Week 3: What's your Favorite Place to Eat Lunch (and why)?: This is what happens when you never give up

My favorite place to eat lunch in all the world is a small French café in Savannah, Georgia, called Papillote.  I think though, even if it didn’t say, the prompt for this blogpost is referring to downtown Cleveland, presumably accessible for lunch from Dwellworks HQ.

Luckily, Cleveland is one of the Country’s best food cities, and there is no lack of excellent choices, even if Papillote is a forbidding 11 hour drive from downtown Cleveland.  Longitudinally, it’s barely farther from the office than my house.  It’s the latitude that gets you every time. 

Since 25 hour lunch breaks are generally frowned upon, I’ll tell you about one of the fastest-ascending little places in Cleveland: the 5^th Street Arcade, on Fridays.  I haven’t actually had the chance to eat there since starting at Dwellworks, but it’s still feasible, so it’s still a favorite place that fits the bill: less than an 11 minute walk, fast service, and a unique atmosphere you can’t beat on a lunch break.

To understand the 5^th Street Arcades though, a little history is required. 

Back when Euclid Avenue was considered Cleveland’s Broadway by people who don’t live here, back when the Rockefellers and Carnegies you’ve heard of lived on the street in some of the most lavish mansions the Midwest ever saw, back before we detonated landmarks and installed parking lots, Cleveland was the fastest growing city in the U.S., right around the turn of the 19^th century into the 20^th.  It was a city on the rise for manufacturing and shipping interests, but also a growing cultural center. Many millionaires preferred to take their summers here over less temperate options.  But even when it wasn’t summer, Cleveland was a boom-town.  Many believed it was the next great American Metropolis, on its way to overtaking Chicago as the de facto capital of the Midwest.  All sorts of things happened and that dream was never realized.  But this city was tending toward it at one point in time. 

It was in that Golden Age that the three distinctive “arcades” on Euclid were created.  The modern shopping mall didn’t exist yet.  Shopping was essentially an outdoor activity: either in open air markets, or going from one small shop front to the next.  If you’ve ever spent a winter in Cleveland, it’s immediately obvious how inconvenient this would be, particularly for socialites who needed to be seen but couldn’t stand the cold.  All three arcades (the Euclid and Colonial Arcades are what is now called the 5^th Street Arcades, along with The Arcade, perhaps the most spectacular building most of the world never sees) operated on a similar premise: business wouldn’t die down so much in winter if shoppers could go from shop to shop while remaining indoors.

Somewhere along the path the prosperity, Cleveland fell off.  Contrary to the popular narrative, it started long before the steel mills started closing.  For whatever the reason, the economy collapsed and the arcades, all three of them, eventually closed down. Even today, The Arcade (not to be confused with its cousins across the street) is mostly an overpriced hotel/ghost town with a surprisingly open food court in the basement and a few decentish restaurants on the first floor. 

Before I moved to Cleveland, I would always go into The Arcade if I had time before a concert or Cavs game.  It’s a beautiful building.  I would love to think back to what it was as the premier place to shop anywhere between New York and Chicago.  But it was and is a little sad, to see it as an uncomfortable hotel lobby that, to this day, I’ve never seen more than 2 or 3 guests in at a time.  Little did I know though, during all of those visits, someone was reimagining the arcade concept across the street, in the Colonial and Euclid arcades.

Before a year or two ago, it looked like an otherwise abandoned building with a Radio Shack  and a Gyro shop (one of billions in Cleveland) in the front corners.  They tell me it’s not the world’s last Radio Shack, but I’m dubious on that.  Then a (overrated, overpriced, oversized, and over-dry) cupcake store moved in.  

If nothing else, the block west of the hallowed E. 4^th had a few new businesses on it and even a little progress is worth celebration in Cleveland.  But then the sign went up: “the 5^th Street Arcades.”  I’m not actually sure how long everything inside was there.  Before the sign went up, I had no idea it was anything more than a few stores I’d rather not go to and just another abandoned building.  Once it claimed to be what it was though, I ventured in. I’m now convinced that if you give me an hour, I will show you why Cleveland is coming back, without leaving that building. 

Between the two old arcades is a food court with 6 stands.  Two of them belong to one Chinese restaurant, two of them belong to one Indian restaurant.  One belongs to a Middle Eastern stand, and another a West African Vegan stand.  Food Court Eclecticism though, is only the beginning.

On Fridays, at least during the winter and early spring, the 5^th Street Arcades are home to an indoor farmer’s market.  “Farmers Market” is quite the misnomer.  It’s a bit more like what you’d expect along a side street in Provence on a Saturday morning.  There are a couple very small vegetable stands, but much of the farmer’s market is baked goods or dried herb vendors.  There are always two stands I can’t pass up: a French bakery with the best macarons in Ohio, and a homemade soft-pretzel stand.   There’s always live music too- it’s usually someone with a cello or a banjo, it seems.  Friday afternoons can be hard to get through, but well equipped with pâtisseries and pretzels, it’s something of a joy.

But before I can get my requisite afternoon snack from the “farmer’s market” I get my lunch in the food court: the Indian restaurant that takes up two stands is my typical choice.  It’s called “The Indies.”  They only have two employees: the married couple that owns the stand.  He deals with the customers while she cooks everything.  It’s not made to order as that would take hours, but it is always impeccably fresh.  Sometimes you’ll have to wait on your naan- she is constantly making more, with her bare hands, on the stove in the back.  It’s always a good thing when you have to wait on your naan. 

Their food is excellent.  A lunch special consists of your choice of three out of six curries: there are always 3 vegetarian (1 vegan) selection, and 3 chicken selections.  I typically mix and match.  They often have something of a saag paneer made with mustard greens instead of spinach- it’s absolutely delightful.  The spice level is just right for me (though that usually means a bit high for the average American diner), and for 6 bucks (7.50 with a drink) you’ll get lunch and maybe dinner.  Eating it in the shared food-court seating, just adjacent to the farmer’s market makes for a peaceful, musical lunch. 

Is there a better way to spend the lunch hour in downtown Cleveland?  It’s doubtful.  On the way back to the office, you can  stop by Pour in the eastern corner of the building: a steam-punk inspired ode to hand-crafted coffee serving the best joe you’ll find downtown (unless you’re from the East Side and think Ohio City is downtown and Hingetown is unequivocally a part of it, then Rising Star might make a claim otherwise, but I digress). 

Altogether, The 5^th Street Arcades are a brilliant place to have lunch and spend an hour.  The farmer’s market’s excellent afternoon snack options, along with Pour’s perfect after-lunch coffee make Friday lunch not just another meal, but the perfect set up for a great last push toward the weekend. 

All of that aside though, knowing that the old Arcades are thriving again is enough to remind any Clevelander that we’re all in the business of taking this raw rust-belt space of a city and using its past to redefine its future.

 -Zack