The Literary Cafe in Tremont Is For Sale
The Literary Cafe in Tremont was put up for sale on Friday. The trendy neighborhood staple has been a part of the community for 26 years. It may not be the usual spot for a new wave of residents but it’s been a part of the neighborhood for longer than most residents have lived there.…
Opening Soon: Merchant Street Provisions & Eatery, Formerly Ligali’s, Porchelli’s et al.
Back in June we broke the news that Ligali’s Bistro in Tremont was closing after 15 months and that veteran restaurant operator John McDonnell had purchased the property. McDonnell’s culinary CV stretches back to the wonderful Fulton Bar and Grill in Ohio City, now the site of Momocho. Since then McDonnell has operated Tartine Bistro…
Internationally Acclaimed Abstract Painters Come to 2731 Prospect
2731 Prospect’s latest exhibitions bring two accomplished abstract painters to Cleveland this weekend via Alan Crockett’s Looney Tunes and Ian Hagarty’s Temperature Reset. Both exhibitions open with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 12. At 2 p.m. the following day, Saturday, Feb. 13, both artists will participate in a gallery talk,…
Former Kent State Softball Player Alleges Rape By Coach’s Son, Says University Covered it Up
In an explosive civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court Monday, Kent State University senior and former softball player Lauren Kesterson alleged that she was raped by her coach’s son during her Freshman year. The complaint further alleged that the coach, Karen Linder, used her influence to quash the allegation, and that the university itself…
Cleveland Named One of the Worst Cities for Valentine’s Day
[image-1]If you want to impress someone for Valentine’s Day, this list from WalletHub.com says you should steer clear of Cleveland. Of course, WalletHub is full of crap, but let’s take a look at how they arrived at said crap. The list ranks cities based on being the most romantic and the ability to get your…
Hospitality Restaurants to Open New Seafood Concept in Copley
Just this past October Hospitality Restaurants opened their third Rosewood Grill location and already there’s another restaurant project waiting in the wings. But this latest venture from the folks behind Cabin Club, Salmon Dave’s Pacific Grille, Blue Point Grille, Delmonico’s Steakhouse and Rosewood Grill will be none of the above, says Christopher Oppewall, managing partner.…
Here are the 100 Most-Used Words By Ohioans Last Year (On Reddit)
Ah, the internet. Some of you keyboard pounders out there might spend some of your online time cruising the Reddit board devoted to the Buckeye State. One of the site’s users did a big time public service for us all, part number crunch, part sociological window peep. Reddit user Niehaus sifted through the online chatter and…
Former Cleveland Museum of Art Curator is Now Ted Cruz’s National Security Advisor
Dr. Victoria Coates is Sen. Ted Cruz’s Chief Policy Advisor on national security issues. But before that, she was a curator at the Cleveland Museum of Art, consulting for three years on “The Last Days of Pompeii” exhibition. Why on earth is this Art History Ph.D the lone voice in Iowa-caucus champion Ted Cruz’s ear…
‘They Draw & Cook’ Co-Founders to Discuss Overlapping Worlds of Food, Art
Cleveland’s food scene and arts community are growing in unprecedented ways. Fans of art and food are sure to enjoy the Northern Ohio Illustrator Society’s upcoming presentation, They Draw & Cook: A Creative Playground with Salli S. Swindell. Swindell, who lives in Hudson, co-founded They Draw & Cook, an online illustrated cookbook featuring an archive…
Music Box to Host John Hughes Birthday Bash
Originally released on Feb. 28, 1986, the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink centers on Andie (Molly Greenwald), a middle-class girl who falls for a rich kid (Andrew McCarthy). To celebrate its 30th anniversary, some local theaters will screen the movie this month. The Music Box Supper Club, a concert venue and restaurant located on…
Activist Commits Suicide on Steps of Ohio Statehouse
[image-1]Monday evening, MarShawn McCarrel fatally shot himself on the steps of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. McCarrel, a widely known activist and poet in the area, was 23. From the New York Daily News: McCarrel, who had recently worked with Black Lives Matter, helped organize protests in Ohio after a Missouri cop shot and killed unarmed…
First Zika Case Reported in Ohio
[image-1]According to a news release from the Ohio Department of Health, the first case of the Zika Virus has been discovered in Ohio. A 30-year-old Cleveland woman contracted the virus on a recent trip to Haiti. Prior to this report, 35 cases of Zika have been reported in 12 states by the Center for Disease…
ESPN’s Bomani Jones — The A to Z Podcast With Andre Knott and Zac Jackson
Zac and Andre talk Super Bowl, Cam Newton and Cleveland with Bomani Jones of ESPN. Subscribe to A to Z on iTunes here. Android users can find the RSS feed here. Download the episode directly here. Or stream below.
City Council Increases Campaign Contribution Limit
[image-1]After a lengthy Finance Committee discussion yesterday, City Council approved an increase on the maximum amount of political campaign contributions allowed by a donor. These caps had not been increased in more than 20 years. In short, the new limits cap individual campaign contributions to a mayoral candidate at $5,000. Political action committees may donate up…
Crop’s On Air Studio Announces Grand Opening
While Crop Rocks has been open for months now, On Air Studio, its satellite bar that’ll feature live bands, hasn’t officially opened yet. But after “testing and tweaking” the sound, lighting and TV broadcast systems, Chef Steve Schimoler has announced he’s ready to open the place. “The design was to be a multi-media venue,” says…
Place Your Bets. Browns Listed at 200/1 Odds to Win 2017 Super Bowl
A day after Peyton Manning and the Broncos took home the Vince Lombardi trophy for Super Bowl 50, Vegas Insider has updated the odds for the 2017 Super Bowl (the big “51”). The Cleveland Browns are at 200/1 to win it all — the worst odds in the league. That’s right, sports fans: A $10 bet…
‘Detroit ’67’ Script, Acting Come Up Short as Realistic Riot-Gripped Community
Times of crisis certainly bring out the humanity (or inhumanity) of people, as we have seen during various tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina. Those moments can be startling and clarifying. There are two crises at work in Detroit ’67 by Dominique Morisseau, now at Karamu House. But the interplay between the two events—one personal and…
Rock Hall to Open Guns N’ Roses Exhibit
After years of bitter fighting, Guns N’ Roses recently announced that long-time rivals Axl Rose and Slash have decided to perform together once again. To celebrate the reunion, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will feature the 2012 Hall of Fame Inductees in its Legends of Rock exhibit that will open on Friday, Feb. 26.…
Backstage Pass: An Interview with the Alt-Rock Band Grizfolk
The Los Angeles-based alt-rock band Grizfolk played the Grog Shop on Saturday night as it came through town in support of its new album, Waking Up the Giants. In this backstage interview, the band talks about its music, which it simply describes as rock ‘n’ roll, and, given the fact that getting a major label…
The Greenhouse Tavern’s Animal Style Frites Named Best Bar Food in America
You don’t have to go very far to eat the best bar food in America, at least according to The Food Network, which named Greenhouse Tavern as having the top dish in the whole damn country. The Tavern’s Animal Style Frites rounded out the top spot on the list, beating out four other restaurants around…
Rick Springfield to Appear at the Exchange in Parma Heights Prior to Hard Rock Live Gig
Within the robotic sounds of “Human Touch,” a song on his 1983 album Living in Oz, Rick Springfield was already looking towards the future. It was a time when, as he wrote in the lyrics, “Everybody’s talking to computers/They’re all dancing to a drum machine.” In the science fiction-themed music video for the track, the…
Ohio EPA: Sebring Lead Problems Down, Though Village Must Still Provide Bottled Water
[image-1]Friday saw the release of a new batch of voluntary water tests from the Ohio EPA in the small village of Sebring. In brief: 144 of the 150 samples tested below the federal allowable limit for lead (15 parts per billion). The news brings with it a collective sigh of relief, as well as a reminder…
Big Sam’s Funky Nation Brings the NOLA Heat to the North Shore
It’s cold, though not freezing, in Cleveland when thoughts of New Orleans slink through Scene’s downtown office. Still, the city’s mid-winter reputation for icicle-clad streetlights and frosty lines outside music venues reaches the home of Big Sam — a stalwart of the NOLA funk scene and a lively, rockin’ trombonist. He’s planning on arriving in…
Video: Here’s the Norton Furniture/Taco Bell Super Bowl Ad
Yeah, that was the Norton Furniture guy on the local Super Bowl broadcast in a commercial that started out like the dozens of others that were beamed over local airwaves in the past except — plot twist — Taco Bell showed up at the end and the Norton guy promoted the new quesalupa. How’d that…
Cavs Ground Pelicans, Stay Focused on Process
Life is not a movie, and last night’s 99-84 Cavaliers victory over the New Orleans Pelicans is proof. (And not because it wasn’t pretty, though it wasn’t.) Movies build toward something in a rising action, while the NBA season’s more like the slow grind of life. It may or may not be moving towards something,…
Blue Man Group Begins Playhouse Square Stand with a Bang
You’d think that after close to 25 years, the world would have moved past Blue Man Group, the theater and rock concert hybrid that features three earless alien-like men with blue faces hammering away at percussion instruments made out of PVC pipe, splattering paint on blank canvases and using high-tech lights and sound to create…
Cavaliers Fall To Celtics In A Cry For Help
LeBron. Kyrie. Kevin. The rest of you fellas. We brought you here because we care. We want to see you succeed. Yet time after time we see you repeat the same mistakes, offer the same lame explanations, then self-sabotage again. It pains us to see you spiral backwards on the underside of a boulder like…
Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon Has Emergency Heart Procedure
[image-1]Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon is recovering at St. Vince Charity Medical Center after an emergency heart procedure Thursday, Cleveland Catholic Diocese spokesmen said. Lennon, 68, experienced chest pains Thursday morning and was rushed to St. Vincent, where he underwent a heart catheterization. The Diocese made clear that Lennon did not suffer a heart attack, but…
Federal Judge Knocks Down Damages But Upholds Key Elements in Cleveland Police Shooting Case
The Kenny Smith police shooting case — a case that is wildly, head-smackingly strange and convoluted and only getting weirder — received another wrinkle today. In federal court, U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver released a decision this afternoon tying up some loose legal ends regarding the trial last year that found Cleveland Police Officer Roger Jones…
Johnny Manziel’s Agent Has Dropped Him; Manziel’s Father Tried to Get Johnny Back in a Rehab Facility
Johnny Manziel’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, who had long been one of the few people in the troubled quarterback’s corner, announced today in a statement that he has terminated his relationship with his client. This comes on the heels of a fuller account from the police down in Texas about what transpired last weekend as Manziel’s…
Badfish Delivers Precisely What the Fans Come For: The Spirit of Sublime
The moment you first come across a Sublime album in your youth is kind of a big one. A rite of passage. It’s either gonna be 40 oz. to Freedom or self-titled, but it’s gonna set you on a good path in life when you find it. With any luck, you’ll still enjoy the band after…
Attempted Armed Robbery Reported at Langston Apartments by Cleveland State University
This campus safety alert was sent out last night around 10 p.m. by Cleveland State University. The Langston Apartments on Chester Ave. was the scene of an apparent armed robbery during which one of the suspects fired his weapon. No injuries were reported. An attempted robbery was reported at approximately 8:30 pm in the Langston…
Cleveland Bazaar to Host Special Valentine’s Day Event
Northeast Ohio’s longest-running independent craft show, Cleveland Bazaar regularly recruits artists from all across the region to participate in its events. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13, at Lake Affect Studios, it’ll host a special Valentine’s Day edition of its popular craft show so that shoppers who want to avoid hitting…
Charles Lawrence, President and CEO of Cleveland Music Settlement, Arrested for Gross Sexual Imposition, Resigns (Updated)
Charles Lawrence, the president and CEO of the Cleveland Music School Settlement, was arrested in Cleveland Heights on an offense of gross sexual imposition. He’s also resigned from his position. A female came to the Cleveland Heights police department on Feb. 1 to make a report, according to the police report from the department. Lawrence…
No More Cleveland-to-Columbus Megabus
[image-1]Scene has been riding the Megabus like a Mega Boss since the low-cost bus service arrived in Cleveland in 2005. Our preferred route was the Cleveland-to-Chicago overnight special, but we took full advantage of offerings eastward and southward as well. These days, local options are drastically cut. Most recently, in January, Megabus cut its Cleveland-to-Atlanta…
Better Bitters: Locally Made Full Measure Aromatic Bitters to Hit Market
“Five years ago I got super into cocktails,” says Ryan Irvine. “I was buying all these cocktail books and I was buying a ton of bitters.” Around the same time, Irvine also began covering the topic of cocktails for this magazine, a post he performed admirably for about a year. “Jeffrey Morgenthaler, the famous bartender,…
Alt-Country Icons Freakwater Get a Fresh Start with Bloodshot Records
Freakwater frontwomen Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin first put their harmonies to tape in Bean’s parents’ basement in Louisville. That was way back in 1985. Bean and Irwin like to joke that they then founded Freakwater in 1989 simply to “get into bars for free.” But the band has had remarkable staying power if that’s…
Help Vote Cleveland the Best Beer City in America in USA Today’s Poll
Listen up Clevelanders: You have through the end of the month to make sure Cleveland makes it to number one in USA Today’s vote for Best Beer Scene in the US. The outlet is running a handful of beer-related votes this month — best beer bar, etc. — and the lovely Forest City is in…
Columbus Business Leaders Asking for Taxpayer Money to Relocate Browns Training Camp
Columbus business leaders, via the city’s chamber of commerce, Columbus Partnership, are asking for $5 million from the state’s 2016-2017 capital budget to pay for an athletic facility that would host the Cleveland Browns’ summer training camp. Negotiations between the Browns and Columbus officials have been ongoing for some time, but the request, which the…
Circuit Court Upholds Juan Ortiz’s Use-of-Force Case Against Cleveland Officers, Which Will Now Head to Trial
[image-1]Today, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the case of Juan Ortiz against Cleveland police officers Brian Kazimer and Dan Crisan, two officers who roughed up the then-16-year-old boy during a 2010 incident. The case will head to trial, where the officers “will have the chance to give their version of events to a…
5 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
FRIDAY, FEB. 5 One Days Notice CD Release Show This local punk’s band new album, Blackout, opens with the Offspring-like “All That I Know” and then delivers one hard rocking tune after another. High-pitched yelps distinguish “Riot,” a tune that serves as a vibrant call-to-arms. With this offering, the band intentionally returns to its roots…
All About Super Bowl 50 — The A to Z Podcast With Andre Knott and Zac Jackson
Broncos, Panthers coming up Sunday. The fellas break down the game. Subscribe to A to Z on iTunes here. Android users can find the RSS feed here. Download the episode directly here. Or stream below.
Cavaliers, Stung by Their Bad Habits, Fall Before Hornets
Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue wouldn’t call a timeout when the team struggled in Monday’s overtime win over the Pacers, hoping the team would take the challenge to right themselves. After last night’s even uglier 106-97 loss to the Hornets, we wondered if the Cavs might next be forced to launder their own fouled sheets. We’d…
‘Hail, Caesar!’ Offers Satirical Look at 1950s Hollywood
If Trumbo represents the dark side of communism in 1950s Hollywood, then the Coen Brothers’ new film Hail, Caesar!, which opens area-wide on Friday, offers a much lighter analysis of the era. The theme comes to the fore after a few movie extras kidnap Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), who’s still decked out in sword and sandals,…
Bop Stop to Host ‘Battle of the Sexes’ on Valentine’s Day
Romance doesn’t have to be serious. To celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, the Cleveland Comedy Festival and the Bop Stop have teamed up to present an event they call Battle of the Sexes at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Bop Stop. The event will include winning jokes submitted to the Ambiance “Best Sex…
Heartless Bastards and Old 97s To Bring Co-Headlining Tour to Beachland
Two great indie alt-country acts — Heartless Bastards (pictured) and Old 97’s — just announced a co-headlining tour for a string of East Coast, Midwest and Canada dates throughout May with opener BJ Barham (of American Aquarium). Formed back in 2003, Heartless Bastards emerged from the Dayton-based garage rock act Shesus, a band that featured…
BAYarts Hosts Openings for Exhibitions Focused on Repurposing Materials
From 7 to 9 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 5, BAYarts hosts opening receptions for its latest exhibitions, Timothy Joyce’s Facing Forward and Shari Wilkins’ and John W. Carlson’s Destruction of Form. Both exhibitions utilize and explore the repurposing, or upcycling, of materials and ideas. Through their individual creative processes, each artist re-contextualizes imagery, materials, objects…
You Can Rent Lifetime’s “Cleveland Abduction,” Movie about Ariel Castro Kidnappings, from Local Redboxes
The Lifetime movie Cleveland Abduction, which tells the story of the Ariel Castro kidnappings, is now available at Cleveland Redboxes. The film premiered on the Lifetime channel in April, 2015 and continues to air periodically. (This Saturday at noon, for instance). It’s based on Michelle Knight’s memoir Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life…
Brandon Cartellone Was Murdered in His Tremont Apartment Five and a Half Years Ago; His Mother Is Still Waiting For Justice
[image-1]On a sun-washed July afternoon in 2013, about 60 people — friends, family, classmates — trekked the tree-lined streets of Tremont. They wore all white, a photo negative of funeral mourning. Some hands clutched clumps of white balloons, others flapped handwritten signs reading, “Justice for Brandon.” The group pooled together before a brick two-story building…
Beachland Ballroom to Host Sweetheart Showcase Burlesque Show
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the local burlesque production company Le Femme Mystique begins its 2016 season with the 5th Annual Sweetheart Showcase that takes place on Feb. 13 at the Beachland Ballroom. A founding member of Sin City Grind Kittens, headliner Lou Lou Roxy has been a featured act in various variety, vaudeville,…
The Cleveland Orchestra Comes Home and 4 Other Classical Music Events Not to Miss This Week
Apollo’s Fire steps out of its baroque shoes to revive its 2014 show, “Sephardic Journey: Wanderings of the Spanish Jews,” to coincide with the release of its new CD by the same name. The program, featuring soprano Nell Snaidas, tenor Karim Sulayman, baritone Jeffrey Strauss, and a band of instrumentalists, including exotic percussion, presents a…
Michaels Buys Pat Catan’s for $150 Million
It may indeed be the end of an era as Michaels Companies Inc. announced Tuesday (Feb. 2) that it had bought Pat Catan’s parent company, Lamrite West Inc. for $150 million. In their press release, Michaels promised that Lamrite West Chief Executive Officer Michael Catanzarite, whose father founded the company, will continue to lead his…
“Modern Sexuality” Exhibition Kicks Off New Series at Canopy Collective
When Canopy Collective opened its doors at 3910 Lorain Ave. last spring, we told you to expect big things. Over the past year, Canopy has continued to evolve beyond simply retail and consignment sales with innovative and engaging programming, quality exhibitions by talented, emerging local artists and exciting special events. This weekend, Canopy begins a…
Band of the Week: Sy Smith
MEET THE BAND Smith, who grew up in the Washington D.C. area, studied classical piano from the time she was 7 until she was 15. “I was a later bloomer when it came to singing,” she says. “I didn’t start singing until I was in sixth grade and I did the choir circuit. I was…
Warren’s Spirited Kitchen is the Latest Modern Addition to Burton
When many of us think of Burton, images of quaint Amish buggies, log cabins, impossibly high snow drifts and sticky maple syrup immediately come to mind. This small town in Geauga County often is referred to as “Pancake Town, U.S.A,” after all. But what doesn’t typically come to mind are trendy amenities. Instead, scattered around…
Western Reserve Meadery and Duck-Rabbit Coffee Make a Home at Forest City Brewery
Everything old is new again at the ambitious Forest City Brewery project (2135 Columbus Rd., forestcitybrewery.com) in Duck Island. Embedded within the historic 1915 building on the site of the former Atlantic Beer Garden, the forthcoming Duck-Rabbit Coffee and Western Reserve Meadery add to the anticipation of Forest City as a craft beverage destination. Both…
Opening Soon: Market Garden’s Production Brewery, Tour and Tasting Room
The beer brewing process begins in the milling room, where the grains are weighed and crushed. Then it’s off to the three-vessel brewhouse where those grains are steeped in hot water, strained and the resulting liquid boiled. When cooled, the liquid is inoculated with yeast and stashed in a fermentation tank. When ready to drink,…
The Population Boom in Downtown Cleveland is Very Real and Very Good. But How Long Can It Continue?
The place is on the sixth floor. Two bedrooms, two and a half baths, 1,800 square feet all told, with exclusive rooftop patio access. In fact, the place is the entire sixth floor. It’s been on the market for under a month by the time we show up to have a look. By the time…
Film Spotlight: 45 Years
Writer-director Andrew Haigh was editing his film, Weekend, when he received a collection of short stories. The David Constantine story In Another Country particularly struck him. It centers on a British couple as they prepare to celebrate their 45th anniversary. Something from the husband’s past comes to light and casts a shadow on the celebration. Haigh thought it would…
“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is Self-Explanatory
The animating conceit in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, when it arrived from Quirk Books in 2009, was that it mashed up Jane Austen’s famous novel — published in 1813, therefore in the public domain — and elements of fan fiction. Writer Seth Grahame-Smith added zombie and ninja subplots to the text, and was pleased…
Savage Love: The Wilbur Theatre
A large crowd braved a snowstorm to come out to Savage Love Live at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre last week. Questions were submitted on index cards, which allowed questioners to remain anonymous and forced them to be succinct. I got to as many of them as I could over two long, raucous, boozy hours. Here are…
Three Movie Hopefuls Faceplant in Pure Shock Value at None Too Fragile Theater
It’s about as classy as a boner in sweatpants. That’s something people might say about the play at None Too Fragile Theater, if it weren’t too on-the-nose. Fact is, there are multiple boners in sweatpants in Pure Shock Value by Matt Pelfrey. There isn’t much elegance to this tale of three young Hollywood guppies who…
