City Goods and Hangar Bodega and Bar Will Open in Ohio City on Friday, September 16th

On Friday, September 16th, City Goods at the Creative Hangars will officially go live. The cluster of contemporary Quonset hut-style structures is located at the corner of W. 28th and Church Avenue in Hingetown.

Originally constructed as live-in studios, the seven buildings are now home to an assortment of small, local, creative businesses, the majority of which are female and/or minority owned. At present, there are 19 different brands sharing space in six of the seven buildings.

“Almost everyone here is claiming their first retail space,” explains project director Sam Friedman. “This is a huge step for almost every one of them.”

What makes the project especially unique is the collaborative business model that offers affordable rents in an extremely desirable neighborhood. In addition to a shared-expense system, the mini-community is financially supported by the Hangar, a cocktail bar that occupies the largest structure.

“The bar is the support piece for all the small businesses,” adds Friedman. “Every person who comes here, every purchase, you’re genuinely supporting small Cleveland businesses.”

With roughly 500 square feet on the main floor and another 200 square feet on the mezzanine, the Hangar will accommodate about 42 guests. The experience is essentially a retail bodega and bar, with shelving devoted to dozens and dozens of local beer, cider, seltzer and wine products. Those products can be purchased for carry-out or rapid-chilled for onsite enjoyment. At the bar, classic and creative cocktails will be crafted from local spirits and the freshest mixers. Veteran spirits pro Cassaundra Holloway is running the show.

“There aren’t a lot of places in this neighborhood to sit and have a great drink,” says Friedman. “There are bars and breweries but not ‘cocktail’ cocktail bars. There are 4,000 residents in these buildings right around this block.”

An open-carry arrangement at City Goods will allow visitors to move around from shop to shop drink in hand. That open-carry license will also come in handy during the many weekend and seasonal outdoor events that will be held on the public spaces between and around the buildings.

The Hangar bar will be open 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Sunday.