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📰West Side Market New Face🔨

📰West Side Market New Face🔨

April 02, 2025

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Good morning, Cleveland! This is The 216 Scoop. Spring has sprung, and so have the pranks. But these stories? Totally legit. Promise. (Pinkie swear.)🌷🤞

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In today’s 216 Scoop Edition:

Long-awaited makeover of West Side Market is happening, finally
Ready for some futbol? Crew, Messi to bring events, excitement to city
Egads — a monster mash for movie freaks
Six fish frys to check out before the season’s over
Housing market grinds slower but high season is upon us

John Petkovic, Mark Espinosa, Victor Takakura

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IN THE NEWS

Long-awaited makeover of West Side Market is happening, finally

Photo courtesy West Side Market

It’s a beloved institution and one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions – not to mention a storied link between the past and present.

But the West Side Market has suffered from decades of neglect, lost longtime vendors and faced power outages and needs upgrades to its infrastructure.

It’s all about to change: The Port of Cleveland Board of Directors has approved an almost $50 million overhaul of the West Side Market.

This summer, the revitalization project will start with the East Arcade. The produce hall, between the market building and the parking lot, has been largely vacant. The plan will deal with structural issues – modernizing vender stalls cools and HVAC systems and the freight elevator – to create a new home for merchants.

Meanwhile, the North Arcade along West 25th Street is slated for a future phase, where it will become a prepared foods hall with eight vendor spaces, two full-service bars, and extended operating hours to attract dinner crowds.

The adjacent alleyway of the market will be reimagined as a courtyard with outdoor seating, adding to over 350 new public seats planned across the market. On the second floor, the mezzanine will offer event space and seating for over 100, while a teaching kitchen will provide education about healthy cooking.

The goal is to create a destination that transcends its traditional role as a market.

For years, there has been a desire, and various plans, for the renovation of the market. Now, there is a consensus between the city, the United West Side Markets Tenants Association and the non-profit Cleveland Public Market Corporation.

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Ready for some futbol? Columbus Crew, Messi bring events, excitement to city

Photos courtesy of MLS

It’s going to be a historic day for Cleveland soccer fans.

On April 19, the Columbus Crew play their first-ever regular season match at Huntington Bank Field against Inter Miami CF, led by international star Lionel Messi.

Crew (and Browns) owner Jimmy Haslam moved the game from Columbus to Huntington Bank Field, which boasts a capacity of over 67,000—more than triple the 20,371 seats at Lower.com Field

Ticket sales for the game – billed as one of the biggest matches in the MLS season – have been brisk. There are less than 40 tickets available in most sections, according to Ticketmaster. Tickets run between $70-$417.

Messi is recovering from a low-grade adductor injury that kept him from the latest round of World Cup qualifiers with Argentina's national team during latest FIFA international window from March 17-25. But the 37-year-old soccer legend is expected to play in Cleveland.

The match is central to the Crew’s community Legacy Project – a mission to advance youth soccer and education and expand the team’s footprint across Ohio.

On Saturday April 12, the Crew will host a Crew Community Celebration at Edgewater Park. The free, public event features a soccer skills challenge, live music, food trucks and kid’s activities. It runs from noon to 4 p.m.

Egads — a monster mash for movie freaks

Images courtesy of Cinema Wasteland

What's scares the hairs on your back more: A gaggle of vampires, zombies and bloody freaks or 2,000 bloodthirsty geeks?

Egads, it’s the Cinema Wasteland Movie and Memorabilia Expo.

The three-day bash is an all-out party where monsters and movie buffs get along just dandy – in no small part because many of the attendees come dressed as monsters.

Call it a graveyard of horror icons and enough movie freaks to keep even Ghoulardi up at night! A lair of humans displaying their affection for B-grade monster flicks!An endless movie bash that will leave your eyes bloody red.

The party starts at 4 p.m. on Friday and runs through Sunday at Best Western Plus, 15471 Royalton Rd. Strongsville.

It dealers, activities and decades of B-movies and Z-grade flicks, including doozies like “I Drink Your Blood,” “Frankenstein’s Daughter,” “Psycho Ape” and “Creature with the Atom Brain.”

Cinema Wasteland also rolls out midnight movies (Friday and Saturday), wrestling clips and vintage Saturday morning cartoons. For a bloody schedule, go here.

The 216 Rundown

Six fish frys to check out before the season’s over

We’re past the half-way point of Fish Fry season. Here are six to check out before it’s over:

British American Club, 8564 Ravenna Road, Twinsburg: Founded by Brits in 1960 and now operating as a public club, the BAC is a cheeky ol’ time. It serves up classic English fish and chips. The mushy peas are delightful. Ditto for the experience. You can drink, too – and a Newcastle goes down swimmingly with the fish. Good show, mates.

The Nash, 3563 East 80th Street, Cleveland: This Old World Slovenian gem hits more buttons than the accordion player. It rolls out live polka and open bowling to go with classic Cleveland vibes, drinks and a Lenten menu consisting of walleye, tilapia, shrimp, pierogis and mac & cheese. The finale is April 4.

Ridgewood Inn. 5759 Ridge Road, Parma: For seven decades, this Parma institution has been doing a fish fry every Friday. Little has changed over that time (except the price, of course) The Lenten menu includes Sauger Pike, Yellow Lake Erie Perch, Beer Battered Cod, Baked Scrod and, of course, a crowd favorite: pierogis. Timeless vibes abound.

Clubhouse, 6365 Pearl Road, Parma Heights: The portions are generous, and the options are wide-ranging at this classic spot. The Pollock Dinner is a bargain, and comes with fries, home fries or a baked potato or mac and cheese. Ditto for the Yungling Lager Haddock and perch platters. It also serves salmon, scrod, shrimp, fish taco options – as well a great lobster bisque.

Post and Beam, 11790 Snow Road, Parma: The classic Parma spot rolls out an ambitious menu – more than a dozen entrees and sandwiches. The Cajun Lake Perch is great, but you can also get cod, walleye and tilapia dinners and sandwiches – as well as pierogis, cabbage and noodles and potato pancakes.

Slovenian National Home, 6417 St Clair Avenue, Cleveland: Call it an excursion to the Old Worth and Old Cleveland. Polka bands provide the soundtrack, and the meal is the deal. The Home serves flounder, cod, shrimp and pierogi dinners that come with fries, cole slaw, clam chowder and dessert.

For more, go here.

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NOTES ON A COCKTAIL NAPKIN

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

Photo courtesy Greater Cleveland Partnership

Housing market grinds slower but high season is upon us

Stubbornly high mortgage rates and prices – as well as rising fears of a recession – have conspired to grind the housing market slower.

In February, the average house across the country sat 66 days before it sold, the longest since 2019. According to realtor.com, it marks a significant change from the peak of the pandemic-driven market in 2021, when homes sold in as little as 17 days on average

Sellers, meanwhile, have been forced to cut prices 17% -- higher than any February since 2016.

Realtor.com predicts this could “signal further price softening” during the spring homebuying season.

The price of an average home in Cleveland fell less than the national average. The reason: It’s one of the top five undervalued housing markets in the country. The time it takes to sell a home here, however, increased from 66 to 69 days in February.

A recent study by Zillow also finds that now through the first two weeks of June are the best time to sell a house in the Cleveland metro area – when sellers netted 3.7% more than in other times of the year.

VINTAGE CLEVELAND

Ohio City, 1940

Photo courtesy Cleveland Public Library

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WEATHER

Wednesday - 04/02

66 🌡️ 62 | 🌧️ | 31% | 💨 SW 14 mph (12 knots)

Thursday - 04/03

67 🌡️ 43 | 🌧️ | 31% | 💨 SW 14 mph (12 knots)

Friday - 04/04

49 🌡️ 46 | 🌤️ | 31% | 💨 SW 14 mph (12 knots)

Source: weather.com

Live Shows in the 216

Wednesday - 04/02

The Roxy At Mahall's | While She Sleeps & Bury Tomorrow | 6:00 PM

The Helen Lab Theatre at Playhouse Square | Seasons Greetings | 7:30 PM

Grog Shop | Gabriel Kubit & Kubit Co. | 7:30 PM

Hanna Theatre at Playhouse Square | Twelfth Night | 7:30 PM

Beachland Ballroom | Jackie Greene | 8:00 PM

Thursday - 04/03

E.J. Thomas Hall | Wild Kratts - Live | 3:30 PM

Akron Civic Theatre | Dog Man - The Musical | 6:30 PM

Funny Bone Comedy Club - Cleveland | D'Lai | 7:00 PM

Hilarities 4th Street Theatre At Pickwick & Frolic | Duncan Trussell | 7:00 PM

Connor Palace Theatre | Trisha Paytas | 7:30 PM

Friday - 04/04

Severance Music Center | Cleveland Orchestra | 7:30 PM

KeyBank State Theatre | Cleveland International Film Festival | Various times

Agora Theatre | The Magnetic Fields | 8:00 PM

Grog Shop | Mike Polk Jr. & John Skrtic's Vintage Cleveland Photo Album | 8:00 PM