When a devastating fire shuttered CleaveLand Grocers (13425 Snow Rd., 440-306-5374) in Brook Park, it left a hole in the marketplace for members of the Muslim community who relied upon its wide selection of halal offerings. Owners Fasih Syed and Aniq Ahmed quickly opened a new location in Strongsville called CleaveLand Grill (17024 Pearl Rd., 440-210-4886), but the smaller footprint forced the family to focus more on popular made-to-order foods than on groceries.
“After the fire, there was a void left in the community – people did not have a place to go,” Syed says. “We tried to fill that void by opening the spot in Strongsville but clearly it wasn’t big enough for us.”
Soon, partners Syed and Ahmed will have more space for groceries than they ever did in Brook Park. Later this month, the brothers will be taking over Rumi’s Market (8225 Carnegie Ave.) in MidTown, which is roughly three times the size of the original CleaveLand Grocers. It’s a fitting transition for the east-side market and café as it too has been serving the Muslim community thanks to its wide selection of halal foods and imported groceries.
“There are definitely similarities, but when we go in there it will be completely our concept, the way we do things – and did things – at our original location,” says Syed.
That includes selling only premium certified halal meats like beef, goat, lamb and chicken.
But CleaveLand Grill in Strongsville, like the original CleaveLand Grocers in Brook Park, attracts a much wider audience than grocery shoppers. The trend-setting fast-casual menu impressed diners thanks to tantalizing smash burgers, tacos, cheesesteaks, chopped cheese sandwiches and more. Those items, along with the return of grilled items like wings and kebabs, will be making the transition to the east side. And unlike either CleaveLand location, the new spot offers comfortable indoor and outdoor seating for guests.
Syed says that the conversion should be seamless, with steady changes and additions rather than a closure and reopening. On June 22, Rumi's Grill will transition to CleaveLand Grill, utilizing meats from its own onsite butcher shop. The full grocery market makeover will be revealed later this summer. The plan, he adds, is to build upon the selection so that is serves many communities, not just the Pakistani community.
“Groceries were a big part of when we started,” he explains. “Being the only Pakistani grocery in Cleveland, that kind of meant something to us because we brought in the products that no one else carried. We’re excited to bring those products back again so people don’t have to travel to Chicago or Michigan to get them.”
Syed says that he aims to be the destination for all things Arabic, Turkish, Indian, Bangladeshi, Afghani and more.
The owners have no intention of shuttering CleaveLand Grill in Strongsville after taking over Rumi’s Market, they add.
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