Good morning, Cleveland! This is The 216 Scoop: We love our city, but even we’re asking: why does everything cost more now? 😤🧾

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In today’s 216 Scoop Edition:

  • Far East meets East Side: Coventry’s unlikely makeover

  • Cleveland pioneer returns to pre-historic roots

  • Taxes and tickets: Principled stand or cash grab?

  • This virtual unknown is now a cult hero

  • Coventry over the decades: Vintage Cleveland



    John Petkovic & Jude Perez

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IN THE NEWS

Far East meets East Side: Coventry’s unlikely makeover

Photos by John Petkovic

Coventry Village’s makeovers go back more than a century, when a real estate developer bought a tract of land from John D. Rockefeller.

First came the banks and hardware shops. Then clothiers and coffee shops.

By the 1960s, it was hippie hub and cradle of vegetarianism (thanks to Tommy’s) – followed by decades when stoners, punks, goths and indie kids hit head shops, boutiques and record stores.

(Check out classic photos of Coventry Road below in Vintage Cleveland.)

The latest makeover accompanies a culinary rather than cultural trend: nouveau takes on Asia food.

Coventry Road boasts nine Asian eateries covering Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Chinese cuisine.

The sleek and shiny One Pot is one of the area’s busiest restaurants with its all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ. Koko Bakery pairs sweet and savory treats with bubble teas. The pho, hibachi and sushi scenes are thriving thanks to High Thai'd, Tree Country, Soba and Pacific East.

The latest addition, Mizu, brings innovative takes on sushi, ramen and tempura to the former home of Hunan -- which sparked Coventry’s Asian food scene 38 years ago.

Those were different times. Coventry’s food scene has remade itself into a Little AsiaTown – with nouveau takes on the Far East. Bank.

🍜 Coventry goes global: What are you eating first?

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Cleveland pioneer returns to his pre-historic roots

Photos courtesy Derek Hess

His goals were immediate: To make fliers to promote shows he was booking at the Euclid Tavern.

But Derek Hess quickly discovered something bigger happening -- which altered the career of the Cleveland Institute of Art student.

“I wanted to create something that would catch people’s eye, so they’d come to the shows,” says the Cleveland artist. “Then all these people liked the fliers so much that they started collecting them.”

The Euclid Tavern was ground zero for music in the 1990s – and Hess was at the center of it, as a booker and an artist.

“It got my work out there,” he says. “And it got me involved in the poster art scene.”

Then came album covers, books, exhibitions and national acclaim beyond the music scene.

Hess’ anatomic mastery, dark surrealism and superhero-like figures landed his works in the Louvre, Rock Hall and, now, the museum that inspired him as a kid.

On Friday, his show Rock of Ages: The Evolutionary Art of Derek Hess opens in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It runs through March 22. Info.

“I started going there when I was five, and wanted to become a paleontologist,” says Hess. “The show focuses on anatomy, dinosaurs, animals and plants – it’s exciting, because this is where I got my start.”

Taxes and tickets: Principled stand or cash grab?

Photo via Automotus

It started with a few pennies here and there on drinks and food. Now, Mayor Justin Bibb is eyeing a few Andrew Jacksons.

A week after proposing a “small tax” on downtown bars and restaurants to help pay for repairs to Progressive Field and Rocket Arena, the mayor wants to install cameras to bust illegal parking downtown to ‘improve safety and traffic.’

Currently, the penalty is $25. Camera tickets would run it to $60 – and could be issued immediately upon detection.

Automotus’ “Enforcer” picks up license plates, registers them, decides whether the cars are supposed to be there and then sends tickets by mail. 

Bibb couched his “sin tax” on downtown businesses as a principled ‘fight’ again billionaire sports owners.

What will delivery drivers think of being tracked by the Enforcer?

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The 216 Rundown

A different kind of Van Halen or a soiree for extremophiles?

Mammoth: Wolfgang Van Halen got his start playing bass in his dad’s band – yes, Eddie, in Van Halen – when he was in 11th grade. He brings his own hard-rock outfit Mammoth to the Agora at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Info.

Nature on Tap: Extremophiles: The Metroparks bash at Merwin’s Wharf explores some of the most extreme environments on the planet — and the species that survive such harshness. Lucky you, you get to drink and eat. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Info.

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NOTES ON A COCKTAIL NAPKIN

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

Photo courtesy Cleveland Cavaliers

This virtual unknown is now a cult hero

Expectations were high for the Cavs, and especially Evan Mobley. Their sluggish play has frustrated fans.

There were none for Nae’Qwan Tomlin, ever. He never played high school ball, began at tiny Monroe Community College, and sharpened his game on Harlem courts.

Undrafted and virtually unknown, he signed with the Charge. When the Cavs’ energy dipped, Tomlin’s number was called. His relentless hustle stood in sharp contrast to the starters and turned him into a cult hero.

He is one of just three NBA players ever to reach the league without playing in high school. Which one made it big? All-time hustler Dennis Rodman.

🏀 Cavs spark plug: Nae’Qwan Tomlin — believe the hype?

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VINTAGE CLEVELAND

Coventry Village has always been a neighborhood in transition – with countless makeovers since it took shape more a century ago. From a mercantile strip to a hippie hub, punk hang out to a hotbed of Asian eateries, it has hosted iconic spots like Tommy’s, Record Revolution, Heights Theater, Sunshine, Hunan, Big Fun and the Grog Shop.

Photos courtesy Cleveland Memory Project

Ooh and don’t forget! Tag @The216Scoop on Facebook & @scoopcle on Instagram to get your photos in the Scoop!

WEATHER

Monday, November 17

60 °F 🌡️ 47 °F | 🌧️ / Overcast | 68% | 💨 NNE ≈ 23 mph (≈ 20 knots)

Tuesday, November 18

49 °F 🌡️ 43 °F | 🌧️ / Sprinkles | 69% | 💨 NE ≈ 19 mph (≈ 17 knots)

Wednesday, November 19

47 °F 🌡️ 43 °F | 🌧️ / Sprinkles | 69% | 💨 N ≈ 6 mph (≈ 5 knots)

Please note that weather conditions can change rapidly. For the most up-to-date information, consider checking a reliable local weather service.

Live Shows in the 216

Top Shows on Monday, Nov 17

  • Skatch Anderssen Big Band— The Brothers Lounge, 8 PM

  • Make Em Laugh Mondays Hosted By Kevin Ford — Grog Shop, 7:30 PM

Top Shows on Tuesday, Nov 18

  • CSU Pop, Rock, and Jazz Combos — Grog Shop, 6 PM

  • Flaw, Groundstate, Wasted Society — Foundry Concert Club, 6 PM

  • Florry — Beachland Tavern, 7 PM

  • Outlab: Experiments in Improvised Music @ BOP STOP — BOP STOP, 7:30 PM

  • PERSONALITY CRISIS AKA CLE PUNK NIGHT — Foundry Concert Club, 9 PM

  • Silverstein: 25 Years Of Noise — House of Blues, 6 PM

  • Saturdays At Your Place – These Things Happen Tour — Mahall's, 6:30 PM

Top Shows on Wednesday, Nov 19

  • Brent Kirby's 10x3 Songwriter/Band Showcase @ BOP STOP — BOP STOP, 7 PM

  • Daffo — Globe Iron, 7 PM

  • Etana, Ms BBC & Queens — Grog Shop, 7 PM

  • Kitchen Dwellers — Beachland Ballroom, 7 PM

  • Jose Gonzalez — Agora Theatre and Ballroom, 8 PM

The 216 Sports Area

Upcoming Games

Cavaliers

Home vs. Bucks, 7 PM November 17 (Monday)

Home vs. Rockets, 7 PM November 19 (Wednesday)

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