It is a widely heard message across Ohio: buy local. Consumers are encouraged to eat, drink, bathe, sleep, live, listen and build local. It is a notion that has gained significant momentum in recent years, despite the rise of multinational chain outlets. However, as one local group has discovered, living local is a hard slog. 

"We are committed to local entrepreneurial ventures. Period," says Patrick Billows, co-founder of the Center for Righteous Aspirational Poverty. "We commend those organizations that refuse to be bought by big business, instead relying exclusively on local organizations, businesses and people to fund their enterprises." 

Billows, the former proprietor of a boutique sweater shop, featuring goods only made using wool from regionally raised alpacas, opened the center in 2008 with his wife and business partner Amanda, who admits their venture was a bit shortsighted. "We launched in November and business was great for the first six months," she says. "When the weather changed in spring, business tanked and never recovered." 

The center raises money for local enterprises by relying on fund-raising efforts at events throughout Northeast Ohio. To date, local philanthropy has helped the organization raise close to $800. "We gave $100 each to six different outlets that sell local products only." The pair kept $200 as rent money for Billows' brother, who the couple lives with. 

"When we opened, we knew it would be tough; we took a vow of poverty to be local," says Renee Dintan, owner of Style Us, a clothing and record shop in Sheffield Lake. "We wanted to carry only locally made clothing and only sell albums recorded by Ohio artists." Dintan argues that the manufacture location of the vinyl is a moot topic given the artists' Ohio connection.

Business at Style Us has been tough, and Dintan sleeps on a pullout cot in the 400 square foot store and relies on a pay phone down the street from her storefront. "We read how interested people were in supporting local businesses – just go on Facebook, and it seems as if everyone is championing a local business," says Dintan. "I see lots of people talk about my store, but I don't think they're all really shopping here."

Jake Pembrooke may disagree.  He owns Father's Farm Cottage in Portsmouth, Ohio, a quiet southern Ohio town where Pembrooke's restaurant business has been booming. "I read about the problems facing local retailers – heck, I even see them; plenty of businesses have come and gone since I opened the Farm Cottage, but we don't seem to be affected," he says. Since opening, Pembrooke's highly seasonal, highly local menu has won rave reviews, and residents are clamoring for a seat. "Everything we serve is from Ohio soil, and while it costs more, it certainly tastes better." An Ohio rib eye with local purple potato hash and a roasted corn maque choux made with local vegetables costs $39. The average yearly income in Portsmouth is $24,000. "Our profit margins are negligible," says Pembrooke. "From staffing, licensing, permits, food, billing, materials and all the other costs, we barely break even, which stinks because there's not much left we can reinvest in the community." It's an alarming trend, according to at least one financial analyst. 

Bill Rearoro, a financial analyst with Bender & Beggs in Canton, says that this situation has historical precedence. "At one time, China was the technological and cultural center of the world," he says. "Yet, after years of self-imposed isolationism, the country crumbled. I see parallels to the misguided if well-intentioned business plans of today's entrepreneurs." Success comes at a price, too. 

 "I opened Primrose Particulars in 2004, selling a variety of locally made goods, from honey and soap to books and pottery," says Janet Primrose. "Yes, we carried lots of other goods to help pay the bills and help us continue to support the local artisans." Local critics saw things differently.

"Being local means you have to struggle, or 'you're not keeping it real,' I was told," says Primrose. "If you make money, you're clearly doing something wrong." Primrose closed her store in late 2009, and now lives in Florida. 

[Photo by Kevin Nortz]

There was a time when enjoying a meal meant sitting down with friends and family, sharing tales from life's rich pageant. "That type of dining is dead," says David Skonting, director of the Northeast Ohio New Media Foodie Club. "Sure, dining is still about sharing a meal with people, connecting with others, but we're advocating doing so on a much bigger scale." 

Skonting and his cronies spend as much time with iPhones and Blackberries in their hands as they do knives and forks. The club's members are encouraged to bring laptops, so that every moment of a meal can be recorded and posted to the Internet's annals of anonymous dining. Others rely on their mobile devices, providing Twitter and Facebook updates as the meal progresses. "Checking in with FourSquare was just the beginning," says Louis Daley, who will open what he calls a "cyber gastropub" this fall in Avon. "We are planning an aggressive Swarm marketing campaign." Twitter subscribers can earn the much-coveted FourSquare Swarm tag by luring large groups to certain destinations at the same time. Daley says that Twitter followers who participate in "swarms" at his restaurant will be rewarded with complimentary cocktail napkins and extra ice cubes in their water.

The Swarm tactic provides a solid group  of customers, but creates havoc for staff members. "Of course, we love the business, and we love the tips," says a host from a popular restaurant who preferred to remain anonymous. "Unfortunately, it negates much of the efforts we make in terms of scheduling to avoid huge influxes of patrons. Our primary goal is to provide excellent service, and having 50 people arrive at once, playing on their computers and Blackberries disrupts the entire restaurant." 

However, NONMFC members disagree, pointing out that business is business, and restaurants should be grateful for the coverage and reward them for dining there. "We're basically the new food critics," says Samantha Brawn. "We talk about the food and tell the chefs who we are. We take pictures and post them on our blogs. This is great publicity for the restaurant, and I've had many chefs apologize after I've posted about bad dining experiences.

"The restaurants need us; the chefs need to reach out to us, offering us special dining experiences, so we have something to write about." Not to be outdone, traditional media–advocates are jumping in on the action, albeit in a way they know how. 

Every Sunday, the Paper Boys, a new social group dedicated to the preservation of print media, meet at a local eatery or coffeehouse, and bring copies of various Sunday newspaper editions. "Our numbers are really growing and certainly holding strong," says Paper Boys founder Richard Dullard. "This so-called 'new media' will never replace the print product, it's just a fad. We'd just as soon ignore the whole thing." At the time of writing, the group had six members, with no new applicants in two months.

For more information, look around the Internet. [Photo by Kevin Nortz]

Collaboration requires baked-in leadership, and we’re not just talking about pie. Progress is made when leaders lead where there’s a need, galvanizing others in the process. The folks in the Lake Erie Building at Templar Industrial Park are leaders. They decided collaborating on an open house was the perfect way to usher in spring and showcase the West Side’s inner ring artistry. A local professor continues to lead beyond instruction: his weekend-long poetry exposition offers a soapbox for amazing writing and perspectives, bringing in poets from far and wide. A local dance company’s cutting-edge performances continue to lead in the Midwest – and have drawn in a couple of organizational fans for a new breed of benefit concert. That’s three Fresh Starts just for you. None of them happens in a vacuum.

Jawing In Kent

It’s been a long time since the Classic Cleveland Poetry Slam at the Beachland Ballroom came to an end. Thankfully, there are many events across Northeast Ohio that have filled the gap. Kent State University poetry professor Maj Ragain helms one of the best: the annual Jawbone Poetry Reading and Pie Festival, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this Friday, April 30 and runs through the weekend. The affecting catalyst, as revered as the late Daniel Thompson by some, provides an open poetry forum with featured guests from across the region and the country. The whole weekend ends up being a venerable who’s who for regional poets. Of course, there’s pie, too. Lots of pie. This is a must for anyone with a poetry jones. Learn more at Standing Rock’s website.

Screw You

Take in the Screw Factory Artists Spring Open Studio this coming Saturday, May 1 from 1 to 8 pm, at the edge of Birdtown in Lakewood. Artists Arabella Proffer, Gina DeSantis, Shannon Okey and more than two dozen other local artists open their Lake Erie Building studio doors for a no-cost, open to the public open house. The mediums on display for this auction-exhibit include fiber, photography, painting, sculpture, ceramics, glass and mosaics. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Friends of Madison Park. Organized in 2007, FOMP is a community group committed to enhancing Lakewood’s Madison Park as a “backyard park” for children and families.

Watching the ‘Wheels

Here’s one that’s sure to end up on many “Best Of” lists at the end of the year: Dancing Wheels Dance Company and School joins forces with two marquee arts organizations for a benefit gala/concert at the State Theatre at Playhouse Square Saturday, May 1 at 7:30 pm. Titled And All That’s Jazz!, it features special musical guests the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, along with the heavenly Singing Angels and students from the physically-integrated dance company and school. The program features two world premiere dances, including one by Broadway legend Donald McKayle, who will give a pre-performance talk prior to the performance. The gala, featuring hors d’oeuvres, desserts and a silent auction, immediately follows in the theatre’s swanky lobby.

If life were easy, then it wouldn't be very interesting. For better or worse, we get curve balls that regularly test our character. Family matters are particularly trying. 

Knowing that a loved one is going under the knife, no matter how skilled the surgeon, is cause for concern, particularly when the surgery is a dangerous one with a low success rate. When the patient is your mother, it's downright terrifying. Thanks to talented physicians, my mother's surgery went according to plan. The healing process has begun, if ever so slowly. (Anything less than immediate, full recuperation is unacceptable.) Extreme empathy is inevitable, as the mother-son bond is a unique one. The waiting is the hardest part, and family comes first. I enjoy living in a city where people understand that. 

More important, I love living in a city where people haven't a clue that you're struggling, but brighten your day simply by being themselves. 

Somewhat exasperated by a week of unwelcome surprises, Friday night called for carryout Chinese and a movie. For this task, Sun Luck Garden in Cleveland Heights is top choice. 

"Sun Luck Garden!" said a familiar, cheery voice when I called to place my order.

"Hello, I 'd like to place an order for carryout, please." 

"Sure! What would you like on your Klondike bar?" said the excited man on phone. Giggling, the order was placed: two vegetable egg rolls ("two delicious, crispy egg rolls"), two wonton soups ("two lovely wonton soups"). Once he determined that the Green Jewels and chicken dumplings entrées were available, the final details were explained.

"One more thing: we are actually closed tonight for a private event," I was told. At that point, it was further explained that I'd need to pull around behind the restaurant, knock on the rear door leading to the kitchen, and somebody would have my order. The simple act of ordering Chinese takeaway was shaping up to be delightfully strange. 

Thirty minutes later, my girlfriend and I arrived at the rear door of the restaurant, and, as promised, the lovingly eccentric man on the phone, Jeff, was there to meet us. Our food was not ready. We were asked to please wait in the car. 

With that, Jeff came out, beaming and bearing two diminutive quiche Lorraine appetizers, made with Chinese bacon and creamy egg and cheese. Delicious. Minutes after that, he returned with a new plate, topped with two phyllo pastries with a fragrant, sweet chutney-like eggplant filling. He then scuttled off, laughing out loud. We were laughing out loud, too. 

A few moments later, he returned, apologizing for the slight delay, and presented us with two curried butternut squash pastry puffs. Our actual order arrived shortly thereafter. We exchanged a few quips, and went our separate ways. 

Jeff at Sun Luck made ordering Chinese a decidedly interesting, wholly hilarious and fun experience. He reminded us that the world can be a magical place, and sometimes joyous occasion arrives when and where you least expect it. Thanks for the curve ball, Jeff. 

Photograph by Manji Designs

There's nothing quite like a liberal dose of spirited competition to bring out the best in people. In Cleveland, fans – fair-weather to fervent – stand behind the Cavs as they march to a championship. The city celebrates each win, each dunk, each bucket, with shared enthusiasm. Strangers are suddenly high-fiving friends, and there's a tangible energy pulsing through the region, from West Side to East. We're a proud city. We like winning.

Over the years, the North Coast has had many epithets ("the mistake on the lake") hurled our way, and we've survived more than a few notorious incidents (our burning river). I'm sorry, Joakim Noah, you're neither original, nor clever.

Noah has certainly grown bitter, though. In a league where points and triple-doubles are the stuff that feed fans' fervor, Noah's stats mostly reflect his skill at being a lout. He has been ejected once, received eight technicals and 198 personal fouls this season, 3.1 personal fouls per game. Well done, Noah: Those represent your highest numbers since being drafted in 2007. If you were Michael Jordan circa 1989, we'd be more worried.

Chicago is a wonderful city. It's a bustling Midwest metropolis with loads of curb appeal. It's a lakefront town with a rich history. It's renowned for award-winning restaurants and shopping opportunities. It has a strong cultural presence, with numerous parks and museums. It's pro football, baseball and basketball teams are big draws. Sounds awfully familiar.

Cleveland was already a year old, incorporated in 1836, an industrious city on Lake Erie, by the time Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837. While Chicago has Grant Achatz, Rick Bayless, Paul Kahan and Charlie Trotter, Cleveland is no slouch in the chef department. Cleveland is home to a nationally lauded restaurant scene, led by the likes of Lolita/Lola/B Spot/Bar Symon chef/owner Michael Symon, L'Albatros/Chinato/Parallax/Table 45 chef/owner Zack Bruell, Melt Bar & Grilled's Matt Fish, The Greenhouse Tavern's Jonathon Sawyer and Momocho/Happy Dog's Eric Williams. The Magnificent Mile is impressive, yet those famed labels and retailers that figure prominently on the strip are hardly unique to Chicago. In Cleveland, you'll find an eclectic collection of locally owned boutiques that sell locally made goods. From Room Service and Salty Not Sweet, to Banyan Tree and Revive, you'll find amazing wares not easily found elsewhere. There's also Brigade, which sells clothes from Cleveland-based, LeBron-approved Wrath Arcane, NEXT and Style Lounge.

Northeast Ohio is blessed with numerous beaches, Lake Erie, and one of the country's finest natural resources, the Emerald Necklace. The Cleveland Orchestra is consistently ranked among the finest ensembles in the world, while the Cleveland Museum of Art is home to a a world-class collection of art. From MOCA to the Sculpture Center, and too many galleries to list, Cleveland is awash in culture. We also have the Browns, the Indians and, of course, the Cavs.

So, what's the lesson here, Noah? It's easy to be defensive without being foul.