CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — You'd think with the brutal weather and icy roads Northeast Ohio has been experiencing, that it would keep people home, but not in Cleveland Heights.
It seems the cold is actually driving people into businesses.
The Fairmount Owner, Jacob Orosz, told me Monday afternoon was a little slower than normal, but he chalks it up the reason to the federal holiday.
"I'll tell you, we were packed last night, and I think we're gonna have a good evening crowd and late night," Orosz said. "I think a lot of people think of us as a summer place because of the patio, but in the winter, we kind of transform. We have all these lovely fireplaces everywhere. We actually have those igloos outside. We also kind of adjust our food and drink specials for this kind of weather."
It's not just The Fairmount, either, that's having solid luck when it comes to customers filling the business on a freezing day.
CLE Urban Winery Owner Destiny Burns said her clientele has been pretty steady since the beginning of the snowstorm season.
"Because the snow started so early this year, I mean, we started getting really pounded in December, I think that people are a little more, I don't know, I don't wanna say used to it, but more adjusted to it. So, you know, we've still seen people coming out this week," she told me.
A small frustration for Cleveland Heights businesses, however, is the growing layer of ice and snow building up on roads and in parking spots.
"I don't wanna slam on the city. I know that the mayor's doing the best he can. He's brand new, but it just really seemed like a safety hazard to me, especially after I had to dig somebody out," Burns said.
CLE Urban Winery is typically closed on Sundays, but lately, Burns has opened the doors in the morning to customers as Bigmouth Donut Company sets up shop.
This last Sunday, Burns said she had to shovel the vendor out of one of the parking spaces in front of her building.
It was after that that she took her concern to social media and asked the community for help.
"This is literally restoring my faith in humanity. I put out a call to see if I could get a little plow out here to help clear this awful snow and ice here in front of the winery, so people could park and look who showed up! Cleveland Heights residents are always ready to help their city. I love this city so much!" Burns said in a cell phone video as good Samaritans shoveled her parking spaces clean.
As of Monday afternoon, the spots are still rocky to drive over, but definitely parkable.
"The minute we were done, you know, two people immediately parked in those spots," Burns said. "With all these really cold temperatures, that snow was not gonna melt, and it was just gonna get worse and worse. I'm like, you know what, we gotta try to do something just to keep ahead of it and to help out and, you know, keep our customers safe."
As for other parts of Cleveland Heights, Orosz said business owners are working together to take care of it.
"I was talking to some of the merchants in the Cedar Lee District, and they're rallying to really get everything cleaned up. I think we all kind of came together a little bit. I've probably went through 20 bags of salt so far this week, so we do our best to kind of keep that clean," he said.
Orosz said The Fairmount is surrounded by loads of parking options, so he believes that's also working in his favor.
"We're in a little better shape than we were, so yeah, we're hanging in there," he said.
The City of Cleveland Heights is actively working to clear and treat its roads.
Mayor Jim Petras posted to social media on Monday, confirming the city acquired 150 tons of salt this week.
Petras said another 500 tons of salt will arrive on Wednesday.
