Business Spotlight: Sussex Corners Plaza

Any walkable community needs small businesses to support it.

By securing strong businesses now, city officials hopes accessible shopping will be one of many benefits to its Van Aken District project that should be completed in a few years.

Economic Development Director Tania Menesse said the plaza that begins at Chagrin and Lomand Boulevards should play a key role in those plans. Some call it Sussex Corners, while others, Menesse said, know it as the plaza "with Moto Photo in it." Regardless the name, a road project will include turning the massive six-direction intersection near the plaza into a four-way intersection with plenty of foot-traffic access to existing and to-be-developed retail, living and office spaces.

"There are about 1,500 people who work on Warrensville Center Road (in the area), and those people don't ever cross the street," Menesse said. "The planning department raised $18 million over the last three years, so this is going to happen. They believe this is going to be a walkable, mixed-use district."

Menesse hopes those people will walk to Sussex Corners businesses like Lucy's Sweet Surrender and OPUS Restaurant, which both opened in the last year. Along with longstanding businesses like Moto Photo and Gino's Nail & Hair Salon, the economic development director sees a plaza resurgence that should only get better once a couple . Local artist Erica Weiss said she plans on filling one space with an art gallery later this year.

"That strip has been getting stronger over the last five years," Menesse said. "I think there is really a movement much more so than five years ago of people saying, 'lets support and nurture local businesses.'"

For the remainder of the week, Shaker Heights Patch will talk to some of the newer businesses at Sussex Corners to learn about their owners and managers and how they envision fitting in with future improvements in Shaker.

"Despite the fact that we haven't been a bastion of local business, we're really trying to pivot and move in that direction," Menesse said. "These businesses really demonstrate that movement."