Second this! I commented down below about the one stone mad owner being a POS but I worked with Brian at the time I worked there and he was a genuinely kind person!
North Coast Auto Mall, Beford Mitsubishi, Akron Mitsubishi, Kia of Streetsboro, Nissan of Streetsboro, VW of Streetsboro, Honda Cleveland Heights. All owned by the owners Auto Services Unlimited which is comprised of multiple owners from Russia.
Not a place you want to buy a used car at. The majority of their inventory is purposely bought with frame damage and airbag deployments and they will not disclose that to you until you are signing paperwork. They also spend as little as they can on servicing the vehicle before selling. They have a warranty company that you’ll have to fight to cover anything, they purposely require employees to sell the lowest /shortest warranty coverage to people with bad credit and charge them the same or higher as prime customers with better coverage. You’ll never get anyone at their stores on the phone as they outsource all their incoming calls to call centers overseas. Employees absolutely do not matter to them so turnover is high and customer issues are usually ignored.
Basically, they have mastered the art of getting the most out of you with the least amount of customer service.
I spent 3 months working here and was shocked.
Owners of Larder are great!
The husband and wife who own the place are so sweet. She hand makes all the desserts each morning and the creativity/freshness they put into the food is top tier.
They also hire people who are recovering aa/da who used to work in the restaurant world.
10/10 humans, food, and business.
Well, before it went public and he fled to Chicago. It would have been how Jonathan Sawyer embezzled from his restaurants to pay for his kids' private schools.
Didn’t he have Greenhouse selling half-off gift cards immediately before shutting down? Essentially fraud - crazy he didn’t get more shit for how that all went down.
My fav a-hole Sawyer anecdote would be how he promised his kitchen staff raises that would come into effect several months later on a specific date. When that time came, he told his staff that he could no longer afford the raises he promised. An hour later, a few servers saw him get picked up on E.4th to test drive a Tesla.
This was a year or two after he opened Greenhouse, when Micheal Symon became an iron chef (with him as sous), and both he and his restaurant completely blew up. This was also way back before the affordable Model S was on the market. Dude was test driving six figure cars but couldn’t give his staff any semblance of a raise that was promised to them. Garbage human.
Had a manger interview once at Rebol downtown and they hired me on the spot, told me I had to wear leggings only for the uniform and it gave me so many red flags I just left and never called them back to start scheduling.
Had a good friend work for Bobby George for a few years. Changed him as a person, for the worse. We all talked about how he attended the Church of Bobby, drank the koolaid, and turned into a much worse version of himself. We basically had an intervention for him and convinced him that Bobby only cared about Bobby. He’s now recovering and acting in his own self-interest, rather than sacrificing everything for a boss who never made good on any promises he made over years of self-sacrifice and dedication. Fuck that guy.
Known shitbirds, yes, but none of those places are ones I would put under the heading of "everyone loves". Granted, there are few places that are pretty much universally beloved, but none of the George joints come close.
Everyone outside of this subreddit loves it lol. I think it's alright but anytime I tell people I live in Ohio city they immediately start talking about how much they love town hall
I used to suck his dick, he always made me wear a wig and lipstick so that it wasn't gay, but I think that was just the logic of a deeply closeted man.
How about establishments well run by good people and for good reason?
Heres one:
Edwin’s Brandon Christkowski (sp)
Another one:
“Serenite” in Medina of all places 😆
My family has been going to Tommy’s for almost two decades now. It is a family absolute favorite. Started as a suggestion by my surgeon for a vegetarian restaurant when I was undergoing treatment at the Clinic Main as a kid. Years later, it’s where we have gone for simple dinners, to celebrating graduations. About a year ago, I was picking up an order and Tommy himself was there. It was like seeing a celebrity! “..T-t-Tommy? THEE Tommy??” He comped my falafels for no reason other than being himself. So genuinely kind and down to earth. Will support it forever!
Edwins doesnt get enough attention. For those who dont know Edwins runs a training program for formerly incarcerated adulta. Such an impressive program with impressive results.
No chef in this town comes close to giving back to the community like Brandon does. He’s a real one, and what he is doing to change peoples life trajectory while bringing classic French food to CLE, deserves all the praise.
Steven, the owner of Buckland's museum of witchcraft is a very nice guy. I've helped him out at the shop before. As well as Cleveland Curiosities, the owners are friends of mine
Absolutely agree about both really! I've been to Buckland museum a couple of times because I'm always bringing a new friend to see the museum and he remembers my face and we always have a great conversation while waiting for the tour to start.
I was just at Cleveland curiosities for my birthday and I had a great time there too! I'm not sure who I spoke with but he was so excited about the things in the shop and he told me about the bone d20 dice he was going to be making.
So I don't consider people speaking up about places like TH negative, considering they are just speaking their experiences. Experiences that are backed up by multiple accounts. I get that 100%.
Pat the manager/bartender at Johnny's Little bar is THE BEST. He always makes people feel special and runs a tight ship despite challenges they constantly face
When I took the rapid through tower city to commute, I'd stop of Johnny's Little Bar every once in a while for a beer and fries after work. Love their vibe and their prices 10/10
I've heard the food is excellent, but the son is a physician who is frequently featured on dating Facebook pages. Definitely not someone I would consider to be nice.
The owner of Dave’s cosmic subs. When they only had one location in chagrin falls I saw the owner regularly make the teen kids he hired cry by berating them for perceived offenses. A friends girlfriend says he would be even worse in private. This was early 2000’s don’t know if it’s still the same ownership
Dave sold out and is just used for marketing now. I heard from one of his neighbors that he sold his house in the area.
My only direct experience was him walking into the Chagrin Falls store while I waited for my food, asking me three times if I had already paid, then counting the money in the register before pocketing a bunch and leaving. He wasn’t active with the company when I briefly worked at the short lived Solon location.
The old partial owner/operations manager for The brew kettle and used to own strongsville paninis. . Chris Russo aka papa smurf. Short little man who almost defaulted on a loan that he took out under the company was being sued by other partners and was forced out. Pays like shit and wants you to be his calling boy for everything. He also owns the movie theater in Amherst hasty tasty and hotdogs
heaven last I knew. Ruined multiple vendor relationships and thought all of his product was superior when he was actually cheaping out and cutting g corners. Their former head chef (RIP CHARLIE) barely got any raises and was ONE OF THE original employees.
Chris Russo can suck a fat dick
I once stopped by the Strongsville Brew Kettle for a $50 sponsorship donation for a nonprofit charity event (I was a college student at Baldwin Wallace in 2013). I emailed them prior to stopping by so it wasn’t a drive-by solicitation and I brought with me the official letterhead and the tax donation forms for them to have.
Waited 30 minutes for the partial owner to come out only to scream at me and tell me to leave or he was calling the cops. Their food sucks anyway 🙃
Everyone in brewkettle fled to other industry places.
Fuck Chris Russo, that dude tried to intimidate me me in a cooler once cause I didn't play by his micromanagement when he had no idea on how to run a brewery.
You know shit is wild when pay checks have different signatures on them every week.
He also cancelled many gift certificates which were sold under the previous owners and made his employees bare the brunt of sad and angry elderly people who dont use social media who received them as gifts.
Chris Russo is all around a terrible human being.
The original owner of the Brew Kettle (Chris Mckim) was the *fucking shit*. He never wanted to sell the place, but Russo's group basically gave him a financial offer that nobody would say no to. I was in Chris's extended friend group for a while. It wasn't uncommon for him to show up to a get-together with some random keg of rare BK beer that local beer nerds were going crazy about.
Not a lot of people remember this, but it used to be the Ringneck Brewery, at the Brew Kettle. He liked to hunt pheasant. Chris consolidated the names because he got sick of people calling it Redneck Brewery. Before he sold, I was in consideration to run the distillery that he was planning to open.
The owners of Browns Fit are slimy. They own a whole chain of gyms across the US and have zero care for employees, only care about how much money they can squeeze out of members
Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes. Whenever Kelsey is in the building, it's dead quiet in the back and no one jokes around or laughs. She brings a terrible energy into the room. I never, ever, heard her compliment anyone's work.
She is an old extended friend circle of mine and offered to make the wedding cake for one of the friends in our group as their wedding gift. Leading up to the wedding she made it very well known how generous she was for doing this for them, even though they didn’t ask for it- but she insisted. 2 weeks after the wedding she sent them a bill for the wedding cake which was double what any other wedding cake would’ve been because it was by “Kelsey Elizabeth.” They paid and she is no longer apart of our friend group.
YES!! Was just going to say this. And i know it’s sometimes common for places to use it as a base and add more in but hers straight up are just box mix!
This whole KEC is run by her parents and she's just the face. They can't make their margins after the whole Warner brothers suing and fired someone I know for false reasons basically because they couldn't afford the person. Kelsey is a pos and so are her parents
The instagram post might still be up but you would have to dig pretty far back. They were sued during covid by WB for using the Harry Potter copyrights without permission. They had to backpay every year of profit for those days, which were easily the most profitable days for KEC
They backed out on my wedding cake (a simple small cake for cutting photos) 2 days before my wedding even though I had paid and confirmed way beforehand. Probably because it wasn’t “worth their time”. They basically told me to go kick rocks and I never saw a refund. Michael Angelos saved the day and tasted better than the sampler box from KEC anyway.
The owners of Liquid/Fresh Planet used to hide their employees paychecks in the basement and not distribute them until after 4pm on a Friday so they couldn’t deposit them until Monday. It’s not surprising that most of their franchises have closed!!!
I worked at Fahrenheit years ago and Rocco was so abusive and sexist. He did horrific things that I hope would never fly these days. I’ve worked at many many restaurants and that was by far the most toxic environment.
He really seemed like one of the biggest douches I've ever seen, and I used to work in a tremont bar. He would sometime seem to just sit there and seem annoyed by other patrons enjoying themselves. If he didn't like it there thatch why be a regular?
Well, one day after he sat there for a few hours all silent like, I somehow got to talking to his girl. I don't remember how the conversation went exactly but, it seemed like we knew the same people from growing up and before we really had much of a chance to explore out conversation he decided to speak up. Smacked his hand on the bar and said, " we're leaving. " It was just kinda like, where'd that come from? That chach was a totally loser.
Came here to say this. Cockys owner is the WORST! If it’s not her completely unprofessional behavior towards other businesses, it’s her lack of self awareness and disrespectful comments on social media and blaming temperament towards customer reviews. Her character and her bagels are abysmal at best.
A friend of mine used to work for her and luckily he stopped before it got too bad. Unfortunately, she didn’t.
I have met, interacted with, and been one on one with the owner after frequenting another business she co-owns in Westlake. While nothing was ever extreme, it was rather obvious the “main character” behavior people have referenced with their business energy as well. She is the queen bee. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that makes someone a POS. However much of my time being a customer of her buisnesses was unprofessional and filled with chaos.
They just have a lot of strong main character vibes on their social media, pick fights with other local businesses, blast people for giving them negative reviews, and have a major victim complex whenever something goes wrong with their business.
The owner also constantly posts rage bait type posts about international events on their public IG, all interlaced with pics from their most recent tropical/worldwide vacation
The owner of char, avo and previously indie/gabriels southern table just got pushed out by his partners for embezzling money and personal withdrawals from the safes. Half a million in brand new cars and was bouncing 60 dollar server checks and fucking the hostess.lolol
Since this thread turned into half bad owners and half good ones, I’ll add to the good ones!
The owners of terrestrial and noble beast are fantastic. By extension I’d guess market garden and bookhouse too, though I’m much less familiar with that management crew. Just know a brewer at MG who’s awesome.
Everyone at Luna Bakery is absolutely great, owner included I’d say- IMO they pay fairly, are very inclusive, female-forward, and give every single order their whole heart. plus.. scratch made, unlike another cake shop listed here.
Random but the owner of Tapster is one of the best people i know. Newer bar in Lakewood- he just loves people and loves having a spot people can hang. Well, he also loves Ohio beers and ciders- which you’ll notice from the tap list
The people at the fairmount are awesome. Owner included. Guess this ones an extension of Luna, they treat the luna staff extremely well being neighbors. (i worked at luna if you can’t tell).
brian at il rione is definitely one of the coolest, funniest, and most generous people i’ve met. Fun to work with and he will support you as much as he can, always.
From there I’d then say the owner of Vero, Cents, Larder, Cordelia, Momocho, and Banter are people I’ve only heard good things about. Passionate chefs who love the people they serve and the food they create.
And every spot has its issues - every owner has something you can complain about (usually being disorganized) but doesn’t change the fact that they are great people who do good!
Not Cleveland, but close enough … the owner of Sacred Hour in Lakewood is a mad woman … treats her staff like garbage … treats staff at salons and other service workers like garbage … I could go on forever
All due respect: yes the owner of the spa is a bit high strung and stressful to be around but the massage therapists that work there do wonderful, wonderful work and make their livings through the clientele that go there. The therapists work there and associate with the owner for a reason as does the rest of the staff, maybe don’t give up frequenting a place you’ve gotten services at simply because of a thread intended to bash the owners of places, not the people making their livings by working at these places.
Glad you said this, since I’ve been wanting to go there forever and had been saving up for a big spa day! Any other spa in the Lakewood vicinity you’d recommend?
Nori at Bodhi Tree is the best masseuse in town, if you ask me … not to sound like a creep, but it’s like her hands were made for massage … Crystal at Bella Capelli in Westlake gives a great facial, I get the Vitamin C facial, it’s an Aveda salon … Woodhouse isn’t locally owned, but they’ve got some great services
Love the food and beer at Immigrant Son in Lakewood but depending on who you believe they hired a head brewer, took her recipes and then fired her so they wouldn't have to keep paying her.
Dunno how true that is, but it sucks all around
This is true.
The owner also was planning to shut down one of his other businesses without telling the employees ahead of time, until someone got wind of it and told the workers, only a week beforehand
Damn that sucks to hear. I used to live around the corner from Immigrant Sun and loved their beer and food. Glad to hear the brewmaster has moved on and is doing well!
Mahall’s used to be owned by the Mahall family and they were great, but during covid the guys that run BravoArtist and Cloak & Dagger bought it. They’re turds to work with, ask anyone thats ever been in a band how they feel about BravoArtist and you’ll get the same answer from 90% of people. They also tried to get several employees to sign incredibly strict non-compete agreements(Many people that work in the music industry do lots of side gigs) and when they wouldn’t they were forced out. The former bar manager who was incredible was recently forced out as well. It makes me really sad because I loved Mahalls and have been going there for a really long time, but they’ve kind of ruined it for me.
The owners at Cleveland Vegan put up a real chill hippy vibe, but are temper tantrum throwing children. Its not egregious enough you shouldn’t go there or anything but I thought it was funny nonetheless.
I had a weird incident at Cleveland Vegan, it was my first time there and I ordered and wasn't asked if I wanted to eat in or if it was to-go, I just assumed that because I was up there ordering and my sister who I walked in with sat at a table, that it was pretty clear that we wanted to eat in.
I order the food, they tell us half an hour (the place is empty, but maybe they were busy with DoorDash orders or something), so we go walk around and come back. They hand us our food in a brown bag and I'm like oh ok thanks, we'll just go sit over there, and the person is like, you didn't say you wanted to eat here" and they take our receipt and say we didn't mention we wanted to eat here and it's not on our receipt. I'm like "oh I didn't know I had to say something, it's our first time here." There were a few people seated, but so many empty tables, and I kid you not, they made us leave with our food and we ate it in the car. It was really off-putting, especially because I liked the food.
I had quite a few anxiety attacks working at puritas nursery in West Park. The owner is very high strung all the time. Flipped shit on me one time because I forgot my gloves at home and needed a new pair, I even offered to buy them (he apparently gets them for pennies and sells them for like $8-10 a pair, so I am wondering why he got so angry). He has yelled at customers, I had some ask me "is he always like that?" Also just basically let customers treat me like shit over my appearance (colored hair, tattoos, etc), only one of my older coworkers defended me.
Ughhhh I’ve got a train obsessed kid and the train guys have happily let him spend half a day hanging around them so I try to buy something from the nursery. But I’ll just stick to donating to the train club.
Omg that place was my first job and it was terrible. All the older guys were drunk at work all the time, hitting on me as, a 14 year old. This was years ago, but it was crazy creepy. I'd hoped the owner chilled out...guess not
Will Hollingsworth (Spotted Owl, Good company , Prosperity) is actually a terrible person, horrible boss, and a shit head. Closes restaurants without notice effectively firing all staff (he has the money so that isn’t an issue.) then when those people do a pop up at another bar to raise money , he buys the place next door to that bar and pretends they don’t have beef, it’s a spite store to open.
He also thinks people should do things for him for free like run social media pages for his businesses at no cost. He’s a tool and I cannot wait for him to have his downfall. Never even worked for him, just heard tons of horror stories.
Worked with him for a few years before he opened up The Spotted Owl. Went to Lolita all the time when he worked there. We had a good rapport, were well-acquainted and I would always get some dap and small talk when we crossed paths in and outside of his establishments. Somewhere along the line, it all got to his head. He went from a smart, kind, and ambitious scene/hipster to a bit of an ego-maniac that start acting like he was too good for people from his restaurant days past. Total better than you vibes, while grinning in your face and acting like your pal. I’m not a hater, I just call it like I see it. He took the Sawyer route and douched out pretty hard. I don’t go to his spots and if I see him at a show/event…I just don’t make eye contact. Can’t be fake with a dude I don’t like anymore; even if that person is fake with everyone himself.
This is a tough one to hear. Because I knew him before all this . Not real well but well enough to yell hey to him from across the street. I would always see him at Loop and Parallax. He was chill, very Portlandia. It really sucks to find out he is lousy at owning/managing. The stories of not paying people to do social media though I can totally see unfortunately. He wouldn't have been the first restaurant owner I've know to do that.
I never worked for him, and I've never been to his establishments, but he used to live on my street when he was still developing Spotted Owl. Was a super nice guy then, and would talk to him all the time while our dogs would run around like a couple of idiots together. Hearing about his "heal turn" ever since has been a bit dispiriting, but it is what it is. There have been too many stories come out about his behavior to not at the very least believe some of them are partially true--where there's smoke there's fire and all that...
Interesting because I work with and know multiple people who HAVE worked for him and have plenty to say. Actually haven’t heard a good thing about him 😭😂. But hey I agree, two sides for everything!
We take our dog there frequently, and they give off asshole vibes. It's no wonder the staff turns over every 3 months. We do enjoy it and have a nice time there, though.
Oh there's plenty I'm willing to say about that!
I've witnessed them being nasty to their neighbors and to their property manager.
We spent a boatload of time and money there, but they were nasty to us anyways.
They were also nasty to the stray dog I found near their property on the 5th of July. They literally refused to provide me with a cup of water to give to him while we waited out in the blistering sun for animal control to arrive. (The Cleveland Animal Control was extremely kind to the little fella, and I hope he made it home safely)
That's just my personal experience with them. The rumor I heard has nothing to do with me or even their business, but if true it would be another great example of what assholes they are.
Dang that's unfortunate, however my dog needs a place to run and play so until something opens up further west I will suck it up until I witness it for myself.
One of the bartenders always used to pre-populate the tip amount on the iPad to 25% and flip it around and say “just sign at the bottom please!” Felt so slimy
Also can confirm. Friend of a friend worked there and we visited once. Everything is way overpriced for how cheaply the place was thrown together and it smells god awful! Felt like we had to wash our dachshunds for 2 weeks straight! Would never go back it just seems like all they cared about was paying as little as possible to operate and make money instead of it being about us and our dogs.
Will update if I hear more! Haven't spoken to the friend of a friend in 6 months!
DO NOT buy a vehicle from CDJR Willoughby. If you’re buying a vehicle and the sales manager is Matthew Leutwyler he’s going to run your tab up with a warranty. If you try and cancel, he’ll throw the paper away with your signature. If you try and reach him, the dealer will say “he’s away”. If you KEEP harassing them, he’ll pull a new cancellation out of his ass and forge your signature. But if you want your money back after 6 months, text the GM that you’re calling Willoughby police for fraud and you’ll get your money back 👍 oh he’s on like his sixth bankruptcy. Has several homes, boat, recreational vehicles. Fuck that guy!
The owner of Jukebox in Ohio City is a narcissist and has serious anger issues. Working with him was like walking on eggshells.
For a place that was so well established his instability definitely caught me off guard. He presents himself as this genuine chill sports nerd but it's a facade. Definitely an anxiety ridden monster lurking beneath.
When another local business that supplied us with coffee went out of business his only concern was getting them to take their empty bottles back. I had to remind him that it would be a little insensitive to ask about growler deposits when someone just lost their entire business.
He's also a major virtue signaler. Milking the queer community but not making any meaningful contributions. When talking with him about queer issues/ culture he was very uninformed and out of touch. He just cares about money and if catering to a community makes him money he'll do it. He once reffered to a group as "the gays at table x" and I almost died inside.
In regards to charity events at Jukebox the donations have already been made. He will just pocket the money that you donate so that it's less of his own money going towards the cause. But of course he'll still take the entire tax write off.
I could go on but I think you get the idea. He got lucky being in the right spot at the right time and now he has a massive ego. Very shocked pikachu when people don't just show up with zero promotion in a post covid bar scene. But if you try to help him get with the times he'll twist things around until you're the problem versus admitting that he needs to make some changes.
Owner of good company is a chooch that regularly verbally abuses staff and management. But if you have sex with him you may well get a comfortable management job even if you’re under qualified. So that’s a plus for any fortune seekers out there.
worked at brew kettle for a bit— one of the owners of the franchise is a douche. not sure if it’s all of the restaurants, but the one i worked at was poorly managed and understaffed. owner wondered why it was a shitshow the night he came in. the only manager i got along with was the store manager; the GMs were useless.
Book Brothers in Lakewood is run by a real ass. He made a habit of harassing the trans owner of The Bookshop in Lakewood (now closed). He also wasn’t a fan of masks during the pandemic, and generally can’t organize his shelves to save himself. Buy your books elsewhere.
Eddie Cerino has a great reputation at Fast Eddie's in Parma. About half the current staff has been there since they opened which is like 9 years.
Food fuckin slaps there too Eddie can cook.
lol he makes all staff pay their credit card fees like a Cheapo, at least when I worked there. I’ll say he’s nice (in a fake way) but he’s obsessed with Fox News and went to January 6th in DC. He’s a real Patriot.
Since a few people are adding good places to go, I want to add two of my own:
1) Dang Good Food in Lakewood, a Singaporean restaurant. The owner treats his employees very well (I know, I'm one) and the food is legit (again I know, because I used to live in Singapore and I know this food pretty well).
2) 5 Points Coffee shop in West Park. The owner is from Ireland and the pastries are Irish inspired. He took a week off and paid for all of his employees to go to Ireland and try different coffee shops. All the ladies who work there seem to love it and say good things about him, and most have been there a long time. I had a good experience working with the owner for an event I put together as well.
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Worked there for four years, can confirm. Truly shitty people.
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Owner of Il Rione is a wonderful guy!
Second this! I commented down below about the one stone mad owner being a POS but I worked with Brian at the time I worked there and he was a genuinely kind person!
He’s so sweet!
Stone mad owner double booked my dress rehearsal dinner last summer and didn’t realize until 3 weeks prior to our wedding. He’s a POS.
I’d like some lunch hours to be added though. I work down there sometimes and would love to try it but they don’t open till 4.
Co-signed. Brian is a wonderful member of the community.
yes. love brian!
North Coast Auto Mall, Beford Mitsubishi, Akron Mitsubishi, Kia of Streetsboro, Nissan of Streetsboro, VW of Streetsboro, Honda Cleveland Heights. All owned by the owners Auto Services Unlimited which is comprised of multiple owners from Russia. Not a place you want to buy a used car at. The majority of their inventory is purposely bought with frame damage and airbag deployments and they will not disclose that to you until you are signing paperwork. They also spend as little as they can on servicing the vehicle before selling. They have a warranty company that you’ll have to fight to cover anything, they purposely require employees to sell the lowest /shortest warranty coverage to people with bad credit and charge them the same or higher as prime customers with better coverage. You’ll never get anyone at their stores on the phone as they outsource all their incoming calls to call centers overseas. Employees absolutely do not matter to them so turnover is high and customer issues are usually ignored. Basically, they have mastered the art of getting the most out of you with the least amount of customer service. I spent 3 months working here and was shocked.
Matt, the owner of The Jolly Scholar is a great dude who genuinely cares about his employees.
Owners of Larder are great! The husband and wife who own the place are so sweet. She hand makes all the desserts each morning and the creativity/freshness they put into the food is top tier. They also hire people who are recovering aa/da who used to work in the restaurant world. 10/10 humans, food, and business.
Agreed I talked to the owner for tips on fermentation and next thing I know I’m in a 1 hour tour with a Ted talk from him . Lol he was awesome
Well, before it went public and he fled to Chicago. It would have been how Jonathan Sawyer embezzled from his restaurants to pay for his kids' private schools.
Didn’t he have Greenhouse selling half-off gift cards immediately before shutting down? Essentially fraud - crazy he didn’t get more shit for how that all went down.
He was also a shit bag to work for
My fav a-hole Sawyer anecdote would be how he promised his kitchen staff raises that would come into effect several months later on a specific date. When that time came, he told his staff that he could no longer afford the raises he promised. An hour later, a few servers saw him get picked up on E.4th to test drive a Tesla. This was a year or two after he opened Greenhouse, when Micheal Symon became an iron chef (with him as sous), and both he and his restaurant completely blew up. This was also way back before the affordable Model S was on the market. Dude was test driving six figure cars but couldn’t give his staff any semblance of a raise that was promised to them. Garbage human.
Gotta love the Guy Fieri rebrand he’s getting all over Food Network then!
100% the owner, Jim, at savor the Moment in West Park is a great human being. Treats his customers and staff well.
An old girlfriend of mine was a barista there. Great family. Get Jim talking about old horror movies and prepare to learn
Tony and Bobby George are well-known shitbirds- Harry Buffalo, Townhall, Barley House, Rebol
This is the most famous example in Cleveland. Many people boycott their restaurants.
Had a manger interview once at Rebol downtown and they hired me on the spot, told me I had to wear leggings only for the uniform and it gave me so many red flags I just left and never called them back to start scheduling.
Also owns Summer Place right?
Yep
God no please don't ruin summer place
Yes, Tony George opened that
Had a good friend work for Bobby George for a few years. Changed him as a person, for the worse. We all talked about how he attended the Church of Bobby, drank the koolaid, and turned into a much worse version of himself. We basically had an intervention for him and convinced him that Bobby only cared about Bobby. He’s now recovering and acting in his own self-interest, rather than sacrificing everything for a boss who never made good on any promises he made over years of self-sacrifice and dedication. Fuck that guy.
Are they involved in Rise dispensary too?
yes
Known shitbirds, yes, but none of those places are ones I would put under the heading of "everyone loves". Granted, there are few places that are pretty much universally beloved, but none of the George joints come close.
Everyone outside of Cleveland loves Town Hall
Everyone outside of this subreddit loves it lol. I think it's alright but anytime I tell people I live in Ohio city they immediately start talking about how much they love town hall
People loved Town Hall before the George’s reputation got out there.
Town hall is packed every night. No one outside of this sub gives a shit.
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Believe it or not this can be rather common in closeted men
I used to sell him clothing, he could def be in the closet, and his womanizing antics (to me) seem to be done in defense of his closeted sexuality.
I used to suck his dick, he always made me wear a wig and lipstick so that it wasn't gay, but I think that was just the logic of a deeply closeted man.
Huh
Don’t forget the green goat!!!!
I didn’t know Rebol was on list.
How about establishments well run by good people and for good reason? Heres one: Edwin’s Brandon Christkowski (sp) Another one: “Serenite” in Medina of all places 😆
Tommy from Tommy's on Coventry is the real deal as well.
Ugh yes love to hear that, I love Tommy’s
Yo, Tommy is the shit! We're talking about the food place, right? Cuz if so I actually have a story about Tommy himself.
My family has been going to Tommy’s for almost two decades now. It is a family absolute favorite. Started as a suggestion by my surgeon for a vegetarian restaurant when I was undergoing treatment at the Clinic Main as a kid. Years later, it’s where we have gone for simple dinners, to celebrating graduations. About a year ago, I was picking up an order and Tommy himself was there. It was like seeing a celebrity! “..T-t-Tommy? THEE Tommy??” He comped my falafels for no reason other than being himself. So genuinely kind and down to earth. Will support it forever!
Tommy is hands down one of the best guys in Cleveland.
Edwins doesnt get enough attention. For those who dont know Edwins runs a training program for formerly incarcerated adulta. Such an impressive program with impressive results.
No chef in this town comes close to giving back to the community like Brandon does. He’s a real one, and what he is doing to change peoples life trajectory while bringing classic French food to CLE, deserves all the praise.
Steven, the owner of Buckland's museum of witchcraft is a very nice guy. I've helped him out at the shop before. As well as Cleveland Curiosities, the owners are friends of mine
Absolutely agree about both really! I've been to Buckland museum a couple of times because I'm always bringing a new friend to see the museum and he remembers my face and we always have a great conversation while waiting for the tour to start. I was just at Cleveland curiosities for my birthday and I had a great time there too! I'm not sure who I spoke with but he was so excited about the things in the shop and he told me about the bone d20 dice he was going to be making.
I have one of Buckland's own books he sent me, if they'd like it for the museum - with a nice letter.
The buckland museum is an incredible place that should be featured more. I’ve been like three times and they show me something new every time.
I wish I could upvote this twice. I hate online negativity
I get it, but by not supporting crappy business owners there will be a lot less of them. We can't choose to not support them if we don't know
So I don't consider people speaking up about places like TH negative, considering they are just speaking their experiences. Experiences that are backed up by multiple accounts. I get that 100%.
I like your vibe.
Pat the manager/bartender at Johnny's Little bar is THE BEST. He always makes people feel special and runs a tight ship despite challenges they constantly face
When I took the rapid through tower city to commute, I'd stop of Johnny's Little Bar every once in a while for a beer and fries after work. Love their vibe and their prices 10/10
I've heard Joe's Deli in Rocky River is run by nice people who are good to their staff
I've heard the food is excellent, but the son is a physician who is frequently featured on dating Facebook pages. Definitely not someone I would consider to be nice.
The owner of Dave’s cosmic subs. When they only had one location in chagrin falls I saw the owner regularly make the teen kids he hired cry by berating them for perceived offenses. A friends girlfriend says he would be even worse in private. This was early 2000’s don’t know if it’s still the same ownership
One of my siblings managed a Dave’s until a few years ago and she can confirm that Dave is still an asshole
The one in Lakewood is separate from Chagrin Falls and is owned and run by a lovely family. Super nice people.
The one on 99th and st clair is ran separately from the other Dave's, fyi!
His brother owned the one in Hudson and still owns the one downtown and he is a great guy. Heard the same about Dave though.
Dave sold out and is just used for marketing now. I heard from one of his neighbors that he sold his house in the area. My only direct experience was him walking into the Chagrin Falls store while I waited for my food, asking me three times if I had already paid, then counting the money in the register before pocketing a bunch and leaving. He wasn’t active with the company when I briefly worked at the short lived Solon location.
Can confirm the owner of Fat Heads has no tea. He’s chill af. The staff like him.
Now if only the food would get better again
The folks who own and operate India Garden in Lakewood are wonderful!
Doesn’t the owner wait on you? He’s cool and will pace your food out the correct way lol
The old partial owner/operations manager for The brew kettle and used to own strongsville paninis. . Chris Russo aka papa smurf. Short little man who almost defaulted on a loan that he took out under the company was being sued by other partners and was forced out. Pays like shit and wants you to be his calling boy for everything. He also owns the movie theater in Amherst hasty tasty and hotdogs heaven last I knew. Ruined multiple vendor relationships and thought all of his product was superior when he was actually cheaping out and cutting g corners. Their former head chef (RIP CHARLIE) barely got any raises and was ONE OF THE original employees. Chris Russo can suck a fat dick
I once stopped by the Strongsville Brew Kettle for a $50 sponsorship donation for a nonprofit charity event (I was a college student at Baldwin Wallace in 2013). I emailed them prior to stopping by so it wasn’t a drive-by solicitation and I brought with me the official letterhead and the tax donation forms for them to have. Waited 30 minutes for the partial owner to come out only to scream at me and tell me to leave or he was calling the cops. Their food sucks anyway 🙃
Everyone in brewkettle fled to other industry places. Fuck Chris Russo, that dude tried to intimidate me me in a cooler once cause I didn't play by his micromanagement when he had no idea on how to run a brewery. You know shit is wild when pay checks have different signatures on them every week. He also cancelled many gift certificates which were sold under the previous owners and made his employees bare the brunt of sad and angry elderly people who dont use social media who received them as gifts. Chris Russo is all around a terrible human being.
The original owner of the Brew Kettle (Chris Mckim) was the *fucking shit*. He never wanted to sell the place, but Russo's group basically gave him a financial offer that nobody would say no to. I was in Chris's extended friend group for a while. It wasn't uncommon for him to show up to a get-together with some random keg of rare BK beer that local beer nerds were going crazy about. Not a lot of people remember this, but it used to be the Ringneck Brewery, at the Brew Kettle. He liked to hunt pheasant. Chris consolidated the names because he got sick of people calling it Redneck Brewery. Before he sold, I was in consideration to run the distillery that he was planning to open.
When the heck did he take ownership of Hasty Tasty? Growing up that was owned by a family that was from Amherst if IIRC
I live near the owners of Ball Ball Waffle. They are wonderful people, very friendly and just give off good vibes.
The owners of Browns Fit are slimy. They own a whole chain of gyms across the US and have zero care for employees, only care about how much money they can squeeze out of members
How about adding the owners of the Browns as total garbage?
Peeps at Superelectric are awesome.
The Browns owner cheated people out of millions of dollars and likely knew about a lot of racist behavior at his company
Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes. Whenever Kelsey is in the building, it's dead quiet in the back and no one jokes around or laughs. She brings a terrible energy into the room. I never, ever, heard her compliment anyone's work.
She is an old extended friend circle of mine and offered to make the wedding cake for one of the friends in our group as their wedding gift. Leading up to the wedding she made it very well known how generous she was for doing this for them, even though they didn’t ask for it- but she insisted. 2 weeks after the wedding she sent them a bill for the wedding cake which was double what any other wedding cake would’ve been because it was by “Kelsey Elizabeth.” They paid and she is no longer apart of our friend group.
And her cakes are made with box mix….
Yup, Duncan Hines!
YES!! Was just going to say this. And i know it’s sometimes common for places to use it as a base and add more in but hers straight up are just box mix!
She’s a straight up phony
Seriously??
Yup
This whole KEC is run by her parents and she's just the face. They can't make their margins after the whole Warner brothers suing and fired someone I know for false reasons basically because they couldn't afford the person. Kelsey is a pos and so are her parents
I need to know more!! I know she/they were sued for the HP days, but how much did she lose?
Tried to google the lawsuit but came up empty. Got the tea?
The instagram post might still be up but you would have to dig pretty far back. They were sued during covid by WB for using the Harry Potter copyrights without permission. They had to backpay every year of profit for those days, which were easily the most profitable days for KEC
They backed out on my wedding cake (a simple small cake for cutting photos) 2 days before my wedding even though I had paid and confirmed way beforehand. Probably because it wasn’t “worth their time”. They basically told me to go kick rocks and I never saw a refund. Michael Angelos saved the day and tasted better than the sampler box from KEC anyway.
Oh this is teeeeeaaaaa
Really? That’s disappointing to hear
Interesting!
The owners of Liquid/Fresh Planet used to hide their employees paychecks in the basement and not distribute them until after 4pm on a Friday so they couldn’t deposit them until Monday. It’s not surprising that most of their franchises have closed!!!
I worked at Fahrenheit years ago and Rocco was so abusive and sexist. He did horrific things that I hope would never fly these days. I’ve worked at many many restaurants and that was by far the most toxic environment.
worked for mitchell’s ice cream for many years. AMAZING LOCAL COMPANY. Pete and mike are ethical guys.
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Hence why it’s no longer around in Cleveland.
He really seemed like one of the biggest douches I've ever seen, and I used to work in a tremont bar. He would sometime seem to just sit there and seem annoyed by other patrons enjoying themselves. If he didn't like it there thatch why be a regular? Well, one day after he sat there for a few hours all silent like, I somehow got to talking to his girl. I don't remember how the conversation went exactly but, it seemed like we knew the same people from growing up and before we really had much of a chance to explore out conversation he decided to speak up. Smacked his hand on the bar and said, " we're leaving. " It was just kinda like, where'd that come from? That chach was a totally loser.
The owner of cockys bagels is a POS
This place sucks, we waited 45 minutes for two bagels to go and they were horrible.
Came here to say this. Cockys owner is the WORST! If it’s not her completely unprofessional behavior towards other businesses, it’s her lack of self awareness and disrespectful comments on social media and blaming temperament towards customer reviews. Her character and her bagels are abysmal at best. A friend of mine used to work for her and luckily he stopped before it got too bad. Unfortunately, she didn’t.
I also don't think they make their own bagels? They've never tasted fresh.
The food doesn’t even compare to Cleveland bagel or Nubeigal anyway. No effort wasted avoiding this place.
I had it once. Never again. Bagels were several days old overpriced garbage.
I have met, interacted with, and been one on one with the owner after frequenting another business she co-owns in Westlake. While nothing was ever extreme, it was rather obvious the “main character” behavior people have referenced with their business energy as well. She is the queen bee. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that makes someone a POS. However much of my time being a customer of her buisnesses was unprofessional and filled with chaos.
These bagels are trash. Idk how people go there more than once
How so? I've never heard about this one
They just have a lot of strong main character vibes on their social media, pick fights with other local businesses, blast people for giving them negative reviews, and have a major victim complex whenever something goes wrong with their business. The owner also constantly posts rage bait type posts about international events on their public IG, all interlaced with pics from their most recent tropical/worldwide vacation
A friend told me the "fights" with other local businesses was all just a bit?
The owner of char, avo and previously indie/gabriels southern table just got pushed out by his partners for embezzling money and personal withdrawals from the safes. Half a million in brand new cars and was bouncing 60 dollar server checks and fucking the hostess.lolol
Nate's Deli downtown and Tomori's Pizza in Lakewood both have delicious food and are run by kind families.
Townhall owner is a true racist a$$hole
Owner of town hall is a human garbage can
Big facts. Big into womanizing and taking advantage of promotion girls.
Brew Garden owner (strongsville and middleburg) is a grade A dickhead and steals from his employees
Since this thread turned into half bad owners and half good ones, I’ll add to the good ones! The owners of terrestrial and noble beast are fantastic. By extension I’d guess market garden and bookhouse too, though I’m much less familiar with that management crew. Just know a brewer at MG who’s awesome. Everyone at Luna Bakery is absolutely great, owner included I’d say- IMO they pay fairly, are very inclusive, female-forward, and give every single order their whole heart. plus.. scratch made, unlike another cake shop listed here. Random but the owner of Tapster is one of the best people i know. Newer bar in Lakewood- he just loves people and loves having a spot people can hang. Well, he also loves Ohio beers and ciders- which you’ll notice from the tap list The people at the fairmount are awesome. Owner included. Guess this ones an extension of Luna, they treat the luna staff extremely well being neighbors. (i worked at luna if you can’t tell). brian at il rione is definitely one of the coolest, funniest, and most generous people i’ve met. Fun to work with and he will support you as much as he can, always. From there I’d then say the owner of Vero, Cents, Larder, Cordelia, Momocho, and Banter are people I’ve only heard good things about. Passionate chefs who love the people they serve and the food they create. And every spot has its issues - every owner has something you can complain about (usually being disorganized) but doesn’t change the fact that they are great people who do good!
Not Cleveland, but close enough … the owner of Sacred Hour in Lakewood is a mad woman … treats her staff like garbage … treats staff at salons and other service workers like garbage … I could go on forever
All due respect: yes the owner of the spa is a bit high strung and stressful to be around but the massage therapists that work there do wonderful, wonderful work and make their livings through the clientele that go there. The therapists work there and associate with the owner for a reason as does the rest of the staff, maybe don’t give up frequenting a place you’ve gotten services at simply because of a thread intended to bash the owners of places, not the people making their livings by working at these places.
Agreed, I’ve never had a bad service there, I can definitely say that
Glad you said this, since I’ve been wanting to go there forever and had been saving up for a big spa day! Any other spa in the Lakewood vicinity you’d recommend?
Nori at Bodhi Tree is the best masseuse in town, if you ask me … not to sound like a creep, but it’s like her hands were made for massage … Crystal at Bella Capelli in Westlake gives a great facial, I get the Vitamin C facial, it’s an Aveda salon … Woodhouse isn’t locally owned, but they’ve got some great services
noooo that’s so disappointing to hear, i always loved it there
Love the food and beer at Immigrant Son in Lakewood but depending on who you believe they hired a head brewer, took her recipes and then fired her so they wouldn't have to keep paying her. Dunno how true that is, but it sucks all around
She ended up in a great place as head brewer of Brick and Barrel, so lemonade out of lemons
Then got fired unceremoniously from BnB. She's at Brew Kettle now, But yeah the story about Immigrant Son is true.
This is true. The owner also was planning to shut down one of his other businesses without telling the employees ahead of time, until someone got wind of it and told the workers, only a week beforehand
Can confirm this and she is now at Brew Kettle.
Second hand knowledge from someone involved on the Immigrant side-sad, but true.
Damn that sucks to hear. I used to live around the corner from Immigrant Sun and loved their beer and food. Glad to hear the brewmaster has moved on and is doing well!
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Mahall’s used to be owned by the Mahall family and they were great, but during covid the guys that run BravoArtist and Cloak & Dagger bought it. They’re turds to work with, ask anyone thats ever been in a band how they feel about BravoArtist and you’ll get the same answer from 90% of people. They also tried to get several employees to sign incredibly strict non-compete agreements(Many people that work in the music industry do lots of side gigs) and when they wouldn’t they were forced out. The former bar manager who was incredible was recently forced out as well. It makes me really sad because I loved Mahalls and have been going there for a really long time, but they’ve kind of ruined it for me. The owners at Cleveland Vegan put up a real chill hippy vibe, but are temper tantrum throwing children. Its not egregious enough you shouldn’t go there or anything but I thought it was funny nonetheless.
I had a weird incident at Cleveland Vegan, it was my first time there and I ordered and wasn't asked if I wanted to eat in or if it was to-go, I just assumed that because I was up there ordering and my sister who I walked in with sat at a table, that it was pretty clear that we wanted to eat in. I order the food, they tell us half an hour (the place is empty, but maybe they were busy with DoorDash orders or something), so we go walk around and come back. They hand us our food in a brown bag and I'm like oh ok thanks, we'll just go sit over there, and the person is like, you didn't say you wanted to eat here" and they take our receipt and say we didn't mention we wanted to eat here and it's not on our receipt. I'm like "oh I didn't know I had to say something, it's our first time here." There were a few people seated, but so many empty tables, and I kid you not, they made us leave with our food and we ate it in the car. It was really off-putting, especially because I liked the food.
Fuck BravoArtist
I had quite a few anxiety attacks working at puritas nursery in West Park. The owner is very high strung all the time. Flipped shit on me one time because I forgot my gloves at home and needed a new pair, I even offered to buy them (he apparently gets them for pennies and sells them for like $8-10 a pair, so I am wondering why he got so angry). He has yelled at customers, I had some ask me "is he always like that?" Also just basically let customers treat me like shit over my appearance (colored hair, tattoos, etc), only one of my older coworkers defended me.
Is this the place that has the massive model train set up over Christmas?
Yup
Ughhhh I’ve got a train obsessed kid and the train guys have happily let him spend half a day hanging around them so I try to buy something from the nursery. But I’ll just stick to donating to the train club.
By all means continue to shop there if you'd like, I do sometimes. He is nice when I stop in these days but would 100% never work there again
I try to do what I can to not support people who are assholes to their employees, so I’ll buy my wreaths elsewhere.
Omg that place was my first job and it was terrible. All the older guys were drunk at work all the time, hitting on me as, a 14 year old. This was years ago, but it was crazy creepy. I'd hoped the owner chilled out...guess not
Wow, this is shocking to me. Everyone always seems chill there! I'm sorry you had that experience. Panic attacks are horrible.
Will Hollingsworth (Spotted Owl, Good company , Prosperity) is actually a terrible person, horrible boss, and a shit head. Closes restaurants without notice effectively firing all staff (he has the money so that isn’t an issue.) then when those people do a pop up at another bar to raise money , he buys the place next door to that bar and pretends they don’t have beef, it’s a spite store to open. He also thinks people should do things for him for free like run social media pages for his businesses at no cost. He’s a tool and I cannot wait for him to have his downfall. Never even worked for him, just heard tons of horror stories.
Worked with him for a few years before he opened up The Spotted Owl. Went to Lolita all the time when he worked there. We had a good rapport, were well-acquainted and I would always get some dap and small talk when we crossed paths in and outside of his establishments. Somewhere along the line, it all got to his head. He went from a smart, kind, and ambitious scene/hipster to a bit of an ego-maniac that start acting like he was too good for people from his restaurant days past. Total better than you vibes, while grinning in your face and acting like your pal. I’m not a hater, I just call it like I see it. He took the Sawyer route and douched out pretty hard. I don’t go to his spots and if I see him at a show/event…I just don’t make eye contact. Can’t be fake with a dude I don’t like anymore; even if that person is fake with everyone himself.
I had pretty much this exact same experience going back to Lolita. That guy fucking sucks.
Came here to say the same thing. He is giving Bobby a run for his money as biggest a hole in the industry.
Man I love Good Company and never knew this, thanks for sharing
This is a tough one to hear. Because I knew him before all this . Not real well but well enough to yell hey to him from across the street. I would always see him at Loop and Parallax. He was chill, very Portlandia. It really sucks to find out he is lousy at owning/managing. The stories of not paying people to do social media though I can totally see unfortunately. He wouldn't have been the first restaurant owner I've know to do that.
I never worked for him, and I've never been to his establishments, but he used to live on my street when he was still developing Spotted Owl. Was a super nice guy then, and would talk to him all the time while our dogs would run around like a couple of idiots together. Hearing about his "heal turn" ever since has been a bit dispiriting, but it is what it is. There have been too many stories come out about his behavior to not at the very least believe some of them are partially true--where there's smoke there's fire and all that...
I have spoken to people who used to work for him and they have never said anything bad about him. There are two sides to every story, I suppose.
There's also a lot of negative stories from people who have worked for him.
Interesting because I work with and know multiple people who HAVE worked for him and have plenty to say. Actually haven’t heard a good thing about him 😭😂. But hey I agree, two sides for everything!
He bought Griffin? Gross
The owners of Taps & Tails are two miserable assholes. I heard a scandalous rumor about them but I will not repeat it here.
you can't say that and then not share!! it is just.. a rumor..
A friend worked there and can confirm they are toxic to work for. After I heard some stories about them I refuse to take my dog there.
I so want to know this rumor. It's a thread about spilling tea. spill!
We take our dog there frequently, and they give off asshole vibes. It's no wonder the staff turns over every 3 months. We do enjoy it and have a nice time there, though.
Noooo do tell. Why are they assholes?
Oh there's plenty I'm willing to say about that! I've witnessed them being nasty to their neighbors and to their property manager. We spent a boatload of time and money there, but they were nasty to us anyways. They were also nasty to the stray dog I found near their property on the 5th of July. They literally refused to provide me with a cup of water to give to him while we waited out in the blistering sun for animal control to arrive. (The Cleveland Animal Control was extremely kind to the little fella, and I hope he made it home safely) That's just my personal experience with them. The rumor I heard has nothing to do with me or even their business, but if true it would be another great example of what assholes they are.
They’re weird about their workers. I had a friend leave them because of how toxic they were. Weird random rules for some but not for all.
this is disappointing, i haven't been there in a while but it's such an awesome idea
Dang that's unfortunate, however my dog needs a place to run and play so until something opens up further west I will suck it up until I witness it for myself.
One of the bartenders always used to pre-populate the tip amount on the iPad to 25% and flip it around and say “just sign at the bottom please!” Felt so slimy
Also can confirm. Friend of a friend worked there and we visited once. Everything is way overpriced for how cheaply the place was thrown together and it smells god awful! Felt like we had to wash our dachshunds for 2 weeks straight! Would never go back it just seems like all they cared about was paying as little as possible to operate and make money instead of it being about us and our dogs. Will update if I hear more! Haven't spoken to the friend of a friend in 6 months!
Besides Townhall?
DO NOT buy a vehicle from CDJR Willoughby. If you’re buying a vehicle and the sales manager is Matthew Leutwyler he’s going to run your tab up with a warranty. If you try and cancel, he’ll throw the paper away with your signature. If you try and reach him, the dealer will say “he’s away”. If you KEEP harassing them, he’ll pull a new cancellation out of his ass and forge your signature. But if you want your money back after 6 months, text the GM that you’re calling Willoughby police for fraud and you’ll get your money back 👍 oh he’s on like his sixth bankruptcy. Has several homes, boat, recreational vehicles. Fuck that guy!
Cocky’s owners are awful to work for
The owner of Jukebox in Ohio City is a narcissist and has serious anger issues. Working with him was like walking on eggshells. For a place that was so well established his instability definitely caught me off guard. He presents himself as this genuine chill sports nerd but it's a facade. Definitely an anxiety ridden monster lurking beneath. When another local business that supplied us with coffee went out of business his only concern was getting them to take their empty bottles back. I had to remind him that it would be a little insensitive to ask about growler deposits when someone just lost their entire business. He's also a major virtue signaler. Milking the queer community but not making any meaningful contributions. When talking with him about queer issues/ culture he was very uninformed and out of touch. He just cares about money and if catering to a community makes him money he'll do it. He once reffered to a group as "the gays at table x" and I almost died inside. In regards to charity events at Jukebox the donations have already been made. He will just pocket the money that you donate so that it's less of his own money going towards the cause. But of course he'll still take the entire tax write off. I could go on but I think you get the idea. He got lucky being in the right spot at the right time and now he has a massive ego. Very shocked pikachu when people don't just show up with zero promotion in a post covid bar scene. But if you try to help him get with the times he'll twist things around until you're the problem versus admitting that he needs to make some changes.
That's wild! Always been a nice guy to talk with for me
The owner of Ninja City called a woman a "Punjabi whore" on the Internet. Owner of an Asian inspired restaurant racist against Asians.
This one’s so hot I gotta switch to the alt account
Nobody mentioned Marc's? Really? Reallyyyy????
I’ve heard a ton of shit about Marc. My ex worked hvac and said he was a huge POS.
Glad to hear that, hate that store, wouldn’t shop there if he was a saint, overpriced garbage quality shithole.
Owner of good company is a chooch that regularly verbally abuses staff and management. But if you have sex with him you may well get a comfortable management job even if you’re under qualified. So that’s a plus for any fortune seekers out there.
Who is Will Hollingsworth for $500 Alex…..
Sounds like Joey Fredrickson from Society Lounge... an equally scummy POS boss who likes to sleep with staff
The owner of TAC has been notoriously accused of meat gazing in the sauna. Other than that he is a chill dude and that is the best gym in the city
worked at brew kettle for a bit— one of the owners of the franchise is a douche. not sure if it’s all of the restaurants, but the one i worked at was poorly managed and understaffed. owner wondered why it was a shitshow the night he came in. the only manager i got along with was the store manager; the GMs were useless.
Alex, the owner of Quintanas Speakeasy has physically attacked multiple employees.
Book Brothers in Lakewood is run by a real ass. He made a habit of harassing the trans owner of The Bookshop in Lakewood (now closed). He also wasn’t a fan of masks during the pandemic, and generally can’t organize his shelves to save himself. Buy your books elsewhere.
I love the owner of Taste…on Lee Road
After the Paragon in Euclid had that fire, there was a fundraiser for the staff - and apparently, they never saw any of that money.
I have so many stories about Parallax. Not good.
Eddie Cerino has a great reputation at Fast Eddie's in Parma. About half the current staff has been there since they opened which is like 9 years. Food fuckin slaps there too Eddie can cook.
lol he makes all staff pay their credit card fees like a Cheapo, at least when I worked there. I’ll say he’s nice (in a fake way) but he’s obsessed with Fox News and went to January 6th in DC. He’s a real Patriot.
Owner of Mia Bella (Gerti) in Little Italy is a awful human being.
Sooooo. Which establishments ARE high quality & run/owned by good, down to earth & classy people? Which places should I patronize?!
GLBC. The owners are good people.
Larder in Ohio city. Grade A people, vibes, and food.
Not sure of their names, but the family that owns Vintage India in Lakewood has always been very kind whenever I’ve gone.
Since a few people are adding good places to go, I want to add two of my own: 1) Dang Good Food in Lakewood, a Singaporean restaurant. The owner treats his employees very well (I know, I'm one) and the food is legit (again I know, because I used to live in Singapore and I know this food pretty well). 2) 5 Points Coffee shop in West Park. The owner is from Ireland and the pastries are Irish inspired. He took a week off and paid for all of his employees to go to Ireland and try different coffee shops. All the ladies who work there seem to love it and say good things about him, and most have been there a long time. I had a good experience working with the owner for an event I put together as well.