Russo family plans to bring grocery store to Cedar Fairmount

Here’s an e-mail I sent to the Cleveland Heights mayor and city council members:

I met the Russo family in September 1980, when I moved my consulting practice from my home to the Cedar Grandview Building, above Merit Drug (now gone) and Russo’s Stop n Shop. A handshake with Sal was my lease. 

In 1993, Sal was on the honorary board of the Coventry PEACE Playground, along with Tommy Fello. We held a fundraiser at the store, with Russo’s local specialty vendors donating the catering. The following spring, Sal and Tommy contributed to Coventry’s Cookin’. The remaining copies are now available at the Big Fun pop-up. Steve Presser will donate the proceeds to the Coventry PEACE Park renovation.

For many years, Sal Russo, “Sal Sr.,” was among the leaders of the Cedar Fairmount Special Improvement District (formerly Business Association). I’ve never seen the neighborhood more active and vibrant than it is today . . . but it needs a grocery that meets the needs of everyone from students to seniors, regardless of affluence.

While many Cleveland Heights landlords have been cashing out on their properties, the Russo family has been investing. Considering that the Cedar Grandview Building is 100-plus years old, it’s in pretty good shape. The second-floor offices are clean and well-maintained. (Sal V’s office is down the hall from my studio.) The first-floor grocery space was thoroughly emptied and cleaned after Dave’s vacated. The exterior and parking lot were also freshened up. Modifications to meet the needs of a new grocery operator can be a public/private capital investment in the neighborhood. (Though tearing out the commercial kitchen is a heartbreaker. Times change.)

For 40-plus years, trucks unloaded below my windows on Grandview. When Dave’s first left, 14 months ago, I enjoyed the quiet. But now, I miss the noise and the hustle of economic activity, not to mention the convenience of working over a grocery store. 

Thank you for your interest in the Russo family’s plans to bring a grocery store to the Cedar Fairmount district.