Restaurant Merch Is Getting Cooler, and Cleveland Businesses Want a Bite

When it comes to restaurant merchandise, an elaborate emblem or a business name printed on a shirt pocket represent opposite approaches — but each has found its audience.

For decades, iconic vacation destinations like the Hard Rock and Salty Dog cafes have harbored the sentiment of the T-shirt as more of a souvenir than streetwear, an extension of a business rather than a pillar. But the pandemic sparked a cultural shift, turning merchandise into a significant source of revenue as food sales became less frequent.

“We started selling shirts all over the country to customers that had moved to other states,” says Marc-Aurele Buholzer, chef-owner of Vero Pizza in Cleveland Heights. “The flood of support was nuts. It became another appendage of our brand.”

It’s a growth that’s happened parallel to a broader creative revolution of streamlined, minimalist branding that became the theme of big-name corporations. Some local spots follow suit, characterizing their company with just a few colors and a single typeface; others build on local artistry to diversify their brand, orbiting a retro, grunge influence reminiscent of tees at a thrift store.

“People want to represent their favorite restaurants,” says Garth Phillips, co-owner of Cleveland Print Co. in the Goodrich–Kirtland Park neighborhood, “kind of like their favorite band.”

Phillips and Ryan Fletterick, fellow Cleveland Print Co. owner, have understood that overlap since opening the business in 2018. Aside from screenprinting, Fletterick is a solo music artist, and Phillips has frequently illustrated merchandise for bands. Like the music scene, restaurants, cafes and food purveyors have their fan clubs, too, and they’re seeing shirts as a more permanent way to prove it beyond the dining room.

“It’s really cool to give customers another way of interacting with us,” Buholzer says.

“You start a conversation,” Phillips adds. “People are going to be like, ‘Oh, I love that spot,’ or, ‘I know the owner.’”

READ MORE: Best of Cleveland 2026: The Food Trends and Classics We Love in Cleveland’s Dining Scene

LT Magnotto and Chris Kochera met through music, too, playing in local bands more than two decades ago, then opening Field Trip Merch in Slavic Village about two years ago. Their focus on embroidery has become a merchandise fad of its own.

“I think because younger generations are discovering ’90s fashion,” Kochera quips.

“People are coming to us now because they’ve been receiving digital products that don’t last, that wash out, or fall apart in a year or two,” Magnotto adds. “And it’s brought people back to the artisan ways of decorating.”

Magnotto also notes that today’s merchandise includes stickers, tote bags, sweatshirts and hats. Buholzer even gives out free matchbooks to promote the wood-fired principle synonymous with Vero’s pizza.

Because of pandemic restrictions, Buholzer’s merch production naturally began locally, with Cleveland Print Co. pressing some of Vero’s earliest tees and Cleveland artist Matthew Childers, a longtime friend of Buholzer’s, collaborating on the design.

“I like to work alongside my designers and printers,” Buholzer says, “and have actual dialogue with them. I get it hand-delivered, and we can inspect the quality together.”

“There’s just something so communal about working with real artists,” Fletterick adds, “and communicating with them.”

Cool restaurant merch is subjective and versatile; here are some of the ways that Cleveland-area eateries are making their swag.

Vero Pizza

Childers matches his vintage and nostalgic art style to Buholzer’s streetwear allegiance. Buholzer, who sketches all the concepts, likes to focus each of his shirts on one element of his Neapolitan-style pizzas. It’s a minimalist entendre to match Vero’s from-scratch cooking with current design trends. One shirt displays a bundle of tomatoes; another features a witty theater character known as Pulcinella, who Buholzer calls “the patron saint of Napoli,” dancing with fresh dough and wheat stalks. “They're both representative of 1960-70s European liquor advertisement culture,” Buholzer says, “like old Campari and Amaro ads. So we have a motif that we're working towards that, thankfully, is somewhat timeless.” 12421 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights, 216-229-8383, verocleveland.com

Martha on the Fly

“People really like the unstructured hats that aren’t stiff,” says Magnotto, who also co-owns Martha on the Fly. Merch from the Tremont breakfast spot makes its diner-style logo the centerpiece on flat-brimmed hats from Field Trip Merch, plus T-shirts and long-sleeve tops. Designs lean retro, yet modest, sometimes donning an egg-patty cartoon or a smiling sun. $25-$35, 2173 Professor Ave., Cleveland, 844-474-3568, marthaonthefly.com

Rosy

Cleveland-based illustrator Marc Scott’s charming, abstract doodles have established the Hingetown restaurant’s brand identity in a more unique way — gallery walls in the restrooms or postcards presented to guests with the check after their meal. At a dark, fire-centered space made to feel comfortable, yet upscale, the animated artwork helps loosen the grip and emphasize Rosy’s communal mission. One drawing of cartoonish figures sharing a bottle of wine recently made its way onto button-up uniform shirts for the staff, embroidered by Field Trip Merch. 2912 Church Ave., Cleveland, 216-785-9345, rosy.restaurant

Kate’s Fish

A mythological mermaid creature has become the mascot of the West Side Market vendor, exemplifying its nautical ties and its fresh seafood inventory. Cleveland Print Co. printed it on T-shirts and hoodies ($32-$48), while rope caps from Field Trip Merch ($30) with a colorful walleye are a less ornamented complement — more “old-school” and “grandpa-esque,” as Magnotto and Kochera describe it. 1979 W. 25th St., 216-621-7675, instagram.com/katesfishmarket 

Vessel Coffee Collaborative

The Detroit-Shoreway coffee shop has a free-spirited, refined vibe with low lighting, comfy couches and antiqued frames on dark green walls. Its T-shirt design echoes that demeanor with artwork reminiscent of an American traditional tattoo style. It was commissioned from local artist Emily Frances and comes in two varying pastel color combinations — one bright and spring-inspired, the other more muted and natural. $30, 5019 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, vesselcoffeecle.com 

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