Building Resilience

East Side businesses face up to the COVID-19 challenges. BY LINDA FEAGLER

As businesses continue to co-exist with COVID-19, Karen Schaefer, executive director of the Heights-Hillcrest Regional Chamber of Commerce, can’t help but be impressed by the resilience they’ve mastered.

“The six cities we serve are thriving,” she says. “And, that’s especially true of our culinary establishments. They quickly pivoted to offer curbside service and make the interior of their businesses safe for employees.”

Known for its menu of delectable French fare since opening in 2013, EDWINS Restaurant on Shaker Square continues to serve tastes patrons crave.

“It’s not practice that makes perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect,” says EDWINS founder, president and CEO Brandon Edwin Chrostowski. “When COVID-19 hit, we had no trouble pivoting. That has to happen a lot in life.”

The Culinary Institute of America graduate and his team created 4 for $40, a three-course meal for four served with a mixed green salad and an optional bottle of wine for an additional $12. The meals integrated the restaurant’s popular bill of fare with items from the bakery and butcher shop EDWINS

“We became a rallying point for the city. We didn’t surrender to the fear. We dug in and stayed strong.” — Brandon Edwin Chrostowski

operates on Buckeye Road in Cleveland.

The menu changes daily and features specials ranging from salmon and green beans to cioppino, accompanied by dessert and freshly baked breads. Each meal is available for pickup.

Business doubled to the point where Chrostowski hired 16 additional staff members. Although indoor dining has returned, 4 for $40 remains popular.

“We became a rallying point for the city,” he says. “We didn’t surrender to the fear. We dug in and stayed strong.”

Mitchell’s Fine Chocolates knows what it’s like to weather tough times. The Cleveland landmark’s beginnings date back to 1939, when Chris Mitchell opened a neighborhood soda fountain and sweet shop. Although the Great Depression still gripped the country, the family business flourished due to the customer service practices it adhered to.

“We continue the family’s values, preserving the long history of European chocolatiers in the region and honoring that tradition for Cleveland Heights,” says owner Emily Bean.

The shop, which specializes in 160 varieties of confections, including handmade dark-chocolate-covered homemade marshmallows, caramels and truffles, fell under the shadow of COVID-19 in 2020.

“We go through three major holiday [periods] here — Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter,” Bean says. “Easter came pretty early in 2020, and things were already looking dicey around St. Patrick’s Day. We slammed on the brakes on production of special Easter confections because I really didn’t know how this was all going to turn out.”

Bean credits the foresight of the company’s web developer for creating the

Emily Bean Karen Schaefer

infrastructure that handled the online orders that poured in after the shop started adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols.

“We were super lucky that we could already handle online orders that needed to be shipped out,” Bean says. “Within a week, we created a system for curbside pickup or free delivery by one of our friends within the two zip codes (44118 and 44106) that are closest to the shop.”

Bean was determined to avoid employee layoffs. She applied for a PPP loan and divided her staff into two groups of 16 that worked on alternating days of the week.

“It was important to me not to just simply say, ‘I’m so sorry. You’re out of a job.’” she says. “Staff had their hours cut, but they were still getting a paycheck.”

The shop is once again open for in-person business. Bean offers this advice to businesses as they adjust to the new normal:

“It’s important to make sure you make yourself available to your core group of customers,” she says. “For us, it’s the group of people who live and work in our neighborhood.

“Part of the tradition of having an 82-year-old business is that you become part of their everyday lives. Even though chocolate is a luxury item, it does bring a certain amount of joy.” 