Boss Dog is Best New Business

Jason and Josh Sweet, owners of Boss Dog Brewing Company, which was voted Best New Business in the FutureHeights 2018 Best of the Heights Awards.

In the 2018 Best of the Heights Awards contest, readers of the Heights Observer honored outstanding businesses in Cleveland Heights and University Heights by voting, Jan. 1 through Feb. 15, for their favorites in 12 categories. In all, 174 businesses were nominated.

Boss Dog Brewing Co. (2179 Lee Road), a craft brewery and gastropub owned by Josh and Jason Sweet, prevailed over finalists Barrio and Zoma Ethiopian Restaurant to win Best New Business. The brothers opened Boss Dog in the former Lemon Grass space in November 2017 after more than 15 months of extensive renovations.

“We are doing well,” said Josh Sweet. “The community has been very supportive, and we appreciate that.” The brothers are looking forward to the spring when they can complete the rear patio. “It may look like there is a lot more still to do, but we are all ready to go. We just need to finish up the fence and get the tables and chairs out there.”

Just up the road, at 2163 Lee Road, is the place Heights Observer readers dubbed Best Place to Hang Out in a Snowstorm, the landmark Cedar Lee Theatre, which edged out neighbors Phoenix Coffee and Stone Oven for the honor. Jonathan Forman was surprised but pleased at the honor.

Forman has owned the theater since the late 1970s. Originally from New York, Forman came to Cleveland to attend Case Western Reserve University, where he majored in communications and dreamed of showing independent films. The owner of the Cedar Lee also owned the theater at Cedar Center and thought the two were too close together. Although Forman had no money, he worked out a deal that enabled him to become owner of the theater over time. He later purchased the entire building and expanded it. A founder of the Cleveland International Film Festival, Forman’s Cleveland Cinemas is now one the region’s largest independent theater chains, with seven locations.

Also in the Cedar Lee district, is Best Place to Work. Marotta’s, an intimate space at 2289 Lee Road, offers pizza and Italian specialties, along with an extensive, all-Italian wine list. Chef Alicia Marotta Linihan and her husband, Brian, opened the restaurant in 2000, in the city where she grew up. Linihan was known for the strong, nurturing relationship she had with many of her employees, and her untimely death in December 2016 deeply affected them and the community at large.

Alicia’s niece, Alexandrea Quinn, came back to Cleveland to operate the restaurant. “With four young kids, Brian can’t be here all the time, and I was happy to do it,” she said. She was overwhelmed by the recognition, saying that the restaurant employs many young people from Heights High, Beaumont, and other local schools.

The community’s love for Alicia and Brian and the restaurant they created is evident; this year, Marotta's was also a finalist in several other categories: Best Heights Vibe, Best Place to Take an Out-of-Towner, Best Interior Décor, and Best Cleveland Heights Business.

Coventry Village has a unique personality that the Heights calls its own. At the center of it all are two big winners in this year’s Best of the Heights: Tommy Fello, owner of Tommy’s restaurant at 1824 Coventry Road, and Steve Presser, owner of Big Fun, at 1814 Coventry Road. Tommy’s was the winner in three categories in 2018: Best Heights Vibe, Best Place to Take an Out-of-Towner (an award it shares this year with Nighttown), and Best Place to Take the Kids, as well as a finalist in Best Bang for Your Buck, a category which it won last year.

Big Fun was very much on Heights Observer readers’ minds, as Presser recently announced that he would be closing the beloved toy store this summer, after 27 years in business. Big Fun won Best Place to Find Unique Gifts—where else can you find fake vomit and whoopee cushions?—and Best Exterior Appearance, a category it also won last year. Presser has always worked with local artists to design his exterior signage, and with his “creatively inclined” employees to create the window displays, which have included Dr. Who and Star Wars themes.

For the second year in a row, Gigi’s on Fairmount (3477 Fairmount Blvd. in the Fairmount Taylor Business District) has been named Best Interior Décor. Observer readers love the chic, intimate feeling of the bar and restaurant with its large mirrors, fresh flowers and gorgeous chandeliers.

Heights newcomer Barrio (2466 Fairmount Blvd. in the Cedar Fairmount Business District), a purveyor of custom tacos, tequila and whiskey, has given Heights residents a new destination for cheap eats. Now with five locations in the region, the Heights location has been a big draw since it opened in early 2017. Voted Best Bang for Your Buck in 2018, it was also a finalist for Best New Business.

Also, in the Cedar Fairmount district, is Nighttown (12383 Cedar Road), a Cleveland Heights landmark and favorite institution for more than 50 years. The internationally known Irish pub and jazz club shares, with Tommy's, this year's honor of Best Place to Take an Out-of-Towner. Owner Brendan Ring has said that the establishment continues to reinvent itself, and with a reputation that has attracted impromptu visits from the likes of Wynton Marsalis and Stevie Wonder, one never knows who one might run into there.

To round out this year’s categories, the awards for Best Cleveland Heights Business and Best University Heights Business went to Zagara’s Marketplace and Whole Foods Market, respectively.

Zagara’s Marketplace (1940 Lee Road), Cleveland Heights’ neighborhood grocery store, is owned and managed by John Zagara. A grandson of the store’s founder, Zagara’s roots in Cleveland Heights run deep, and he said he was “deeply honored” to be recognized in this year’s FutureHeights Best of the Heights Awards.

Winners and Finalists in the FutureHeights 2018 Best of the Heights Awards contest are:

Best New Business
Winner
Boss Dog Brewing Co.
Finalists
Barrio
Zoma Ethiopian Restaurant

Best Place to Hang Out in a Snowstorm
Winner
Cedar Lee Theatre
Finalists
Phoenix Coffee
Stone Oven

Best Place to Find Unique Gifts
Winner
Big Fun
Finalists
Heights Arts
S’Wonderful Gifts

Best Place-to Take an Out-of-Towner
Winners
Nighttown
Tommy’s restaurant
Finalist
Marotta’s

Best Bang for Your Buck
Winner
Barrio
Finalists
Aladdin’s
Tommy’s restaurant

Best Interior Décor
Winner
Gigi’s on Fairmount
Finalists
Anatolia Cafe
Marotta’s

Best Exterior Appearance
Winner
Big Fun
Finalists
Anatolia Cafe
Luna Bakery Café
The BottleHouse Brewery

Best Place to Work
Winner
Marotta’s
Finalists
Heights Libraries
Phoenix Coffee

Best Heights Vibe
Winner
Tommy’s
Finalists
CLE Urban Winery
Marotta’s
Nighttown

Best Place to Take the Kids
Winner
Tommy’s
Finalists
Big Fun
Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Park
Heights Libraries

Best University Heights Business
Winner
Whole Foods
Finalists
Bialy’s Bagels
Geraci’s Restaurant

Best Cleveland Heights Business
Winner
Zagara’s Marketplace
Finalists
Marotta’s
The Wine Spot

Since 2005, FutureHeights—a nonprofit that inspires and facilitates collaboration and empowerment in our community—has conducted the Best of the Heights awards to recognize the unique attributes of locally owned Heights businesses, and their contributions to the local economy. A complete list of 2018 Best of the Heights winners and finalists, as well as a list of businesses that voters said they would like to see in the Heights, is online at www.futureheights.org.

Deanna Bremer Fisher

Deanna Bremer Fisher is executive director of FutureHeights and publisher of the Heights Observer.

Read More on Business
Volume 11, Issue 3, Posted 12:03 PM, 02.27.2018