Sponsored: Your neighborhood isn’t just where you’re from. It’s part of who you are. You know its people, its quirks, its history. You carry it with you wherever you go. Jack Honey is proud to bring you cocktail creations from six neighborhoods and the people who make them their home. Cities may change, but the flavor of these neighborhoods remains unique. See the people and places that are keeping The Land full of flavor and place a vote for your favorite.
Sponsored: Your neighborhood isn’t just where you’re from. It’s part of who you are. You know its people, its quirks, its history. You carry it with you wherever you go. Jack Honey is proud to bring you cocktail creations from six neighborhoods and the people who make them their home. Cities may change, but the flavor of these neighborhoods remains unique. See the people and places that are keeping The Land full of flavor and place a vote for your favorite right here.
Text by Billy Hallal
Photos by Emanuel Wallace
Chef Eric Rogers’ Black Box Fix became, in a short amount of time, a beloved institution of Cleveland Heights’ Cedar Lee district. Fans were devastated when it closed. But less than a year later, the restaurant found new life down the street in a much bigger space: The Fix Bistro.Rogers is a lifelong Clevelander who practically grew up in the restaurants his grandparents owned. “They taught me early: you don’t work, you don’t eat,” he says. He has partnered with a number of local eateries under the umbrella of his Fix brand in an attempt to make Cedar Lee the premiere dining district of Cleveland Heights.Rogers gained national recognition for appearing on Guy’s Grocery Games on Food Network, but he has remained humble: he speaks often of his desire to “be a blessing” for the community.The Fix’s concoction is the Jacked Up Appletini: which combines Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, apple juice, and mango & peach puree in a glass with a Cajun-sugar rim and a booze-soaked apple garnish.Shelton Goodson, owner of Swerve Grille, is a native Clevelander who grew up on the East Side. Like another famous Northeast Ohioan, Shelton Goodson took his talents elsewhere—he attended culinary school in Pennsylvania until 2008—before triumphantly returning home.After working in several local restaurants, Goodson opened Swerve in 2013. The name, for him, represents “a sudden change in a positive direction.” Goodson hired several childhood friends and friends from the industry to work there. Running a restaurant is “very hard work,” he says, “but overall, it pays off.”Shaker Heights, the neighborhood that plays home to Swerve, is known for its diverse population and its Colonial-style architecture—“It’s kinda classical,” says Goodson. Swerve has become known for its cool, low-lit vibes and contemporary dishes like its stuffed chicken.Swerve Grille’s cocktail is Spiked Basil Cider: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, Apple Cider, Orange Juice, Lemon, Basil, and Simple SyrupThe food business is family business for Alafin. His mother worked years at a factory job to save the funds to start Angie’s Soul Cafe, a Cleveland institution that he now runs.“Believe it or not, my mother never let me get behind the stove,” says Alafin. Angie wanted her son to learn the business side. It worked: “To this day I can barely scramble eggs,” he says, “but I can be a businessman.”Blue Breeze in the North Collinwood neighborhood is a passion project for owner Derek Wheeler. “For twenty years, I always wanted a sports bar,” he says.Wheeler wasn’t always in the bar business. Before running his own construction company, he worked 21 years as a heat treatment operator. Wheeler, who grew up around the Collinwood area, rehabbed the building himself to give the space its modern vibe. “I’m proud of how it looks.”His advice for success in Cleveland: “Be willing to commit to your business and be ready for the long haul.”Blue Breeze’s cocktail is the spicy-sweet Jumping Jack. It’s made with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, amaretto, lemon juice, triple sec, ginger ale, blue curacao for cool color, and Hot Damn cinnamon schnapps to add some heat.Duane Dunn understands the importance of family. After losing his mother to breast cancer, Dunn decided to honor her in an unconventional way: he named a bar after her. Helen’s Game Time opened in 2013 and has since become a staple of Cleveland Heights’ Center Mayfield district.Growing up in Cleveland, Dunn was a huge Cleveland sports fan. Though he had a successful career as an engineer for an airline company, he followed his passion to open Helen’s and its sister bar, Bobby Dee’s (named for his father).Food-wise, Helen’s is perhaps best known for its sweet and savory honey lemon pepper wing sauce. General Manager Tiffany Florence describes working at Helen’s as “fabulous.” Her favorite parts: “Interacting with good customers and the energy when the teams are playing.”Helen’s cocktail is The Honey Sunrise: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, lemonade, peach schnapps, a splash of sour mix, and a little grenadine on top for color.Akin Alafin has successfully expanded his brand to Cleveland’s Gateway District with Stonetown, a restaurant serving Southen- and Cajun-Creole-inspired dishes.After spending so much time there as a kid, Alafin is amazed by downtown Cleveland’s evolution. Stonetown stands in a part of downtown he used to hang out all the time as a kid. The area has changed significantly: “You could barely get something to eat down there,” he says. “Now you have 300 restaurants.”Stonetown’s regulars include Channel 19 anchor Ramona Robinson, who’s a huge fan of the catfish over grits—a dish Alafin “created from scratch.” Alaim actually sold Stonetown in 2014, but bought it back two years later: “Things are going well since then.”Elegance is the name of this restaurant’s cocktail: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, sweet tea, lemonade, Kool-Aid, chilled lime juice garnished with a lemon and cherry splash and served in a highball glass.
