The Abouali family has big plans for the store they've renamed "Downtown Deli & Beverage." They're going to revive the deli counter, install a serve-your-own coffee bar and bring in fresh sandwiches and hot food to draw out the lunch crowd from nearby offices and factories. Rashed Abouali is talking to restaurants about bringing in fried chicken.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The sign outside still says "Grossman's," but the freshly scrubbed interior, fully stocked shelves and smiling new faces behind the counter confirm that this is an entirely new store.
Cold beer and soft drinks fill the coolers, and the display cases are lined with bags of chips, honey buns and pork rinds. The cappuccino and hot chocolate machine arrived on Monday, and the ice cream cooler is coming on Wednesday.
When Hassan Abouali and his sons Mark and Rashed bought the 96-year-old convenience store at 1283 E. 17th St. last Friday, they wanted customers to see a whole new store by Monday morning.
So they spent the entire weekend dismantling shelves, replacing missing linoleum tiles and rewiring the electrical outlets. Then they pulled out the old register, built a new one over against the wall and cleaned the entire store from floor to ceiling.
"We knew that it had been open for almost 100 years, and we didn't want it to be closed for even one day," said Rashed Abouali.
The Aboualis have decades of experience in the retail business. Hassan ran a store for 40 years before selling it in 2010, Mark owns a Marathon service station at 125th Street and Kinsman Avenue, and Rashed owns a clothing and cell phone store called Denim on the West Side.
With roots in Palestine, Hassan Abouali immigrated to the United States from Venezuela in 1983 and moved to Cleveland to be closer to family in 1987.
From the cigarettes to the Doritos, "everything you see here is all new merchandise," Rashed said. The store still sells beer and wine but no hard liquor.
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View full sizeRashed Abouali pauses between customers to restock the beer cooler at his family's newest store, Downtown Deli & Beverage. The former owner sold his state liquor agency license to Dave's Markets, but the store still carries beer and wine. The family has big plans for the store they've renamed "Downtown Deli & Beverage."
They're going to revive the deli counter, install a serve-your-own coffee bar and bring in fresh sandwiches and hot food to draw out the lunch crowd from nearby offices and factories.
Rashed is talking to restaurants about bringing in fried chicken.
Several customers did a double take when they stepped into the store on Tuesday.
"It's like night and day," said Kim Gullie. "There was really nothing here."
William Johnson agreed. "The prices are cheaper and the people are friendly. The way it was before, there were only so many people allowed in the store at one time."
Where crowded shelves and tall display cases had made Grossman's feel cramped, the Aboualis have cleared out so much space that the store seems bigger and brighter.
Where Gregg Grossman had been paring down his inventory as he sought a buyer, the Aboualis have been bringing in more foods and drinks every day.
Grossman, the third generation to run the store, said he was sad to be leaving the family business a few years short of its 100th anniversary.
His grandfather, William Grossman, opened the store as a meat market in 1917; his father, Irving, added groceries; and Gregg brought in the Ohio Lottery and state liquor store.
Although the business was thriving, Grossman, 62, wanted to spend more time with his parents, ages 85 and 83, and his eight-month-old granddaughter, and he couldn't do it while running the store.
"I was putting in 12-hour days and it was killing me," he said.
So when Burt Saltzman, chairman of Dave's Market, offered to buy his state liquor agency license in January, Grossman thought, "Maybe it's time to get out while I can." He put the store on the market a few months later.
Tony Georges, owner of nearby Danny's Deli on St. Clair Avenue since 1978, said: "Grossman's a good guy" who had been looking for a way to get out of the retail business.
Mark Russo, who works down the street and has stopped by Grossman's a couple times a day for 30 years, said in its hey day, the store carried stereo equipment, radios, cell phones and other electronics.
"They're great people," he said. "Gregg is a great guy. He served the homeless shelter around here. He just didn't have the greatest selection of everything."
Russo said that Grossman started selling off his inventory a few months ago. "I bought a whole box of incense for $5," he said. He saw other customers buy up beer signs that had never been unpacked from their boxes.
The 3,600-square-foot store, which comes with office and apartment space on the second floor and an attached 50-car gravel parking lot, got several offers and was sold in 30 days, according to Matthew King, owner of Green Bridge Real Estate in Brookpark.
The neighborhood is eclectic. The store is within walking distance of several factories, stores and office buildings, as well as the 2100 Lakeside Emergency Men's Shelter run by Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry.
Customer Charisse Willis, who lives nearby, said she was glad the store was staying open but hopes the prices don't go up.
Saltzman said he doesn't know the Abouali family but wishes them well.
"If they do as well as the Grossmans, they'll be fine," he said, between customers at the 3301 Payne Ave. Dave's store. "The Grossmans were there a long time and did very well."
Hassan Abouali said he hopes people who walk in the store this week will see the changes that he and his sons have made, notice how much they've invested in sprucing up the store, and realize that they plan to stick around.
After the ice cream cooler arrives on Wednesday, the family hopes customers will follow.
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