Where Tradition Parma and Culture Abound

After living as Yugoslavian refugees in Germany, young Igor Djurin and his family ultimately made their way to Parma in 2005 and have lived here ever since. “We came to Parma because of its diversity,” said the owner of the Schnitz Ale Brewery & Pub, located across the street from Das Schnitzel Haus, a local staple owned by Djurin’s parents, Goran and Branka. “My father was a butcher by trade,” Djurin explained. “My mom had always worked in the restaurant business. We came to the [Cleveland area] with very little in 1999 and my parents started a convenience store in Lakewood. When an opportunity for the Schnitzel Haus came up in 2005 it was a natural choice to move into one of the most ethnically diverse communities around. We are Serbian Croatian and we fit in well with the Ukrainian, Romanian and other communities. Parma is like a small town in a bigger city.”

With almost 80,000 residents—and home to more than 5,000 businesses— Parma is Ohio’s seventh largest city and Cleveland’s largest suburb. And, according to Livability, a website that researches small-to-medium sized cities, Parma is one of America’s Top 100 cities in which to live, joining Cincinnati as the only Ohio towns to make the 2023 list.

Location, housing opportunities and ›› Continued on page 6