John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Craft beer bar opening in Caxton Building spot of legendary downtown music store
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Attracting retail to downtown has been a mantra of cities trying to revitalize their inner cores. That includes Cleveland -- which has experienced explosive growth in downtown bars and restaurants, but has found the retail side a slower go.
After all, you can’t go online to grab a beer and entrée.
Story by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Downtown Cleveland institution
Musical instruments are another story, which explains the imminent closing of a downtown Cleveland institution. A craft beer bar has signed on to take over its space. (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Caxton Building
Prospect Music, a downtown mainstay since 1941, will be moving out of the Caxton Building, where it has been a tenant since 2001. (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Whistle & Keg
Whistle & Keg, a Youngstown-based bar known for its wide-ranging beer list and self-pours, will open Cleveland location in the 2,400-square-foot space. (Photo courtesy Joe Thomas)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Caxton bars
Whistle & Keg will join bars-restaurants such as the Thirsty Parrot, Wilbert’s and AJ Rocco’s in the Caxton Building. (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Historic building
The historic circa-1903 Gateway District building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. (A 1973 photo of the Caxton Building via Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
One moves in, the other moves out
Whistle & Keg hopes to open before the winter. Prospect Music will be moved out by Sept. 11. (Photo courtesy Joe Thomas)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Prospect Music
“I was ready to retire, but when I was told I had to leave it was the kick in the pants I needed to do it,” says Michael Rubin, who has owned Prospect Music since 1982. “The Internet is a big part of why businesses like my own are suffering." (Prospect Music owner Michael Rubin leafs through one of the many books containing autographs from some of its famous shoppers over the decades. Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Parking issues
"I’ve also had issues with the city and draconian parking rules that limit street parking even when there’s no traffic on the street," adds Prospect Music owner Michael Rubin. (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Prospect Music
“I think developers are more interested in bars and restaurants than a wide community of things that will appeal to different people,” adds Rubin, a trumpet player who plays in Cleveland band Blue Lunch. “As a result, you have a lot of millennials and transients rather than families looking at downtown.” (A 2000 photo of Michael Rubin, owner of Prospect Music, by Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Luring new crowds...
The ability of cities to lure millennials to downtown areas is one of the reasons for the rise of bars and eateries. It also accounts for the transformation of this space in Caxton, says Shawn Ellen Fortner of CRESCO Real Estate, which brokered Whistle & Keg’s move to Cleveland. (A photo of Wilbert's, one of the bars-restaurants located in the historic Caxton Building, by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
New business models
“Businesses like Prospect Music have, with the internet and online shopping, become less relevant with the neighborhood,” says Fortner. “Whistle & Keg is a better fit with residential apartments and residential units growing and predominantly catering to young professionals.” (Photo courtesy Joe Thomas)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Whistle & Keg
Whistle & Keg fits the model. The bar features 44 self-service taps with a rotating selection of craft beers and lets customers use their credit card and ID to receive a wrist band, which they will use each time they want to try a beer and wine. (Photo courtesy Joe Thomas)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Tasting room...
“It’s a true tasting room, where people have the freedom to pour wine and mead and beer and cider, and you pay for what you pour,” says Joe Thomas, who started Whistle & Keg with his brother Mike.
“You can have one ounce and you pay as little as 15-30 cents and then you can move along and try other beers.” (Photo courtesy Joe Thomas)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Craft beer bar moves into Caxton
It’s a unique concept, one that allows customers to try new beers that might not otherwise.
“When you have to buy an entire pint you often end up going with a beer you’re already familiar with,” adds Joe Thomas. “Our approach encourages people to sample more beers until they find what they like.” (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Whistle & Keg won’t serve food, save popcorn, but will allow patrons to bring their own chow. The Thomas brothers had looked to expand to the Cleveland for more than a year.
Whistle & Keg won’t serve food, save popcorn, but will allow patrons to bring their own chow. The Thomas brothers had looked to expand to the Cleveland for more than a year.
“Cleveland is ideal for us be is the ideal for us because the customers have similar tastes to our Youngstown clientele,” he says. “Downtown – and specifically the Gateway District -- was the ideal fit because it’s a growth area and has a proximity to concerts, Playhouse Square and sporting events.” (A postcard Caxton Building from the 1910s-1920s, via Cleveland State University, Michael Schwartz Library Special Collections)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Proximity to sports...
There’s another reason, one that strikes closer to home for the Thomas brothers.
“Youngstown is evenly split when it comes to its loyalty to Cleveland and Pittsburgh sports teams,” says Joe Thomas. “My brother and I are hardcore Cleveland fans and root for the Browns and Indians and Cavs – so it gives us a chance to be close to our favorite teams.” (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Prospect Music
Prospect Music was opened by founder Jack Epstein at 728 Prospect Avenue 77 years ago. (An undated photo of Epstein by Dudley Brumbach, The Plain Dealer
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Where the famous shopped
Over the decades, Prospect Music has hosted some of music's most famous players, from John Coltrane to Bo Diddley to Stevie Ray Vaughn to Pete Townshend. The music shop has a number of books filled with autographs of famous shoppers -- like John Coltrane. (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
East Fourth Street
Prospect Music moved to East Fourth Street in 1996. (Historical photo of East Fourth Street via Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Caxton Building
Rubin moved the business to the Caxton Building in 2001 and managed to continue selling a wide array of musical instruments, even as downtown and the business of selling musical instrument was changing. (A historical photo of the Caxton Building, circa 1953, via Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections.)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Downtown development
“I left when developers started turning it into a place for restaurants,” says Rubin. “That’s really been the focus of downtown development rather than on small retail businesses.”
The store is currently hosting an out-of-business sale. (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Mixing feelings...
“We’re doing a lot better now than we have in a while,” says Rubin. “I have mixed feelings about what’s going on. I know music stores have been having a hard time everywhere, even in the suburbs, but parking has been a real problem for business like mine downtown.”
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Prospect Music
“Some days, you could roll a bowling ball on Huron and not hit anything and the city still doesn’t let people park their cars on the street to go shopping in a store,” he adds. “It’s sad to see downtown retail disappearing like this.” (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer
Caxton bars
Whistle & Keg will move into the space currently occupied by Prospect Music. It will join bars-restaurants in the Caxton Building such as the Thirsty Parrot. The historic circa-1903 Gateway District building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)
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