Rebecca Hess found her way to chocolate-making in a unique way: through a tropical fruit CSA. The CSA began to send her fresh cacao, which Rebecca collected until she had enough to make a batch of chocolate. Learning the process quickly inspired her to order more beans, invest in equipment, and eventually led her to outline a business plan for her own company—placing her on the path towards opening the Cleveland Chocolate Company.

Read More

An area of town heretofore dwarfed by the venerable Ohio City and Tremont neighborhoods is on the verge of getting a brand of its own, writes Erin O’Brien for FreshWater. Last month, the historic preservation consulting firm Naylor Wellman, LLC, presented a 120-page nomination to the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board for the Scranton South Side Historic District to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read More

The $15 million Fairmont Creamery rehab represents one of Cleveland’s latest creative reuses of an abandoned industrial building rich in history, writes Kathy Ames Carr for Crain’s Cleveland.

The five-story brick structure — constructed in 1930 as a national distribution hub for dairy products — has been repurposed from its recent largely abandoned state into a 106,000-square-foot, mixed-used project featuring residential and commercial space, and parking.

Read More

Twist Creative, a small design firm that was founded in Ohio City 15 years ago, is expanding into a larger, custom-designed space at the Fairmont Creamery in Tremont, writes Lee Chilcote for FreshWater. In part, the move was prompted by the need to consolidate its space, which is spread out over four floors in a building at West 28th and Lorain. Yet the firm also wanted room to grow, as revenues have doubled in recent years and there are plans to hire additional staff.

Read More

When the Fairmont Creamery officially opens its doors to residents and commercial tenants this fall, Anna Harouvis will be there too, writes Douglas Trattner for Cleveland Scene. The healthy foods chef has inked a deal to open Good to Go in a small space adjacent to the Tremont Athletic Club. Currently, she runs two concepts — Anna in the Raw, her raw and vegan food line and Good to Go, her fresh, healthy foods to go concept — out of one downtown space in the IMG Building.

Read More