On Wednesday, the first in a series of cash mobs from the Calfee law firm hit East Sixth to give lunch spots a boost.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - When bricks cascaded onto East Sixth Street in early April, tumbling to the street from the top of the Garfield Building, damaged cars weren't the only casualties.
A handful of mom-and-pop shops had to shut their doors and sit out street closures during a week when spring suddenly seemed to arrive, the end of regular-season basketball drew crowds downtown and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum inducted its newest class, with eight days worth of festivities.
"We were closed for five days," said Bob Lynch, owner of Tea House Noodles on East Sixth. "We're always open on the Saturday when they have inductions. All the old rockers turn into 60-year-old vegans, so we kind of meet their needs."
Now some downtown residents, workers and the city are trying to help those businesses regain lost revenues. On Wednesday, the first in a series of cash mobs from the Calfee law firm hit East Sixth to give lunch spots a boost. Attorneys at the firm also planned happy hour gatherings at Moriarty's Pub, an East Sixth institution that typically doesn't open until 2 p.m.
On May 11, the city's economic development department will kick off a weeklong campaign to encourage people to eat, drink and shop on East Sixth. Diners who stop into Dave's Cosmic Subs, Tabu Coffee Company, Porcelli's Bistro, Tea House Noodles, Sapporo Sushi or Moriarty's - which will open early - at lunchtime will be able to enter drawings to win gift cards from other Cleveland retailers.
"These businesses got their wallets and their purses dinged significantly," said Kevin Schmotzer, who focuses on small businesses for the city's economic development office. "It's kind of our way of coming up to help offset the loss that they incurred."
The city quickly blocked access to streets around the Garfield Building on April 13, after part of the property's parapet wall crumbled. The northbound lane of East Sixth and part of Vincent Avenue remain closed as the property owner works around the upper edge of the building to reinforce decorative brickwork.
The small businesses hurt by the street blockades and construction are located across East Sixth, in the Baker and Leader buildings. Several of the restaurants still are shaded by a covered pedestrian walkway, which the Garfield Building's owner erected as an extra precaution.
"We want to make sure everyone feels safe to walk down East Sixth Street," said Jeffrey Crossman, associate counsel for the Millennia Companies, which bought the empty Garfield Building early this year for an office-to-apartment conversion.
Millennia has received loss claims from some of the businesses and has passed those claims to an insurance company, Crossman said. Coverage for short-term business disruptions can be a challenge, as Lynch found out when he and his wife, Patti, consulted their own policy.
"If a flood or something happened in my store, I would be fully covered under my insurance," he said. "If part of the building came through my front window, they would have been here to fix it. ... You do have policies for if something else happens, but you have to actually specify. It's like people think that they have flood insurance. And then, when it really happens, it's like - 'No, that's an extra.'"
Jason Dejelo, an attorney at Calfee, walks to work along East Sixth from the East Fourth Street apartment that he shares with his wife and seven-month-old baby. When he saw scaffolding rise in front of the East Sixth eateries, he decided something needed to be done to help those businesses get by.
With fellow attorneys Kelly Voyles and Mallika Reddy, who also live downtown, Dejelo put together the cash-mob plan. The firm, which has its offices on East Sixth and employs more than 200 people downtown, is picking up the lunch tab for non-attorney staff members. Lawyers are paying their own way.
"It is very much a neighborhood to us," said Dejelo, who is 37 and has lived downtown since 2008. "When one part suffers, the entire neighborhood is affected."
Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman said downtown's growing residential population means there's a greater sense of community in the center city. And there are more eyes on the streets. Since the falling-bricks incident at the Garfield Building, he said, people have called in parapet-wall complaints about two other buildings downtown. He wouldn't identify the properties.
"It's a wake-up call," said Cimperman, who represents much of downtown. "We are always vigilant and mindful, but you can never be too vigilant."
The city's building department is considering potential code changes as a result of the damage on East Sixth. A spokesman said the evaluation is in early stages, and nothing has been decided.
At the Garfield Building, Millennia hasn't put a timeline on finishing its repairs. Morgan Cavanaugh, who owns Moriarty's, just hopes the parapet-wall work moves along safely and quickly - and that the scaffolding in front of his bar disappears soon.
During the week of April 13, Cavanaugh showed up at his pub each day, just in case the city reopened the streets. He sat by himself in the bar and offered water to construction workers. A few regulars managed to sneak in, but his sales largely dried up. And they haven't fully rebounded.
But Moriarty's - which a patron once described as "the cockroach of the bars in Cleveland" - will survive, Cavanaugh said.
"People are stepping up," he added. "I've gotten like three groups of people who have called me, who know the bar, and they're going to bring their whole office. It's just the neighborhood responding, and it really makes me feel good.
"And I really hope they fix all the damn buildings, so it doesn't happen again."