CLEVELAND — A Cleveland Police patrol car stood watch over the New Eastside Market on Wednesday as would-be shoppers walked up to the market at East 105th and St. Clair to find the place closed.
The store's former general manager told News 5 he got a call in the early morning hours from the alarm company alerting him to an alarm, which he attributed to the storm. It turned out it was crews that were on scene changing the locks to the market, which ended its seven-year run Tuesday.
The building and land are owned by the City of Cleveland, with the market operated by Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services (NEON). The market was constantly plagued by financial issues, and its former developer was convicted of embezzling nearly $900,000.
Financial troubles that Councilman Kevin Conwell said only continued.
"With the county, they're behind $209,000 on their property taxes, they're behind with their utility costs, paying the city utilities in thousands of dollars," he said.
The city ended the lease, which expired Tuesday, at the end of March.
In the meantime, Cleveland Councilman Mike Polensek wrote a letter to the Cleveland office of the FBI asking for an investigation into NEON. News 5 first reported on Polensek's call last week as word of the market's looming closure began to surface.
"Write today's date and time down I'm telling you this is much broader than just the Eastside Market," said Polensek whose letter cited the market's past troubles for not only the conviction of its former developer for embezzling money, but also NEON's ongoing financial troubles including the lawsuit News 5 told you about last month involving around 20 former and current NEON employees over unpaid wages.
"The feds need to start looking at what's going on at NEON. I have no doubt about it I've talked to enough employees. This is a much bigger problem than just the Eastside Market," Polensek said.
News 5 reached out again to NEON and its CEO, Willie Austin, for comment, but did not hear back.
The mayor's office tells News 5 they've already begun the process of finding a new tenant for the building, ideally a grocer. In the meantime, they tell News 5 they are working with the now former employees on their next step and they say all leftover food from the store will be donated.
"In the coming weeks, after gathering feedback from members of Cleveland City Council, the city will issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to identify a new partner to continue serving the residents in this area. In addition, we are actively working with impacted employees to connect them with resources and employment opportunities. We look forward to working closely with Councilman Conwell toward a solution that best serves the community," a spokesperson for the mayor said.
