by Paul Heney
Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Fri November 24, 2023
This Midwestern gem of a city, often overlooked for larger
destinations, has a lot to offer for the LGBTQ+ traveler. The host of the 2014
Gay Games, Cleveland’s queer community has continued to build bigger and better
spaces for itself.
Nowhere is that more obvious than at the groundbreaking Studio West 117, a $100 million project
helmed by Daniel Budish and Betsy Figgie — local experts in urban planning and
tax-credit financed projects. Phase One of the development, The Fieldhouse,
opened last Fall, and it contains the excellent Muze Gastropub on the first
floor, along with Eat Me Pizza. The ground floor spaces host drag shows,
brunches, and more. Upstairs is a gorgeous rooftop bar called Trellis, with
inside and outside spaces, and plenty of outdoor heat lamps and fireplaces for
cooler evenings. And connected to the whole space is a gymnasium space, which
hosts everything from queer youth sports leagues to drag yoga to larger drag
performances.
The second and third phases, which expect to run roughly in
parallel with each other, are set to complete financing in early 2024 and
finish construction in early 2025 and late 2025, respectively. Those phases
will have a bit of everything. Just south of The Fieldhouse is the 56,000 sq-ft
former Phantasy Theater complex, which will contain five event venues and seven
or eight small retail storefronts. Additionally, there will be a maker space
facility in the basement. And just south of that, across Detroit Road from the
Phantasy, will rise roughly 120 units of LGBTQ workforce and senior housing, a
hotel, and an entire LGBTQ health facility. Budish and Figgie also envision a
potential LGBTQ healthcare, research, and education hub where doctors and
students worldwide can come to one location and learn the latest in
gender-affirming care.
Stay trendy
ROOST
Cleveland, in the city’s iconic May Company Building, is an apartment
complex-meets-extended-stay-hotel. Located right on the city’s central Public
Square, we found our two-bedroom apartment incredibly spacious, modern, and
clean. Huge windows faced the city’s skyscrapers and made us feel a part of the
urban fabric. Plus, it offered easy walking or a short drive to virtually
everything the city offers.
Another fave of the queer community is the Kimpton Schofield Hotel, located
on downtown’s bustling E. 9th Street. The Kimpton, located in a
recently restored Victorian building, boasts modern, comfortable rooms and a
lovely dining option in its ground-floor Betts restaurant, with both indoor and
al fresco dining. Across the street is the popular The Metropolitan at the 9, a
Marriott Autograph-branded property in a tall brutalist structure that also was
reborn in the last several years, with apartments, a stunning grocery store in
the old bank lobby rotunda, a rooftop space, restaurants, and a basement lounge
built around the old bank vault.
Hingetown Rising
This portion of the Ohio City neighborhood is one of the
city’s fastest-growing areas. It’s home to the newest apartment buildings,
trendy restaurants, cute shops, and great bars like Saucy Brew Works and The
Hangar. Wander around The City Goods, a collection of local shops housed in
quirky rounded metal hangers. The area was also the early home to Cleveland’s
first LGBT movement and the home to many of its queer residents. After a long
stretch of not having an annual Pride celebration, the event was relaunched
here in 1989.
If you’re looking to support local LGBTQ-owned businesses,
this is a great place to start. Visit the iconic Dean Rufus House of Fun for all
sorts of queer items, from greeting cards to sex toys to clothing. And longtime
Cleveland-area chef Douglas Katz recently came out as gay; his latest
restaurant in town is here, the Indian-inspired Amba,
a very sexy space with a dark ambiance, eclipse-style lights, a rope ceiling,
and incredible dishes from the paneer cheese with lentils to the herb grilled
chicken tikka with a tomato sauce and yogurt.
Another new restaurant to check out is JaJa, about a mile away in a
different corner of Ohio City. JaJa has an Argentinian steakhouse vibe, with small
plates meant for sharing. There’s a whimsical décor that starts in the
jungle-vibed anteroom, where you wait for the elevator up to the restaurant’s
main dining space. That space continues the leafy and floral motif; there’s an
intimate and elegant feel, and impeccable service here. Everything we tried
here was excellent: smoked eggplant with Greek yogurt, scallops with corn and
cauliflower gnocchi, and the gilded chocolate cake. Try the fun Expat in Peru
drink, which was an interesting twist on a sweet and sour drink.
SW117's The Fieldhouse. (Photo Credit: Paul Heney)
The East 4th Street entertainment district in
downtown is another great place to eat, with a variety of restaurants, such as
the new Cordelia. Wander off the street,
which feels European in flair, and into a chic industrial space, with framed
photos of famous NE Ohioans across one wall, from Paul Newman to Steve Harvey
to Machine Gun Kelly. Highlights include the grilled prawns, burger box, and
fried chicken appetizer.
So much more to do!
Other favorite Cleveland-area attractions include:
A Christmas
Story House — Tour the extensive campus that includes the home of Ralphie
and family from the beloved Christmas film, shot partially in Cleveland. The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo — One
of the loveliest settings for a zoo, there are standout exhibits on elephants,
wolves, Australian wildlife, and the rainforest. A visit here wouldn’t be
complete without a stop at the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, housed in an iconic I.M. Pei building on the
city’s waterfront. And currently under a major renovation, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the
city’s cultural hub, University Circle, has both impressive indoor displays as
well as an extensive outdoor wildlife exhibit, where museum staff educated
visitors on animals that they are rehabilitating.
A view from Cleveland's Cuyahoga River. (Photo Credit: Paul Heney)
The West Side Market
is a century-old food hall that features stunning architecture and resembles a
grand train station with its soaring ceilings. Peruse the produce stalls that
run along two sides of the building and then walk inside for vendors that sell
meats, bread, pierogies (a local favorite), cheeses, international foods,
spices, desserts, and more.
Lastly, if you’re specifically looking for queer nightlife,
in addition to the new SW117 offerings, check out the Leather Stallion Saloon for the gear
crowd (as well as plenty of bears!), Twist
Social Club for a younger, dancing crowd, or The Hawk for more of a casual
neighborhood bar vibe. East of downtown, the city’s bathhouse, FLEXSpas Cleveland, has spas,
hotel rooms, a fitness facility, and more. Day passes are available.
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