Grocery Outlet Set to Fill Long-Vacant Cedar-Fairmount Space

Store scheduled to open this summer after city approves $1 million incentive package

After nearly two years without a grocery store in the Cedar-Fairmount business district, Grocery Outlet Bargain Market will open its newest Northeast Ohio location in Cleveland Heights this summer.

The store, located at 12438 Cedar Road, will open July 10 and revive a building that has housed a grocery store for most of its 100-year history but has sat vacant since Dave’s Market closed two years ago.

Council Approves Incentive Package

Cleveland Heights City Council approved a $1 million incentive package to help bring the store to the neighborhood, including the $660,000 city purchase of a 66-space parking lot behind the building and a $340,000 commercial development loan.

The deal was introduced to Cleveland Heights City Council June 17 by Mayor Kahlil Seren and approved at a special meeting on June 24.

Historic Property Returns to Grocery Use

Sal Russo, co-owner and landlord of the property at 12438 Cedar Road, has been looking at Grocery Outlet since March. The Russo family has owned and operated the property for almost 100 years since Sal Russo’s grandfather, also named Sal, opened Russo’s Stop-n-Shop in the early 1930s at the location.

Dave’s shuttered its Cedar-Fairmount location in October 2022 after acquiring the former Zagara’s Marketplace space on Lee Road—marking the first time in nearly a century that the Cedar-Fairmount neighborhood lacked a grocery store.

Search for New Tenant

The building’s landlord, Sal Russo, said in an open letter earlier last year that more than 20 retailers had been approached before Grocery Outlet signed on. Heinen’s ultimately turned down the opportunity because of the high cost to reconfigure the space to meet its needs. Trader Joe’s closed the door on any possibility of using the space due to its desire for a location that would be convenient for not only Cleveland Heights residents, but also those in University Heights and Shaker Heights.

Community Response Mixed

Four people addressed the request for funding to help remodel the grocery store space at Cedar and Fairmount for Grocery Outlet, including Sal V. Russo, the building owner, and his lawyer, Lee Chilcote. One neighbor spoke in favor of the project. Two others spoke against it, opining that the store is not needed, does not fit the neighborhood, is too expensive and not beneficial, and that the city should not help a private company but use the money elsewhere.

Residents and business owners say they are hopeful that the new grocer will fill a much-needed void in the neighborhood. “It’s very nice to have a grocery right next door, not just for personal shopping, but for the restaurant as well,” says Jake Orosz, owner of Fairmount Cocktail Bar, an immediate neighbor of the former Dave’s space.

Store Operations

The store will be operated by Michael Weber and Melissa Walsh under Grocery Outlet’s owner-operator model. The independent operators say they plan to tailor the store’s offerings to meet the needs of local shoppers.

A self-proclaimed “extreme value” retailer, Grocery Outlet is known for smaller grocery stores that offer deep discounts on brand-name items. The stores also have fresh foods and meats.

The Cleveland Heights store will be the third announced location in Cuyahoga County, joining others that are now open in Parma and Brooklyn.