CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — It's a story we've been following for months.
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It all started when a handful of former Made Cleveland vendors came forward with the same allegation of not receiving payments for their sold merchandise, and the store's owner confirmed that some payments were delayed.
From there, six former vendors filed small claims disputes in Cleveland Heights Municipal Court starting in November 2024.
According to Cleveland Heights court records, all six former vendors won their cases in February.
More than $5,500 plus interest and fees are now owed to the group, but at least four vendors told me in late March they still hadn't seen a dime.
"It's an experience none of us really wanted to have," former Made Cleveland vendor that won a small claims dispute against the business, Gina Wilkolak, told me.
On top of that, according to Cuyahoga County court documents, the Ohio Department of Taxation has placed 43 judgment liens against Made Cleveland from 2021 to 2024. The money owed to the agency is well over six figures, per records.
The City of Cleveland Heights owns the space that Made Cleveland was operating out of.
When I reached out to the city's Director of Communications, Jessica Schantz, in March, she told me, "The decision to wind down operations was made mutually between the store owner and the City. Made Cleveland has reached out to all vendors to pick up their inventory; the owner intends to be fully out of the space by the end of the month (March)."
However, as of Tuesday, Made Cleveland still occupies the space.
Schantz told me that Made Cleveland has not fully vacated the building due to some former vendors not having picked up their items yet.
While nearly all of the vendor inventory has been picked up, it has taken longer than expected to get their remaining fixtures out of the space, which had to be disassembled before being loaded into a moving truck. We expect the move out to be fully complete by the end of next week. Allowing some extra time for Made Cleveland to get their fixtures disassembled and moved out was in the best interest of the City.
While the city tells me it has confirmed that email communications did go out to former vendors to schedule times for pickup, Kimyama Merick-Moore said she hasn't heard a peep from anyone at Made Cleveland since August 2024.
Merick-Moore was not a vendor of Made Cleveland, but her friend, LaTonya Hubbard, was.
Hubbard passed away in 2022, so Merick-Moore said she stopped by Made Cleveland last year to have the account switched to her name.
Merick-Moore said, "I heard nothing. Even the account thing that we had up there is gone. You can't even get access to the account where you used to go to see what's being sold and see how much profit you make."
Merick-Moore added she didn't even know Made Cleveland had permanently closed until seeing our coverage from March a few days ago.
"I went on to the website because we was gonna go over there on Sunday, this past Sunday. We was gonna go over there to get the stuff since she (the owner) never contacted us or said nothing else about it," Merick-Moore explained. "It's just sad that there's people out here that still take advantage of people that are struggling themselves."
Merick-Moore said there are at least two containers filled with Hubbard's handmade knit items. She estimates there to be more than 100 pieces still locked inside Made Cleveland.
"I would love the money, but the product is more important because she got a son and I'm willing to give him some of the stuff for his daughter because he's got a little girl and he's married so they can wear it, cherish it as well," Merick-Moore said.
With the alleged lack of communication between Merick-Moore and Made Cleveland, she reached out to News 5 for help.
"I really appreciate it because I didn't know what direction to go," Merick-Moore said. "I was glad that News 5 answered me back."
We reached out to O'Connor a few times this week for comment via email and social media. She read two of our messages, but did not respond.
Her Made Cleveland email is no longer active, as my email bounced back in error.
The City of Cleveland Heights does have access to the Made Cleveland store and said it can arrange for a pickup with Merick-Moore.
If any other former vendors are struggling to pick up their items, please email banderson@clevelandheights.gov.
Merick-Moore said if she continues to find trouble in picking up her items, she will look at filing a small claims dispute against Made Cleveland and O'Connor.
