City Goods, the Ohio City based small-business collective, will come to an end after Jan. 31.
The network of retailers announced via Instagram that Ohio City Inc., the community development corporation that purchased City Goods last winter, has decided to end the current structure of City Goods.
City Goods opened in 2022 as a community market space comprising seven unique hangers that housed up to five small businesses each. Sam Friedman, owner of Chagrin Valley Soaps and Salves, started City Goods with the goal of making it easier for small retailers to bring their products to the public.
“In years of me struggling to have great retail, I’ve looked at all the problems and where we are sitting is the solution,” Friedman said in 2022.
Eighteen months later, Friedman and co-owner Liz Painter finalized a deal to sell the cluster of 30 small businesses to Ohio City Inc., a decision that came after the co-owners decided to transition City Goods into a nonprofit.
OCI acquired City Goods with the hopes of solidifying the market’s status in the neighborhood as an ease-entry retail cluster that provides homegoods to a public begging for brands without big-box affiliation.
"This is a long term investment… a long-range investment by us, to create the brands of tomorrow. They're going to fill the vacant storefronts,” OCI executive director Chris Schmitt said in 2024.
The seven hangers will be open with its current lineup of on-site retailers until Jan. 31. As for what’s next, expect the hangar units to be used in a creative way, with an official announcement to come.
“Stay tuned on what's next for The Creative Hangars (the 7 unique structures on the corner of W.28 x Church Ave) as this space will continue to be a source of inspiration and creativity,” City Goods stated on social media. “Cleveland is overflowing with makers, creatives, and doers who already have the next dream in the works! Please join us in cheering them on and in the meantime come out and support the current line-up of incredible brands on-site until 1/31.”
Read the full announcement here.
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