CLEVELAND — While the city of Cleveland will continue to own West Side Market, a nonprofit will begin taking over day-to-day operations to address vendors' concerns.

What You Need To Know

  • The market for years has been a troublesome spot for venders as they have grown frustrated with everything from electrical issues to leases

  • Late July, Mayor Justin Bibb announced that the market will begin a transition to a nonprofit management

  • The city of Cleveland will still maintain ownership, but the nonprofit will oversee daily operations 

The West Side Market is a Cleveland landmark that for years has been shedding vendors frustrated with everything from electrical issues to leases. 

For 26 years, Narrin Carlberg, the owner of Narrin Spices and Sauce, has been a vendor at the West Side Market. She feels getting from the parking lot to the building brings challenges to customers come to the market. 

“They have to redesign to make it easy for people to walk in, people they drive in and drive out,” Carlberg said. “It's okay to be paying, you know, after 90 minutes, but make it easy for them to get in and out.”

It’s frustrations like these that are common according to Don Whitaker, the owner of Whitaker Meats and also the president of the tenant association. 

“The vacancies need to be issued," Whitaker said. "You know, there's a lot of people that want to own their own business, but, you know, they don't know how to deal with the city."

For years, the market has been owned and managed by the city of Cleveland, which means complaints also went though the city. Jessica Trivisonno is the West Side Market Senior strategist with the city of Cleveland, and she says the troubles in the market are no mystery.

“It has been no secret that vendors in the community have really, you know, had a lot of concerns with the market and how it's been operated,” she said. 

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb announced last month that the West Side Market will still be owned by the city but will begin a transition to a nonprofit management.

"The process of converting to a nonprofit is going to be a long one and will be anywhere from ten months to a year, maybe a little bit longer, depending on how things go,” Trivisonno said. 

They will take this time to ensure a smooth transition by looking at everything from the layout to the vendors they want to attract. 

"We don't want to just hand the keys over to this new nonprofit without any solutions or any road map for how they should operate,” Trivisonno said.

Ted Spitzer is the president of Market Ventures Inc., the consulting firm working with the city to form a master plan and help with non-profit formation. He said he’s ready to dig to the bottom of the issues and improve what the mayor calls a jewel at the heart of Cleveland. 

“We want to make sure that if we go through this transition process, it's done very thoughtfully, and the city has the best chance of having, you know, a great outcome,” Spitzer said. 

Editor's note: A previous version of this story reported Market Ventures Inc. was the non-profit taking over operations of the West Side Market. A correction was made to reflect the company as a consulting firm. (Aug. 22, 2022)