Dining and Dashing: A Trendy Getaway?

By Presious Mills

Dining out at a restaurant is an experience that many of us enjoy, but for some, it’s become a chance to pull off a sly disappearing act that leaves establishments shortchanged and staff perplexed. This sneaky culinary trend is known as “dining and dashing.” Often perceived as an issue primarily in busy urban areas, it’s actually more common than imagined and occurs even in suburban neighborhoods across Ohio.
Dining and dashing is a dishonest act where individuals consume a meal or service at a restaurant and then attempt to leave without paying for it. Some individuals even enter restaurants to enjoy their meal while finding a way to avoid settling the bill. It’s a behavior that not only tarnishes the dining experience but also affects the livelihood of restaurant owners and staff.
In recent news, a Tampa, Florida restauranteur has begun using tech-savvy tactics in dealing with these dine-n-dash desperados. The owner now takes photos and videos of would-be dashers’ faces and license plates and then posts them (along with their bills!) on social media. The result has a better than 90% success rate of paying off delinquent tabs. Those who aren’t shamed into paying by the media publicity might instead get “turned in” by family or friends. And they all must take “the walk of shame” and pay in person.
Rachel, the General Manager of Buffalo Wild Wings in Brooklyn, Ohio, has witnessed her fair share of diners attempting a quick getaway. She emphasized the importance of prompt payment, saying, “I require that when the servers drop the checks, they are cashed out approximately 2-3 minutes later.” This ensures that diners don’t have the chance to make a hasty exit unnoticed.
Others take a stronger customer service approach. An Applebee’s manager with much experience in Garfield Heights, who wished to remain anonymous, shared insights into their approach. They train their staff to be attentive to customers’ needs and to spend most of their working hours in front of the house. This attention to service helps to deter potential dashers. In the rare event that a guest has an issue, they make it a point to have a manager address it promptly. “We never allow our employees to chase the guest out of the building,” this manager stated, adding that instead, they record license plate numbers and report incidents to the police. Applebee’s, while understanding that mistakes can happen, values the opportunity to make things right for their guests.
Sadly, dining and dashing is seen as a twisted thrill for some individuals. The excitement of successfully evading payment, coupled with the false power it offers, becomes a strange motivation for those who engage in this behavior. It is a disheartening aspect of the service industry that both managers and staff must confront.
If people don’t dine and dash, some resort to crafty tactics to escape paying their bills. Managers have reported instances where customers eat all the food they ordered and then call a manager to their table to complain about every item, hoping to dodge their bills. In more extreme cases, diners have been known to eat part of their meal and then go to the extent of dropping their own hairs into it to fabricate complaints and order something different off the menu, all in an attempt to avoid paying.
Dining and dashing is a problem that affects restaurants of all sizes and locations, including suburban neighborhoods in Ohio. Despite the challenges it poses, the commitment of restaurant managers and staff to ensure attentive service and a swift resolution to any issues is admirable. By understanding the motives behind dining and dashing and implementing preventative measures, restaurants can continue to provide excellent dining experiences while discouraging those who seek to dine and dash. Dining out should be an enjoyable experience for everyone involved, and dining and dashing undermines that for many.

Will Prices in Grocery Stores Ever Change?

By Shaniyah Hubbard

Lately, there have been a lot of changes in store prices, especially on grocery store items. The inflation of many prices is causing people to shop not only on a budget but simply in the hope they can feed their families. There are many reasons for inflation, but the one major reason is the pandemic. Many people are stocking up on foodstuffs to the point that food markets have to put a limit on how much shoppers can buy. In a Forbes article titled, Why Are Food Prices Still Rising?, it explains “When lockdowns forced people to eat at home, producers catering to restaurants lost a key customer base, while grocery stores faced a massive increase in demand. Many food producers struggled in those early months to convert their operations to serve grocery consumers.” Many people relied on going to the grocery store to stock up and then “shelter in place,” but the prices are still outrageous, even with food stamp assistance.

Another thing that causes the price of groceries to go up is the packaging and the processing of food products, which is even more pricey because the more the item costs the more packing and processing the item must be. As we come to a new year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that in 2024 food prices could start falling, but the price in many grocery stores will still increase.

A final piece of the puzzle is labor costs. The labor cost was increased to 4% in 2023 because of the war in Ukraine. Also, since everything has been going up, people are turning to social media, both to complain AND to see if they can make food shopping more affordable for their families. Even more people are shopping paycheck to paycheck, and they still might not have enough for all the food they need. A recent USA Today article explains “With grocery prices up nearly 17% over the past two years,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “people are turning to social media to share how much money it takes to feed a family.” This has been going on since COVID-19 started spreading throughout the U.S. in 2020.

The Roaming Biscuit’s Bake Shop and Café

By Ray Hom

As part of our mission, The Cleveland Observer seeks to uplift and support minority-owned businesses in or near Cleveland, Ohio.

I recently made plans with a neighborhood friend to meet for coffee and chat about a community project. He recommended meeting at The Bake Shop and Café at Tyler Village. To my surprise, I was introduced to this hidden gem at Tyler Village located at Superior and 36^th Street. If you haven’t been, you need to stop in for breakfast and/or lunch or just meet up for coffee and pastries.

Upon entering the café, we were greeted with a smile and very friendly service by a person who just happened to be the café owner, Shawnda Moye. Her personality was infectious so I wanted to learn more about Shawnda and her Café. I had the opportunity to sit down with her and hear about her journey in opening the Café and running a small business in these challenging times.

History & Passion for Biscuits

Shawnda’s passion for baking started as a child when her mom taught her how to make peach cobbler. This included using fresh ingredients like fresh peaches and making the crust from scratch. She started making desserts all the time as a child in elementary school. She would always bake goods and ship her goodies to family and friends. Her baking continued throughout life when she decided to perfect her trade and worked at bakeries and cafes to learn the technique and trade secrets further.

She started her career in Sales and Ops Management after school, but she knew she always wanted to open a bakery and café. Shawnda grew up in Cincinnati, went to school in Tallahassee, FL, and lived in various places in the South. While living in the South, she noticed there were always great places to go for biscuits and biscuit sandwiches.

In 2015, she decided to move to Cleveland to work for a caterer and other restaurants to build a clientele for baked goods. She soon realized that homemade fresh breakfast sandwiches were hard to find in Cleveland, especially biscuit sandwiches. In 2019, Shawnda decided to start her business by doing pop-ups around town. Her new business, The Roaming Biscuit, started attracting a following with the pop-ups. She had to quickly get creative with the newfound popularity and used ghost kitchens and other partners to prep The Roaming Biscuit.

During the middle of the pandemic in June 2021, she found a café space that was available in Tyler Village. The space had everything she needed to open her business. The timing was perfect and she found a home with all the kitchen equipment in place and a perfect space with seating. She finally found a permanent home for her biscuits!

More importantly, there were no other breakfast sandwich locations in the neighborhood, so it was a perfect location to open The Bake Shop and Café.

Running a Small Business

Opening during the pandemic and staying open beyond challenges locally owned small and medium-sized businesses. Shawnda has survived the tough times and continues growing her business. I asked her what motivates and drives her success in today’s challenging times with the shortages in the workforce.

Shawnda does what she does because she’s passionate about preparing food for customers and seeing her customers’ complete satisfaction with her food and service. When that happens, she enjoys that ultimate feeling of success. Be it one person or the entire day, she leaves satisfied knowing that she has accomplished her mission. Food brings people together, and her goal is to have fun at the Café while providing great food for customers. That’s what happened to me on my first visit to the Café!

This may sound easy, but during these challenging times hiring, keeping, and motivating a talented team in the F&B industry is difficult. Shawnda feels it’s so important to ensure that you allow your team to use their creativity with menu items and trust that their creativity will be a hit on the menu. This creates a boost of confidence for each team member. As customers, it’s essential to provide feedback because when the feedback is positive, it creates confidence in the creativity.

Shawnda’s advice for running a business is to always keep pushing ahead with a positive attitude. If you put the hard work in, it will eventually pay off. Always focus on your customer service in order to be successful because returning customers are vital to your success. Finally, don’t try to be too trendy in your offering and stick to what you do best in your environment.

Supporting the Community

As a Black Woman Owned business, Shawnda tries to use her platform to showcase other businesses owned by women and people of color. She feels it is important to support others like her. She uses a network to get the word out and bring awareness to others.

In the Café, there is a wall of locally owned businesses that she shares with customers. She is able to promote other women-owned and/or black-owned businesses in the community. In addition, she seeks out vendors and partners to work within her networks such as Saucisson, a butcher shop, and The Home Pantry, both women-owned businesses. She also works with Adun Spices, a Black woman-owned business.

Shawnda feels it’s important to support these businesses which is why I feel it is important to highlight The Bake Shop and Café as we have a shared mission of uplifting and supporting minority-owned businesses.

About The Bake Shop and Cafe

The Bake Shop and Café uses all homemade ingredients serving delicious full Roaming Biscuit breakfast and lunch items, coffee, and a rotating menu of amazing pastries and desserts!

Specialties include all breakfast biscuits and biscuit sandwiches, the Curry Chicken on Naan, and homemade pastries and desserts.

Located in Tyler Village, 3615 Superior Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114.

(216) 452-6035

https://theroamingbiscuit.com/

Open daily 7am-2 pm, Closed on Weekends.

Available for dine-in or takeout, catering, and pop-up events.

Be sure to stop by and say hello to Shawnda and mention you read about her in The Cleveland Observer!

Central residents wonder when a grocery store will return to neighborhood

By Conor Morris

When Central resident Tesia McDonald wants to get fresh groceries for her four children, she must walk roughly 30 to 40 minutes, shop, then carry everything home.

Since she doesn’t have a car, McDonald can sometimes catch a bus to the store. That does help, but she said public transit isn’t always reliable, and sometimes she’ll need to have her kids with her, further complicating matters.

This is the reality for many residents in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood, which has been without a grocery store for roughly three years, ever since Dave’s Market left the area.

“It stresses me out, and it makes me unmotivated to cook, to eat healthy,” McDonald said. “I’d rather just go to the corner store and get a bag of chips.”

Burten, Bell, Carr Development (BBC), the community development corporation (CDC) that serves the Central neighborhood, has sought to find a supermarket to come to Arbor Park Place, a shopping plaza it operates in Central, but recent negotiations with a potential operator fell through.

This is all happening in a neighborhood where roughly 55% of households don’t own a car, according to an analysis of 2019 American Community Survey data.

While there is a Dave’s grocery store about 30 minutes away by foot, McDonald said she prefers to go to the nearest ALDI Grocery Store or to the Heinen’s Grocery Store downtown. She doesn’t have a job and one of her children has a lot of food allergies, so she said she prefers Aldi’s prices and Heinen’s offerings over Dave’s.

She also sometimes catches a bus to the Steelyard Commons shopping area to go to the stores there, but that also can be dicey.

“You’ve got a couple minutes to shop before the bus comes back around or you have to wait another hour,” McDonald said.

Food deserts, or what some now call “food apartheid,” persist throughout Cleveland, including in Central. These are areas defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as communities “where people have limited access to a variety of healthy and affordable food,” often without access to supermarkets.

These areas are especially concentrated on Cleveland’s East and South sides, where residents of historically redlined neighborhoods are dealing with some of the highest poverty rates in the city. In fact, in 2018 about 35% of Cuyahoga County residents and 59% of Cleveland residents resided in such “food deserts.” That’s according to a 2019 assessment of residents’ access to supermarkets in Cuyahoga County by the Cuyahoga County Board of Health and Cuyahoga County Planning Commission.

This issue was brought yet again to the fore this year when Dave’s Market in Collinwood announced it would be closing in late April. At the time, Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek said the owners cited numerous reasons for the closure of the Dave’s Market in Collinwood, including “low sales volume” and a “drop in revenue,” although plenty of other factors likely played into that decision.

Meanwhile, Joy Johnson, executive director of BBC, said the CDC continues to work on bringing a grocery store to the shopping plaza in Central. She said negotiations with a grocery store partner interested in moving into the space fell flat after both parties couldn’t agree on the terms of the lease, specifically around the use of local contractors.

“We are sure the end result would be a store that provides quality goods and services that would hire from the community, but we want to make sure on the front end that there’s a benefit to local contractors and construction workers as well,” she said.

It’s not clear now if the CDC is talking to other potential stores. Joe Janes, the owner of the Janes Group, independently operates 15 Save-A-Lot stores in Greater Cleveland, which were acquired in March 2021. Janes was in talks with BBC and Ward 5 Councilman Richard Starr to bring one of his stores to the Arbor Park Place mall before negotiations were ended by BBC, Starr said.

“We need some good quality food to be able to be served in our community, and it is imperative to them (residents) to make that happen, and for us to put aside some of the differences that we’re having,” Starr said.

Janes said he wanted to stay at the table and figure out how to make the project work for everyone, but declined to talk specifics about the contract negotiation. Starr said Janes was willing to use all local or minority-operated contractors for the build-out of the store, per requirements from BBC, but a sticking point came about when Janes wanted to use the same contractor he had used previously for the build-out of the refrigeration systems.

Plus, BBC’s Johnson has previously said potential grocery store operators have asked for roughly $400,000 in renovations to the Arbor Park Place storefront. That funding would likely need to come from external sources like local governments.

Johnson has not responded to follow-up questions on if the community development corporation is now pursuing a different operator.

Starr said he felt the CDC wasn’t willing enough to make concessions in the negotiations. In the initial interview with Johnson, she did offer that finding a grocery store to come into the shopping mall is an evolving process that requires a lot of due diligence by all parties.

“What we have learned,” Johnson said, ”is typically property owners make a lot of concessions to have a grocery store in their places because they know it’s something that’s going to attract people, and (they) can rent out other places nearby at a higher rate if they accept a lower rate (for the) grocery store.”

Starr noted he wasn’t on board with a Save-A-Lot coming to Central initially. But he and community advocate Walter Patton toured the Save-A-Lots operated by the Janes Group in Cleveland and came away highly impressed. Patton said the fresh produce and meat offerings were “great,” on par with many other area grocery stores.

“They hired how the community looks,” Patton said. “On Broadway, there was a mixture of Black and white workers. On Clark (Avenue), it was Puerto Rican workers.”

Janes explained that as an independent licensee of Save-A-Lot stores, he has significant leeway to operate the stores differently compared to other Save-A-Lots.

Meanwhile, in Collinwood, Janes said the Save-A-Lot on Neff Road operated by his company has picked up a lot of new customers since Dave’s Market left Collinwood; customers who say they are pleased with the store’s offerings.

Roger Sikes, program manager of Creating Healthy Communities with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, said the solution to a lack of supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods in Cleveland is complex. It will mean partnerships between the community, the government, nonprofits, and private businesses.

Sikes said Simon’s Supermarket in Euclid is a good example of how that could work. The market got several grants and loans from the government and nonprofits, including $125,000 from the city of Euclid to fund build-out of the store. In tandem, there were several “large-scale” community forums where residents advocated for what they wanted in the store.

Sikes said the process was a success in that it resulted in a full-service grocery store in a low-income neighborhood, but tensions persist between the store ownership and the neighborhood.

Sikes said that for a grocery store to truly succeed in these neighborhoods, they’ll need community buy-in. They should hire from the community and provide those workers with a living wage; provide products the community asks for, and actively seek out feedback on operations.

“I don’t think that public funding is going to solve all of our food deserts. Supermarkets are making an economic calculation as to where they can stabilize and be profitable,” Sikes said. “…but I would say anytime you have funding, money that’s out there to help someone do something, I mean, c’mon, that’s real.”

Back in Central, only time will tell when the neighborhood will again have easier access to fresh food.

In the meantime, residents like Tesia McDonald will still face long walks to get access to fresh meat and produce.

“It’s no wonder that people just go to the corner stores and shop,” she said.

This story is a part of the Northeast Ohio Solutions Journalism Collaborative’s Making Ends Meet project. NEO SoJo is composed of 18-plus Northeast Ohio news outlets including The Cleveland Observer. Conor Morris is a corps member with Report for America. Email him at cmorris40@gmail.com.

Angie’s Soul Cafe Feeds the Soul and Cleveland

By Lisa O’Brien

Angie’s Soul Cafe, located at 7815 Carnegie Avenue, has been filled with warm people and good food for over thirty years.

The soul food kitchen has a homey interior with metal chairs that are perfect for kicking back and enjoying some fried catfish.

I had a chance to speak to Destiny, the General Manager at Angie’s Soul Cafe. I learned more about the restaurant and its history, which I am excited to share with all of you readers.

Interviewer: Thank you so much for speaking with me. To start, would you like to tell our readers a little bit about yourself, maybe how long you’ve been working here at Angie’s?

Destiny: My name is Destiny. Angie is actually my great-aunt. This was my first job around Cornell and Cedar when I was fourteen. It was a job with the family, and I worked on and off since I was fourteen. I just recently came back as a General Manager last year. I went from a cashier as a little girl, and now I’m keeping the business going.

Interviewer: What, in your opinion, makes Angie’s so special that it has been able to be a Cleveland staple as long as it has?

Destiny: Angie’s has been around for so long; we’re family. We are a family-owned business. We treat our customers like family. We are family in the kitchen; you’d think we all were related. All the customers feel welcome. We feed the soul. Soul food!

Interviewer: What is one thing you would like people to know about the restaurant? Not necessarily a secret, I wouldn’t want you giving away any secret recipes, but something you would like our readers to know that they maybe don’t.

Destiny: I want everyone to know, because everyone comes in and asks the questions “is Angie real? Is Angie still around?” Yes, Angie is still around! She still comes in, and she bakes our pies, peach cobblers, and cakes and stuff. I just want everyone to know that Angie is real, she is not a made-up name, and she is still here.

Interviewer: That’s good to hear! What is your favorite thing on the menu? I’m not sure if it changes, but if you had to pick…

Destiny: That’s horrible! What’s my favorite thing on the menu? I’ll just have to say fried pork chops, macaroni, and yams.

Interviewer: Lastly, how do you think Angie’s has served the community in Cleveland specifically? Or in what ways do you observe that community coming together here?

Destiny: We’ve done a lot of donating to various causes. We just fed the homeless with The Browns a few months ago. Stuff like that. We just give back to the community. We feed the people who come in and just say “I’m hungry.” I’ll be sure to give them something out of the kitchen; it won’t hurt us.

I had a wonderful time at Angie’s Soul Cafe and came away with two containers of their signature peach cobbler, and mac and cheese. If you are looking for food to feed your soul look no further than Angie’s!

The Cleveland Observer Resource Blog

By Lexy Jensen

At times, seeking help can feel overwhelming.

We at The Cleveland Observer are dedicated to informing our community, which is why we have compiled the following list of free and low-cost local resources for assistance with the fulfillment of basic needs.

We are optimistic that this list can serve as a resource for those in need, and plan to expand it in the future.

FOOD

Brother Hubbard’s Cupboard

Run by a team of volunteers, Brother Hubbard’s Cupboard aim is to aid Clevelanders.

6001 Woodland Ave # 1 Cleveland, OH 44104
Open Fridays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
(216) 391-7231

Cleveland Kosher Food Bank

The Cleveland Kosher Food Bank has been a leader in the community, having frequent fundraising events and consistently bringing awareness to the fight against hunger.

2004 S. Green Road
Cleveland, Ohio 44121
Open Thursdays, 5-6 p.m.
Call 216-382-7202 or email info@kosherfb.org.
The pantry is currently only serves zip codes: 44121, 44122, 44124, and 44118.

The Cleveland Kosher Food Bank asks attendees to bring a photo ID and grocery bags.

Friendly Inn Settlement

The Friendly Inn Settlement promotes wellness, supporting self-sufficiency, and respectfulness. Its mission is “to improve the quality of life by cultivating, planting, and nurturing individuals, families, and communities to participate in the world economy.”

The Friendly Inn Settlement currently only serves individuals and families that live in the Carver Park, Outhwaite, or King Kennedy communities. ID and proof of residency are required.

2386 Unwin Rd Cleveland, OH 44104
Open Wednesdays, 12 noon-1:50 p.m., Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1:50 p.m.
Phone: (216) 431-7656

Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ

The Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ is a historic congregation of the United Church of Christ, helping Tremont individuals and families.

2592 W 14th St. Cleveland, OH 44113
Open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Phone: (216) 861-7388.
Serves zip codes 44113 and 44109.

Redeemer ICH Crisis Center

The Redeemer ICH Crisis Center offers numerous services to serve and support their community, including a “Family Food Bag” program. The Redeemer ICH Crisis Center serves those who live within the geographic area of the center and asks that those who wish to partake provide a current piece of mail to prove address, size of family and birth dates, sources of income, and a photo ID.

2970 W 30th St, Cleveland, OH 44113.
Open once a month; please contact for more information.
(216) 281-0808.

For additional food resources, please visit: https://www.greaterclevelandfoodbank.org/

SHELTER

St. Herman House – FOCUS Cleveland

St. Herman House’s mission is “to shelter and support homeless men on the path to well-being and independence and meet the basic needs of people in our community”

4410 Franklin Blvd Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 961-3806 or email sainthermans@focusna.org

Norma Herr Women’s Center

The Norma Herr Women’s Center aims to provide a highly personalized housing plan that will assist local women in achieving health, employment, or education.

2227 Payne Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 479-0020 or (216) 674-6700.

Zelma George Family Shelter (Salvation Army)

The Zelma George Family Shelter is an emergency shelter accommodation for families and a Salvation Army resource.

710 Prospect Ave E, Cleveland, OH 44115
(216) 781 3773
or email Barbara.Butler@use.salvationarmy.org

Family Promise of Greater Cleveland

Family Promise of Greater Cleveland is an emergency shelter accommodation for families that also provides counseling and services for case management. Family Promise of Greater Cleveland has served the Greater Cleveland area for over 25 years.

2592 W 14th Street, Cleveland, OH 44120
(216) 771-9600.

Haven House For Veterans

Haven House For Veterans is an emergency shelter accommodation for adult male veterans that also provides meals.

3468 E 142nd St., Cleveland, OH 44120
(216) 491-4730.

For additional shelter resources, please visit https://www.housingcleveland.org/.

CLOTHING

Needs Cleveland

Needs Cleveland is a non-profit center whose motto is “Helping others help themselves.”

7710 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44102
Open Tuesdays 4-6 p.m. and Thursdays 12:30-2:30 p.m.
The email address is info@needscleveland.org

Twice Blessed Free Store

Twice Blessed Free Store is located in the Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland and is a “free store” with clothing and other resources for those who need them.

9900 Madison Ave, Cleveland, OH 44102
Open Saturdays, 9:20 a.m.-12 p.m.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center (LOW-COST)

This branch of the Salvation Army is located at 5005 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44103, and is open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

HYGIENE PRODUCTS

Pride Among Daughters & Sisters Inc. (PADS)

A local Cleveland organization, PADS assists women and girls with having access to menstrual products.

(216) 906-9093
Email: prideamongdaughtersandsisters@gmail.com

I Support the Girls

I Support the Girls is a national organization that delivers hygiene products to survivors of domestic violence, people going through menopause or perimenopause, those who are homeless or cannot otherwise afford hygiene products, and non-cis individuals who cannot afford or safely purchase hygiene products.

Please visit their website for information on how to request aid: https://isupportthegirls.org/programs/our-programs/.

God’s Vision Foundation

God’s Vision Foundation holds distributions every few months that can be registered for via its website.

14911 Westropp Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44110
Call (216) 512-1463 or email info@godsvisionfoundation.org

To view the most up-to-date information about this resource, please visit https://www.godsvisionfoundation.org/free-hygiene-and-cleaning-supplies.