Press

For the past two decades, the corner of Shaker Square and N. Moreland has been home to a coffee shop. For most of that time, it was the site of Dewey’s Coffee, which closed in 2019 after 15 years. Biggby Coffee took over the space soon after but closed in 2022.

As of last month, a cafe has returned to the northern side of the square. Café Indigo (13201 Shaker Sq.), which opened in late February, brings coffee, ice cream and light fare to the square as plans for revitalization take shape, but anchor tenants like Edwins and Edwins move out.

Shaker Square patrons have gone a little over two years without a coffee shop, but that ended on Tuesday, Feb. 25, with the opening of Cafe Indigo.

“I’m excited for the community because I know they’ve been waiting,” said Melissa Hirsch, owner of the shop at 13201 Shaker Square. “And I kind of felt like the delays that I experienced, unfortunately, impacted them, but we’re going to be good for the spring and summer. We’re going to really fly.”

Shaker Square hosts a monthly series of community events to be held throughout the summer in the historic retail destination’s public space. The free-to-attend and family-friendly events will feature local businesses, organizations, artists, authors, and creators.

The Summer on the Square series will take place on the third Saturday of each summer month, with programming beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing throughout the afternoon.

Shaker Square will kick off its new “Summer on the Square” monthly series of free-to-attend, family-friendly events this Saturday (June 17).

Taking place on the third Saturday of each month through August and featuring local businesses, organizations, artists, authors and creators, the first installment will focus on health and wellness, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“The Summer on the Square series is an exciting opportunity to bring the community together and showcase the great amenities that Shaker Square has to offer,” said Joy D. Johnson, executive director of Burten, Bell, Carr, Inc., one of the new nonprofit owners.

Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, in partnership with Burten Bell Carr, is ready to move forward with a new vision for the area.

“Our goal is to build on the progress made in 2019 and hear from the community about their vision for the Square. To do so we are seeking experienced urban design and retail professionals to work collaboratively with us and the community in developing a long-term plan.” 

Shaker Square was the latest word in upscale urban innovation when it opened in 1929 as one of America’s first automobile- and transit-oriented shopping centers.

Built by the Van Sweringen brothers, the tycoons who went bust in the Depression, the square featured Georgian Revival-style buildings wrapped in an octagon around a five-acre central landscape. The “square” is bisected by a rapid transit line connecting the suburb of Shaker Heights to the east, and Terminal Tower downtown, to the west, both of which the brothers also built.

With an assessment of capital needs that could exceed $10 million, the new owners of Shaker Square have now expanded their priority checklist beyond three original items.

In no specific order, those were “roofs, roofs and roofs,” consultant Terri Hamilton Brown told the Shaker Square Alliance last year as the capital needs assessment was still being compiled.

Those replacements will still top the list, although the priorities will also include facade improvements, electrical and HVAC upgrades, lighting, parking lots and awnings, Burten Bell Carr Development Executive Director Joy Johnson said in a recent update to the Shaker Square Alliance.