Crocker Road has quickly become a thoroughfare of shopping and dining in Northeast Ohio. That reputation is growing thanks to Crocker Commons, a one-story, 16-acre, mixed-use development that started construction last fall. It features 60,000 square feet of office space and 30,000 square feet of retail space.
“This is an ideal location for the new center,” says Steve Rubin, chief operating officer of real estate at Five Forty Investments; it owns FSW Properties LLC, owners of the complex. “I was the chief operating officer for Crocker Park when it opened and am a former COO of Stark Enterprises, and I’ve been working in Westlake for more than 20 years. [My colleagues and I] often chatted about what should go across the street. We felt it should be something that was mixed-use, but didn’t want to make the buildings too tall because we didn’t want it to appear intrusive.
“Building Crocker Commons here made all the sense in the world,” he adds. Crocker Park is much more experiential. This will be a mostly fast-casual place where you pull in and pick up what you need — or eat, if you’re eating in — and then pull out. The businesses here will be additives, not competition, and will be knitted within the fabric that’s all around them.”
The complex features two structures designed for dining and retail establishments, and a U-shaped office building featuring separate entrances for each occupant without the typical hallway leading to each one. Rubin and his team met with city officials to discuss the layout, worked with them to create a new category of planned-unit development and applied for rezoning. Patio seating and landscaped walkways will add to the ambiance, as will an architectural feature at the northwest corner of the office building and an exterior featuring a palette of nuanced masonry hues.
“We were fortunate to make Crocker Commons happen for the city, and successfully collaborated to make it possible,” Rubin says.
Verizon’s Crocker Commons store will open early in 2023, and four restaurants are preparing to serve customers.
A fast-casual Indian restaurant with a commitment to good health, Choolaah is known for using authentic spices imported directly from India and 4,000-year-old tandoor cooking methods that lead to the right amount of “flavor not fire” for every palate. Custom-built clay ovens cook meat and cheese at high temperatures ensuring juices are sealed in and the taste is true tandoori. Salads are made to order in a variety of veggie and vegan-friendly combinations.
What began as a small hot dog stand in New York City’s Madison Square Park in 2001 grew into Shake Shack, a fast-casual restaurant with more than 350 locations around the country. Known for gourmet, made-to-order burgers and crinkle cheese and bacon fries, the eatery also serves crispy chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, fruit punches, floats and frozen custard. Handspun milkshakes take top billing with flavors that include Chocolate Milk & Cookie, chocolate cookies handspun with malted chocolate frozen custard and topped with whipped cream and chocolate cookie crumbs; Chocolate Peppermint Shake, peppermint fudge and chocolate frozen custard handspun and topped with whipped cream and sprinkles; and the seasonal favorite Christmas Cookie, sugar-cookie frozen custard topped with whipped cream and holiday sprinkles.
A Central Ohio favorite, Kitchen Social will soon open its Greater Cleveland West Side location. The menu of American classics — including fresh salmon, pizza and tacos — is made from scratch, as is the cornbread diners can’t enough of, and sweet-ending selections that include lemon blueberry parfait (mascarpone cream, cinnamon brittle), brown butter cake (creme anglaise, mascarpone cream, seasonal berries), warm chocolate cake (candied peanuts, salted caramel, vanilla ice cream) and white chocolate blondie (vanilla ice cream, salted caramel, cinnamon brittle). Libations feature a generous array of cocktails, wine and locally crafted brews.
Mission BBQ remains true to the belief that there’s nothing more American than good barbecue, and there’s no more important mission than honoring first responders and soldiers. The menu is replete with mouthwatering entrees — including pulled pork — that are meant to be savored, and smokehouse favorites including baby back ribs, salmon and spare ribs, along with brisket and turkey sandwiches.
The company has also donated more than $10 million to local and national charitable organizations through the years, including The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, which leads efforts to plan, fund and build a national memorial in Washington D.C., to honor the historical significance of service in this conflict; Wreaths Across America, a national nonprofit founded in 1992 to place holiday wreaths on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery and 3,000 other locations across the country; Honor Flight Network, dedicated to transporting American veterans to Washington D.C., to visit memorials honoring men and women who have served our country from World War II through Vietnam, and serving ill and injured veterans from all service areas; The USO (United Service Organizations), which has supported veterans and their families with comfort and kindness since 1941 in 250 locations worldwide; Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which supports the families of fallen and wounded Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel by ensuring their children will receive a fully funded post-secondary education and providing financial grants to those severely wounded; Navy Seal Foundation, which assists the warriors and their families with challenges that arise with Naval Special Warfare (NSW) assignments; Semper Fi & America’s Fund, committed to providing immediate financial assistance and lifetime support to combat-wounded, critically ill and catastrophically injured members of all branches of the United States Armed Forces and their families, along with the resources they need along the road to recovery; National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which has remembered the fallen since 1992 and created programs to honor them and help survivors and coworkers; Concerns of Police Survivors, which helps families and survivors of those killed in the line of duty rebuild shattered lives; and CIA Officers Memorial Foundation, which supports the well-being and educational needs of children and spouses of fallen officers.
“Crocker Commons is designed as part of a village and is intended to be synergistic with what’s around it,” Rubin says.
