Streb Electric
There was no lightning rod that sparked the idea for Streb Electric in 1975. The concept for the full-service residential electric company ignited when cutbacks at Fisher-Fazio’s grocery chain forced Bill Streb Sr., the head meat buyer, to look elsewhere.
Streb relied on word of mouth in the early days to secure each customer at his business, Streb Electric. His son, Bill Streb Jr., occasionally served as clean-up man through high school and after college before becoming fulltime in 1989, when he realized he had fallen in love with the trade. He became owner in 2001.
Now with eight trucks and 17 employees, Streb Electric has stood the test of time. The chamber member of 11 years says the company’s devotion to customer service makes it stand out in a trade where leaving a customer’s home cleaner than they found it matters.
Bill Jr. will soon hand the torch to his son, Ryan, to take over the company while Bill and his wife, Rolanda, fly south to Arizona for the winters. “He’s ready to take over as the third generation,” Bill Jr. says. “He’s already thinking about the future of the company and what he wants to do with it.”
Wickliffe Lanes
Wickliffe Lanes owner Jim Gierman had two bedrock principles for the bowling alley — keep it clean and maintain top-notch customer service. His sons, Randy and Jeff, who now manage the business, agree those principles are the secret sauce that keeps the magic alive at the establishment, which opened in 1975.
During its time, the 45,000-square-foot building has seen scores of bowlers pass through, mostly league players, who spend about 33 weeks a year honing their hobby sport. Jeff says his father’s knack for getting to know customers is what keeps the bowling alley thriving.
“My dad was a people person and he always got to know customers, so we kind of learned from that,” he says.
Although he retired in 2013, Jim still stops in once a week.
Meanwhile, the brothers carry on the legacy that their father began nearly 50 years ago with a catchphrase that encapsulates the spirit of their business and its ability to flourish after all these years:
“We just keep setting them up and they keep knocking them down.”
Care 2 U Weight Loss, Wellness and Med Spa
When Janaya Burke realized she could bring weight loss to the masses, she first wanted to make sure the products were legitimate in helping clients achieve a healthy lifestyle. So, she tried them herself.
The nurse practitioner lost 15 pounds, but she also began working out and paying more attention to her diet. After starting out with virtual visits, she soon realized most clients couldn’t afford the entire amount for the medication at once.
In May, Janaya and her husband, Corey, opened Care 2 U Weight Loss, Wellness and Med Spa on Euclid Avenue in Wickliffe. Janaya points to the benefits of weight-loss drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide (better known as Ozempic and Zepbound, respectively) as her driving force for wanting to help make the medications more accessible. Those benefits include lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, as well as weight loss.
“We care about you, your whole person, and that’s your mental well-being and your physical well-being,” Corey he explains. “In a society where money drives a lot of people, our care and our love for human beings drives us a lot more.”
Olympus Aerospace
Olympus Aerospace began as Apollo Products in 1994 at the hands of Jesse Baden and Mike Scanlon, two men with a desire to control their own destiny. The coworkers combined their engineering and sales backgrounds to run three separate businesses — all of which relate to the process of making parts for airplane engines.
In 2022, Katy Baden and Chris Scanlon purchased the empire from their retiring fathers. The partners waited a year before consolidating the three namesakes, Apollo Products, API Pattern Works and Trucast, under the Olympus Aerospace umbrella to create a more cohesive brand, Katy notes.
Now, with more than 180 employees, Katy and Chris pride themselves on being “working owners” who handle the day-to-day operations as CEO and COO, respectively. Words like “trust,” “transparency” and “community” serve as the backbone of the operation that encourages workers to go to their child’s choir concert at lunch or to leave early to attend a parent’s doctor appointment.
“We want to continue to be a place that our employees and our staff want to work,” Katy says. “Because without them, we wouldn’t be here.”
D&S Automotive
Collision repair isn’t an industry where patrons look forward to making an appointment. So C.J. Paterniti finds other ways to make D&S Automotive’s Kirtland Collision Center stand out.
Paterniti’s father, Carmen, began building the brand in 1977. In 2023, C.J. bought his dad out after handling the day-to-day operations for more than 12 years. In that time, the business had grown to include five locations and a mobile glass repair outfit.
The Kirtland location was C.J.’s second acquisition while flying solo — although he admits his dad still comes around to lend a hand. The building on Euclid-Chardon Road formerly served as the home of Danny’s Custom Touch until the March 2024 purchase; it now specializes in collision repair and serves as the home base for 10 of the company’s more than 100 employees.
When he’s not working, C.J. never shies away from a sport or a cause that needs a sponsor or a financial hand.
“We’ve always been huge Chamber supporters,” he notes. “You always invest in the communities that support you, so that’s why we support them.”
Klemenc Construction
Klemenc Construction is small but mighty. The residential roofing company does a significant volume of work while utilizing eight to 10 employees year-round. The business that began in 1994 was the brainchild of Michael and Susanne Klemenc, a husband-and-wife team who still oversee the day-to-day operations.
Beyond the charity work that the company is eternally committed to, Susanne says they are equally as committed to their dedicated workforce.
“It’s not so much that we’re a family-owned business, but all of our employees are our employees,” says the Chamber member of 10 years. “They’re not subcontractors.”
Susanne adds that her husband’s “likeability” and handling jobs efficiently makes for a winning combination. Klemenc Construction also prides itself on its high degree of customer satisfaction and enjoys an A+ rating with the BBB.
“It’s a very big commitment now when it comes to roofing and any type of housing improvements,” she says. “It’s very expensive anymore, so we try as best as we can to make our customers happy.”
