The wait for a new grocery store in the Cedar-Fairmount neighborhood of Cleveland Heights is over. Whether this new player fits into the evolving district is a deeper question, say residents and area entrepreneurs interviewed by Fresh Water.

The produce aisle at the Cleveland Heights Grocery OutletCalifornia-based discount chain Grocery Outlet opened this morning, Thursday, July 10 in the former Dave’s Market space on Cedar Hill at 12438 Cedar Rd.

Operated by husband-and-wife team Michael Weber and Melissa Walsh, the 21,627-square-foot space will offer an ongoing rotation of pre-packaged goods. Patrons will be able to suggest new items for the store through a dedicated phone line and social media account.

Like its predecessor, the store has front and back entrances, with the back entrance accessible via a lot with more than 80 parking spaces.

“The community in Cleveland has been very receptive to Grocery Outlet’s offerings, and as the team looked to expand here, we fell in love with this location in Cedar-Fairmount,” Weber said in an email. “We can’t wait for the community to see the updates we’ve made to the building, and we look forward to welcoming people into the store.”

Cleveland Heights resident Reuben Kutash says the Cedar Hill location is convenient for a quick shop.Neighborhood resident Reuben Kutash has plenty of places to buy food near his Cleveland Heights home, which sits between Cumberland and Coventry Roads. He says Aldi, Marc’s, Dave’s, Heinen’s, and Giant Eagle are all within a short drive, and they carry most of what Kutash needs on any given day, but the Cedar-Fairmount neighborhood is even more convenient.

Kutash says he had mostly positive impressions of Grocery Outlet, which he visited on its opening day. He says the spacious aisles offer a budget-friendly selection of goods, although he points out that shoppers looking for a wide variety of any single item might be disappointed.

“Giant Eagle has 20 different kinds of something, but here [at Grocery Outlet] they might have two or three,” he observes. “You might see a high-end kind of peanut butter, then a cheaper brand. I’m a value shopper, but I’ll spend the money if I think something looks good and quality.”

Patrons seeking a deli or a variety of fresh, prepared foods will be better served elsewhere. The old Dave's Market was a handy stop for Kutash to pick up beer and wine—and he says Grocery Outlet will serve the same purpose for him—once the store’s liquor license comes through.

Kutash can’t help but dream about what could have been in his neighborhood—like a smaller version of the Van Aken District market hall bringing a wealth of visitors to Cedar-Fairmount.

However, he says he still feels that a grocery store is an ideal match for the neighborhood.

“It’s very convenient, especially because the area is growing,” Kutash says, noting Ascent Top of the Hill, the recent move of EDWINS into the former NightTown space, and plenty of other bars and restaurants and residential options.

“We don’t need a restaurant over there,” Kutash continues. “It could have been a pet store or something, but I don’t think there’s anything that represents a bigger need than a grocery.”

A convenient location
Luna Bakery owner Bridget Thibeault knows the long-time grocery location well. Thibeault, who opened her eatery at 2482 Fairmount Blvd. in 2011, worked at the one-time Russo’s Stop-n-Shop as her first job. More recently, she'd been getting small items for her home and business at Dave's, before it moved from the space in October 2022.

Bridget Thibeault, chef and owner of Luna Bakery and Café, is ambivalent yet excited for the Grocery Outlet opening.“[For Luna], we’d go [to Dave’s] for berries and herbs, or if we flew through eggs or needed something else,” said Thibeault. “We were constantly running over there to grab things.”

Dave’s departure led Thibeault to the former Zagara’s Marketplace on Lee Road, bought by Dave’s owners the same year they left Cedar-Fairmount.

Since then, Thibeault has been checking in with Sal Russo, owner of the building that housed Dave’s, about what could be next for a district lacking a grocery store for the first time in a century.

Thibeault is lukewarm about the arrival of Grocery Outlet, a company with 500 nationwide locations. She says her hopes for a more upscale store couldn't overcome the twin hurdles of outmoded infrastructure and more attractive incentives that drew Heinen's and other retailers elsewhere.

That’s not to say Thibeault is completely opposed to a bargain market in the district—pointing to Grocery Outlet owners Weber and Walsh moving from California to University Heights to run the store.

Ultimately, Thibeault says she expects to use Grocery Outlet in much the same way she did Dave’s.

“I’ll use it in a pinch if I need to run over and grab something, or to find competitive prices for things I’m already ordering,” she says. “We’ll see what happens when it opens.”

The heart of a neighborhood

Cleveland Heights residents Addie and Matt Balester say a grocery store is good for building community.Cleveland Heights resident Matt Balester says he will have to drive to Grocery Outlet if he wants to shop there. While he says he did not necessarily feel Dave’s absence at Cedar-Fairmount, it was nice having a grocery on his route home from downtown.

“It was never our main store—we shop at Aldi or Dave’s on Lee Road,” says Balester, who has lived in the Cedar Lee District with his wife, Addie, for many years. “But if we were coming up the hill, we’d stop there for small things, or if we needed ingredients for dinner.”

Yet, Balester says he understands the hole was left for residents and students in Little Italy and University Circle when Dave’s left Cedar Hill. More immediately, he notes that the community needed a walkable grocery for Case Western Reserve University students and residents living in the neighborhood.

Whether or not Grocery Outlet fills those requirements is debatable, though Balester says the retail space’s large size was likely a turnoff for most prospective tenants.

“Lots of people were hoping for something else, but the major thing is the building wasn’t the right size for something like Trader Joe’s,” Balester says. “Trader Joe’s would have been a better fit, but having a less expensive option for the area could still work.”

Balester argues that grocery stores are often the heart of a neighborhood, playing a vital role in its development and connecting residents with local businesses and each other.

“Having more opportunities for people to stay, live and work in the same area is good for any type of district that’s still building,” Balester says. “Cedar-Fairmount has been trying to create more of a community since Top of the Hill has been open.”

Cedar-Fairmount’s Luna owner Thibeault recalls times she spent in Chicago and New York— enjoying the simple pleasure of strolling vibrant streets lined with shops.

A bargain grocer may not be an end-all for her current neighborhood, but it can still be a link in the chain, Thibeault says.

“People choose to live in Cedar-Fairmount because it feels like a city—that’s why we picked this spot for Luna initially,” she says. “I’m excited for [Grocery Outlet] to open, and for people to check it out.”