The Observation Deck

Hi,

What's the oldest business still going in Lakewood?

Earlier this year, I thought that this would be something worth knowing, and recognizing in some way. It does not seem like there is any official, clear answer at present: the library could only suggest general lines of research, and neither the Chamber of Commerce nor the Historical Society replied to my inquiries.

More recently I did find one good suggestion, indirectly thanks to the Historical Society. This article republished at their web site suggests Nickels Funeral Home as "one of the oldest," and it was written 22 years ago: http://lakewoodhistory.org/lore/lore119.htm

Nickels arrived in Lakewood in 1922, apparently, and that seems like it must be close to the record at this point. I have suspected that the oldest apartment building in the city might technically qualify as the oldest continually operating business in Lakewood, but I think most of our apartments are from the same general era. In any event, I think of apartments as a place of residence first and a business second…

In which case, anyone have other suggestions? Honorable mentions?

Goodness, I would think Colin McEwen would be able to answer that. He recently disseminated materials claiming that Lakewood had over 4000 small businesses. Certainly he would have information on continually operating Lakewood businesses?

Funny thing about Colin's "fuzzy" stats . . .I don't think he takes into account the # of businesses that close. So, just keep counting new businesses without ever having to subtract business closings and you get a seriously inflated number.

BTW - it's been over 3 months and Colin still hasn't been able to provide me for the facts that I requested to back up his inflated claims. I'm still blown away by "75% of Lakewood workers work for small businesses . ."

On my block alone, 75% of the workers work for large businesses - Key Bank, Sherwin Williams, NASA Glen, Progressive Insurance, Cleveland City Schools, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Home Depot, Direct TV, Rosetta, Cuyahoga County, United States Postal Service, Bay Village School District, Dillards . . . .

Whether you know this or not, or whether it makes any difference, I would think that Matt is on your side on the issue you are trying to steer this topic to.
Contacting Colin is a good idea, but not because of the leftover agenda he hasn't addressed. He might be in a position to know.

Let's try this again, but on topic: what's the oldest business in Lakewood?

It WAS Lakewood Hospital.

Bridget Conant wrote:It WAS Lakewood Hospital.

Should a city-owned non-profit count?

I think this is a question that won't have just one answer, and that's fine. Sort of like "who was the best NFL wide receiver of all time," I think having the discussion is more the point than resolving the discussion.

I naturally did think of Lakewood Hospital, which opened in 1907. I think it may have been a valid answer, in 2015, though as it stands now I think we will have to reset the "continuous operation" counter when we get it back.

But, again, I'm interested in hearing about any notable claimants. Bar? Bank? I don't know, my family isn't from here and I've only lived here eight years.

Amy,

I agree with you, Colin should be furnishing you with your requested information. The oldest business would probably be Lakewood Hospital. All you have to do is drive around town and see all the empty store fronts. We have lost a lot more businesses than Summers will admit. Why doesn't the city try to do something with Madison Avenue between Bunts and Waterbury? The buildings are falling apart and covered with gang writing!

I'm no expert ... but I'm guessing most (small) businesses in Lakewood fail because the business owners didn't do their homework or develop a business plan with financial pro formas and market studies. It's as if they say, "you know, I've always wanted to operate a ______________. Lakewood doesn't have a _____________."

Maybe there's a reason Lakewood doesn't have a _____________.

Oddly enough, the "dollar stores" seem to do well. KNOW THINE MARKET!

Part of the problem is the closure of the hospital. I have spoken with quite a few business owners on Detroit who have seen a great decline in business that they believe is because of the hospital closure. Sad.

Graftech in Birdtown was originally opened in 1892 as National Carbon Co. and has remained in continuous operation, despite merging with and serving as a division of Union Carbide and later being spun off as a private company that holds the name of current owner.

Sadly, Graftech can't employ everyone in Lakewood or those that lost their jobs due to the hospital closure.

Lori: Forgive me, I didn't know think the topic of this thread was replacing jobs lost to the hospital closure.

Despite popular opinion, I just learned that reputable downtown restaurants are reporting a rise in business with the hospital's closure. Apparently, the hospital's cafeteria was quite popular with not only employees but citizens too. It had a reputation of serving citizens who were not patients of the hospital, so its closure stops the cannibalization of business to private, small employers. Furthermore, these restaurants are benefiting from walk-in business from swing shift and night time employees who visit in advance or post shift because they had always relied on the cafeteria and now have to plan their meals. The sky isn't falling after all.

Please say who told you that Mr Kenny. That is not what a restaurant owner told me.

The thread drift in this one is driving me crazy because it is such a relatively straightforward question, and Jim Kenny provided what seems to me a pretty good answer.

Why not bump previous topics to revisit the Colin question?