CLEVELAND — With thousands of baseball fans descending on Cleveland for Major League Baseball's All-Star Week, the city's most-popular food and clothing brands are making the most of it.
"For the All-Star game being scheduled here in Cleveland, I think it gives Clevelanders an opportunity to showcase their city," said GV Art and Design Co-Owner George Vlosich.
That means showing not only t-shirts but much larger pieces of artwork too, thanks to GV Art and Design's license with the Major League Baseball Players Association.
GV Art and Design is using their temporary summer location in the Caxton Building, just a block from Progressive Field, to catch the fans that aren't going to make it out to their Lakewood spot.
"It's just a way for us to showcase our talents," Vlosich said. "A lot of people in town know us for our t-shirts and apparel but they don't know us so much for maybe the artwork side of it."
Just down the street, the t-shirt company Homage is selling their All-Star gear at the House of Blues on East 4th Street.
"To be so close to the ballpark, to where people are filing out, filing in, with fan fest around the corner at the Convention Center, it's going to be awesome," said Homage General Manager Christian Conaway.
Conaway say the Columbus-based brand is making a name in Cleveland celebrating the city's sports history. Homage has license agreements with MLB and the trading card company Topps, making their recent line of shirts with vintage cards possible.
"To see the faces on people when they come in, they're like, 'Bert Blyleven, I remember him, giving the old-school interviews at Municipal Stadium'," said Conaway.
But in the city known for wearing shirts promoting itself, Cleveland's food scene is getting in on the action too.
Barrio is opening their Gateway location near Progressive Field early during the All-Star Game festivities and their food truck will be at events around town when it's not parked right outside the ballpark.
"We're already a big restaurant around Cleveland and we know Clevelanders love us and we love Cleveland," Barrio's Antonietta Bovenzi said.
Across the river, Great Lakes Brewing Company is providing shuttles for the events below:
- July 5 - Twenty One Pilots Concert from 5 p.m. to 1 hour after the concert
- July 6 - The Killers Concert from 5 p.m. until 1 hour after the concert
- July 8 - 1 hour before the start of the home run derby until 1 hour after it ends
- July 9 - 1 hour before the start of the game until 1 hour after it ends