Friday, January 25, 2008

A Cool Lunch

I got a call today from a good friend of mine who works at the Federal Reserve to meet up for lunch. (Quick aside - all e-commerce applications run by the Federal Goverment and the Fed were developed and maintained here in Cleveland.) We met at the Market Cafe in the Ohio Savings Building on East Ninth and Chester. Let me tell you, GO TO THIS CAFE!!!! Amazing. This was the type of restaurant I always had in mind to serve the tech community and professional services industries in downtown.

The Cafe has three great venues to select your food from - a salad line (which was about a mile long), an upscale pizza line (very choice) and a grille line. The atmosphere is very chic. Clouds painted on the walls, tall ceilings, cool furniture. Food is awesome and offered at a great price. In the evening, it becomes a wine bar. Very cool.

I just happened to run into Jonathan Murray of Early Stage Partners who made an astute observation on how ten years ago everyone was wearing a grey or blue suit and today everyone was wearing cool clothes, smiling and enjoying a really cool place to eat and share convo with friends. It simply reinforces to me that if you build a unique environment that the workers in the “new industries” appreciate it can be very successful.

While I could not quickly find a website for the Market Cafe, I did find this listing for you on ClevelandNights.com (http://www.clevelandnights.com/cleveland/The_Market_Cafe_Cleveland_2866.asp).

Posted by Tech Czar at 20:54:01
Comments

6 Responses to “A Cool Lunch”

  1. George Nemeth says:
    January 25, 2008 at 9:33 pm

    I’ve looking for a venue where I can convene social/media lunches. Maybe this is the spot?

  2. Derek Arnold says:
    January 26, 2008 at 11:20 am

    Thanks for writing about this place, Mike.

    I have been looking for different places downtown. Being in Playhouse Square, that’s a short jaunt for me.

  3. Tech Czar says:
    January 26, 2008 at 5:00 pm

    George:

    THIS IS THE SPOT. Really enjoyed the atmosphere and food. Let’s do something cool here.

    Michael

  4. john mcgovern says:
    January 28, 2008 at 2:42 pm

    Good Day Michael:

    Glad you found this spot! It’s run by Bon Appetite Management, who also manages CWRU’s & Oberlin’s food service program.
    http://www.cafebonappetit.com/market/
    http://bonappetit.typepad.com/
    http://www.bamco.com/

    When you said,

  5. john mcgovern says:
    January 28, 2008 at 2:45 pm

    continuation…
    When you said, “The atmosphere is very chic. Clouds painted on the walls, tall ceilings, cool furniture.”, it made me think of WHY you though the place was cool and I think it has a lot to do with the ethos of Bon Appetite Management Co (BAMco). “Bon Appétit’s goal is to be known for its culinary expertise, commitment to socially responsible food sourcing and business practices, and strong partnerships with respected conservation organizations.”

    I think it is critical to note that the physical manifestations of BAMco’s business ideals were viewed by you as being cool and chic.

    At the very least, this cafe sets a new benchmark for design and delivery of product, but I think it also points to a larger shift in HOW we do business impacting HOW said company is perceived. An incredible local example of the BAMco ethos is http://apieceofcleveland.com/

  6. Tech Czar says:
    January 28, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    John:

    Thank you for the great information, man. This is good stuff. I agree the atmosphere rocked and if that is backed up with a good social barometer of awareness - then the place just gets better.

    Michael C. DeAloia

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