Northeast Ohio offers everything from outstanding restaurants, markets and the arts to interesting events. Check out some of our best curated suggestions.
78th Street Studios
Dan Bush’s gets excited when he talks about 78th Street Studios.
The owner/developer of this massive building/home to 80 businesses, Bush understands the value of partnering with established and starting artists and galleries.
With a background in stage design and work as a carpenter, Bush is all-in with the building. “This place is my little theater,” he says.
Approximately 40 of the spaces in the building are leased to artists. Tailspinner Children’s Theatre has been there for three years.
Bush recognized that he didn’t want the building to operate exclusively as leasing space and so, in 2007 he introduced Third Friday, a monthly event showcasing over 50 artists’ galleries. Now about to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2026, 78th Street Studios has more than passed the test of time. Approximately 4,000 people were attending Third Friday pre-pandemic. But, the pandemic didn’t stop the momentum as thousands watched livestreams on Facebook.
The Screw Factory
Many changes have taken place since new management took charge of The Screw Factory in 2024. The enormous complex is now transformed into what Property Manager Kathleen Anderson describes as “a truly living ecosystem in which artists are able to ask each other for help and everyone is in tune with everyone else.”
Some artists have called this unique complex home for 30 years, while others are newcomers. “We are expanding the demographic more and more. This is a true Lakewood gem,” Anderson says.
L’Albatros Brasserie & Bar
Today, with the shuttering of Parallax, Chinato and other restaurants, only one Zack Bruell restaurant remains: L’Albatros Brasserie & Bar in University Circle.
“I have always remained true to concept. The quality of the product and producing the items on this menu would stand its own in Paris, Southwest France, Strasbourg, New York or LA. It’s the standard I established in December 2008 and one I adhere to today,” he says.
“If you go to a classic brasserie and return 20 years later, you’ll find the same menu. This is what it means to stay true to concept. With today’s menu at L’Albatros, I’ve gone full circle. I am staying true to concept, retaining the traditional but adding a modern slant.”
Comfort CLE
Cleveland Heights’ native Jeremy McBryde, chef/owner of Comfort CLE, created a pop-up on Skid Row, which, 10 months later, became a brick-and-mortar restaurant in LA that was a favorite of Kevin Hart and LeBron James. In five years, he had a food truck and three locations. And then he returned to Cleveland.
“I brought Cleveland fare to LA recognizing that LA was lacking restaurants in the fast casual category,” he explains. In fact, he brought family recipes including his mom’s beans and rice and his Auntie Myrtle’s stuffed cornbread.
But, ComfortCLE is not about traditional soul food. “I’m opening eyes for people to enjoy this cuisine, to give it a try and to try soul food presented in a way that they’ve never tasted before,” he says.
Marchant Manor Cheese
There is a lot of chemistry and microbiology that can be applied to cheese recipes, according to the “Cheese Doctor,” Dr. Kandice Marchant, Marchant Manor Cheese owner and former chair of Pathology and Lab Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic.
Her Lapworth Lavender Camembert took third place in 2024, while High Heaven Boss Dog Rubber City Stout was awarded a blue ribbon at the 2025 Ohio State Fair. She also won three blue ribbons in 2024.
Marchant Manor’s cheeses are European-inspired and created using uniquely rich Amish Guernsey cow and goat milk, making them unique to Ohio. They’re available at her store as well as other stores across the state or via shipping within the state. Watch for her wine or beer and cheese pairing events, cheese making classes and cheese board making classes.
The Grog Shop
The Grog Shop Owner Kathy Blackman seems awkward accepting responsibility for being instrumental in bringing a vast array of live music genres to Cleveland. Fact is, she’s been doing it since 1992.
The way Blackman and her team go about finding bands has changed in the 33+ years she’s been doing this. “I started something small on Coventry. In the beginning it was fun for my team. We’d rely on each other to make choices. We’d talk to local record stores. Mostly, we went with our gut.”
Today, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), a small group of like-minded promoters, works together to review many aspects of the business from changes in the industry to tickets and more.
The Grog Shop showcases a variety of music genres, hosts monthly drag shows on the first Friday of every month, Secret Movie Midnight Rentals (Ghoulardi-style) and comedy.
Dobama Theater
If you’re a lover of Off-Broadway productions or like exploring new and oftentimes unusual plays that almost entirely feature local artists, this will soon become your go-to place.
According to Erin E. Dolan, director of programs, “Our artistic director scouts new plays, does research, and brings back eight to 12 ideas. Then the whole staff narrows down the list to five shows.”
Our suggestion for you? Explore. Explore “Witch,” a modern take on an outcast who is “different;” “Hobbit,” a family-friendly holiday production; “The Heart Sellers,” a tale of two women who emigrated to the U.S.; “The Comeuppance,” about four former classmates before their high school reunion; and “Sanctuary City,“ set 24 years ago in Newark.
Dobama has a Young Playwrights’ Program offered free to public school students in grades 1-12 and Drag Story Hour (December and June).