“You would think that this is a really great spot because of all the growth taking place in the area,” says Popovic. “Unfortunately, it hasn’t been. A lot of people don’t even know this neighborhood exists because it is hidden and wasn’t developed for so long. It was really hard to bring people in.”
Given the number or nearby residents, the concept (and crew) seemed solid. In the morning, Vita Urbana functioned as the neighborhood’s coffee shop, offering up fresh-brewed coffee beverages, grab-and-go pastries, and made-to-order hot foods like sausage, egg and cheese empanadas. Breakfast was followed by an all-day menu of chef-driven small and medium plates.
All day, the well-stocked retail section offered beer, wine, gourmet cheeses, charcuterie, pasta, olive oil, condiments and a few basic necessities to neighborhood residents.
Popovic, a Johnson and Wales grad and well-seasoned chef, had little trouble lining up a new position. As executive chef of Architectural Justice (13593 Pearl Rd., 440-268-8646, architecturaljustice.com) in Strongsville, Popovic will be preparing all food served in the café as well as hosting regular consumer cooking classes.
“They have a really cool area for cooking classes that’s very interactive,” he notes.
This article appears in Dec 13-19, 2017.
Cleveland such a thriving city!!
Probably more so than whatever stupid place you’re from. STFU and go buy a few vowels.
Chuckles the Clown.
From a Shoreway resident, this article is actually pretty misleading. Had Vita actually been the “neighborhoods coffee shop” as you said, they would have no doubt done much better. Instead, the owners didn’t invest in commercial coffee making equipment so the result was coffee that was uninteresting and certainly no better than you could brew in your home.
Again, the article misleads with “grab-and-go pastries, and made-to-order hot foods”… Vita had neither of these things. The last time I remember ever seeing a pastry or anything grab-and-go was in the first couple weeks they were open. After that point, they were hardly even open in the mornings let alone offering the great things you make it seem like they had.
The retail section was never stocked well… even during Edgewater Live on Thursdays they failed to stock even a couple cases of cheap beer for residents or concert goers.
To be honest, their failure is not about the neighborhood but the owners’ failure to market the business effectively. No one knew they were there because they made almost 0 effort to get the word out, try new things, or advertise. I’m sad at their closure but this is in no way the fault of Battery Park’s residents or for lack of trying by Shoreway renters. This was mismanagement, plain and simple.
I am posting with my real name – I am unfortunately “represented” without my choice by the same “Community Development Group” – Detroit Shoreway (DSCDO) – that operates in Battery Park. DSCDO is a mega CDC that along with Ohio City and Tremont CDCs – get credit for economic revival in Cleveland. These CDCs get Community Development Block Grant monies intended to provide AFFORDABLE housing to residents and to prevent disinvestment in the neighborhood by banks and other vital community services. DSCDO uses the “poverty” in their service area, which has been redrawn to include Stockyards, Clark-Fulton and Brooklyn Centre to drive the “shadow government” real estate schemes in Cleveland. Obviously, east side CDCs have not “succeeded” (measured by restaurants) like DSCDO. DSCDO has to destroy my neighborhood to float development like these restaurants. DSCDO and the Land Bank are working in collusion to transfer a commercial property on W. 25 (the vacant YMCA) to Cleveland Housing Network. This type of shady transaction is a hallmark of CDCs. CDCs are destroying free market economy in NEO.