VALLEY MAgAzinE - Townnews

VALLEY MAgAzinE

P r e s e n t e d b y C h a g r i n V a l l e y C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r C e & C h a g r i n V a l l e y t i m e s

2016-17

Hiking

Venture into world of flora and faunaBusiness

Families give operations longevity Dining

Indulge in tasty offerings

2 Chagrin Valley Magazine 2016-17 2016-17 Chagrin Valley Magazine 3

Call us to share in our success. Chagrin Falls – 440-247-8900 • Aurora – 330-562-6188

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All Other Brokers: 31.60%

Broker #4: 0.80%

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Chagrin Valley 2015 Market Share

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55.70%

We’re #1 in Homes Sold in the Chagrin Valley!

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Contents

W hether you are a long-time resident or a first-time visitor to the

Chagrin Valley, the merchants of the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce welcome you. The chamber in conjunction with the award-winning weekly newspa-per, the Chagrin Valley Times, has published this guide. Within these pages, you will find infor-mation about local merchants, restaurants, schools, recreational opportunities and so much more. The chamber is a 500-plus mem-ber organization founded in 1943, serving 13 communities in south-eastern Cuyahoga County and southwestern Geauga County.

For residents, we hope you will retain this magazine and re-fer to it often throughout the year as you consider purchasing goods and services.

For visitors to the valley, we hope that this edition of the Cha-grin Valley Magazine will intro-duce you to the area. The valley is rich with unique shopping ar-eas, a diverse collection of res-taurants, many different outdoor activities and much more.

We believe that the Chagrin Valley is a unique corner of Northeast Ohio and this maga-zine is just a small showcase of the many wonderful opportuni-ties that abound. If you need more information during the year, please visit the chamber’s website for details on current events at cvcc.org or for the lat-est news concerning the valley at The Times’ website at chagrin-valleytoday.com.

H. Kenneth Douthit IIIPresident, Chagrin Valley

Chamber of Commercewww.cvcc.org

Hiking

Antiques

Bare Attitude

Golfing

Farm Fresh

Upscale HomesRestaurants

Family businesses Breezewood

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67

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Connecting with people is important to Dr. Louise Keating. The daughter of Italian immigrants, she lives with her daughter’s family in Cleveland Heights, where she savors whipping up authentic Italian meals for her grandchildren.“Living at home is important to me, but I want to have a plan in place so my family doesn’t have to scramble,” says Louise. “That’s why I decided to sign up for Judson at Home. When the time comes, Judson will take care of everything with one phone call. In the meantime, I can access services whenever I need them.”Indeed. When she’s not in the kitchen, Louise is working out at Judson. As a Judson at Home member, she takes advantage of Judson’s health and wellness classes which offer both physical and social benefits.“Exercise keeps me nimble. I’m at Judson three times a week for yoga, strength training and water aerobics,” says Louise, who has had both hips replaced. “Plus, I’ve made many close friends.”To learn more about how Judson can help you stay in your own home, please call (216) 791-3211.

“I want to have a plan in place so my family doesn’t have to scramble.”

Visit www.judsonsmartliving.org and click Judson at Home.

—Dr. Louise Keating, Judson at Home member since 2013

Connecting with people is important to Dr. Louise Keating. The daughter of Italian immigrants, she lives with her daughter’s family in Cleveland Heights, where she savors whipping up authentic Italian meals for her grandchildren.“Living at home is important to me, but I want to have a plan in place so my family doesn’t have to scramble,” says Louise. “That’s why I decided to sign up for Judson at Home. When the time comes, Judson will take care of everything with one phone call. In the meantime, I can access services whenever I need them.”Indeed. When she’s not in the kitchen, Louise is working out at Judson. As a Judson at Home member, she takes advantage of Judson’s health and wellness classes which offer both physical and social benefits.“Exercise keeps me nimble. I’m at Judson three times a week for yoga, strength training and water aerobics,” says Louise, who has had both hips replaced. “Plus, I’ve made many close friends.”To learn more about how Judson can help you stay in your own home, please call (216) 791-3211.

“I want to have a plan in place so my family doesn’t have to scramble.”

Visit www.judsonsmartliving.org and click Judson at Home.

—Dr. Louise Keating, Judson at Home member since 2013

http://www.cvcc.org


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Garden Center, Greenhouses, Florist, Gift Shop, LandscapingGarden Center, Greenhouses, Florist, Gift Shop, Landscaping

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Once you visit The Weils, we know you’re going to like what you see. Once you move in – you’re going to love your new home!

Everything you need, everything you want, is no farther than down the hall. We’ll also help you plan life-enriching activities that match your interests – cultural outings, shopping trips, movies, games, crafts, salon visits, going out to eat – even “Happy Hours” where you can talk, laugh and relax before dinner with your neighbors and friends.

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525 E. Washington St., Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44022 440-247-5335

Publisher: H. Kenneth Douthit III

Creative Director, GM: Amanda Petkiewicz

Editor: Ellen J. Kleinerman

Editorial assistant: Krista S. Kano

Photographers: Philip Botta, Alana Clark, Peggy Turbett

Writers: Barbara Christian, Michele Collins, Joan Demirjian, Ryan Dentscheff, Marie Elium, Valeri Furst, Lauri Gross,

Sue Hoffman, Krista S. Kano, Catherine Perloff, Betty Weibel

Graphics: Maureen Bole

Account Executives: Nancy Kelley, Diana Nicolanti, Karla Viers, Patty Vitale

Ad Designers: Connie Gabor, Travis Rock

For the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce: Molly Gebler, Helen Kuznik

Additional copies of the Chagrin Valley Magazine are available from the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce at 440-247-6607

or Chagrin Valley Publishing at 440-247-5335.

VALLEY MAgAzinE

ON THE COVERPhotographer Philip Botta captures light shining through the forest into Ansel’s Cave on a hike through the Geauga Park District’s West Woods. See Story on Page 12


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Hiking the valley

Follow the Lorax into the woods and discover a world of intriguing plants and creatures

By KRISTA S. KANO

Whether it’s Crossfit, aerial yoga or P90X, there’s always a new exciting workout to experience in the Chagrin Valley. But

John Kolar doesn’t need any of those. He doesn’t need an instructor or an expensive gym membership. All he needs is a good pair of hiking boots.

“The outdoors is the best gym member-ship,” Mr. Kolar said. “And it’s free.”

From the Geauga Park District to the Cleveland Metroparks South Chagrin Reservation, and even the hilly roads winding through the valley, this area of Northeast Ohio has miles of paths of every difficulty level. Even if you took the same path, with the wildlife constantly evolv-ing and migrating as the seasons change, you’ll never take the same hike twice.

As the head naturalist for the Geauga Parks District, Mr. Kolar knows that best. Though he spends the majority of his workday completing office tasks at the West Woods Nature Center in Russell Township, during his lunch hours, he’s out of the air-conditioning and into nature. He leaves his technology at his desk, with the exception of his Fitbit secured to his wrist, so that he can fully experience all the park has to offer without the distraction of text notifications or news alerts.

Boots on. Eyes open. Ears alert. He sets off for a 2-mile hike around Ansel’s Cave Trail on a mid-morning jaunt in late June. Rain poured the night before and contin-ued to sprinkle as Mr. Kolar moves at a quick pace towards the trailhead that runs through a beech-maple forest. Continued on page 14

Photos by Philip Botta


Pair of extremely fine carved butternut wood figures representing Europe and Africa, c.1850by Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois (French 1799-1871)48 inches high

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American toads, laid in April, had just started emerging from the wetlands and a few, the size of a Tic-Tac, were taking some of their first hops. Scarlet tanagers were nest-ing and the red-eyed vireos were singing.

“They’ll serenade you the whole trip,” Mr. Kolar said.

He began explaining the different between a song, which can be for mating or claiming territory and a call, which alerts other birds to food or predators, and as he began dis-cussing the many free naturalist-lead hikes and other free programming, he stopped mid-sentence.

“Oh do you hear that? That ah-weet-weet-weet-ee-oh? That’s a hooded warbler. That’s the bird that got me into birds,” Mr. Kolar of Parkman said.

The entire hike was like that. Mr. Kolar talking a mile-a minute, and then cutting him-self off to identify a bird call, to point out how the tops of a jewel weed plant had been bitten off (a clear sign that a white-tailed deer was in the area), or to pick up a bright orange, im-mature red-spotted newt. He walked with his head down, careful not to step on any wood-land snails, toads or salamanders, but as soon as he heard a bird, his head would dart up to the trees, searching for the song source.

Past the toads and the salamander, a black

rat snake slithered just off the trail, searching for lunch.

“I’ve grown to love them because of what an important role they play in regulating the populations,” Mr. Kolar said. “They’re not eating because they’re mean or vicious. It’s because they’re hungry, and the kids get that. We try to educate as much as possible for

people to see their benefit.” Mr. Kolar said. He explained that this type of snake is a

non-venomous constrictor that will climb up trees to look for birds nest and will also climb into holes made by other animals look-ing for a snack.

“As naturalists, we’re like the Lorax. We

Continued from page 12

In June, immature red spotted newts are seen all over the Ansel’s Cave Trail in the Geauga Park District’s West Woods. In the juvenile stage, known as the red eft, the newts are bright orange in color. As they age, the skin changes to a dull olive green.

Continued on page 16


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speak for the trees and the snakes since they have no tongues and they can’t speak for themselves. Most naturalists feel it is their mission to help people see the beauty we have out here,” Mr. Kolar said.

Reaching about the midway point on the hike, the rugged trail moves to a wooden raised platform and Mr. Kolar stops to point out a rock outcropping. A few rays of sun-light shine through the clouds, illuminating the creek running through.

“People are always coming back to the na-ture center saying, “I walked the whole trail and couldn’t find Ansel’s Cave!’ and I say, ‘Did you see the rocks? That’s it.’”

Though not a true cave by modern defi-nitions, Ansel’s Cave was accurately named in the past, when a ‘cave’ simply meant any rock structure that could be used as a shelter. Local legend says that the cave’s namesake, Ansel Savage, was a hermit who lived in the area, seeking shelter from the elements. But Mr. Kolar says that couldn’t be further from the truth.

According to Geauga Park District Re-search, Mr. Savage was a Newbury trustee in the 1800s. Born in Massachusetts in 1796, Mr. Savage arrived in Newbury around 1815 and is listed in township records as one of the first tax-paying citizens. As a trustee, he signed a petition to lay out what is now Bell Street in 1829 and in 1830 settled in Russell Township. He purchased 76 acres of land on Route 87, about half a mile west of Route 306 for about $176 and was elected as a Rus-sell trustee in 1833.

Though from the research, it appears that Mr. Savage never lived in the cave, let alone

owned any of the land around it, the name and the legend remains, as does its historical sig-nificance. Along the rock walls, people have carved their names into the rocks, and have even carved self-portraits. The earliest carv-ing is from A.E. Button from June 24, 1886.

The cave is now closed off from public use, though naturalists lead hikes into the area.

“People have loved it to death, and we

want to keep the nice view but not have peo-ple climbing up the hill and eroding down the sediments,” Mr. Kolar explained.

Continuing the hike, Mr. Kolar points out another small rock shelter in the hillside that he said was home to red fox pups in the spring time. He points out the “jail tree,” which was a large tree that was cut down, and now smaller

A family poses at Robinson’s Cave in the early 1900s. Now known as Ansel’s Cave, it can be seen on the Ansel’s Cave Trail through the Geauga Park District’s West Woods. Black rat snakes, a non-venomous constrictor that rattles as a defense mechanism but is not a rattle snake, can be seen on the trail.




trees have grown around the perimeter of the original stump. According to Mr. Kolar, he has seen up to 12 children fit in it.

Then, always listening, Mr. Kolar hears a squawking and begins looking for two fledgling barred owls he had previously seen along the trail. Moving slowly with his eyes to the sky, he eventually spots one perched high in a tree. The owl calls to its mother for food and its sibling to alert that there are visitors headed towards them.

“A lot of times people don’t know what that sound is so they don’t know what to look for, but I think the best advice I can give people who want to come and observe wildlife is come early in the morning or in the evening when its more active. Use all your senses. Stop and look and listen and even if you don’t know what something is, follow the sound,” Mr. Kolar said.

The trail continues for another half mile, before reaching the end of the loop back to the nature center.

“The trail is great for fitness and peace of mind. Take a walk in nature and your stress disappears. Just leave the headphones at home and be in tune to what’s going on around you. If I had headphones in, I never would have heard that barred owl. Whenever you come – September or spring or even in the winter – there’s always something cool to see.”

Heading to the meadowsIn addition to the West Woods, another

popular hiking trail in the valley is Frohring Meadows in Bainbridge.

There’s always someone walking a dog or running through the 3.5 miles of trails over 298 acres of prairies and woodlands that make up Frohring Meadows, off Sav-age Road. On a Friday morning in mid-June, Katherine Malmquist lead the Cleveland Hiking Club through the park for a 5-mile hike, leaving promptly at 9 a.m. The club hikes no matter the weather and many of the hikes led by Ms. Malmquist leave at 7 a.m.

“You’re done by 8:30, home by 9 and ready to start the day. People love it. It’s more of a social group than a hiking group,” she said.

The group sees plenty of wildlife, includ-ing blue birds and beavers, coyotes, eagles and recently a juvenile hawk through the South Chagrin Reservation.

“As a professional, I get out and see things and people say ‘How do you find them?’ The big thing is just getting out,” Mr. Kolar said. “On lunch, I’m not sitting. I’m walking and looking. You’ll see so much more if you just get off the couch and get your sneakers on. Whether you’re going out for exercise or na-ture appreciation or both, there’s a lot to see, but you’ve got to lace up the shoes and go.” ■


aging treasures

Quaint stores are home to

Photos by Alana Clark

1

Try the trailsof the Chagrin Valley

Ansel’s Cave

Founder’s Field

↑Chagrin Falls Village Park

↓Frohring Meadows

ASM Headquarters

Katydid Shelter

The West Woods Nature Center

2

306

87

2

1

Frohring Meadow hikesavage Road,

Bainbridge Township

About 5 miles long

Ansel’s Cave hikeThe West Woods

kinsman Road, Russell

1.9 miles long

keY:- Forest

- Tall grass

- Short grass

- Start/end point

- Hiking trail

- Hiking route

- Roads

- Creek


HELPING LOCAL KIDS

By VALERI FURST

When planning an antiquing venture across in the Cha-grin Valley, there is no bet-ter guide than connoisseur Beth Wilson-Fish.

While many know her for being on the Orange City School District Board of Educa-tion and as the former gifted services coordi-nator in the Orange Schools, few know that her lovely home in Moreland Hills is filled with unique collectibles and furniture.

We started in downtown Chagrin Falls at Off Main Antiques. Ms. Wilson-Fish in-stantly hit it off with Russell Township resi-dent Jennifer Buckbee, who is one of eight people in a co-op who share space in the store. They talked about how older blankets are the new “big thing,” as Ms. Wilson-Fish lifted one made from old Indian saris. They shared stories about how they have found various pieces of furniture and refurbished them. In fact, Ms. Wilson-Fish bought a couple of drawers which she plans to stack and use for storage. And as the women talk-ed, they came to realize Ms. Buckbee has a few pieces of folk art that were made by Ms. Wilson-Fish’s grandfather who used to whittle wood into animal shapes as a hobby. Some of his work is now being sold at an-tique shows and online. Turns out the world of antiquing can be pretty small.

Ms. Wilson-Fish explained, “It’s a little like a club for people who enjoy collecting things or are looking for items that are in-teresting or unusual. For me, it’s been a way of life, as my mother was always taking us to antique shows. One of my favorite things to collect is hair jewelry from the 1800s

through the Civil War. When a person passed away, a lock of their hair would be woven into a piece of jewelry. They are getting tougher to find but I always look.”

Ms. Buckbee added, “I have been in the business since 1990 and in most antique shops, there is so much stuff. Something just has to catch your eye. We get a few browsers but mostly what we see is people coming in, looking for something specific and then leav-ing with something else.”

Ms. Wilson-Fish laughs, “That’s how you end up with a house full of stuff.”

Our next stop, Bainbridge Antiques on East Washington Street in Bainbridge, is home to 14 different dealers. One of them, Lydia Lax from Chagrin Falls, explained that some of the vendors are serious collectors, selling pieces from their collections. Others, like herself, enjoy the hunt of shopping but don’t want to keep things.

“Most of us got started as collectors and then decided to turn to it into a business. I personally love looking at old stuff and learning its history. We get a lot of customers who are very specific about what they want, but also people who come in to furnish their house or their kid’s college dorm rooms and don’t really know what they are looking for but want something that inspires them that they can afford,” Ms. Lax said.

The store is filled with vintage items, collectables and antiques. It isn’t long before Ms. Wilson-Fish finds a cat candleholder for $2 which she plans to give to her daughter, who has a collection of cat items.

Our final stop is Chagrin Valley Antiques which can be found in a house built in 1828 in Russell Township on Chillicothe Road. The shop, owned by Diana Colucci and her

husband Tom, specializes in folk art and American 18th and 19th century antiques. They have been in business for 21 years and say 80 percent of their business comes from regular customers.

“We have gotten to know many of our clients who are very loyal and bring their friends and family. They have become like family. We know their kids and get invited

Chagrin Valley Antiques, 15605 Chillicothe Road in Russell, specializes in folk art and American antiques. The store, owned by Diana and Tom Colucci, is in an 1828 home.

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to graduations, weddings, baby showers and other big events,” Mrs. Colucci said.

The antiques to be found include a Wil-liam and Mary armoury table that dates back to 1680, handmade samplers from the early 1800s that were used to teach young girls the alphabet, numbers and Bible verses, and an actual horse drawn milk wagon from the 1860’s. But many customers know the store for its folk art much of which is seasonal. Ms. Wilson-Fish bought a stuffed pumpkin that was on sale and a weathered hand paint-ed steel flag.

As the excursion reached its end, Ms. Wilson-Fish talked about some of the in-tricacies of antiquing, like knowing the dif-ference between antique and vintage. Gen-erally, an antique applies to something that is more than 100 years old while vintage is a term that defies real definition. Some be-lieve it refers to items more than 50 years old while others claim it applies to things that were used in a different era. For Ms. Wilson-Fish, it all comes down to what you like.

“Collectors love different things so peo-ple should know what they are looking for and how much it is worth. However, all of us have been ripped off so in the end, it’s a matter of how much are you willing to spend for something you really love,” she said. ■

Off Main Antiques, 7 W. Washington St. in Chagrin Falls, is co-op space that is shared by eight vendors with various specialties.


Spa products with a personal touch By MICHELE COLLINS

For Leah Chaykowski, working as a spa esthetician gave her the oppor-tunity to help make her clients feel relaxed and refreshed. She loved helping others reduce stress. There

was only one negative. She didn’t like the products she was using on her customers.

The mass-produced spa products could not be individualized. Some were too harsh, others were too fragrant. So Mrs. Chaykows-ki worked on products at her home, testing them on her accommodating husband and children. She researched and tested formulas for soaps, shower bombs, bath salts, bubble baths, scrubs and lotions. In the end, she cre-ated products that worked for everyone.

She made products for those with sensi-tive skin and fragrances that created a feel-ing of energy, relaxation or holiday memo-ries. Sugar scrubs that had the texture she and her clients craved. And amazingly relax-ing bubble baths. Her clients loved the hand-made products. Soon she was making more and more of them and selling them from her home. For 10 years she sold her products at

craft shows and trade shows, traveling al-most every weekend.

Last year, Mrs. Chaykowski decided it was time to make her dream a reality and open her own store. With the help of busi-ness partner Cathy Mott, Mrs. Chaykowski, 43, opened Bare Attitude Bath and Body at 7 N. Franklin St. in the heart of downtown Chagrin Falls in October of 2015.

To truly understand the joy of this place, one has to go there and take a deep breath. The store smells heavenly, and each little display has a different fragrance. There are more than 20 dif-ferent bath and shower bombs and numerous kinds of soaps, including olive oil and even a soap for dogs. One of her most popular sellers is an oatmeal soap that helps relieve the symp-toms of poison oak and poison ivy. Beach Bum Olive Oil Bar, Solar Flare Sea Salt Bar, Cedar-wood Citrus Bar, Pink Berry Mimosa Mineral Soak, Spellbound Bath Bomb, Black Raspber-ry Vanilla Bath Bomb. Ahh, breathe it in.

There is also a gift basket making station at Bare Attitudes.

“I find that people enjoy picking out the exact fragrances and products for their friends or family members. I offer gift bas-

kets from as small as one soap and one lotion to a large basket filled with many items,” Mrs. Chaykowski said.

The packaging of each of her products adds a homemade, crafted specifically for you, feel to each product. Mrs. Chaykowski designed the packaging herself. When she takes custom-ers through her store, she listens and carefully makes suggestions for what they might like.

She encourages customers to try out the products before buying in a testing corner, complete with a working faucet and sink bowl. Other offerings are displayed on antique items like a farmhouse table or a measuring scale, all retrieved and repurposed from the barn on the family farm in Mantua. The store itself is a lit-tle cove of exposed brick and beautiful outdoor light, an escape from the stresses of a long day.

“The charm of our products is that all of our products are handmade with love,” Mrs. Chaykowski said. “For that reason they will vary in color, size, shape, scent and texture from batch to batch.”

When visiting downtown Chagrin Falls, a stop at the Bare Attitudes Bath and Body shop is sure to be a fabulous little escape for all of your senses. ■

Photo by Peggy Turbett

Leah Chaykowski creates her own products sold at Bare Attitude Bath and Body in Chagrin Falls.

24 Chagrin Valley Magazine 2016-17 2016-17 Chagrin Valley Magazine 2520 Chagrin Valley Magazine 2016-17

Quaint little town with the best businesses around!C HAG R I N

CHAGRIN PET, GARDEN & POWER EQUIPMENT188 SOLON ROAD • CHAGRIN FALLS • 440-247-3118

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The Best Selection for Cards v Candy v Stationery Children’s Gifts v Souvenirs

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Cascades Boutique is the place to shop for unique, one-of-a kind women’s fashions.

We carry contemporary clothing for women of all ages. Whether it’s work, a night out, or weekend casual, stop in and we’ll help

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Kathryn M. Lyle, CPA, [email protected]

57 E. Washington St., Chagrin Falls440-447-1178 fax 424-204-0704

www.lylecpa.comMember of OSCPA, NACVA and CPAConnect C

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Lyle & Associates CPAFinancialAccountAbility

Founded in 1989, we work withclients to further their business and personal financial goals.

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ELECTROLYSISPermanent Removal of Unwanted Hair

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2016-17 Chagrin Valley Magazine 21


YOUR HOMETOWNCHAGRIN FALLSFor a complete list of shops, restaurants and events go to

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We are a 501 (c) (3) non-profit community volunteer organization dedicated to the

preservation, economic vitality, lifestyle and environment of the historic Chagrin Falls.

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516 E. Washington Street | Chagrin Falls | 440-247-6421 In The Gallery

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In the Chagrin Valley, beauty has a name...

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26 Chagrin Valley Magazine 2016-17 2016-17 Chagrin Valley Magazine 2722 Chagrin Valley Magazine 2016-17


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IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN CHAGRIN FALLS

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By KRISTA S. KANO

Golfers are always looking for a new challenge and with 856 courses in Ohio, they don’t have to travel far to find a fresh green. Luckily for golfers in the Chagrin

Valley, some of the most challenging and beautiful courses also happen to be public, like the Wicked Woods in Newbury and Tan-glewood in Bainbridge.

TanglewoodThe 18-hole, par 72 Tanglewood Golf

Course, located within the Tanglewood Lake Community off of Route 306 was built and opened in 1968 and plays about 1,700 yards from the back tees. Designed by William F. Mitchell, a highly regarded member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the course sits among 130 acres of rolling

Photo by Alana Clark

Tanglewood in Bainbridge Township is one of the popular public golf courses in the Chagrin Valley.


• Musicals

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22 Chagrin Valley Magazine 2016-17



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hills, featuring bent grass tees and fairways.“The unique thing about Tanglewood is

that it is built on a heavily wooded terrain, so even though we’re in a highly populated area, when you’re out playing you see very few homes,” said General Manager Tom Scheetz. “There are over 700 homes in this development, but you feel like you’re in a park-like setting.”

According to Mr. Scheetz, the course is known for its greens being fast and smooth, which made it a prime spot for PGA and LPGA tournaments in the 1970s. In 1972, the PGA held its Cleveland Open at the course, which was won by David Graham of Australia. The LPGA held its one-year only event, the Babe Zaharias Classic at the course in 1976, with Judy Rankin winning by just one stroke over Jane Blalock.

During that time, and up until 2008, the course was a private club. It was turned into a public course when the homeowners as-sociation who owns the land, leased it to Warren Wolfson and Mark Tiefel, who pur-chased the business.

Today, the course is used by area schools like Kenston and Gilmour and starting this year, the Chagrin Falls girls golf team. It also plays host to the North Coast Junior Tour, the premier local tournament in the area, as well as many golf outings for re-gional organizations.

Wicked WoodsSome people buy retirement homes.

Some buy a boat or travel. Ed and Connie Babcock bought a golf course.

Since purchasing the 180-acre course in Newbury in March of 2015, Mr. and Mrs. Babcock have been working to restore the property to its former glory, embracing its, and their, Geauga history.

Mr. Babcock’s family founded Munson and Mrs. Babcock attended Notre Dame Academy when it was still an all-girls

school. They met in college when Mr. Bab-cock was at the Ohio State University and Mrs. Babcock was at Kent State University, though it would take them another 20 years to elope.

When Mr. Babcock graduated with a de-gree in history, he went into the family busi-ness, Auto Junction in Chardon, which he still owns and operates.

Mr. Babock grew up golfing and has golfed most of the courses in the county, as well as in Cuyahoga and Lake counties, and had a connection to the golf course long before he purchased it. His father’s friend, Tucker Pfouts, founded the golf course and opened it on May 21, 1991. The Babcocks live five minutes from the course, and Mr. Babcock drove past it every day on his way to work.

“I’ve always had an affinity for golf and property and this is such a beautiful piece of land,” Mr. Babcock said. “Connie and I both thought we could fix it up and bring it back to its former glory.”

The previous owners had both died and PNC Bank held it in trust for five years be-fore the Babcocks purchased it.

“Fortunately, they kept it open, but they didn’t give it the tender love and care it needed,” Mr. Babcock said.

When they first purchased the course, Mrs. Babcock said they hauled out about a semi-dumpster and a half of clutter. Though the kitchen hadn’t been used in three years, there was still grease in the fryer, but what others may view as a burden, Mrs. Babcock embraces.

“I’m having so much fun. It’s a great challenge and immensely satisfying. It’s a lot of cleaning up, restoring, refurbishing and replacing. It was just deplorable, but it makes it very satisfying to see the before and after,” she said. “There’s always anoth-er project. There’s always something to do. Just fun projects.”

Opening the course in March last year made it difficult to secure many golf outings or leagues, but they did get some business and were happy with the feedback. Mr. Bab-cock said that many of the golfers he spoke to hadn’t been to the course in years and were impressed by the progress they’ve made, which the owner attributes to the diligent work of their superintendent, Orry Lehtonen.

“It’s a full 18, very challenging. It’s called Wicked Woods for a reason. There are a lot of trees, and it’s challenging but fair. You don’t have to hit 300 yards to do well here,” Mr. Babcock said.

Overlooking the course is the banquet hall, which comfortably fits 150 people and has been used for birthday parties, fund-raisers and weddings. It used to have faded paintings of British hunting scenes, but Mrs. Babcock had a different idea for the décor.

Photo by Philip Botta

Reviving Wicked Woods in Newbury Township is a work of love and dedication by Ed and Connie Babcock.

“This isn’t a hunting lodge, it’s a public course. We’re just try-ing to keep it what it is. It’s kind of like a state park, a little lodge-y feel to it, very comfortable. We wanted it warm and welcoming,” Mrs. Bab-cock said.

They kept the wood paneling, which was built from the trees that were felled when Mr. Pfouts first built the course, and lined the walls with old Geauga photos, representing most of Geauga’s townships and provided by Bill Jack-son, a crib-mate of Mr. Babcock’s and presi-dent of the Geauga Historical Society.

“If it was just based on golf we wouldn’t have tackled the project,” Mr. Babock said. “With this banquet room, I think that’s why we decided to go for it. If this pulls its weight we’ll be OK. Either one alone wouldn’t be a good project and hopefully it works. I’ll let you know in a few years!” ■



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River holds key to growth

People are attracted to the spectacular beauty of the Chagrin River. Yet, many don’t realize the impact it had on the growth of this area. But there is no doubt that the winding river paid a central role in the early development of the Village of Chagrin Falls and surrounding communities.

Many commercial activities depended on the Chagrin River as well as its Aurora branch. It’s no secret that the rivers attracted settlers here and then helped to spur devel-opment, business and residential growth.

Pioneer Noah Graves, most often given credit as the village founder, saw the rushing water and high falls in 1833 and saw a mill town. With that vision, mills and foundries began being constructed on the river includ-ing saw, paper, flour and woolen mills. Peg factories and iron foundries also popped up.

The town was based on New England mill towns. Hervy White developed Whitesburg dam and mill at what is now Whitesburg Park at the end of High Street.

Mills and foundries continued to be built along the river creating the need for sup-port services. The town needed blacksmiths, sawmill workers, teachers, storekeepers, lawyers and doctors and preachers.

The village became a center for com-merce and served surrounding communities established before Chagrin Falls

Don Barriball, a South Russell resident and author of the book “Mill Town on the Chagrin River – The History of Early Mills and Foundries in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, “ stat-ed that Mr. Graves realized the height of the natural falls was ideal to produce energy. He purchased about 200 acres as settlers from New England began arriving.

Nine dams were built on the river as peo-ple flocked to this area. Land was cleared and houses were built.

Industry operated by the water for the next 100 years, Mr. Barriball stated in the book, in the village that gained international recognition.

The village was incorporated in 1844. A millstone can be seen at Triangle Park in downtown Chagrin Falls and a partial mill-stone in Bell Street Park to remind everyone of the town’s heritage.

The partial millstone came from the grist mill where the stairs to the falls are located. Another mill stone is on private property at the corner of Water and West Washington streets.

The presence of the rivers influenced other settlements as well. To the south of Chagrin Falls, Adamson Bentley built a grist mill on the Aurora branch of the Chagrin River in what became Bentleyville. ■

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Television ads for national chains get start in heart of Chagrin Falls By VALERI FURST

See a commercial on TV for na-tional companies like Lowes, McDonalds or Kay Jewelers and you might expect that it was produced in New york, Los Angeles or Chicago. But those

ads, in fact, are created in Chagrin Falls by a small production house called R43.

Founder Billy Thomas started the com-pany in 2013 with partners Stacy Magee and Chad Liszt. While they all wear many hats, Mr. Thomas is the creative editor who over-sees the commercial storylines. Mr. Liszt specializes in digital effects design and com-position while Ms. Magee is the account rep-resentative and manages the business.

“It was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to run my own business,” said Mr. Thomas, 40. “When the production company I worked for laid me off and most of the staff, it seemed like the right time. Stacy and Chad agreed to come on board, and it’s taken off quicker than we ever could have imagined. Some clients came with us, but many of them we have gotten just through word of mouth.”

Born and raised in Russell Township, Mr. Thomas didn’t dream of a future involving cameras and editing equipment. He worked at Geauga Drilling & Supply helping to in-stall water systems and planned to major in business while attending John Carroll

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Billy Thomas is the creative editor at R43 Limited, a media production company in Chagrin Falls with national clients including McDonalds and Kay Jewelers.

University. Yet, the idea of working in TV piqued his interest so he switched his major to communications. An internship during his junior year turned into a full-time job, and in 2001, Mr. Thomas was hired at a pro-duction house in Beachwood.

His professional future was set. “There were lots of opportunities to

move to major markets, and we could have opened our business somewhere else, but part of owning your own company is being able to do some of the things you want to do, and my home is here,” Mr. Thomas said. “We have very loyal clients and while Cha-grin Falls may be off the beaten path, they like coming to this area where they can just walk across the street for a bite to eat, de-compress a little and enjoy the scenery,” he said of his location on North Main Street in the heart of downtown Chagrin Falls.

When asked what R43 means, Mr. Thom-as jokes it is the age when he plans to retire but admits it is something very personal that he would prefer not to divulge. Otherwise, Mr. Thomas is very open, obviously cre-ative and clearly concerned about helping his community. If he wasn’t in television production, Mr. Thomas said he would have been a firefighter, which he does part time in Russell.

“I went through the EMT and fire train-ing when I turned 30 and loved it. It can be tough fitting in 12-24 hour shifts with my full-time job but the work is so rewarding and the unit has become like a second fam-ily to me. It changes the way you look at things and what has and should have value in your life.”

Another project close to his heart is a video Mr. Thomas shoots and edits annually for the nonprofit organization Flashes of Hope which raises money to help children with cancer. Children are interviewed, and they talk about what they are going through and how they are dealing with their illness. Mr. Thomas has been doing these videos for seven years and calls them his most reward-ing and favorite project.

As for the future, R43 is growing rapidly, having doubled in size in just three years to six people. A move is imminent, but Mr. Thomas said the plan is to stay in Chagrin Falls. There is no interest in becoming super huge but rather, having creative control and working on projects that are challenging and fun, he said.

“It would be fun to do a music video or even a documentary. We produced an ad that ran just before the Super Bowl but have not had a commercial run during the game so that would be cool. So far, we have been very lucky. We have wonderful clients, work on interesting projects, and we get to do it on a national stage, all while living in an area that we love.” ■


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A dozen orchids in small pots line the desk in Ted Kruse’s second-floor office above Chagrin Pet, Garden & Power Equipment in Chagrin Falls.

“None blooming, but they will be,” Mr. Kruse said on a recent morning. “There’s another 40 at home.”

From an office window, Mr. Kruse looks down on his 2.5-acre complex on Solon Road. There’s the tractor showrooms, pallets of seasoned firewood and piles of garden mulch.

But you won’t find the 70-year-old businessman in his upstairs lookout too often. He’s too busy immersed in the day-to-day operation that evolved into an expression of some of the things he likes best in life.

“I enjoy gardening. I enjoy taking care of the lawn. I like taking care of animals,” said Mr. Kruse, who traces the delight to boyhood days on an Ohio farm.

Mr. Kruse is the son of a former Solon mayor, Robert Kruse, who also served on the school board and zoning board and was a leader in conceiving the zoning map that made for Solon’s strong industrial base. Kruse Drive in Solon carries the family name.

Ted Kruse called his father’s legacy “pret-ty special.” But it was 200 miles southwest of Solon, on his grandfather’s farm outside the village of New Knoxville in Auglaize Coun-ty, that Mr. Kruse tasted the rural and small-town life that would come to shape Chagrin Pet, Garden & Power Equipment.

“Going to the farm was the best thing there was,” Mr. Kruse recalled of family visits there on Thanksgiving and for a week every summer. “It was just wonderful.”

Mr. Kruse’s grandfather, Elmer Kruse, wasn’t always around. He was an under-secretary of agriculture during the Truman administration and worked on the Marshall Plan to help rebuild Western Europe econo-mies after World War II. Mr. Kruse’s Uncle Curt managed the farm during those years. To the young Ted Kruse, his family’s twice-a-year visits were idyllic.

After college, Mr. Kruse worked as a corporate accountant before going into con-struction, when he did occasional repair jobs for the garden store on the west fringe of Chagrin Falls.

“I said, ‘If you ever want to sell, call me,’” Mr. Kruse told the previous owner. “He did one day and said, ‘I’m going to move to Or-egon. Are you interested?’”

Mr. Kruse jumped, buying the operation with his brother, Don, in 1986. (Mr. Kruse acquired his brother’s share in 2008 when Don moved to Iowa).

Chagrin Falls, with its “center of town,” was a perfect fit for the young businessman.

“This is a very traditional community. I feel comfortable knowing the people that I do business with,” Mr. Kruse said. “It’s just part of my values, I guess. Friendship is im-portant. Taking care of people is important. you can treat people right and still make money.”

Mr. Kruse and his wife, Terri, and their five children had settled on a 20-acre farm in nearby South Russell. In time, all three of his sons would join the family business. Two daughters are teachers in Solon and Nordo-nia.

“This is what we call the frontstore,” Mr. Kruse said, leading a visitor through aisles piled with birdseed, a big selection of dog and cat food, and fancy pet treats with de-scriptions that make them seem fit for a din-ner plate more than a dog bowl – coconut

crunches, turkey and organic kale, a blend of duck meat and Bartlett pears.

“We have a loyal following,” Mr. Kruse said. “A lot of these foods are human-grade components. It’s not just stuff scraped off the floor.”

Open bins are stocked with cured byprod-ucts for dog chews – dried cattle hooves, sheep ears, chicken feet and other anatomi-cal parts.

Behind the front store is “the mill,” where workers bag up a high-grade bird mix. Stacks of animal feed loom in the rustic, peacefully gloomy interior.

The business that evolved into Chagrin

Pet started at this location in the 1930s as a hatchery. In 2012, to mark 80 years of cater-ing to household and barnyard animals, Mr. Kruse took the business back to its roots and resumed selling chicks.

About 400 fluff balls now go out the door every spring to supply a growing movement among homeowners to have family flocks. Chagrin Pet sells a high-protein mix for young pullets, and “laying crumbles” with lower protein and grit to promote healthy shellsfor chickens that are producing eggs.

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Family valuesTed Kruse & sons focus on service

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country, so Chagrin Pet has chow for those South American transplants. It has rabbit food, pig food and parrot food. Horse food is a major seller. The crisp smell of pine shav-ings for horse stalls wafts from one corner of the mill.

In the yard outside are parked rows of shiny tillers, riding lawnmowers and trac-tors destined for homeowners, commercial landscapers, municipalities and small farm operators. A separate two-story building has parts and service operations. There are sepa-rate showrooms for tractors from John Deere and Scag.

The business has 25 employees, including five full-time mechanics and five people on the service counter.

“The expression is, ‘Special orders don’t upset us,’” Mr. Kruse said. “We’re willing to help people solve problems. If they want to fix it themselves, we help them figure out how to do it.”

In downtown Chagrin Falls, longtime cus-tomer JoAnn Roeder said she’d just visited Chagrin Pet to buy some bug spray.

“It’s so accommodating,” she said. “If they don’t have it, they’ll see if they can find it. And they stand behind their products.”

Fireside Book Shop employee Ann Blake recalled getting her 177-pound mastiff, Eli, “five years ago today.” At the time, he was a 30-pound puppy.

“We got him late at night and the next

morning we went to Chagrin Pet and bought a huge cage, his food and water bowls, and his collar and dog food,” Ms. Blake said. “We go there every month for pet food. They have beautiful bird feeders, beautiful decora-tions for your house and garden. We buy our Christmas tree there every year.”

As Chagrin Pet expanded into new prod-uct lines and services, Mr. Kruse’s sons took on lead roles.

The oldest, Todd, 41, started helping in the warehouse and mill when he was 12 years old and went full time after graduat-ing from Ohio Wesleyan University. He runs the power equipment division and is general manager of the parts and service counter.

“I went to college obviously to get an education, but once I got there it became ap-parent to me that I loved Chagrin as a town. We moved here when I was in eighth grade,” Todd said. “It’s a good place to work, solid and steady. Working with family, in a small town, a 10-minute commute to and from work every day – it’s what I wanted to do. It’s just where I wanted to be.”

Travis, 39, studied finance at the Univer-sity of Pittsburgh, spent 15 years at PNC Bank and joined the family business three years ago as chief operating officer.

Kyle, 32, majored in business administra-tion at Kent State University and worked as a painter and at other labor jobs before join-ing the family store.

“What attracted me most was the small-business aspect of it and our level of cus-tomer service,” said Kyle, who oversees retail sales and manages the mill.

Asked about having his children follow in his footsteps brings the glint of a tear to Mr. Kruse. “I’m an emotional guy,” he said, without apology. “I’m a softie.”

Not when it comes to work, though. Mr. Kruse is on the job whenever the store is open – from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The store closes on Sun-days in July and August, “so I get some time off,” he said.

That doesn’t really alter what Mr. Kruse is up to, though. Like the potted orchids that spill from workplace to home, Mr. Kruse relaxes by tending to his garden and yard – “with all the things I enjoy.” ■

Ted Kruse, foreground, along with his sons, from left, Todd, Travis and Kyle Kruse, continue the family tradition of running Chagrin Pet, Garden & Power Equipment in Chagrin Falls.

Continued from page 37 Snow Bros. Appliance’s key to success is caring about customers, communityBy Lauri Gross

When Chester and Irving Snow opened Snow Brothers Appliance in 1922, in a storefront attached to their parent’s conve-nience store on Cleveland’s west side, they could not have envisioned the expansive, gleaming Lyndhurst showroom that Snow Bros. is today. Over the decades, the family moved the growing business to a location at St. Clair and 140th Street, and then to Rich-mond Heights, before choosing the current location in 1998. Today, siblings Sharon Bennett and Bill Kent own the store. Bill’s wife, Becky, and daughter Melissa also work there. Bill and Sharon are the grandchildren of Irving, so they and Melissa are the third and fourth generation at this family-owned operation.

Melissa, who is a sales associate and also does the majority of the store’s marketing, grew up in the family business. “Every year we have a sale in February,” she said. “Dur-ing the sale, my sisters and I would come


Snow Brothers Appliance has been a family run business since 1922. Now owned by Bill Kent, left and his sister Sharon Bennett, far right, the store is run with the help of Bill’s wife Becky Kent and daughter Melissa Kent, in Lyndhurst.Continued on page 40


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in and serve cake and grandma’s signature punch. As a little kid it was the coolest thing. I got to be in the hustle and bustle.” Melissa, who lives in Lakewood, began this ritual at about age 8 or 9. The annual Feb-ruary sale continues today, and visitors are still treated to cake and grandma’s punch.

“It’s really crazy when I think how, when we were in Richmond Heights, the showroom was a fraction of what it is now,” Melissa said. “It was meat and potatoes. We had the basics. Now you look at our showroom and it is in-credible how much it has expanded.”

“Since 1998, we have done a lot to im-prove the building,” she added. In a recent addition, they added 10,000 square feet to the showroom by converting a lunchroom, among other things. “Before that, we had a back gallery where we used to sell TVs. We got out of that and added about five display kitchens,” explained Melissa. “When my dad started out, everything was on paper and in a book. Today, if the Internet was down, I wouldn’t know what to do,” she added.

The store now occupies a higher-end niche and serves a clientele much better educated than in the past. “The industry has changed so much with platforms like Houzz and Pinterest,” said Melissa. “People know the features the products offer, which wasn’t the case before. Now they know what they want.”

Snow Bros. also works with kitchen design shops and contractors in the com-munity who refer clients to Snow Bros. or even conduct design workshops in the Snow Bros. showroom. Area chefs also partner with Snow Bros. for popular cooking dem-onstrations and classes.

The store’s community connections also include support of many local groups. “We try to support everyone, including local schools and churches and we try to focus on the American Cancer Society,” said Sharon, the sales manager. “That is our main char-ity throughout the year and we do events all year for that.” Sharon lives in Russell and helps organize a Relay for Life golf outing and the annual Relay for Life event at West Geauga Local Schools, where Sharon’s children attend. “We also sponsor little league and other teams for Lyndhurst and Highland Heights schools,” Sharon added. “And we support various parishes and other high school sports programs and yearbooks, including Kenston’s.”

Staying connected to the community through events like these, and through the years, means Snow Bros. enjoys support from many long-time loyal customers. “Customers say they remember when their parents shopped here,” Melissa said. “They love telling us those stories and it is always great for us to hear them.” ■

Continued from page 39 Greenhouse is rooted in generations of growersBy LAURI GROSS

Lowe’s Greenhouse in Bainbridge Town-ship was one of six area businesses to serve as an official florist for last summer’s Re-publican National Convention in Cleveland, beating out dozens of other local companies competing for the distinction.

For the RNC, Lowe’s decorated down-town Cleveland with trees and provided ar-rangements for other convention-related par-ties and venues, fulfilling requests that often came with very short notice.

In a way, Lowe’s path to the RNC began during the First World War, when European immigrants brought horticulture and business sense with them. They helped make this area one of the largest nursery growing businesses in the United States and it lead to the sprouting of many garden centers along the Route 306 corridor, many still thriving today. With gar-dening as a top leisure activity across the na-tion, a golden era for garden centers bloomed.

While serving in Belgium during World War I, Chagrin Falls native Carlton Lowe discovered begonias and introduced them at his family’s greenhouse in 1926. Mr. Lowe, a county commissioner, Chagrin Falls foot-

ball coach and one of the founders of the Bainbridge Fire Department, sold his bego-nias throughout the United States by way of a mail-order catalog. He ran Lowe’s Green-house until Bud and Ernestine Griff moved to rural Geauga County from Cleveland Heights and purchased Carlton Lowe’s business in 1953.

Route 306 was a dirt road then. Bud was a truck driver and neither he nor Ernestine knew a thing about flowers or plants. They

learned quickly and rebuilt many of Carl-ton’s old structures as they transformed the business. Eventually Bud Jr. and his wife, Lou, took over and later introduced the third generation of the Griff family to the busi-ness. Lou retired but Bud Jr. is still involved, even though he long ago handed over the reins to his son Jeff Griff, the current own-er and general manager. Jeff’s wife, Mary Lynn is the CFO and their grown daughters


Jeff Griff, president of Lowe’s Greenhouses, Florist and Gift Shop, is a familiar sight at the Bainbridge business along with his wife Mary Lynn Griff.



Chagrin Fine Jewelry glistens with familyBy SUE HOFFMAN

When a couple plans to become engaged, their first stop is of-ten the jewelry store to look for the perfect ring. They could be

searching for a traditional round solitaire, a princess cut diamond in a multi-stone set-ting, a vintage style or an entirely new de-sign.

“Today everyone wants something differ-ent,” said Dan Piunno, longtime owner of Chagrin Fine Jewelry. “Some people like the classic solitaire, always available in different flavors.

“But today, most customers are involved on the Internet,” Mr. Piunno said, while repairing jewelry in his studio beneath the store at 11 N. Franklin St. in Chagrin Falls. “They’re gathering pictures from Pinterest and Instagram. They’ll come in with their tablets or phones with three to 10 pictures of rings. They have their likes and dislikes. Maybe I have something close to what they want in stock.

“My job is to not only build the jewelry, but also to listen to the customer,” he said. “If we decide to do a full custom ring or a

modified ring, I will have more knowledge to work with.”

Often, he has to prepare a ring quickly. “Someone is planning to propose on Satur-day, and he needs the ring.”

For Mr. Piunno, 45, his task is to have the ring ready on time and exactly what the

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sometimes help out at large events. “When you are a small business like ours,

you wear many hats,” said Jeff, even as he pointed out that Lowe’s now employs 60 peo-ple. “I am also our landscape designer, and I spend a lot of time in marketing. Growing up, I spent time painting and potting plants. Over time, my position changed to include keeping up with technology and social media and be-ing what our community wants us to be.”

In fact, the community is never far from Jeff’s mind, as Lowe’s is a pick-up location for Geauga Family Farms, a local Commu-nity Supported Agriculture farm. Lowe’s also hosts community garage sales, and a winter farm market where area farmers sell their fresh goods. Lowe’s also offers classes, workshops, newsletters, and events such as

a Poinsettia Festival, Basil Festival, Easter Egg Hunt, cooking competition and more.

“These things – above and beyond any do-nations we make – keep us rooted to the local community and is a vital part of our business plan and what we are as a community,” Jeff said. “Being a community partner is the center of our core. That is who writes our pay check. You can’t just sell stuff and provide services. You have to be part of the community.”

Jeff is also involved with the Chagrin Valley Rotary Club and will serve as president of Cha-grin Valley Chamber of Commerce in 2018.

In the fall of 2015, Lowe’s welcomed the community to the grand opening of its new Wild Thistle Gift Shop, a beautiful boutique where shoppers find apparel, décor, gifts, fashion accessories, jewelry, candles, bird feeders, toys, collectibles, accent rugs, pet items and much more, amid Lowe’s enor-mous selection of annuals, perennials, hang-ing baskets, houseplants, trees, shrubs, and landscape services and floral departments.

“With the Cavs’ championship,” Jeff said, “it feels like we are mirroring the renaissance in Cleveland. It seems like good things and posi-tivity builds momentum and builds on itself. As we grow and all the positive response we have gotten from the Wild Thistle Gift Shop and all the positivity from the RNC, it feels like we are on the same track as the city (of Cleveland).

“You have to work at it. It doesn’t happen by itself, but this is an exciting city and we feel that excitement at work,” Jeff continued. “It’s still work, but it is much more palatable when it’s all moving in a positive direction.” ■


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“Being a community part-ner is the center of our core. That is who writes our pay check. You can’t just sell stuff and provide services. You have to be part of the community.”


Dan Piunno, with his wife Emily, son Jansen and daughter Moraya. Chagrin Fine Jewelry was established in 1978 by Mr. Piunno’s father and carries gemstone and heirloom jewelry.Continued on page 44


customer wanted.“I’m a perfectionist,” he said. “That’s

great for two reasons. It’s done right. And I don’t have to do it again.”

Mr. Piunno, who’s been involved in the jewelry business since he was 15, speaks from 30 years of personal experience in addition to knowledge passed down by his family.

His late father, Rod, started the jewelry store, originally about a block away at 42 N. Main St. (where Umami is now located) in 1952. His mother Marlene, who currently resides in Bainbridge Township, helped his father with bookkeeping and sales.

“My father had polio when he was a kid and he had limited mobility. So his uncle taught him how to repair watches. He was phenomenal, and I can prove it.”

Mr. Piunno took a box out of a cabinet with a variety of wind-up watches of yes-teryear – many with a fascinating mosaic of tiny, intricate mechanisms which his father

had repaired. Inside the back covers, they had all been stamped with his father’s initials and the date he had worked on them. Mr. Pi-unno wears one of them – a Ball Trainmaster with bold numbers and perfect time. “I like it because it’s easy to read.”

Growing up in Mayfield with two broth-ers, Mr. Piunno had an early fascination with jewelry. On Saturdays, he went to work with his father, cleaning bracelets and watches and learning how to melt gold. He increased his hours after learning how to drive. A graduate of Mayfield High School, he ap-prenticed for five years at no pay with master jeweler Steve Papp in Solon, one of several jewelers his father had met by doing jewelry repairs for them.

“I did a lot of their challenging repair work,” recalled Mr. Piunno, who also took courses through the Gemological Institute of America on diamonds and semiprecious stones.

At age 23, Mr. Piunno took the owner-ship at Chagrin Fine Jewelry after his father passed away. The store moved to its current 1,000-square-foot location in 2007. “We needed more space in the sales area and I re-ally needed more work space in my studio.”

Over the years, Mr. Piunno has prided himself on his custom jewelry creations. He often begins with a wax replica that can be modified until the customer is completely satisfied. The piece is then cast in the desired metal and hand finished.

“I like to build heirlooms,” he said. “I would like to think I’m building jewelry for generations.”

Heirlooms often begin with a piece of in-herited jewelry that needs restoration. They can also emerge from a memory.

“People always remember a piece of jew-elry that fascinated them as a child. you might be an emerald person because you remember that your aunt wore a beautiful one.”

In crafting rings, Mr. Piunno studies the setting techniques demonstrated in videos on

websites of world premier jewelers such as Tiffany & Co. and Cartier. “I study how they sharpen their tools and their setting style so that I can duplicate it. It’s pretty fascinating.”

His store showcases leading designers in traditional and modern jewelry, with bridal rings by 115-year-old jewelry maker A. Jaffe, 88 Rue Du Rhone Swiss luxury watches, Ke-lim Jewelry Design sterling silver bracelets and earrings, Art Carved rings, Rembrandt charms, timeless Doves creations and the lat-est pieces by Holly yashi. Mr. Piunno plans to also feature pieces by local jewelry artists in the family store.

In addition to jewelry creation and sales, the store does jewelry repair, jewelry resto-ration and appraisals.

Mr. Piunno is assisted in the business by his wife Emily, who helps with sales, book-keeping and advertising. “She’s kind of like me – we never quit,” he quipped.

The Piunnos and their two children – Mo-raya, 8, and Jansen, 10, both Kenston stu-dents – live on a 10-acre farm in Auburn. The family grows hops, yukon potatoes, kale and blueberries.

They are also growing about 900 heads of garlic originally cultivated in Mr. Piunno’s grandfather’s hometown of Campobasso, Italy. “I started with eight plants,” he re-marked.

Mr. Piunno said he has learned so much over the years, including some important lessons from his customers. years ago, one elderly woman, who appeared to be of mod-est means, often came into his store. She car-ried years of receipts in her purse and took the bus each day to work, he recalled.

Through her, he learned to not judge people by their appearance and to continue treating everyone the same. The woman purchased a 2-carat diamond ring for $25,000. “She was really happy with it, and she wore it.”

Mr. Piunno looks forward to pleasing and learning from many more customers in the years to come. ■

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Continued from page 43 Throwbacks to five and dimes Two family hardware stores thriving on personal service and loyal customersBy VALERI FURST

It’s a David versus Goliath story. Two small family owned hardware stores, located just a few miles apart, do what they can to thrive against the mighty big box stores. At Chagrin Valley Hardware in Chagrin Falls, the owners offer tradition. When people enter the store, they might feel as though they have stepped back in time. Antiques and oddities are mixed in with the various standard tools and supplies found at your av-erage hardware retailer. Much of the floor, shelving and structure date back to when the store first opened in 1857. Yet the owners wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s by design. We wanted to keep that old-time flavor so we stock up on traditional hardware items and also stuff you won’t find anywhere else. Go through the drawers and

you’ll find antique corn huskers and horse-shoe nails. There’s a different smell, a dif-ferent atmosphere that you don’t get in any other store,” said owner Steve Shutts.

At Kredo Hardware in Pepper Pike, own-er Chris Denkins touts his store’s affiliation with True Value, the second largest retail


Chagrin Hardware is run by third-generation Steve Shutts, who manages the store with help from siblings Susie Johnson and Jack Shutts on the main strip in Chagrin Falls.


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“I like to build heirlooms. I would like to think I’m building jewelry for generations.” — Dan Piunno

46 Chagrin Valley Magazine 2016-17

hardware supplier in the United States. He focuses on seasonal sale items such as grills in the summer and snow blowers in the win-ter. Still, with limited floor space, 49-year-old Mr. Denkins says the key to success is personal service.

“If a person is building or remodeling a house, they aren’t coming here. We are prob-lem solvers so when people come in to our store, they are relying on our assistance and knowledge to help them resolve an issue. They get quick, friendly, personal service and usually, nine out of ten times we can solve their problem right away,” Mr. Den-kins said.

Mr. Shutts agrees that staying in touch with the community and knowing your cus-tomers gives them an edge in the market. The store has gone through a number of owners. His parents, Ken and Jean took over in 1965. Mr. Shutts had no plans to work in the family business but after graduating from Ohio University he found himself back home working alongside his siblings Susie, Jack and a now retired brother, Ken Jr. The kids, who all grew up in South Russell, be-came owners themselves in 1976 and love the fact that the people they’ve known for years along with the children of their former teachers and neighbors are now customers.

Mr. Denkins traveled a different route to the family business. His father, Jim, owned an auto parts distribution company and in 1970 merged that with Kredo Industrial Sup-ply which had been in business since 1898. Out of that sprung Kredo Hardware which, at its height, had 11 locations around the area. Mr. Denkins has fond memories of when he was 5 years old sitting with his siblings on old stools filling boxes with nuts and bolts. Mr. Denkins went away to college and even-tually moved to Colorado where he skied and worked as a bike mechanic for several years. In 1999, his father needed help run-ning the company and Mr. Denkins returned to the Chagrin Valley. The economy had changed; big box retailers had gobbled up a good portion of the market, and a number of

their stores had closed. In 2006, Mr. Denkins bought the business which now consists of two stores – the one in Pepper Pike and an-other in Broadview Heights.

“We are kind of the last remains of the old five and dime stores but we are hanging in there. I am the only full-timer here. I have up to 20 part-time employees, some high school or college students and some older gentlemen who are semi-retired who still want to work

and remain active. The hardest part is being responsible for everything and working all the time. Not sure what I would do otherwise be-cause this is what I do and what I know. Just like any job, there are good and bad days, but overall I like it.” Mr. Denkins said.

Mr. Shutts calls his business a “niche” and also admits to seeing a lot of seven day work weeks. It’s one of the reasons why both men don’t know if there will be a next generation for their stores. In Pepper Pike, Mr. Denkins rents his space in Landerwood Plaza and questions whether a community hardware store is sustainable for the long haul. The Shutts family owns their building and claim that they don’t really think too much about tomorrow, only today.

Mr. Shutts said, “This is our life. If we wanted vacations or more money, we wouldn’t be doing this year after year. My brother Jack gave up a teaching career be-cause we needed him. We have a very loyal customer core and that is what has kept us in business. Will there always be a Chagrin Hardware? I don’t know, but I hope so.” ■

Chris Denkins, owner of Kredo Hardware in Pepper Pike, says personal service is his key to success.


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THE PLACE TO GO WHEN YOU WANT TO KNOW.

Before you dine, drink, explore, buy, rent, relax or learn, visit the Chamber first!

From the best restaurants to the best shopping, fine arts to fitness centers, if you are looking for information on anything and everything that is happening in the Chagrin Valley, you can find it all at the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce. With over 500 members, the Chamber has its finger on the pulse of the entire Chagrin Valley. We know what is going on, when it is happening and why you should be there.

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HunTing VALLeYpopulation of

705 8 sq. miles

established in

1924$970,300 median home costSchool district: Orange

gATes MiLLspopulation of

2,256 9.1 sq. miles

established in

1920$326,900 median home costSchool district: Mayfield

RusseLLpopulation of

5,609 19.2 sq. miles

established in

1827$213,150 median home costSchool district: West Geauga

sOuTH RusseLLpopulation of

3,921 5 sq. miles

established in

1923$284,030 median home costSchool district: Chagrin Falls

AuBuRn TOWnsHiPpopulation of

6,035 25 sq. miles

established in

1817$266,310 median home costSchool district: Kenston

neWBuRY TOWnsHiPpopulation of

5,977 25 sq. miles

established in

1817$96,920 median home costSchool district: Newbury

PePPeR Pikepopulation of

5,694 7.5 sq. miles

established in


WOODMeRepopulation of

746 0.33 sq. miles

established in


ORAngepopulation of

3,259 3.82 sq. miles

established in


MOReLAnD HiLLspopulation of

3,032 7.23 sq. miles

established in

1929$393,520 average home costSchool district: Orange

CHAgRin FALLspopulation of

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BAinBRiDge TOWnsHiPpopulation of

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1817$236,510 median home costSchool district: Kenston

KEY:AuburnBainbridgeBentleyvilleChagrin FallsGates MillsHunting Valley

Moreland HillsNewburyOrangePepper PikeRussellSouth Russell Woodmere

Chagrin Falls 168 90%

Kenston 245 92%

Mayfield 339 90%

Newbury 49 71%

Orange 161 98%

West Geauga 187 86%

Gilmour Academy, Boarding 115 90%

Hathaway Brown, All girls, K-12 85 100%

Hawken, K-12 113 100%

Laurel School, All Girls, K-12 64 100%

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin 169 97%

University School, all boys, K-12 104 100%

13 communities,1 valleyThe Chagrin Valley is a study in contrasts. It extends from the quarter-square mile community of Woodmere and quaint Village of Chagrin Falls, both packed with upscale stores and lovely homes, to the sprawling countryside of Bainbridge, Russell and beyond. Lush green parks teeming with plant and animal life are true natural jewels of the area cherished and protected by residents.

Profile: The Chagrin ValleySchools and comfortable living are just two of the reasons so many people decide to live in the Chagrin Valley.

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KEY: - Park territories

- Non Valley communities

- Valley community boundaries

- Rivers, streams and creeks

- Major roads and highways

- County boundary

BenTLeYViLLepopulation of

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A family blooms at BreezewoodBy LAURI GROSS

Customers browsing the trees and shrubs at Breezewood Gardens & Gifts in Bain-bridge pass through a beautiful garden with a stone patio out back.

Building it was a community effort in memory of Richard Kay, who ran the busi-ness with his wife, Doni, after they pur-chased it in 1976. It holds so many memo-ries. Richard and Doni’s daughter Whitney was married there, and their son David had his wedding reception there as well.

Richard passed away in 2004 when Whit-ney and David were college students.

“All the nurseries and vendors and garden centers in the area donated plant material and labor to build the memorial garden for my dad,” Whitney said. “David and another employee built the patio. Customers still talk about what an impact my dad had. He was the backbone of the business. He got it to the place where we can keep it going for him. It was his work ethic.”

“Richard was a horticulturist and he wanted a garden center,” Doni said. “The garden cen-ter was here. It was called Breezewood Garden Center. We bought it from Bob Tomko in 1976.


David Kay, his sister Whitney Kay Ickes and mother Doni Kay Sutliff gather at the memorial gazebo dedicated to Mrs. Sutliff’s late husband Richard Kay at Breezewood Gardens and Gifts. The family bought the Bainbridge business in 1976.

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We opened on Valentine’s Day that year, with about eight employees. We did landscaping, and starting right from beginning, we had a gift shop. We opened the florist shop about five years later. It was a mini version of what it is now.”

What it is now, after nine remodels and four decades of growth, is a lush greenhouse, a nursery stocked with trees and shrubs with a five-year guarantee, apparel, gifts and home de-cor, a floral shop and a landscape design-build service. But it is also a community gathering place, a generous supporter of local causes and a place for families to build memories.

Doni – who is now married to Walter Sutliff – has worked the whole 40 years. Al-though she has cut back her hours and spends

winter away from Northeast Ohio, she is still one of the business owners, a title she now shares with Whitney and David. They all wear many hats but Doni focuses on the apparel part of the business. David runs the perennials, trees and landscape division, and Whitney handles annuals and the business end, including computers and scheduling. Employment varies by the season but they generally have a staff of about 60 on hand.

David said, “We support the community be-cause the community has always supported us. We are lucky to live in a place with good loyal customers and we want to help them.”

Breezewood routinely donates to area schools, police and fire departments, Habitat for Humanity, Geauga Humane Society’s Res-cue Village, Race for the Cure, cancer research,

children’s diabetes, child adoption, Eagle Scouts and other groups. In the fall, the com-munity comes together at Breezewood’s Wine and Cheese Night, the proceeds from which go to the Bainbridge Area Food for Friends Food Bank. There is also a Fall Fest with plenty of family activities. Around Christmastime, shop-pers who donate a toy for the Chagrin Falls Park Community Center receive a free poin-settia. At Easter, little ones enjoy searching for about 4,000 Easter eggs in two different hunts.

“It is a madhouse,” laughed Whitney. “Some years we have to plow snow for the egg hunts, or it can be 75 degrees. It’s fun to watch the kids.”

Whitney and David grew up at Breezewood. “Dad worked seven days a week so Mom

brought us up here,” David said.“It was fun for us,” Whitney said. “We

were part of the business and the family and we learned a lot. We could run the register by age seven.”

“We gave David his own stand, where he used to sell Christmas trees,” his mother Doni said.

Then Richard became ill. “Whitney took a semester off from college and helped me run the business,” Doni recalled, “and then Richard passed away in 2004.”

Today, Whitney and David each have two toddlers.

“It’s fun to watch them come up here and run around and love it, like we did,” David said.

“We have a love for the business that my dad had,” said Whitney. ■

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Chad Schreibman, left, and David Schreibman carry on the family business at Alson Jewelers now located on Chagrin Boulevard in Woodmere.

Fourth generation keeps personal touchBy VALERI FURST

What started in Poland more than a century ago has turned into a family legacy here in the Chagrin Valley. David Schreibman, 50, and

his 47-year-old brother Chad own and man-age Alson Jewelers on Chagrin Boulevard in Woodmere, carrying on a tradition that is now in its fourth generation. Their great-grandfather Alvin was a jeweler and watch-maker in Poland who immigrated to the United States in the 1920s with his two sons.

“They did what they could to survive, re-pairing watches but also selling different things like newspapers and balloons. Eventually they were able to bring the rest of the family to America, and in 1931 our grandfather opened a jewelry store on (East) 55th and Broadway in Cleveland called Alvin and Sons,” Chad said. “There were several jewelry stores in that neighborhood, including one that was run by-our great-uncle Willie who was Alvin’s broth-er. It was all friendly competition but today, we are the only one still in business.”

Alvin’s children, Richard, Larry and Marcia, eventually took over the business, and in 1964, changed the name to Alson Jewelers. Richard’s

sons Chad and David had good childhood memories of working in the store and decided they wanted to follow in their family’s foot-steps after graduating from college.

“It’s an uplifting business,” David said. “When someone buys a piece of jewelry, it is usually because they are celebrating a happy occasion, whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, the birth of a child or something else. We get to share those special moments with our custom-ers, some of whom we have known for years.”

In 2002, the brothers decided they wanted to expand the business. Both are Orange High School graduates and still live in the area with their respective families. David and his wife Jill have three children and live in Moreland Hills. Chad and his wife Stefanie have four children and live in Pepper Pike. With such strong ties to the community, the location in Woodmere seemed like a solid choice.

“There wasn’t much here at the time other than the mall with a couple of shops, a bowl-ing alley and a Bob’s Big Boy,” David said. “But we knew the street had great potential to be a shopping hub because of its location and highway access. While many of our cus-tomers come from the eastside, we also pull from the south and western suburbs so we wanted to be accessible.”

With a 7,000-square-foot store, the brothers have a staff of 16, including a watch repairman and jewelry designer on site. They can also showcase their own jewelry designs, as well as popular name brands such as David Yurman, Ippolita, Rolex, Cartier and more. Generally, only department stores such as Saks Fifth Ave-nue have the space to offer such a wide variety.

“Because of our size we get to travel out of town to jewelry shows to see what is new and exciting,” Chad said. “The biggest in the world is in Basel, Switzerland which is where we found Shinola, a watch manufacturer that is actually based in Detroit. We were among the first to offer them in the U.S.”

Their father, Richard, is 78 and retired, but he still comes in to the store most days, ex-plaining he never saw the business as work.While his sons are “100 percent in charge,” Richard said he likes to talk with the customers and visit with the staff, one of whom has been with the company more than 30 years. Rich-ard has 13 grandchildren, but it has yet to be seen whether one of them will join the family business. He wants them to go out in the world and experience life on their own before making that decision. Still, Richard and his sons hope that ultimately one of them will want to carry on the legacy into a fifth generation. ■

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Inviting décor sets stage for authentic and satisfying fare By ALISON GRANT

Step into the twinkling interior of PepperMint Thai Cuisine, located in a bland strip mall off a traffic roundabout in Pepper Pike, and the scene is set for an exotic culinary voyage.

A gilded Buddah gleams in a recessed niche. Large pictures of Thai kings, No. 5 and No. 9 in the monarchy’s succession, sur-vey the rectangular space with stately calm. On a half wall amid the dark polished tables, a replica of a sumptuous royal barge shakes glinting light into the room.

Owners Sunny (Saowanee) and Matt (Su-phasin) Kanegkasikorn brought many of the decorations back from a trip to Thailand in 2014. Matt had graduated from cooking school there more than two decades earlier, learning how to make savory pot stickers, piquant hot-and-sour soup, fragrant chicken satay and the ever-popular rice noodle pad thai. After moving to the U.S., he began rec-reating the mouthwatering dishes, first in Boston and then in Northeast Ohio.

But not always recreated as ingredient-by-ingredient copies.

Mr. Kanegkasikorn, 51, said some of the dishes at PepperMint Thai are tailored ver-sions of the cuisine of his native country. Though it’s often said that food is a language that transcends barriers – sharing a delicious supper may be one of the fastest ways to make a connection between cultures – some-times a bit of translation is in order.

“I’ve been here 20 years. I know Ameri-cans, what they like,” said Mr. Kanegka-sikorn, who is head chef at PepperMint Thai. Mr. Kanegkasikorn spent five years experimenting with dishes, adapting some recipes and discarding others before settling on today’s extensive lineup. For example, the mouth-puckering intensity of tamarind can be a bit much for some local diners, so the restaurant usually substitutes vinegar to deliver a gentler sour taste.

The restaurant handles the classics beau-tifully, while offering a range of dishes be-yond basic curries and noodles for the more adventurous. It also prepares dishes accord-ing to preference, so have the kitchen crank heat and spice up, or down, if you like.

Along with chewy pot stickers and skew-ers of chicken or beef satay, the dozen ap-

petizers include a shrimp dumpling called shumai and fried tofu triangles served with a cool cucumber sauce. Among the soups is a seafood coconut bowl seasoned with the gingery Thai herb galangal, and one of the salads is composed of seaweed.

A quintet of traditional curries and six salmon plates account for some of the most popular dishes. There are more than 20 rice, noodle, fried rice and tofu dishes to pick from, such as spicy and mild versions of pad thai, and a typical Bangkok dish of soft wide noodles fried with chicken called Crazy Noodle.

The 10 grilled plates include something very American and familiar, top sirloin steak with steamed vegetables, but served with a side of the faraway, tamarind chili gar-lic sauce. A dozen signature dishes feature

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Saowanee (Sunny) Kanegkasikorn is part of the husband-wife team behind PepperMint Thai Cuisine in Pepper Pike.

Crispy half boneless roasted duck is sliced and glazed with chef’s spicy sauce at PepperMint Thai Cuisine restaurant in Pepper Pike.


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sautéed seafood, chicken and duck. Coventry Rd. Madness, a mixture of

shrimp, scallops, squid and mussels in a spicy Thai basil sauce, is a nod to the Kanegkasikorns earlier restaurant in the Conventry neighborhood of Cleveland Heights, the Mint Café. (It closed in 2010 so they could concentrate on their Pepper Pike business).

The 90-seat PepperMint Thai also mixes

things up in its design. Walk in one day and the décor may be changed from when you were last in, thanks to a storehouse of glimmering statues and other decorations rotated into the dining room to keep things fresh. The mood is kept to one of crisp tran-quility.

PepperMint’s owners didn’t know each other when they arrived in the United States from northern provinces of Thailand in the early 1990s. Mr. Kanegkasikorn was on a tourist visa, Mrs. Kanegkasikorn came over

for a summer to study English at Boston College.

He felt at home in the climate in New England – a relief from the heat, humidity and insects of his native land, he said with laugh. She decided to keep pursuing lan-guage studies.

The two met in Boston, where Mrs. Kanegkasikorn started working as a server in an aunt’s restaurant, Lemon Tree Mint Café, and he was cooking at another eatery, the Lemon Grass Restaurant. They fell for each other, married and in 2005, moved to Northeast Ohio, following a family friend who had located here.

“We took a gamble,” said Mrs. Kaneg-kasikorn, 43, who often works 16 hours a day, seven days a week, between hosting the front of the house at PepperMint Thai and taking care of the family’s home in Orange. “We put everything into this business.”

Mr. Kanegkasikorn, wearing a rumpled Longaberger Golf Club polo shirt, his thick black hair escaping from under a baseball cap, said the lulls between lunch and dinner at the restaurant sometimes let him get away for a golf game.

With their packed schedules, the Kaneg-kasikorns eat most of their meals at the restaurant. They favor traditional Thai fare, with high heat levels and the sticky, tart pulp of the tamarind. The couple’s 14-year-old son, Nathan, is a fan of fried chicken, pizza and spaghetti and meatballs, his parents said with a shrug.

As for the customers of PepperMint Thai? The kitchen will cook and season to your specifications. Wherever you land, expect to be blissfully sated. ■


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Corner market café satisfies appetites with healthy bitesBy BETTY WEIBEL

As the sun starts to rise and you drive into the Village of Chagrin Falls, a warm glow from the gateway to town draws you to the black and white awning of Lemon

Falls at the corner of North Main Street and Orange Street. There is a delicious aroma of fresh baked goods and rich coffee coming from inside as co-owners Jim Linhart and Pablo Montiel bustle to update the chalk-board menu with the day’s fresh features. When the timer in the tiny kitchen goes off, they hurry to take an-other tray from the oven and fill their cases with rich treats for the day.

This is just another day for Mr. Linhart of Pepper Pike and Mr. Montiel of Auburn Township who opened their unique gourmet café and market four years ago even though people told them their Chagrin Falls location would never work.

“Everyone thought it was a bad location because so many businesses here failed, but it has been great,” Mr. Montiel said. “At the time we opened we felt like pioneers because the focus of business in Chagrin Falls was in the center of town and we were at the entry into the village. But now cus-tomers don’t hesitate to come to this end of town whether it is to sit down and eat breakfast or lunch, or take-out food for

Lemon Falls 95 North Main St.Chagrin Falls440-247-8000Lemonfalls.com

Lobster salad is a favorite at Lemon Falls.

Photos by Peggy Turbett Continued on page 58



Sali McSherry treats patrons like friends nightly at the Paris Room restaurant tucked in the walkout basement of the 1880s downtown Chagrin Falls Davidian building at 7 N. Franklin St. She took one look at the entrance around the back of the building and thought she was in Paris again.

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Lemon Falls is a hybrid. “This town needs the café-market and we are different from anything else. Our market shelves are stocked with products, many of them from local vendors like Garden of Flavor Juices from Chagrin Falls, Vida’s Homemade Pas-ta Noodles from Euclid and even our own house-made seasoned mixed nuts. We give our customers options so they can keep com-ing back,” Mr. Linhart said.

During a typical visit, customer may range from coffee drinkers discovering the pleasures of the charming café to an office manager ordering 35 box lunches for a busi-ness meeting later in the week. Then there’s the couple visiting from out of town picking up items for a gift basket for their dog-sitter including Geauga County maple syrup, per-haps a jar of Draeger’s hot fudge. Nothing can beat that! ■

Blueberry scones sparkle with sweetness.

Jim Linhart and Pablo Montiel, are co-owners of Lemon Falls. This café-market offers delicious, healthy food that is vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free for dining in or take-out, as well as catering services, boxed lunches and more.


their workplace or home, which is why we stay open until dinnertime.”

Another reason Lemon Falls’ popularity has grown is that the owners have a talent for listening to their customers and satis-fying their appetites. And what have they heard? “Many of our customers want de-licious healthy food that is vegan, gluten-free, nondairy. We know that and don’t use preservatives when we make our fresh soups, salads and other meals,” Mr. Mon-tiel said. Comfort foods on the menu such as macaroni and cheese, flaky chicken pot-pies and lasagna are very popular. Anyone who might stop in to pick up dinner has a wide variety of choices for a range of diets and tastes in their home so everyone will be happy.

Many delight in stopping at the café for breakfast thanks to the unique offerings of hot coffee or tea with fresh-made breakfast sandwiches like the fried egg sandwich with bacon, tomato and gruyere on brioche or the steamed eggs with prosciutto and cheese.Who can resist the fresh blueberry scones, homemade granola and fresh fruit yogurt par-faits? But there is more. Start with a healthy breakfast on the way to work and grab lunch for later, and even dinner for that evening. All meal needs set for the day. Genius!

French bistro lures patrons with special treatmentBy BARBARA CHRISTIAN

Before she opened her popular Paris Room and became the 13th restaurateur to join Chagrin Falls’ bustling downtown din-ing scene, Sali McSherry knew how she wanted to set her place apart from the others.

Aside from the French-inspired food, her guests would be made to feel special. Like they were coming to her home for a party, she explained.

That meant they would be imbibed and fed well in an atmo-sphere they would find comfortable and con-genial. Most important of all, they would leave happy and promise to return.

“It’s probably why I have butterflies in my stomach every night before opening,” said Ms. McSherry of how personally she approaches each guest every evening.

“We are busy setting up, the kitchen is go-ing, then all of a sudden it’s 5 (p.m.) and it’s very much like throwing a party every night because you want everything to be as perfect as it can be.”

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Without fail the people have returned night after night. The restaurant she drew up in her head has struck a chord.

What she wanted was a neighborhood place in her hometown and serve moderately priced, beautifully presented, well prepared meals of a kind not served anywhere else in the village.

“I had been to France several times, loved everything about it, including the fabulous food. I think Chagrin Falls is the perfect place for a casual French-inspired bistro.”

Ms. McSherry, 55, is quick to point out that her Paris Room menu is not crowded with the fussy haute cuisine some may envision. The specials include jumbo Maine sea scallops with a blood orange glaze, prepared by head-of-the-kitchen Brooke McVicker, to escargot with garlic butter and melted gruyere, and apple spice cake made by Martha Bryan, who wears many hats at the restaurant.

“It’s all about using fresh ingredients, simple preparation and beautiful presenta-tion,” she said. “Freshness is key; nothing is fried, and just about everything on the menu is prepared in our own kitchen.”

There are certain “rules” she carried into her business which are important and based on her own dining experiences – “the good, the bad and the ugly” – she said with a smile during a recent interview.

The good things were obvious. No need

for a “must do list” for those.There would be excellent food at wallet–

comfortable prices served by people knowl-edgeable, engaging and attentive but who did not hover. Check!

There would be a bar that featured a nice selection of spirits, wines and beers. Check!

Bar manager Kasey Rose and bartender Cody Linck have put together a superb signa-ture cocktail menu, and Paris Room boasts an outstanding selection of bourbons and scotches. Mr. Linck’s “orange Vespa” and “cucumber Collins” are two of the bar’s popular new drinks.

And her place itself would have atmo-sphere, live blues and jazz and gaiety. Check!

Then Ms. McSherry thought about the other side of the coin. The things she did not want her guests to have to deal with in her establishment and she put those on her “must not do” list.

Guests must never have to beg for water. And the guests she has invited to break bread must have bread to break. So, Paris Room offers baskets of warm French bread and its own bleu cheese and cognac butter.

Guests need not order their salad al a carte either. Crisp fresh green salad lightly dressed with homemade Champagne vinaigrette is an-other “come with” before dinners are served.

The seasonal menu offers salads in sum-mer months and there is French pizza along with crab stuffed sole with lemon caper cream sauce, Faroe Island salmon with a bourbon glaze, boneless beef short ribs

roasted for hours and the signature lamb meatloaf, which is Ms. McSherry’s inven-tion and the restaurant’s signature dish.

Crêpes, both dinner and dessert, are made to order. The lemon pie, also made in house, is popular. Trifles’ Catering, owned by the Koprowski Family of Chagrin Falls, pro-vides the wickedly good pot de crème and crème brulee and provides the restaurant with its savory French onion soup.

Just for fun, every dish of the dozen or so offered are named for French artists or writ-ers.

Paris Room opened in February 2015 and was an immediate success. The owner and proprietress said she is grateful every day for the people who discover the restaurant and who return time and time again.

Thinking back on her own history, Ms. McSherry said she got the “food is love and welcome” gene from her grandmother May-belle Louise Collins.

“We were a big family and it was nothing for her to cook Sunday dinner for 15 to 20 people and this was every week . . . big meals like leg of lamb with the trimmings. I was very young but those memories are vivid.”

But Ms. McSherry agrees it takes more than good genes for longevity in the restau-rant business where the failure rate is high. She appreciates that fact perhaps because she is no novice to the game.

During one college summer, she and a friend ran a sandwich catering and delivery

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service to businesses in downtown Chagrin Falls. It was a start at learning about cus-tomer satisfaction, food ordering and prepa-ration.

Several years later she put her skills to the test again when she was owned and oper-ated Café Madam Springs, a tea room with a lunch joint that was in the courthouse district of downtown Cincinnati.

Then she spent the next two decades in the newspaper business working as a reporter for the Chagrin Valley Times in her home-town. It was a job she loved but one that she was willing to leave when the opportunity to own her own restaurant came her way.

A place to put her dream establishment became the next challenge, but she knew she found the perfect place for Paris Room when she saw the walkout basement of the 1880s downtown Chagrin Falls Davidian building. She took one look and thought she was in Paris again.

Part of the space had been a tailor shop and at one time an Oriental rug shop storage room. Now, with its original river rock walls and wood beam ceiling, Ms. McSherry knew she had found a home for her restaurant.

There was even a partition made of origi-nal handmade bricks that sectioned off what would be a separate bar area.

It was small but just big enough for the personal, handmade and home grown busi-ness she wanted to create. The work began from, literally, the ground up.

Ms. McSherry’s husband Anthony McLo-rg is a registered architect and did the heavy lifting where planning the space was con-cerned. He put himself in charge of obtain-ing the necessary permits.

He also hand-built the handsome wood

bar that stretches nearly the entire length of the side room.

The couple’s son Skylar, a high school stu-dent at the time, was instrumental in install-ing the point-of-sale system. Now in college, he continues to help out when he can.

While the guts of the restaurant were be-ing installed, friends like April Mapes, Deb-orah Nicholl Batchelor, upholsterers Jess Vild and Carie Tirabasso were chipping in with their skills of interior and exterior de-sign work, advice and finding just the right pieces to go into just the right places inside the restaurant.

Banquettes covered with cheerful fabric line the stone walls which feature the Van Gogh inspired paintings by local artist Rob Crombie.

Tables and chairs fill out seating through-out the rest of the room. One end of the space is set aside Wednesdays through Saturdays for the one and two musicians who play blues and jazz.

Looking back at the journey from dream to reality, Ms. McSherry said the process took more time, more effort and more in-spections than she thought. “But it always does,” Ms. McSherry laughed. That’s why there is a thing called passion.

Ms. McSherry knows how lucky she is to occupy this singularly lovely space and a loyal staff of men and women who have been with her since the start.

She also knows how lucky she is not to fight the parking battle so many restaurants in Chagrin Falls face.

Paris Room’s front yard opens onto the village’s municipal parking lot off West Washington Street where parking is free in the evenings when the restaurant is open. ■



On the cutting edge Vision and culinary wizardry key to Hyde Park group’s ‘secret sauce’ By Lauri Gross

“Anyone can find a place to eat. We are not just a place to eat. Our philosophy is to create good memories,” said Chagrin Falls resident Joe Saccone, president and one of the principals of the Hyde Park Restaurant Group. Owned and operated by Mr. Sac-cone and partner Rick Hauck, the Hyde Park Restaurant Group includes 16 restaurants in Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Daytona Beach, Sarasota, Pittsburgh, Detroit and, in the fall of 2016, Indianapolis.

Their recipe for success includes equal parts vision, precise business analysis and culinary wizardry.

It all began when Hyde Park Prime Steak-house opened in Cleveland Heights in 1988. “At Hyde Park, customers expect to be wined and dined and treated special,” said

Mr. Saccone, 59. “The meat is the best you can buy whether you entertain corporately or for social entertaining. And we have to de-liver that day in, day out.”

ML Tavern, Jekyll’s Kitchen and Hyde Park are among their 16 popular eateries.

“When we have a new concept, we open one restaurant and run it for 12 to 18 months.We work out all the issues.We try to under-stand it. We try to build a concept that we can do more than one of. We always build the first one, keeping in mind that we want to open more than one. (With few exceptions,) Hyde Park would always be our first restau-rant in a new city.”

Being based in the Midwest means the Hyde Park Restaurant Group looks to open new restaurants in cities frequented by Mid-westerners. “We went to Sarasota,” Mr. Saccone said, “since most of our Midwest

people would go to Sarasota.”Their site selection also includes an in-

depth look at demographics and an under-standing of the amount customers expect to spend in each locale. “For instance, we have Stack City Burger Bar near downtown Co-lumbus,” Mr. Saccone said. “Where the burg-er bar is, is trendy and it works well there.”

Normally, Mr. Saccone said his team leases their restaurant space. “The only res-taurant we actually built was Jekyll’s after it burned down,” he said. “It was not a com-plete new build but it was the closest we came to building a whole building.”

Iconic Jekyll’s Kitchen, built on – and with beautiful views of – the falls in down-town Chagrin Falls, was destroyed by fire in October of 2013 and the new version of itself opened in May of 2015.

“We flipped the bar and the kitchen,” Mr.

Saccone said of the Jekyll’s rebuild. “It has the same footprint and is, of course, now up to code. It has the same terrific views and the same patio, and instead two bars – and inside and outside bar – now we have a combina-tion in-and-out bar. Jekyll’s many windows ensure that neither the falls, nor the village’s pedestrian traffic is far from view. As for the menu after the fire, Mr. Saccone said, “Sixty-five percent of the menu items are the same, but we gave it a new, more chef-driven look.”

Mr. Saccone explained that chef-owners constantly think about their menu and offer local items and specials that change almost daily. Chef-owners are always creative and flexible in how they incorporate the freshest ingredients available on any given day.

“We can’t quite do it to that level, because we are bigger,” Mr. Saccone said. “But we try to bring in new items and think how a chef-owner would think. We bring in differ-ent sauces, different combinations, different flavors.We have to have quality food and we have to be a little adventurous and that’s where the chef-driven portion comes in.”

“You also have to have consistently great service and have ambience,” he added. “We are successful because of our associates and team and customers.” Hyde Park’s corporate office in Beachwood includes 23 employees and there are a total of 700 in the company, at all the restaurants, and including a region-

al office in Columbus.Visitors to ML Tavern in Moreland Hills de-

scribe the experience as feeling as if they are in a stately home built in the 1920s or ’30s.“It was meant to feel that way,” Mr. Saccone said, adding that ML includes “a wonderful patio, and shades of royal blue, and hand-painted art-

work in heavy frames of George Washington on horses. It includes the polo field feel and it is beautiful. That’s what ML Tavern should be and the menu reflects that.”

“We try to offer great places to create memories,” Mr. Saccone said. “We are only as good as our customer’s last meal.” ■

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Joe Saccone leads the teams that run restaurants that lure diners throughout the Mid-West region including Jekyll’s Kitchen, ML Tavern and Hyde Park.

Seared Lake Erie walleye pairs with gazpacho slaw and a balsamic reduction at Jekyll’s Kitchen in Chagrin Falls.



Mother and daughter find sweet success By KRISTA S. KANO

Hank, 4, of University Heights may just be the luckiest boy in the valley.

Two days a week, Hank can be found in the kitchen of Sugar

Me Desserterie, watching cartoons on an iPad and munching on a never-ending sup-ply of sweets as his mother, Brittany Eidam, and his grandmother, Teresa Csizma, bake and manage the storefront they co-own at the end of River Street in Chagrin Falls.

For the past four years, as long as Hank has been alive, the family has specialized in classics with a twist at their Coach House Square location, just past the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre.

On a June morning, Hank is fittingly nib-bling a cookie shaped like sunglasses, baked by Ms. Csizma and decorated by his aunt, Saasha, 24. The cookie itself is made from the same recipe taught to Ms. Csizma by her 100-percent Hungarian grandparents using basic ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, flour, salt and vanilla. And as Hank is now learning, no secret ingredients are needed. They’ve set him up with his own bowl, a whisk and a few ingredients like flours and raisins.

“It’s always fun when he’s here because then there’s three generations,” Ms. Eidam said. “He’s got excellent technique, tapping the pan and whisking.”

But while Hank has expressed some inter-est in baking, or at least in eating cookies, Ms. Csizma’s interest in baking didn’t de-velop until later in life.

“My grandparents baked all the time, but I had no interest whatsoever. I was mad if I was made to help,” Ms. Csizma said as she sat in the eclectic-chic seating area of Sugar Me, painted with canary yellow and heather gray stripes and featuring a cozy upholstered chair that somehow fits perfectly with the modern, tulip molded seats.

Ms. Csizma’s own parents didn’t bake at all, and she said her mother “cooked the death out of everything.” She did enjoy bak-ing the annual Christmas cookies and sugar cookies, and had always been interested in all things creative, from sewing to drawing and painting to jewelry making. She had

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Life as IT should be

always thought about opening a quaint bou-tique, but at the time, it seemed like a pipe-dream.

Once she had children, four of them, she began baking again.

“She was always baking something, even if it was just chocolate chip cookies, and I learned how to bake from her. But growing up, I wouldn’t have thought it would become what it is now,” Ms. Eidam said.

As she raised her four children, Ms. Csiz-ma worked for a food distributor for 13 years and would often bring in baked goods for coworkers’ birthdays. Every Christmas she brought in trays of cookies. One day people started to request orders and offered to pay.

“A light bulb went off in my head,” Ms. Csizma said.

She started taking orders and 10 years ago, signed up for the Geauga Farmer’s Market, selling cupcakes and cookies and develop-ing her own recipes. As she began taking her business more seriously, her youngest gradu-ated from high school and her company was being bought out.

“This was when the market collapsed, before (Barack) Obama was president, and people whom I was working with were hop-ing that they wouldn’t be the next person laid off. I, on the other hand, was thinking ‘Please lay me off,’ because I knew that was my opportunity. It was the right time to do this work fulltime and make it more of what it could be.”

For six years, Ms. Csizma, worked the Geauga Farmers Market, building her client contact list to individuals and companies and six years ago Ms. Eidam joined the opera-tion. On a whim, they decided to put some decorated sugar cookies on Etsy and in the

first month, they had a hundred orders. Re-alizing the potential, they rented a licensed kitchen so they could ship the cookies.

“I was very surprised that people would order cookies online to begin with. We’ve shipped to California, New york, Alaska, the Virgin Islands, Hawaii. Just about every state we’ve hit,” Ms. Csizma said.

For a time, they were selling their cookies out of the basement of the Village Herb Shop, but then someone told them about a prop-erty in Coach House Square. The property was owned by a woman who baked cakes, but wasn’t open on a daily basis. She was looking to sell, and after about a year and a half, Ms. Csizma and Ms. Eidam worked out a deal. They bought all the equipment, took over the lease and got to work. In October, that will be four years ago.

Since then, the business has grown, with the help of the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce. They baked cookies for the chamber’s introductory dinner to their sum-mer concert series and last year shipped an order of snowflake cookies to New York City for the Baccarat flagship store’s holiday window display, all while maintaining their local client base.

“Local custom orders will always be our bread and butter. It’s really the best part, be-cause people are always celebrating,” Ms. Eidam said.

Those festivities have kept the business thriving.

“you would think with the economy tank-ing, how do you start a business? But people are always celebrating something, whether times are good or bad,” Ms. Csizma said. “A

A red velvet cup cakelet is one of the luscious pastries

at Sugar Me Desserterie in Chagrin Falls.



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few families have been with me since before we were in this location. We did their daugh-ter’s graduation, engagement, wedding show-er, baby shower, the baby’s first birthday. The best part of the business is getting to partici-pate in people’s important milestones.”

In addition to their custom orders, they also have their storefront which is always stocked with their staples, like the decorated sugar cookies, the chocolate chip nirvana cookies with three kinds of chips, bourbon pecan blondies and salty fudge brownies.

Their items for sale in the shop are gen-erally on the smaller size, a trend that Ms. Csizma has noticed.

“People really appreciate a mini cupcake or a mini cookie or a hand pie. They like be-ing able to just get something small and take it with them, and not have to worry about eating a whole pie, Ms. Csizma said. “you go to the store and buy a whole package of Oreos for same price as one or two cook-ies from us but you’re not getting near the same thing. You’re getting preservatives and chemicals. If you’re going to indulge, come here and get something really good.”

In the morning, they have breakfast pas-tries, muffins, coffee and tea, all freshly made by Ms. Csizma who arrives at 6 a.m. Every day offers a different selection, and

that morning, their banana cake with maple buttercream had blueberries in it.

“I just decided to put some blueberries in it. Not too out there, but still a little different that someone might enjoy,” Ms. Csizma said.

And that’s their whole baking philosophy. Keep it simple. Keep it classic. Make the best version you can, and add a fun twist.

“We’re not a big fancy bakery in New York, coming up with ‘cronuts’ and new trends. We’re classic and reliable and we’re good at what we do,” Ms. Eidam said.

“That’s an important thing for a business owner: find out exactly what you do best and then do it at the very best level that you can. I’d say that’s definitely what we’ve been able to do here.”

Sugar Me Desserterie is located at 49 W. Orange St., #5 in Chagrin Falls. They are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and 12-5 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, visit sugar medesserterie.com or call 440-247-7228. ■

Continued from page 65Brittany Eidam, left, and Teresa Csizma are co-owners and bakers of Sugar Me Desserterie.

Farmers are neighbors

Photos by Alana Clark


By CATHERINE PERLOFF

Ask Craig Sirna about tomatoes, and it’s hard to get him to stop talking about the red fruit. There are the 10,000 tomato plants that his wife, Anne, sows every

year, representing 43 varieties. There are the hydroponic greenhouses that allow him to harvest the red fruit long after other farmers have retired the crop. There are the heirloom tomatoes, which sprout in distinctive colors and shapes that draw photographers yearly.

Mr. Sirna, who co-owns Sirna’s Farm in Auburn Township with his wife, may know more about tomatoes than the average per-son in the Chagrin Valley. But his dedication to local, fresh food is an attribute he shares with many of his neighbors. This region’s commitment to local food is evident during any warm weather weekend at one of the thriving farm markets.

The Geauga Fresh Farmers Market in the

village of South Russell has been drawing people for 14 years while the farmers market in Chagrin Falls, a North Union run opera-tion, attracts 1,200 people on average every Sunday during the season, said Kathleen Visconsi, executive director of Your Home-Town Chagrin Falls.

This passion for locally grown food is not necessarily a forgone conclusion in an area that is as suburban as it is bucolic and that is home to more commerce and residences than farms. An explanation for this unique local fascination can perhaps come best from those who chose to farm as an addition to other successful careers, in part because of a desire to provide fresh food for their neigh-bors.

Conversations with these farmers at three Chagrin Valley farms, Maplestar Farm in Auburn Township, Snake Hill Farm in Bain-bridge and Sirna’s Farm, help explain this passion and the way the farms and farm mar-kets knit the community together.

A choice to become a farmerBehind each of these three farms is a dif-

ferent story. Mr. Sirna, 60, was a police of-ficer for 34 years, before retiring five years ago. Twenty years into his policing career, he started farming as the family garden ex-panded.

“We always grew stuff. And (when) we do things, we always do things on a big scale. We kept growing and growing,” Mr. Sirna said, noting that as a first-generation farmer, the process of building the farm was “trial and error.” Now, he and his family harvest fruits such as strawberries, peaches and apples and a staggering variety of veg-etables, including beets, cabbage and award-winning sweet corn. The family also raises chickens and cattle and produces honey and maple syrup.

Jake Trethewey, 62, co-owns certified or-ganic Maplestar Farm with his wife Dawn. He grew up on the farm and returned after serving 20 years in the U.S. Navy, coming back to spend time with his father, improve the soil and harvest produce like strawber-ries, potatoes, cucumbers and garlic. They also sell fresh eggs from their chickens. Mr. Trethewey now spends most of his time pro-ducing for farmers markets, restaurants, his own farmstand and Community Supported

Agriculture customers, when not working part time as a project manager.

Though Mrs. Trethewey earned a degree in international affairs, she entered the world of farming with no experience and likes her new calling.

“You can always find a little niche (in farming) for everybody,” she said. “For us, every day is different. The weather is differ-ent. The insect pressure is different.”

Louis Rorimer, who operates Snake Hill Farm with his wife Savery, was a practic-ing lawyer when he decided to head to the country. His childhood home in Bainbridge doubled as a farm, but one that the family did not cultivate for markets until 21 years ago. Mr. Rorimer, 69, was hoping to keep the farm in the family by making it financial-ly viable, and when his wife heard about the then brand-new North Union farmers mar-ket in Shaker Square in Cleveland, a perfect solution arose. The certified organic farm currently harvests onions, garlic and carrots, among other vegetables, flowers and maple syrup. The Rorimers also raise beef cattle and chickens for eggs and poultry.

These farmers, like others in the valley, are motivated by the desire to reduce the distance food has to travel to get to a fam-ily’s dinner table.

Mr. Sirna’s stand at local farm markets in-clude his farm products – eggs, vegetables, pickles and more. He also sells specialty items made exclusively by Ohio companies at the store on his farm.

“Buy local. We’re big on local. Support the local farmers, all the local businesses. Anybody that’s local we try to help out by adding their products in our store,” Mr. Sir-na said.

The Tretheweys also embrace the ideals of community sustainability. “One of the reasons we came back to the farm is to try to preserve that way of life and get people con-nected with where their food comes from,” Mr. Trethewey said.

Mr. Rorimer describes farming as a means to do good for your fellow man. “We believe in what we’re doing,” he said. “There’s no higher calling than growing great food for people to eat.”

These families have devoted more than a decade of their lives to a career in farming that promises little pay and relentless work-ing conditions.

“You can’t live off of farming, usually. It takes a lot,” said Catherine Chuha, commit-tee member of the Chardon Farmers Market and a farmer at G.A.R. Horizons.

Mr. Rorimer agreed that turning a profit can be difficult. “It’s very hard for us be-cause we have very high expenses. We have a lot of buildings we have to deal with, and we don’t have any free labor (because) we

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Golden Buff hens at Sirna’s Farm in Auburn spend their days outdoors. Sirna’s sells their free-range, brown eggs, which studies show have more vitamin D, less cholesterol and more beta carotene.

Amaranth and flowers grow at Snake Hill Farm in Bainbridge. Flowers are for sale, along with a wide variety of vegetables, beef, chickens, eggs and maple syrup.


don’t have any children on the farm,” he said. Mr. Rorimer’s children are grown, meaning work on the farm must be done by paid laborers.

In addition to the low payoff, farming can bring high costs in terms of time and en-ergy expended. Farming is not a 9-to-5 job; the Tretheweys say they work 70-80 hour weeks. Farmers can also expect little vaca-tion, even during the winter months.

Even in January when snow generally covers the region, farmers are busy ordering seeds and attending to paperwork.

“Two years (ago) we took 2 or 3 weeks off. We went on vacation for the first time in 21 years,” Mr. Trethewey said of him and his wife. But they were happy to return to work.

“If you buy local and you get fresh, it’s so much better. It’s better for you. It tastes bet-ter,” Mrs. Trethewey said.

A passion backed by community

The crowds seen at area farm markets each week is anecdotal evidence that people in the valley support local growers.

“A lot of people are very interested in where their food comes from. It’s certainly what has revived farmers markets. Thirty years ago you didn’t find farmers markets,” Mr. Trethewey said.

Mr. Rorimer said that when he grew up on his family farm, there were few options for local sales. “There wasn’t the demand for lo-cal produce. You couldn’t sell it.”

Indeed, the Geauga Fresh Farmers Market was started by residents who wanted to bring the benefits of local food to the communi-ty, market manager Cheryl Hammon said. “(The founders) were people who were very knowledgeable about the health benefits and financial benefits to the community so they went out to prove to the farmers that (the farmers market) was a buyable idea.”

Farmers market shopper Randi Simmons of Chagrin Falls said she only buys local. “you know where it comes from. you get to know the people, and you’re helping the lo-cal farms to survive,” she said.

Growers say that the market model offers unique economic advantages.

“At a farmers market you’re getting hun-dreds and hundreds of people every hour. You have a concentration of people because that’s what they’re looking for,” said Mr. Trethewey, vice-chairman of the Geauga Fresh Farmers Market board of directors.

Mr. Rorimer said the key advantage in farmers markets is selling directly to con-sumers. He also likes the freedom to sell what’s growing on the farm. A restaurant, he said, may need a large quantity of a specific vegetable. “Sometimes it grows and some-

times it doesn’t. With the farmers market, you grow everything you can bring to it, and you’re almost sure to find somebody that wants it.”

But the face-to-face interaction between farmer and customer cannot be ignored.

Mrs. Trethewey said she learned at the markets of the popularity of her fingerling potatoes crop. “People will come up to the stand and say ‘Oh look at this, Martha says these are the best potatoes or Rachel had these on her program,’ like they’re best friends with the cooks on TV,” she said, referring to popular celebrity chefs Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray. “So you hear a lot about current trends and what people are do-ing and what they expect.”

Customers show trust in their local grower.“They want to put a face to the farmer with

their produce, and they come to me with a lot of questions. Even if they have a problem with their own garden, they’ll ask me ques-tions and I’ll help them,” Mr. Sirna said.

Chagrin Falls farmers market customer Rick Bauman said he asks local growers how to best use the fruits and vegetable he buys.

“your customers become your friends and your friends become your customers,” Mr. Rorimer said.

It’s a trusting relationship. Mr. Trethewey said that if a customer doesn’t have enough money, he lets them take what they need, as long as he gets paid back at some point. “We’ve never had anyone not come back. You can’t do that at a grocery store,” he said.

Mrs. Simmons said she always buys from the same farmers, including Birdsong Farm, a personal favorite. “They know me by name. They ask about my family,” she said. “The guys there couldn’t be nicer.” ■

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Building boomNew stores and restaurants popping up in valley, but will the recovery last? By RYAN DENTSCHEFF

Signs of economic recovery are spring-ing up throughout the Chagrin Valley.

Ground has been cleared in Or-ange village for Pinecrest, a mas-

sive $225 million development designed to blend residential, commercial, office and en-tertainment space in a walkable area adjacent to the busy Interstate-271.

Still in Cuyahoga County and down the road in Woodmere, Eton Chagrin Boulevard this past year expanded its popular shopping center with a larger Trader Joe’s grocery and more upscale stores.

In nearby Geauga County, Meijer Super-store has been working on plans to build on the former parking lot of the amusement park that once stood at the edge of Geauga Lake in Bain-bridge Township. Trustees also are shepherd-ing plans to attract mixed development of the former park property working with consultants as well as neighboring Aurora City officials.

And those are just some of the highlights. Some leaders are embracing the growth

saying there is adequate demand across the region, while others say development here is only displacing business and tax dollars from other Northeast Ohio communities.

Robin Dubin, an economics professor at Case Western Reserve University, said the current business boom is an example of the economy catching up to the lack of develop-ment that occurred for several years follow-ing the recession in the early 2000s.

Banks and investors have been more will-ing to loan money in recent years, she said, resulting in a rise in development.

But, she said, there is too much retail in the metropolitan area and additional projects being built in the Chagrin Valley are only go-ing to hurt the region as a whole.

“Part of it has to do with how tax revenues are collected and that every municipality (col-lects) its own taxes. The little municipalities say, ‘oh, look, if we get this new development we get this new tax revenue’ and nobody has to pay for the loss of tax revenue someplace else. It’s a pretty bad system really,” she explained.

“I think if you had a regional government you’d get a lot more rational development, and there would be less (development over-all) because the population is not growing.”

Pinecrest, she said, likely would displace business at Legacy Village in nearby Lynd-

hurst. Slated to open in 2017, Pinecrest is to include high-end retailers, restaurants and entertainment as well as 90 apartments, a Whole Foods grocery store, an upscale mov-ie theater with dining services, and an exten-sive amount of office space.

Whole Foods, now located at Village Square shopping center in Woodmere, is an example of a store that plans to move to the newer development.

Pinecrest is about 1 mile south of Wood-mere’s Eton Chagrin Boulevard which just completed an expansion that includes a Star-bucks with a drive-thru, Chipotle, an AT&T store and Texas de Brazil Steakhouse in the spring and summer of 2016.

Aryn Derryberry, Eton Chagrin Bou-levard general manager, said that there is plenty of commercial demand in the region. Cleveland’s rebirth, she said, is driving that demand in the suburban communities like those found in the Chagrin Valley.

“I think Cleveland is a city that has cer-tainly changed over the years and I think it is now a force to be reckoned with as far as big cities go with all of the amenities and nice-ties they have downtown,” Ms. Derryberry said. “People want to be close (to downtown Cleveland) but not too close and they want convenience. They want to shop 10 to 15



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minutes away from their house.”That increased demand for business

growth is evident when viewing employ-ment statistics, experts said.

The Cleveland Metropolitan area in 2015 added more than 23,000 jobs, the largest single-year increase in jobs in more than a decade, according to a research study pub-lished last year by the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. The study was co-authored by Richey Piiparinen and Jim Russell.

The trend is a complete turnaround from the start of the Great Recession when the area lost nearly 83,000 jobs in just a two-year span from 2008 to 2009, according to the study.

Evan Hirsch, an Orange village council-man and real estate attorney at Jones Day law firm in Cleveland, said he believes there is enough demand to go around and stick around into the future because of the diver-sity in commercial development concepts and variety in businesses. These differences,

he said, make each commercial development desirable and sustainable.

“I don’t think we’re so saturated that you can’t have multiple destination spots for en-tertainment and dining,” he said. “Especially for new concepts. If it was the same concept repeated over and over again, maybe that would get a little tiring, but I think there’s some room for new opportunity and business-es, restaurants and entertainment options.”

At the Pinecrest project, a development contract with the village requires that 65 percent of the project’s tenants come from outside of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Several businesses that have committed to Pinecrest and will be new to the market in-clude West Elm, REI, Pinstripes Bistro and Old Town Pour House.

Overall, Mr. Hirsch said, the growth in the Chagrin Valley and the east side will have a positive and lasting impact on the entire region.

“Anytime you have new anything, espe-cially retail and restaurants who have estab-lished track records in other markets, and you’re bringing them into Northeast Ohio

and the Chagrin Valley, I think it’s a positive thing,” he said. “I think people are always looking to try something new and have a new place and option for their entertainment or leisure time and their leisure dollars.”

Some say it’s not only about collecting revenues for individual communities. Wood-mere Mayor Charles Smith said the growth in places like Orange and Woodmere helps the entire region.

“Anytime you can see growth economi-cally in your area it’s great,” he said. “Be-cause what that does is bring people to your area, which makes people want to live there, which brings up the property values.

“I think people want to be where things are happening and with the building of Pinecrest, our region is going to be second to none,” Mayor Smith predicted.

He also said he wants to see more region-alization because it could help promote busi-ness and save municipalities significant funds.

Mayor Smith said regionalization of po-lice and fire services on the east side would be beneficial.

“We should create districts,” he said. “That would lower the overall costs of our operations, which police and fire are more than half of the budget in many cases.”

Woodmere, Orange, Pepper Pike and Mo-reland Hills participated in a shared services study in 2013, but it failed to get the support needed to be put into effect.

“We couldn’t get the people to understand how much it would help the surrounding communities and take a load off their backs,” Mayor Smith said. “But the people in this area need to embrace that because regionalization is something that’s going to come regardless if you like it or not.” ■

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Continued from page 71 A real dynamo Print shop tucked into village fills needs of businesses nationwide

By MARIE ELIUM

At first glance, owning a print shop seems like an antiquated venture in today’s seemingly paperless world.

That may be true to a point for some printing businesses,

but not Dynamic Design in South Russell. The family-owned shop – celebrating its

34th year – still caters to walk-in clients who want a box of business cards or a couple of banners for a party. yet it also has corporate accounts throughout the country with orders that come with exacting standards far be-yond conventional printing requests.

At the helm is Mark J. Doerr, 48, who took over the business from his father April 1, 2016. His parents, Dick and Marilyn, re-cently celebrated their 50th wedding anni-versary this summer with their three sons, daughters-in-law and assorted grandchil-dren. It was the sort of family gathering in which Mr. Doerr reveled.

Mark is the lone family member in the business today. younger brother Anthony Doerr lives in Idaho and is an accomplished writer. His book, “All the Light We Cannot See,” won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fic-tion. An older brother, Chris, lives in New England where he is a vice president of inte-grated photonics at Acacia Communications.

Dynamic Design is located in a house on East Washington Street – it’s a good meta-phor for the business. Mark Doerr juggles the demands of meeting customer deadlines and project specifications with a deliberate personal touch. His office is in a former bed-room. For a business with a wide-array of clients, the company remains lean with just eight employees.

Mr. Doerr makes sure that phone calls, emails and texts are answered promptly, he and the other employees keep the tone friendly and approachable.

The company’s designer works closely with clients. Many deal directly with Mr. Doerr, who answers their calls and texts both in and out of the office. Customers tend to stay with Dynamic Design for years, al-though some leave and return depending on

corporate decisions. Mr. Doerr said clients know the prices are fair.

Dynamic Design’s biggest account is in Texas for a company that manufactures Cat-erpillar forklifts. The South Russell printer makes decals for the equipment.

Another client is in the aerospace indus-try. Decals that Dynamic Design makes and ships out of its home office must withstand temperatures of between 500 degrees and 600 degrees Fahrenheit, Mr. Doerr explained.

Printing for big clients with exacting stan-dards is the backbone of Dynamic Design. The company spends almost zero money on advertising.

“We’re small on purpose,” Mr. Doerr explained. “We’re working hard to have as much contact with people as possible. (Busi-ness) comes from referrals.”

The house was retrofitted with environ-mentally friendly flooring and lighting. A huge solar panel supplies 30 percent of the company’s power. Within a former two-car garage below the offices is a six-color printer that can generate trade show graphics, ban-ners and posters. Shipping trucks arrive sev-

eral times a day to get orders out.Keeping up with clients both large and

small can be stressful. Mr. Doerr hired a per-sonal trainer and took up boxing four years ago on a friend’s recommendation. At 6 a.m. on a recent day, he was flipping bulky tractor tires in a parking lot. Occasionally he’ll spar with a partner.

“Boxing is called the sweet science for a reason; so much is technique,” he said. “you don’t get punched a lot. My trainers take me to places that are way above my comfort zone. It’s an endorphin hit. I do something I didn’t think I could do.”

Mr. Doerr keeps the company involved locally with discounted or donated banners and printing for an assortment of charitable causes.

“There are so many printers out there. Ev-ery single (company) out there buys print-ing. We may work with a $5 billion company in Texas, but we work with the same energy for someone who wants a $50 box of busi-ness cards,” he said.

“I got that culture from my dad. People will buy from people they like and trust.” ■


Mark J. Doerr carries on the family graphic printing business at Dynamic Design in South Russell village.


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Salute to first responders spreads across the Chagrin Valley in 2016 By JOAN DEMIRJIAN

In the fall of 2015, Jo and Bob Royer em-barked on a mission to launch an event honoring local police officers, firefighters and paramedics, thanking them for keeping their communities safe around the clock.

The Russell Township couple organized a Salute to First Responders in the Village of Chagrin Falls with signs around town, spe-cial meals delivered to the departments and a ceremony during the first home high school football game of the season.

“First responders put their lives on the line, and if there is an emergency, they show up and we all depend on them to be here,” Mrs. Royer said. “We need to stand up and say thank you.”

That is happening again with a weeklong salute beginning Sept. 11 (2016), only this year the tribute will extend to first respond-ers across the Chagrin Valley. The goal is to make it an annual and statewide event.

Blue ribbons on tree trunks and power poles, as well as banners signed by apprecia-tive residents will be appearing in Bainbridge, Bentleyville, Chagrin Falls, Pepper Pike, Or-

ange, South Russell and Woodmere this year.Last year’s celebration did get national

recognition. South Russell resident Harry Guinther, a for-

mer World War II POW and member of Cha-grin Falls VFW Post 12067, was so inspired that he sent a letter to the national VFW hoping to spread the word. The VFW, in turn, wrote an article in its newsletter about Chagrin Falls’ 2015 salute to men and women in blue.

“Public service is engrained in these first

responders,” Mr. Guinther said.Communities are stepping up this year,

especially in light of summer incidents when five police officers were killed in Dallas and three officers were killed in Baton Rouge.

Last year, the Royers promoted the tribute to first responders after two New York City Police Department officers were killed in a December 2014 shooting.

Mrs. Royer said she was overwhelmed by the efforts of a young girl in Texas who spent her winter break writing thank-you notes to the New york Police Department.

The Royers wondered what was being done locally to give credit to our first responders. “We approached the Chagrin Valley Chamber and then Village Mayor Tom Brick,” Mrs. Royer said. “Mayor Brick was all for it, and the cham-ber said absolutely. We talked to restaurants and they said, ‘What do you want us to do?’”

Mr. Royer, a charter member of Chagrin Falls VFW Post 12067, said when the idea was proposed, the whole community was excited.The proposal to honor first respond-ers was presented to Chagrin Falls council, whose members embraced the idea.

The same is true this year. “Everyone is in favor of the event,”said Mr. Royer, a member of the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce.

A Vietnam Navy veteran who served on the USS Morton as well as an officer on Navy Patrol Craft (PCF-104), Mr. Royer said the event was extremely successful last year.

It is important children know police, fire and paramedics are there to help, Mrs. Royer said, and to “be aware of what an important role they play in every community.”

The Royers would like the tribute to even-tually be celebrated statewide.

In 2015, other communities participated. South Russell Village was all in and hung banners, she said. “We live in Russell and Russell hung banners and ribbons.”

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delivered full meals to the Chagrin Falls Fire Department and the Chagrin Falls Police De-partment, Mr. Royer said. He and Mrs. Royer also took meals to the Russell departments.

Some storekeepers dressed in blue for the week while others wore blue and red lapel ribbons. The Chagrin Falls Popcorn Shop created blue popcorn balls, and blue ribbons were tied to light poles, Mr. Royer said.

“Everyone was pleased that time was taken to thank them for what they do,” he said.

Molly Gebler, executive director of the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce, said she is working with other communities.

“We encouraged each community to find a resident to volunteer to lead the effort, and I’m working with those individuals. Each community will have banners that people will sign in support of the first responders,” she said. The banners will be personalized with police and fire emblems.

Residents will find the banners on display in fire or police departmentsas well as at high school stadium in Chagrin Falls, Ken-ston and Orange.

The event was to be kicked off with a concert at Triangle Park in Chagrin Falls on Sunday, Sept. 11.

“We have reached out to area churches and schools, as well,” Ms. Gebler said.

Tim Bando of Grove Hill restaurant said his restaurant took lunch to the Chagrin Falls fire and police departments. It was a nice trib-ute to them, he said, adding, “They were very grateful. Police and fire risk their lives for us and the least we can do is serve them a meal.”

South Russell is planning a Feed the Force potluck dinner that residents will serve in the South Russell Park.

Communities are being encouraged to light up their town halls with red and blue spotlights. “We are also asking residents to do that with their front porch lights,” Ms. Gebler said, during the weeklong event.

Bainbridge Trustee Kristina O’Brien said, “This is a fun event, and our township wants to be a part of it.”

During the first Chagrin Falls High School home football game last year, honorees were recognized, marching onto the field between rows of students.

They stood in formation and saluted as the VFW Post 12067 members raised the flag, which had flown over the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

Among those standing with police, firefight-ers and paramedics was now-retired Chagrin Falls Police Department Police Chief James Brosius, a Vietnam veteran and member of VFW Post 12067. It was an honor, he recalled.

Mr. Guinther agreed. “It was a stirring and memorable moment, which elicited an ex-tended standing ovation from the spectators.”

The salute last year, he said, was a “heart-felt expression of our thanks.” ■


Options abound in the market for upscale homesBy RYAN DENTSCHEFF

The Chagrin Valley has just about everything needed for easy living – excellent schools, sprawling parks and loads of shopping, dining and entertainment – in an area close to downtown Cleveland.

The valley housing market is waking up to brisk housing sales and new residential developments in the works. Developers are filling demands with single-family homes on large lots and smaller lots, as well as with the newest growing trend: townhomes.

And there looks to be no slowing down in the near future.

“There’s a lot of pent up demand getting met,” said Robert A. Simons, professor of urban planning and real estate development at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.

New housing was nearly nonexistent for several years immediately following the Great Recession that hit between 2007 and 2009. But now, there are signs that the econ-omy is rebounding.

“(Housing) prices are up slightly, sales are up, rates are very low, everybody is em-ployed and there’s a lot of money flowing around the world,” he said. “The Chagrin Valley is a desirable area and just like Cleve-land, we have a little boom going on. It’s really a recovery after having several years with nothing.”

During the first several post-recession years, the home-building market was domi-nated by low-income projects. Those proj-ects remain consistent, he said, but now the luxury market is seeing a big boost.

“That’s where the action is,” Mr. Simons said. “The luxury market is 10-25 percent of the overall demand, depending on how you define it, but it’s been getting 50 percent of the construction activity.”

That trend is evident in the affluent com-munities that make up the Chagrin Valley.

In Orange, the Lakes of Orange housing project is off the ground and currently selling single-family, “green-certified” homes in the $450,000 and up range. Plans for that devel-opment show a maximum of 150 residences.

More single-family luxury homes in the $500,000 to $750,000 are being built in Pep-per Pike at the Sterling Lakes subdivision and an eight-home subdivision with homes carrying a price tag of $1 million and up on 2-acre lots in Moreland Hills are in the works

at the newly established Chagrin Bluffs just off of Chagrin Boulevard.

For lower-maintenance homes on smaller lots, potential buyers will soon have plenty of options. In Pepper Pike, two upscale townhouse developments off of Cedar Road

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Valley public school districts embrace 21st century learningBy SUE HOFFMAN

From their innovative programs to their notable graduates, excellent student performance and nation-al recognition, Chagrin Valley schools have distinguished them-selves in a number of ways.

Their accolades – from the National Blue Ribbon Award to placement on local and nationwide “best schools” lists – continue as the schools embrace programs that pre-pare students with 21st century skills. The schools’ achievements reflect and attract supportive community members for whom education is a high priority.

Chagrin Falls has three pillars to success

With 10,000 proud graduates since 1879, the Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District thrives on traditions, innovation and collaboration.

“Our students, our staff and our commu-nity are the three pillars that contribute to our success,” said Superintendent Robert Hunt. “Our accolades are the end product of those three things working together.

“Students understand the importance of education and know that their experience here builds the foundation for their future,” he said. “The staff is not only committed to ex-cellence, but is continually improving. They understand that it’s OK to take a risk and chal-lenge themselves to be better. The community has provided unwavering support that allows us to accomplish what we do.”

Approximately 2,000 students attend the school district from the communities of Cha-grin Falls Village, Chagrin Falls Township, South Russell, Bentleyville, Bainbridge, Moreland Hills and Russell. With its mission “to provide an educational experience em-powering students to maximize their poten-tial,” the district demonstrates a commitment to each student.

Establishing a 21st century, global learn-ing environment, the school system provides a Chromebook computer for every student in kindergarten through grade 12. All students start learning a foreign language – Span-ish – in fourth grade. The high school offers 26 Advanced Placement classes, four world languages and 22 varsity sports, along with performing ensembles, theater productions and academic clubs.

As part of the district’s mission to pro-

vide a flexible learning environment, a new 4,300-square-foot Innovation Center is set to open this fall on the high school-middle school campus. The renovated space that has been funded independently includes a re-search center to foster new ideas, a collabo-ration classroom for discussion, and a “Mak-ers Space” or “Fab Lab” where ideas come to life with the aid of 3-D printers, embroi-dery machines, laser cutters and other tools.

The Chagrin Falls Educational Founda-tion has raised approximately $500,000 of the $650,000 needed for the project.

“The center, which is modeled after Case Western Reserve University’s Thinkbox, gives our kids exposure to resources stu-dents have at top universities,” said founda-tion President Meg Nachtwey. “Thanks to our wonderful community support, we have enough money to open the center.”

The additional funds being sought will en-able the district to expand the center’s tech-nological offerings to all students from kin-dergarten on up. “Elementary students will

be able to design items on Chromebooks, email them to 3-D printers and see photo-graphs of their finished product before they receive them at school,” said Mrs. Nachtw-ey, the mother of four children in the district.

Also on the horizon is the establishment of the Chagrin Falls Center for Community Arts, a project within the Intermediate School renovation plan. The district recently received a $600,000 capital grant for the arts center.

“This will allow us to renovate a portion of the building to create a hub for the arts and allow our partners an opportunity to expand programming which has a positive economic impact throughout the valley,” Mr. Hunt said. “It is going to be an exciting space not just for the education of our students, but for our partner organizations involved in the arts.This grant offsets dollars that would have to have been raised locally and serves as a cata-lyst as the Chagrin Falls Board of Education prepares to approach the community for the remainder of the project in May of 2017.”


between Brainard and Lander roads current-ly are working their way through the city’s legislative process. That area was zoned as a townhouse district about 15 years ago.

Jason Friedman, a local developer who is building one of the townhouse projects as well as the Chagrin Bluffs development, said the combination of high buyer demand in the Cha-grin Valley, desire by property owners to sell their properties and the market on an upswing out of the recession has provided the perfect opportunity for new residential growth. And an important aspect of that growth, he said, is providing diverse housing choices.

“People like options and there are great op-tions here. Our job as real estate developers is to provide those options,” he said. Even between his townhouse development and the one being built by the Orlean Company about a half mile away, diversity is evident. The Orlean proj-ect features more traditional style townhomes while Mr. Friedman’s is more modern.

Pepper Pike Mayor Richard Bain said he sees the ongoing boom in home building as a positive for the area.

“It supports the underlying tax base and drives revenue for the communities, which is a good thing,” he said. But the growth is only valuable to a community and the region if it is done properly, he added.

“Having options is very important as long as those options are of quality so that the character of the community remains consis-tent,” the mayor said. “It’s our goal to have it occur in a way that is respectful of the homes that are already here and provide improve-ment to the neighborhoods which the devel-opment is occurring.”

But with all of the home building going on in the Chagrin Valley, it begs the question, is this sustainable and for how long?

Scott Miller of Miller Homes, who is developing within Sterling Lakes and the Lakes of Orange, said he believes growth in home building will likely continue for the next five to 10 years, but it is bound to get more and more expensive.

The problem, he said, is that the scarcity of buildable lots in the area is driving up the prices.

“I think there’s enough out there right now for five years,” he said of building lots. “Af-ter that, it’s going to get more costly to get improved lots to build new homes or you’re going to have to find houses that need to be knocked down.

“It’s happening in Beachwood,” Mr. Miller said, “where people are knocking down existing homes and building new ones and I think that’s going to start to happen more in (this area).”

In addition to the various housing projects underway in the Chagrin Valley, another few hundred residences could also be coming to Orange in conjunction with the Pinecrest mixed-use project located at the northeast corner of Interstate 271 and Harvard Road.

Work has begun at the site for phase one of the project which includes a $225 million commercial-focused center featuring up-scale retailers, dining, a movie theater, office space and 90 apartments. Phase two is to in-clude a residential project. The tentative goal for opening the commercial development is fall of 2017. Early projections indicate that the residential aspect could include as many as 300 new housing units.

It remains to be seen if the demand for new housing will remain sufficient enough to drive developers to invest in hundreds of more homes, but as for now, Mr. Simons said, the market remains healthy. ■


The Lakes of Orange is currently selling single-family, green-certified homes for $450,000 or more.


all the students were on track except for one student who had just moved to the district.” The district has small class sizes in first and second grade as well.

“If we don’t catch them up by third grade, they are likely to struggle all the way through,” said Ms. Mrakovich. “We’re in-vesting in the early years so that we’re not trying to make up for lost time in the middle and high school years, when kids are more likely to drop out.”

Following area trends, district enrollment in Newbury has declined in recent years from its peak of 750, Ms. Mrakovich said. The size presents some budget challenges. “We get less funding by being smaller, and we’re considered a wealthy district.”

yet progress continues. The Newbury Lo-cal School District is on the Niche national list of 8,738 “Best Public School Districts” based on statistics and opinions of students and parents.

The district just received a Straight A Grant from the Ohio Department of Educa-tion to send one elementary school teacher and one middle school teacher for training in research-based interventions and strategies for teaching reading.

Through savings in a shared service agreement for technology personnel, the dis-trict was able to purchase Chromebooks for each student in grades three to 12 and carts for shared use in kindergarten through sec-ond grade. The district just launched a new website and uses Facebook and Twitter to get information out to families.

Jocelyn Sanders, who is treasurer of the Black Knight Parents Association, said she is pleased with the merging of all students into one building since the closing of the for-

mer elementary school. The change brought greater efficiency and closeness.

“It’s very nice to be in a school where you go in knowing 75 percent of the faces of the kids, and their brothers, sisters and parents,” said Mrs. Sanders, whose two sons, now in high school, have attended the district since kindergarten. “you know the artsy ones and the athletic ones. Because of the size of the school, their interests and extra-curricular activities can overlap.”

For example, Mrs. Sanders’ son Mak, 17, who is a senior this year, plays varsity foot-ball as well as trumpet in the marching band.

“At halftime, he trades his helmet for his trumpet and marches in the half-time show,” she said.

“We’re proud to be a Black Knight.”

Orange nurtures critical thinking, creativity

Long known for its excellent education-al programming, the Orange City School District has built a culture of learning that emphasizes individual student interests, in-novation and global experience as well, ac-cording to Superintendent Edwin Holland.

“We cannot always prepare the future for our children, but we can prepare our chil-dren for the future,” Dr. Holland said, cit-ing a similar quote by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Among the district’s recent initiatives are innovation intersessions, in which students at all grade levels take a break from the nor-mal routine to pursue an individual or group interest, with an emphasis on critical think-ing, collaboration, communication and cre-ativity. At the high school, students can sign up for a professional conference, tour the Federal Reserve or learn to play the guitar, said Dr. Holland, who has led the district for three years. Elementary and middle school students also pursue their interests at age ap-propriate levels.

The district recently received an Ohio Department of Education Straight A Grant of $750,000 to develop an Innovation Cen-ter. “It takes our program to another level to prepare students for success in the 21st cen-tury,” Dr. Holland said. “It’s very exciting.”

With its hub at Brady Middle School, the center will focus on innovation, design, project-based learning, engineering and real-world application. Students throughout the campus will have access to fabrication labo-ratories or “fab labs” and design resources ranging from 3-D printers to vinyl cutters. The grant also funds district-wide profes-sional development.

In an effort to offer a global experience, Orange High School maintains exchange

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kenston blossoms from rural to suburban

The 750-kilowatt, 213-foot wind turbine that has stood on the high school campus since 2012, showcases the Kenston School District’s wide-ranging “Go Green” proj-ects. The turbine produces some 1.3 million kilowatt hours per year, or approximately 70 percent of the high school’s annual electric consumption.

Other renewable energy initiatives include LED lighting in the parking lots, solar panels at the intermediate school, recycling, and a district anti-idling policy. The district also purchased with a grant, Ohio’s first plug-in electric hybrid school bus. All of the dis-trict’s efforts contributed to its receiving the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Rib-bon School Award in 2013.

“We’re broadening our Go Green efforts,” Superintendent Nancy Santilli said. We’re installing hydration stations (filtrated wa-ter coolers) in all of the school buildings. We’re revitalizing our outdoor classroom at the high school to tie in with the community trails on our campus.” Those trails are ex-panding with funding from the Benjamin A. King Family Trust.

Kenston, a district of nearly 3,000 students from Auburn and Bainbridge, has received much recognition as a result of its student achievement, dedicated staff and supportive community, Mrs. Santilli said.

The district is on the Washington Post’s list of America’s Most Challenging High Schools, including 12 from Northeast Ohio and 2,300 across the country. The district is

43rd in Ohio and number 1,064 nationally, in the U.S. News and World Report 2016 Best High Schools listing. Timmons Elementary School was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2011 for academic excellence.

“Everyone comes together to support Kenston,” Mrs. Santilli said about the school community. “We’re very grateful for the combined operating levy and bond issue which passed in May 2015.”

With the recent adoption of contracts with faculty and non-teaching staff, the district is focusing on student engagement and con-tinuing the district’s academic success, she said. “When you look at educating students, it goes beyond test scores. We’re looking at the whole child.”

The school’s inaugural Fine Arts Showcase held for the community last spring combined the high school’s traditional art show with con-certs by middle and high school musicians. The district has programs that strive to create a cul-ture of inclusion and connectedness.

A capital improvement project funded by a $10 million bond issue is underway to convert the former Gardiner Early Learn-ing Center to a transportation hub. Kenston Community Education is also moving to the former school. “It’s great to use the school building and revitalize its purpose,” said Mrs. Santilli, who served as Kenston assis-tant superintendent for three years prior to taking the helm. The district is also renovat-ing the stadium with new bleachers, energy-efficient lighting and restroom facilities that are handicapped accessible.

Anissa Smith, a government and social studies teacher for 22 years at Kenston High School, has watched the district transition

from rural to suburban. “Our Advanced Placement program is amazing,” she said. In the last several years, the number of stu-dents taking her AP government class has increased from 80 to 125.

Mrs. Smith, who serves as president of the Kenston Education Association, which rep-resents teachers, praised the students, staff, administration and community. “We jok-ingly say we live in a bubble,” she said. “I’ll take that bubble.”

newbury personalizes education

With a total of 460 students, Newbury en-joys its status as a small district, according to Superintendent Michelle Mrakovich.

“A small district allows for personalized education,” said Ms. Mrakovich, who was appointed Newbury High School principal in 2013 and superintendent in 2015. “Our teach-ers are very involved with our students. That’s a huge benefit when you look at the needs that the students have every day. Our small class sizes allow for individualized learning oppor-tunities. With the family feeling in the district, our students can come to any staff member with ease to share a concern.”

The district recently launched a proactive program to assure that students were all per-forming academically at grade level. Some of the students who were starting kindergar-ten without any preschool experience needed extra help in catching up.

“We took the kindergarten class of 21 stu-dents and cut it in half,” Ms. Mrakovich said. “By reducing the class size and allowing teachers to spend more time with each stu-dent, it paid dividends. Within the first year,




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all facets of the school experience.“Two parents from the Band Boosters

came to us a couple of weeks ago about get-ting a trailer to transport the instruments,” she said. “They were starting a fundraiser. And a couple of people stepped forward and said they’d pay for it. When you ask and they see the need, they’re there for you.”

Mrs. Leavenworth, who has served a total of 31 years on the board, is a charter member of the parent volunteer-run West Geauga Ed-ucational Foundation. “The foundation and a group of parents recently organized a college fair which attracted more than 100 colleges and universities,” she said.

Private schools gilmour Academy: Founded by the Broth-ers of Holy Cross of Notre Dame, Ind., the Catholic, co-educational, college-preparato-ry school offers a Montessori program for preschoolers through kindergarten and tra-ditional academic programs for kindergarten

through 12th grade in Gates Mills. gross schechter Day school: Located on 10 acres in Pepper Pike, the school provides an enriching Jewish education for children in preschool through eighth grade. Its core values are conservative Jewish thought and practice, academic rigor and critical think-ing, caring and community.

Hawken school: An independent, co-educational, college-preparatory day school founded in 1915, the state-of-the-art upper school, with an open, college-style campus, is in Gates Mills. The school also provides education for preschool through eighth grade in the neighboring city of Lyndhurst.

Laurel school: While the all-girls Laurel School is headquartered in Shaker Heights, its Butler Campus for environmental and physical education is in the Chagrin Valley. The 140-acre property in Russell and Chester townships features the 12,000-square-foot Alice Lehman Butler Center for Fitness and Wellness.

Lillian and Betty Ratner school: The school in Pepper Pike is more than 50 years old and offers programs beginning with Mon-tessori for children 20 months to age 6 and Montessori-influenced primary and middle school programs.

st. Joan of Arc school: Located in the quaint Village of Chagrin Falls, the K-8 school has grown since it opened in 1965 and continues to be committed to the mis-sion of fostering academic excellence and providing a Catholic faith-based learning environment inspired by the Gospel of Je-sus Christ.

university school: The upper school for boys in grades nine through 12 is on a 221-acre, wooded campus in bucolic Hunting Valley, where students tap maple trees for syrup, operate a sugarhouse and raise native brook trout. Opportunities abound inside the 52,000-square-foot academic wing with inter-active technology. ■

programs with schools in China and Den-mark. This fall, approximately 20 Orange students are traveling to their partner school in Shijiazhuang, China. Last February, stu-dents from Shijiazhuang visited the Orange Schools campus for the third time.

Orange High School will also welcome this fall some 25 Danish students from Hern-ing Gymnasium as part of the fifth annual exchange between the two schools. A simi-lar number of Orange students will travel to Denmark next spring.

Achievements of the district are being recognized in Northeast Ohio and beyond. Orange High School was recently named as one of the first annual All A Award winners by the State Board of Education of Ohio for 2014-15.

Major facilities improvements have been taking place, including the complete renova-tion of the high school auditorium.

Orange enrolls more than 2,100 students annually from several communities, includ-ing Hunting Valley, Moreland Hills, Orange, Pepper Pike and Woodmere.

“The Orange District is really five” mu-nicipalities, said Lisa Friedman, a former PTA president whose three children are go-ing into seventh, sixth and fourth grade. “It falls into the district’s hands to create the community. I think the administration and PTAs are really helping to do that.”

Mrs. Friedman graduated from Orange High School and wanted the same communi-ty and schools for her own family. She likes the district’s smaller class sizes, the partner-ship and collaboration between parents and schools and the focus on STEM (science,

technology, engineering and math) subjects.“I like the out-of-the-box thinking and in-

novation they allow the teachers to encour-age, as well as the activities and opportu-nities that the kids can participate in,” she added.

students, families, staff define West geauga

From its high school’s National Blue Rib-bon Award to its advanced technological of-ferings for elementary school students, the West Geauga School District is well known for its quality educational programs.

“It’s the people that make this district special and unique,” commented Superin-tendent Richard Markwardt, who assumed his post in 2015. “It starts with having re-ally nice kids. We also have good families and a dedicated staff. The partnership of these three components defines the district in many ways.”

The community has not only supported the schools through levy renewals, but also from private contributions, Dr. Markwardt said. Individual donations of as much as $100,000 each have enabled the district to assign iPads and Chromebooks to students in grades one to five and equip elementary school classrooms with Smartboards, as well as improve the football stadium.

“It’s rare to have that generosity,” the su-perintendent noted. “Our district has seen it on multiple occasions. The donations are of-ten tagged with a product in mind.”

The district also enjoys a geographic loca-tion “that is beautiful in its topography and terrain,” said Dr. Markwardt, who previously served as superintendent for the Beachwood and Berkshire school districts. “It blends the

rural setting with a suburban element, and offers proximity to all that the Cleveland area has to offer.”

The district’s curriculum encourages stu-dents to think independently and critically. More and more students at the high school are participating in the Advanced Placement program, said Dr. Markwardt, who holds a doctorate in educational administration. “Our students are realizing the importance of the rigor of the AP courses in their prepara-tion for college.”

“Over the last three years, we’ve gone from offering 14 AP classes to 21,” noted high school Principal Jay Bishop. “Our stu-dent participation rate has increased 23.4 percent.”

Slightly more than 2,000 students attend the district’s two elementary schools, middle school and high school from Chester and Russell townships as well as small segments of Munson and Chagrin Falls.

“Every day there are achievements we are proud of,” Dr. Markwardt said. The high school received the U.S. Department of Education’s National Blue Ribbon Award in 2013 for academic excellence. “The award speaks highly of the students, programs and staff.”

About 90 percent of the high school grad-uates continue their education, with most pursuing four-year degrees at college. Re-cent graduates have attended such top-rated colleges as Harvard, Yale and Duke universi-ties and the University of Notre Dame.

Kathy Leavenworth, a school board veter-an from Russell also cited parent support as one of the district’s key strengths. “Parents are supportive in so many arenas, not only with their energy, but their dollars to enrich


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IT’S THE REASON WE GETSO CARRIED AWAY...

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BY THE FALLS

24 YEARS OFAWARD-WINNINGCHINESE & THAI

VALLEY MAgAzinE - Townnews

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