PLAZA PROFILE: Lucy's Sweet Surrender

Shaker Heights Patch is highlighting tenants of the Sussex Corners plaza all week. Today, the focus is on Lucy's Sweet Surrender.

Michael Feigenbaum keeps no secrets about why he chose Shaker Heights for the new home of his Hungarian bakery, Lucy's Sweet Surrender.

"We moved in here because it's a better neighborhood," he said. "Look at all these people coming in. These are people who would have never come to the Buckeye store.

"I've heard that 1 million times."

Feigenbaum and his wife, Marika, opened the bakery in the Sussex Corners plaza less than two months ago, and already the couple lost count of how many stories customers have shared with them about the 55-year-old business. They cherish those memories, but they weren't enough to keep the bakery on Buckeye Road. The shop suffered a string of robberies, including one in which Marika was shot, according to Sun News.

"After many years of trying to stabilize the neighborhood and stay down there, the opportunity came to move in here," Michael said.

Feigenbaum, a 1972 graduate, is renting the storefront from Fred Marino, who owned Chandler & Rudd grocery store in the same space for decades. Feigenbaum bought Lucy's about 20 years ago. Shaker Heights Economic Development Director Tania Menesse said the city gave the company a small grant to help with the move.

Lucy's, 20314 Chagrin Blvd., makes 150 different products, including strudels, donuts made from scratch with Challah and 20 kinds of cakes.

Feigenbaum admits that the move to Shaker is "either sink or swim," but he's encouraged that the bakery is staying afloat while using just about half of the space. He hopes to convert the other portion into a cafe, but he's looking for help.

"To make this whole thing to expand into the full operation, I need a couple younger partners," he said. "It's too much for one person to handle."

Competing with corporate entities doesn't help either. Feigenbaum pointed to the nearby BP gas station saying, "They sold more baked goods than me this morning. If I had half their sales, I'd go crazy."

Still, the owner says he's excited about the future of Shaker and the upcoming Van Aken District project that will surround Sussex Corners.

"Obviously, I would like to see anything that drives traffic to this area and keeps people here wanting to shop and hang out," Feigenbaum said. "I think it's a long process, especially in a place like Greater Cleveland … I think where you have strength in Shaker is that you have a really big residential population that wants to hang out in its town.

"I do get a sense that there's a new mix of people."

Lucy's Sweet Surrender is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Their products can also be found at various farmers markets throughout the region.