Skrtic's Pics: Stefani Schaefer, Juxhin Shazivari, LT Magnotto

John Skrtic has been with the Cleveland Public Library for over 30 years. He now serves as the chief of special projects and collections, which makes him responsible for overseeing the 11 million items in the Library Collection. He holds a master's of library and information science from Kent State University and a master's of public administration from Cleveland State University. Skrtic grew up on East 41st Street in Downtown Cleveland and has lived in the city his entire life. He is father of two children and spends his free time archiving the people and places of Cleveland.

Stefani Schaefer

Stefani Schaefer grew up in Alliance, Ohio, and joined Fox 8 in 1992 as a news anchor for Good Day Cleveland. Over her 30-plus-year career, she has earned seven Emmy Awards and interviewed presidents, first ladies, astronauts, and hundreds of other newsmakers and celebrities. She is widely trusted and admired in the Cleveland area for her many years of kindness, professionalism and dedication in reporting each day.

I photographed Schaefer at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame during the premiere of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere. She was attending the event, enjoying a relaxing moment in Cleveland while staying deeply connected to the city she reports on every day.

Before her broadcast career, Schaefer had a strong background in performance. She toured with the Bob Hope USO troupe, starred in lead roles in musicals such as Oliver, Gypsy, and The Sound of Music, and performed with her brother in the theme park show Something for Everyone. She has performed the National Anthem at the Pro Football Hall of Fame game for more than 30 years and earned honors including Ohio’s Junior Miss and Young Woman of the Year in 1989. Schaefer is also the author of Attention to Detail: A Woman’s Guide to Professional Appearance and Conduct and continues to be recognized as a trusted and influential voice in Cleveland media.

Rachel Davis Fine Arts

I met Rachel Davis after one of her Cleveland auctions, the kind of gathering where art, history and curiosity all meet in one room. She runs Rachel Davis Fine Arts, a famed Cleveland-based auction house that has become known for its expertise in 19th- and 20th-century Asian, American, and European art, along with decorative pieces, paintings, prints and sculpture.

Davis started out at Wolf’s Auction, learning the business from the ground up for eight years before striking out on her own. She founded her gallery in 1987, opened the commercial space in 1992, and by 1996 she was auctioning paintings and decorative arts. A few years later, it grew again, this time into a full-service house that could handle everything from furniture to jewelry. Today, her gallery, located inside the 78th Street Studios complex on Cleveland’s west side, holds six to eight auctions a year, each one pulling together the city’s artists, collectors and dreamers.

Davis was born in Brecksville and has called Cleveland Heights home for more than two decades. When I took her photo after the auction, the air still carried that mix of excitement and exhaustion from staff that comes from work done with heart. Watching her move through that space, you could see what it means to build something lasting in this town, a place where art, effort and community all still matter.

Blasian Fusion

Tiffany and Lloyd Knight run Blasian Fusion at 821 E. 185th St. I first met them when they were starting out with their food truck, bringing a unique combination of Afro-American and Japanese flavors to Cleveland neighborhoods. Over time, their business has grown into a full-service restaurant that reflects both their creativity and their commitment to the community.

Tiffany draws inspiration from her family, with a mother from Okinawa, Japan, and a father from the United States. Cooking has always been a way for her to connect these two cultures. Together, Tiffany and Lloyd have created a menu that balances tradition with innovation, offering food that feels personal and welcoming.

The restaurant continues to serve many of the dishes that built their following, including fusion egg rolls, inventive rice bowls, and sides like tempura broccoli and apple dessert rolls. Capturing their photo outside their shop felt like marking an important milestone. From starting on the street with a food truck to opening a fantastic permanent location, Tiffany and Lloyd have built a space where culture, flavor and community come together.

Eagle Kafe

I stopped by Eagle Kafe, located at 11100 Detroit Ave., and spoke with Juxhin Shazivari, the owner of this popular coffee shop on Cleveland’s West Side. Shazivari, originally from Albania, has built a beloved spot for both the Albanian community and Cleveland residents. It was fun to show him the many photos I have taken of his shop over the past decade. He shared that he took over the café on Sept. 1, 2015, a few years after it first opened.

Since then, he has developed a strong following. His Turkish coffee and many other offerings are rich, bold, and full of flavor, drawing fans from across the area. Eagle Kafe has become a place where people come to relax, play chess, or simply take a moment to unwind. Shazivari welcomes everyone and has hosted political discussions with Cleveland candidates this season to engage with residents.

If you have not been to Eagle Kafe before, stop by to try something different and enjoy some truly outstanding local coffee in a an old school welcoming atmosphere.

Regennia N. Williams, Ph.D.

Regennia N. Williams, Ph.D., is a native of Cleveland who has made a significant impact as a scholar of African American history and culture. She holds a doctorate in Social History and Policy from Case Western Reserve University. I am a huge fan of her research and work, particularly her studies on the amazing African American photographer Allen E. Cole, whose work she has highlighted in her scholarship.

Williams served as a history faculty member at Cleveland State University from 1993 until 2015, and she founded the non-profit organization The RASHAD Center, Inc., which focuses on studying religion, spirituality and culture in the African diaspora. Her work consistently explores local heritage, lived experience and the ways a city’s stories connect generations.

I took her picture standing in front of the gates of the Eastman Reading Garden as she visited the Cleveland Public Library. Her dedication to preserving and promoting African American history and culture continues to inspire scholars, students and the wider community alike.

LT Magnotto

LT Magnotto lives in Ohio City, the neighborhood where he was born and raised, and where he continues to build his life and work. He is the founder of Guardian Cold Brew, a local coffee company known for its smooth, chocolatey flavor, excellent ingredients and commitment to quality. I took his picture on West 25th Street, right in the heart of his community, a place that has shaped him and where his business has found its home.

We talked about travel, both of us having seen a lot of the world, yet still feeling that quiet amazement each day at how lucky we are to live here. Cleveland has it all: the lake, the neighborhoods, the culture, the grit and the people. People like Magnotto, the ones who keep working to improve themselves, their industries, and the city around them, are the reason this place continues to thrive.

Guardian Cold Brew is more than a product; it is a reflection of that ethic. It shows what happens when talent, dedication and community-mindedness come together. Magnotto's journey, from a Cleveland kid to a local entrepreneur whose work brings joy and energy to others, embodies the pulse of this city, its ambition, its heart and its enduring belief in Cleveland.

Kate's Fish

Tom McIntyre, originally from Bay Village and now living in Rocky River, runs Kate’s Fish at the West Side Market, a stand that has been serving Clevelanders since 2001 when his mother, Kate, first opened it. He became a partner in the business in 2012 and took over operations completely in 2020. Over the years, McIntyre has carried on the family tradition, making it one of the market’s most popular destinations for fresh seafood, with a dedicated team of 13 staffers.

Before returning to Cleveland, Tom spent time in Chicago working as a seafood wholesaler, learning the ins and outs of the industry, knowledge he now applies every day at the market. He balances running the business with family life and has two children. Salmon remains the best seller each week, a testament to quality, consistency and the trust of the community.

I shop at Kate’s Fish often and it was great to take a photo of McIntyre outside his stand, right in the heart of the market. You can see the care he puts into every detail: the way the fish are displayed, the way he talks to customers and the way the stall feels like part of the neighborhood. Kate’s Fish is more than a seafood stand. It is a place where Clevelanders gather, where a family’s dedication meets the community’s appetite, and where each visit reminds you that local business can sustain both flavor and tradition. McIntyre embodies that sense of commitment and care every day, keeping the legacy alive for all who walk through the market doors.

William G. Krejci

William G. Krejci is a Cleveland area-born historian and author who has made a name exploring the haunted and forgotten corners of Ohio’s past. Raised in Avon Lake, he has written about lost cemeteries, ghost stories and the echoes of people who once called this region home. His books include Buried Beneath Cleveland: Lost Cemeteries of Cuyahoga County and Haunted Put-in-Bay, both respected for blending careful research with a storyteller’s touch.

On Halloween night, I stayed overnight at the famed Franklin Castle in Ohio City. After handing out candy to the kids on the block, Krejci was kind enough to take me on a late-night tour through the winding halls of the castle, a place he once called home for six years and still guides visitors through today. I took his photo inside the old house to mark the moment. The stories, the creaks in the floors, and the long night reminded me why this place has held the city’s imagination for more than a century and why William keeps its stories alive.

Krejci also leads Strange & Spooky Cleveland Tours and gives talks on the city’s hidden history, connecting folklore with real lives and places. His work isn’t about chasing ghosts for scares. It’s about finding the human threads in the strange and the forgotten, showing how Cleveland remembers itself through its mysteries.

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