close its doors for 10 days to usher in changes both to space and menu. The goal is to elevate the entire experience, says Zach.
“We’re looking at this as more of an evolution of the concept,” the chef explains. “We’re taking what we have and we’re building on it. We want to grow beyond just being thought of as a place to go to get really good tacos.”
Much of the motivation for the changes, adds Ladner, stems from the roster of talent that he feels is being underutilized. The goal is to give people like chef de cuisine Kytana Bradley – a 13-year veteran – more room to showcase her range.
“We have a really great staff with a lot of talent – and I want to let these people shine,” Ladner says. “I want to allow them more freedom to express themselves.”
Already, guests have been experiencing as nightly specials some of the new dishes, which retain their Latin roots while aiming for higher culinary ground. The tacos will remain, albeit sequestered to the bar menu, replaced in the dining room by new small plates and entrees, many of which are vegetarian.
Some of the new items include trumpet mushrooms with salsa macha and toasted pumpkin seeds, smoked cauliflower “burnt ends” with fig-chipotle BBQ sauce, Alaskan black cod in banana leaves with annatto and orange, smoked lamb shank with salsa verde, and shrimp Diablo with chorizo, chilies and lime. There will also be a handful of steaks from sister business The Village Butcher.
To facilitate these changes, a partition separating the bar and dining room will be installed. The dining room will be upgraded with new furniture and a private dining room. A new wine and cocktail list will also debut upon reopening.
Guests who visit after the reopening will discover a new
“guacamole bar,” a station dedicated to crafting “the best guac in Cleveland.” The made-to-order guacamole will be served with salsa rojo and housemade chips. Add-ons like blue cheese and jalapeno bacon, charred zucchini, Maine lobster and smoked brisket will be available.
“I like doing things that help make an experience more memorable for a guest – but memorable in a way that is meaningful and not fake or gimmicky,” says Ladner.
Paloma will reopen Sept. 24th.
The
Friars’
Table, Opening This
Winter in Playhouse Square, is Inspired by Monastic Cuisine
Brandon Chrostowski describes his new venture – a partnership with Cleveland Capuchin Ministries – as being more than just a restaurant. It’s intended as a beacon of hope for the city of Cleveland.
Set to open in the Playhouse Square District this winter, The Friars’ Table will be a restaurant with a mission, one rooted in the values of “simplicity, dignity and community.”
“The goal of the restaurant is to give the city not only a great restaurant, but hope,” Chrostowski explains. “We want to create a beautiful space where people can come together over good food, and leave feeling inspired and uplifted.”
The EDWINS Restaurant & Leadership Institute founder will partner with Fr. Philip Bernier to further the core mission of Chrostowski’s 10-year-old non-profit by teaching employees skills for a meaningful and successful future.
“Our hope for The Friars’ Table is to become a gathering space where people from the neighborhood and those visiting the theater can form a community in an inviting room where men and women employed by the Table, whether they were formerly incarcerated, are seeking a new home In this country or are among the working poor, can learn the skills necessary to find opportunities for a new start in life,” says Fr. Bernier. “These dreams all intersect around
a table of simple, wholesome food to nourish both the body and the soul.”
Located in the former Cowell & Hubbard space (1305 Euclid Ave.), the Friars’ Table will feature “a seasonal menu inspired by monastic cuisine.” Guests can look forward to soups, salads and starters such as pea soup, cabbage and potato salad, caramelized turnips, mushroom tarts and an eggplant and artichoke croquette. Entrees will include cod with tomato chutney, pork roulade, and salmon St. Celestine, prepared with leeks, mushrooms and sorrel.
The setting is described as fitting with the Capuchin values of simplicity and community.
Greens Salad Co. to Bring Fresh Salads and Wraps to Intro in Ohio City
Rob Bromund and Ben Buckley met while working in restaurant management. After moving to Cleveland, they noticed a “shocking absence” of quick, healthy food options. Not only did they observe a gap in that area, they also discovered a substantial demand for it as well.
“Even though Cleveland has a numerous amount of phenomenal restaurants, they don’t really cater to the health aspect of anything,” says Bromund. “What we’re going for is a fast-casual, healthy restaurant to try and promote more of a healthy living lifestyle in Cleveland. It’s a liveable, walkable, bikeable city.”
Come spring, Ohio City will welcome the first location of Greens Salad Co., the result of the partners’ endeavors. The fast-casual eatery will be located at Intro (2051 W. 25th St.)
in Ohio City, next to the entrance to Truss Event Venue.
“If you’ve been to Chopt in the Northeast, it will be very similar to that,” says Buckley.
Guests will work their way down the line, selecting ingredients like greens, toppings, proteins and salad dressings. Or, customers can choose one of nearly a dozen signature creations. The Southwestern, for example, features romaine, pickled red onions, black beans, tomatoes, corn, avocado, tortilla strips, roasted chicken and chipotle-ranch dressing. There’s also a Caesar, Cobb, vegan Black Bean Burger Bowl and Tahini, with greens, toppings and baked falafel. There will be seasonal salads and soups come wintertime.
Salad choppers will be on hand to chop and toss the salads, and everything can be ordered as a wrap as well.
The 1,200-square-foot space will blend industrial features such as exposed concrete floors with warm woods and live greenery. There will be some seating, but the operation will be largely carry-out. The goal is to be quick, efficient and affordable. Mobile ordering will further speed the process along.
If all goes well in Ohio City, it’s likely that more locations of Greens Salad Co. will sprout throughout the city.
“Our plan is, year one, try and streamline everything and make it replicable, profitable. And by year two we want to be opening second and subsequent locations,” says Buckley.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner
Paloma by Doug Trattner
LIVEWIRE Real music in the real world
THU 09/12
An Evening with Jake Shimabukuro
The ukulele superstar will perform songs off his newest album, the forthcoming Blues Experience, and songs from his last released album, Grateful, as well as other tunes from his back catalog at this show at the Kent Stage. He’s recently issued a ukulele-centric rendition of the ‘60s hit “Whiter Shade of Pale” that’s very poignant. It’ll likely appear in tonight’s set. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.
Outlaw Music Festival
Rock Hall inductees Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp headline this annual touring festival that celebrates the rougher and tougher side of country music (hence the term “outlaw”). The concert begins at 5:30 p.m. at Blossom.
1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com.
FRI 09/13
Billy Joel & Rod Stewart
These two classic rock stars have certainly delivered the hits over the years. Notably, Joel has had 33 Top 40 hits, starting with 1973’s “Piano Man.” His latest single, “Turn the Lights Back On,” is yet another evocative ballad. Stewart, for his part, has had success both as a solo artist and with the Faces (and he’s a two-time Rock Hall Inductee). He just returned with Swing Fever, his 33rd studio album. This co-headlining show begins at 7 at Browns Stadium. 100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, livenation.com.
Parker McCollum’s Burn It Down Tour
Country star Parker McCollum made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry in 2021 now sells out venues across the country. The 2022 Academy of Country Music New Male Artist of the Year, took home “Breakthrough Video of the Year” (a fully fan-voted honor) at the CMT Music Awards that same year. Hit singles such as “Pretty Heart,” “To Be Loved by You,” “Handle on You and “Burn It Down” have cemented his reputation. He performs tonight at Blossom.
1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com.
Nicki Minaj
This actress and female rap star made a big splash earlier this year when her latest album, Pink Friday 2, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 upon
its arrival. The chart-topping album reportedly makes gives her most No. 1s on the Billboard 200 by a female rapper ever. She comes to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight at 9. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
SAT 09/14
Jeff Lynne’s ELO: The Over and Out Tour
Jeff Lynne, the mastermind behind ‘80s hitmakers Electric Light Orchestra, comes to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight at 8 as the band’s farewell tour rolls into town. A co-founder and member of the Travelling
Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty as well as a producer and collaborator with the Beatles, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh and Bryan Adams, Lynne is reportedly in fine form for this farewell tour and received rave reviews when the trek launched in Palm Springs, CA last month.
1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
SUN 09/15
Buzzcocks
With founding guitarist Steve Diggle
now at the helm, this UK punk band returned with new material in 2022. The accessible and well-crafted resulting album, Sonics in the Soul, features the mix of pop and punk for which the band is known. The group comes to House of Blues tonight for a 6:30 show. 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.
Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert
In 2023, the indie singer-songwriter took on the famous Bob Dylan concert from 1966, which she covered songfor-song on a live album. There’s not much deviation from the originals, but
Country star Paker McCollum comes to Blossom. See: Friday, Sept. 13.|Jim Wright
Cat Power’s trembling voice suits the material well. Expect to hear tunes from it tonight at 8 at TempleLive at the Cleveland Masonic.
On what it claims will be its final tour, Sum 41 will celebrate its 27-year career with this show at Blossom. The band has just put out a double album that showcases its love for both metal and punk. The show begins at 7 p.m. The Interrupters and Many Eyes open.
1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com.
TUE 09/17
Beth Hart
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter has performed with guitar heroes like Joe Bonamassa, Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy and Slash and toured and recorded as an acclaimed solo artist. She performs tonight at 7:30 at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage.
The baroque pop band led by singersongwriter Ezra Koenig brings its tour in support of the new album, Only God Was Above Us. With its upper-range vocals and mix of piano and dramatic drums, the first single, “Capricorn,” offers a perfect distillation of the band’s sound. The group’s live shows present meticulous renditions of the studio versions of their songs. The group plays tonight at 7 at Blossom. Cults open.
1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com.
SAT 09/21
Todd Rundgren
Just about the only consistency across Todd Rundgren’s 40-year career has been his infamous and infinite level of ambition. In the early ’70s, he followed up the AM-radio charm of “Hello, It’s Me” and “We Gotta Get You a Woman” with the massive production experiment A Wizard, a True Star. Since then, Rundgren has continued to back up his bravado with innovative results — laying the foundations for power pop and prog-rock, and making some of music’s first forays into interactive CD-ROM and Internet technology. He performs tonight at 8 at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage.
Leonid & Friends pay tribute to Rock Hall Inductees Chicago at tonight’s show, which takes place at 7:30 at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage. Consult the venue’s website for ticket prices. 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.
Tropical Fuck Storm
Over the past six years and three albums, Australia’s Tropical Fuck Storm has built a rabid fanbase and played major festivals like Primavera, Levitation and Beaches Brew. It brings its tour in support of the latest album, Tropical Fuck Storm’s Inflatable Graveyard, to the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.
MON 09/23
Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton, who started his career at age 16, struck gold with his fifth solo album, 1976’s Frampton Comes Alive!, one of the top-selling live records of all time, and his session work includes collaborations with acts such as George Harrison, Harry Nilsson, David Bowie, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ringo Starr, John Entwistle, Mike McCready and Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam). He swings into town ahead of his Rock Hall induction for a concert that takes place at 7:30 tonight at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage. 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.
TUE 09/24
Nick Carter
This tour marks Nick Carter’s return to the stage as a solo artist after seven years. The singer-songwriter will perform tracks from his solo catalog, including his latest singles “Never Break My Heart (Not Again),” “Made for Us” and “Superman,” as well as Backstreet Boys favorites. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage. 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
SAVAGE LOVE
GAME ON
By Dan Savage
Straight, monogamous, cisgender couple here. Six years together, two years married. My husband loves board games, problem solving, and anything that gets his brain going. But like many straight white cis dudes, he’s not particularly aware of what motivates him. He’s also not straightforward with exactly what turns him on. But one thing he likes is initiating sex at the most inconvenient moment. He’ll try to get things going when I’m cooking or when we have to get dressed and get somewhere. The more I rebuff his advances, the more motivated my husband is to have sex. I think my rebuffs feel like a game for him — a fun problem to solve — but I find the whole thing pretty fucking annoying. I’ve tried asking him what turns him on, and I’ve been straightforward about his advances not feeling sexy when I’m concentrating on not burning dinner or getting dressed and out the door because we’re meeting friends somewhere or have a reservation. But it just keeps happening. Even worse, we’ve been busy lately and talked about making time for sex, so I’ve been trying to initiate more. But when I initiate at a good time, he turns me down. Meanwhile, he continues to initiate at the worst times. So, now I’m angry that he can’t seem to have a productive conversation about what he wants and that I always have to start the hard conversations. I have two questions for you:
1. How can I get him to have a real conversation with me about what turns him on? If I’m right about the rebuffs feeling like a game to him, I want to figure out ways to turn this into an actual game that feels sexy for me too. If that doesn’t work…
2. How do I get him to stop?
Jokey Unaware Man’s Actions Not Juicy Ideal
P.S. When I’m not being annoyed by the above, I find him incredibly sexy, the sex we have is great and sometimes amazing, and we have a lovely and fun life together.
1. Does it have to be a conversation?
You have a pretty good read on what your husband is doing, JUMANJI, so instead of initiating
an open-ended conversation in the hope your husband has an epiphany and knocks this shit off, you could just tell him what’s he doing and order him to knock it off. If he disagrees — if he doesn’t think he’s initiating sex at the worst possible times because overcoming your resistance turns him on and/ or affirms his irresistibility and/ or seems like a fun game to him — then you can challenge him to come up with a better explanation. If he can’t, he’ll have to accept yours.
That said, JUMANJI, I think there’s a bigger issue here than your husband’s legimitatley annoying inability to articulate what he’s doing and why and when.
Your husband sounds like one of those people who wants sex to feel spontaneous — a wild an uncontrollable force that overtakes you both — while you sound like someone who wants sex to feel controlled and contained. (I imagine sex wouldn’t be inconvenient at those times when you initiate, which may be why he passes.) Finding a workable compromise that allows for sex to be (or feel) spontaneous for him without sex always being a hugely inconvenient pain the ass for you will require you both to give a little. So, it’s not an epiphany on his part that will resolve this conflict, JUMANJI, but a pay-theprice-admission compromise on both your parts. He’s gonna need to demonstrate — he’s gonna need to telegraph — more consideration for your feelings about the where and when of sex and you’re gonna need to demonstrate to him that you’re willing to be (or willing to fake
doesn’t just avoid PDA in the sense of “no tongue kissing” and “no groping,” she adopts this ice-cold persona when we go anywhere. She barely smiles at me and rejects any public display of affection greater than holding hands. It kind of makes anxious when we go from very cuddly and touchy at home to her literally jumping away if I try to give her a peck on the cheek in public. Is she being unreasonable or am I just an anxious little bitch? Publicly Displayed Aversion
being) reasonably spontaneous.
2. Do you want him to stop?
You say the sex you have with your husband — when you have it — runs from great to amazing. Seeing as your husband shoots you down when you initiate (something he needs to work on), JUMANJI, all this great-to-amazing sex must be happening when you’re trying to get dinner on the table or out the door. If he can learn to read you better and take no for an answer when the answer is a firm no — if he can learn not to push when there’s something on the stove that really can’t wait maybe the answer can be yes when the meal you’re preparing or the friends you’re meeting can wait.
P.S. Your husband isn’t the only one who can play games. You can lie to your husband about having dinner reservations for 7 PM when they’re actually for 8 PM and let him think he’s getting away with something when he initiates sex at 6:45 PM.
P.P.S. If you really wanna make it puzzle and keep him out of the kitchen, JUMANJI, get your husband a cock cage and hide clues for the combination lock in other parts of the house. If he can solve puzzle and free his cock before dinner, you will turn down the heat and have a quickie on the kitchen counter. But he’s not allowed in the kitchen — he not even allowed to talk to you — until his cock is free or his dinner is served, whichever comes first.
Yo, Danny! My girlfriend is very sweet and super affectionate in private, but it totally disappears in public. She
Your girlfriend could be unreasonable, PDA, and you could be an anxious little bitch — it doesn’t have to be one or the other. But unreasonable or not, PDA, your girlfriend doesn’t like public displays of affection. If it hurts your feelings when she pulls away when you try to kiss her in public, stop trying to kiss her in public. That fact that she’s willing to hold your hand is proof she isn’t embarrassed to be seen with you, PDA, and proof she doesn’t loathe you the way Melania loathes Donald. But if you try to stick your tongue in her mouth every time she so much as smiles at you in public — if you keep doing shit to your girlfriend that she hates (kissing her, grabbing more than her hand) — she’s not only gonna keep glaring, she’s gonna come to hate you every bit as much as Melania hates Donald, PDA, and then you’re gonna get dumped. P.S. If you’re girlfriend doesn’t enjoy being kissed in public and you know it, PDA, you’re not kissing her in public to please her, you’re kissing her in public to show something to other people —namely, that she’s yours. That’s not kissing, PDA, that’s asserting a claim, and it’s a shit reason to kiss someone in public. Unless the person you’re kissing enjoys feeling “claimed,” which your girlfriend clearly doesn’t. Knock it off.
P.P.S. Only my mom called me Danny, PDA. I already gave you grief in my response, and I’m not here in this post-post-script to give you more. I actually wanna thank you, as your letter made me think of my mom just now. So, thanks. Got problems? Yes, you do! Email your question for the column to mailbox@savage.love!
Or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/ askdan!
