Coffeehouse's cup is half-empty now Kent protesters hope to save cafe

James Ewinger
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio)
Sunday, August 25, 2002, p. B2

Businesses are mortal, too, and Brady's Cafe is dying in Kent.

But not without a fight.

The operators say that the venerable institution near Kent State University's campus has nurtured generations of students and residents. And that's pretty much who showed up to protest the eviction notice that is likely to shutter the place on Sept. 1.

There were undergrads who weren't even born when Ohio National Guardsmen gunned down four students in 1970 during an anti-war protest. And there were others old enough to remember when there was just one Elvis, and Roosevelt referred only to Teddy.

Edna Seaburn lived most of her 89 years in the Kent and Ravenna area but hadn't been back until she heard Brady's was closing.

On her last visit, around 70 years ago, she said it looked "just like it does today."

Mickie Cain, a KSU Spanish major from Hudson, calls Brady's "synonymous with Kent. It's the only place that encourages free ideas, that encourages free art forms."

Indeed, the recent history of Brady's is almost a throwback to the 1950s Beat generation, when Jack Kerouac's contemporaries recited free verse in darkened coffeehouses.

David Bruening, one of the investors who bought the building last month, said Brady's is down at the heels and he wants "to make it nice again" - to bring in a tenant "that will enliven it."

Bonny Graham Esparza has operated Brady's since 1986, and somewhat agrees.

"Brady's is tired and needs to be revitalized," she said yesterday, as incoming KSU freshmen drove by on their way to dorm rooms and Brady's habitues picketed outside or drank coffee inside.

But she hopes to be on hand for the revival.

Bruening said Friday that Graham Esparza does not have a lease, and he has a commitment from an investor with the local franchise rights for a chain restaurant.

Graham Esparza is resigned to that. "Legally, I don't have a leg to stand on," she said.

The first rally was last Wednesday, she said, when she went to investigate a move to the Kent Stage, a former movie theater that presents live entertainment.

She told her supporters to go ahead and meet, to commiserate and comfort each other. But when she returned from the Kent Stage two hours later, they had formulated plans of action that included picketing, a public-relations offensive and petitioning to get Brady's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

There is also legislation pending before Kent City Council that could change the zoning for the building and restrict its use.

All in vain, says Bruening, because the current zoning is grandfathered in.

He also said he does not want to be painted as the villain or the big businessman who wants to crush the little coffeehouse.

"We're little guys, too," he said of himself and his partners, all locals.

Alaina Feltenberger, an Ohio University English major who lives near Kent, said a local poet observed that "Brady's is not a noun, it's a verb," because of the support it gives to the arts in general and poetry in particular.

She hopes the protests inspire Bruening to do the same for Brady's.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jewinger@plaind.com, 216-999-3905

Copyright 2002 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.

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'Much more than a coffee shop'

Mike Pesa
Daily Kent Stater (Kent State University, Kent, Ohio)
Tuesday, August 27, 2002

Brady's Cafe is being shut down.

The new owner of the property, Illinois-based Grubb & Ellis Co., has refused to renew Brady's lease. Developer David Bruening has had his eye on the property for a while, and after aborted attempts to replace Brady's with a Walgreen's, a Rite-Aid and  reportedly a Sheetz gas station, he finally bought the corner. As of Sept. 1, Brady's will close its doors forever, to be replaced by God-knows-what.

I first set foot in Brady's in September 2000. Like most freshmen, I rarely ventured off-campus except to go shopping or to attend a party, so Brady's was one of my first introductions to the city of Kent. What I saw didn't impress me. The old German architecture was nice, but the interior was pretty run down. The food was decent but unremarkable, and the coffee mugs hanging from the ceiling were chipped and dusty.

Yet, due to a complicated chain of events, I kept coming back. What I soon learned was that Brady's had something to offer that Starbucks or Arabica couldn't touch. Behind the creaking floors and empty ketchup bottles was 90 years of community. Those old walls have seen friendships form, lovers meet (and break up) and children grow up to have children of their own. Brady's has witnessed young artists develop, old artists reminisce, and people with no artistic talent express themselves without being laughed at. For decades, college students studied for their classes while workers unwound over a cup of coffee and retirees passed the time playing chess.

For nearly a century Brady's has been a central integral part of the Kent community. According to legend, the building was built in 1910 to be an pharmacy, but instead became the original Robin Hood Inn. When the Robin Hood moved across the street, the old building was turned into Captain Brady's cafe. Since then it has been a constant throughout the turmoil of the 20th century. After surviving two World Wars, Brady's emerged in the 50s as a trendy alcohol den that was shunned by social conservatives.

Years later it was in the middle of a dramatic confrontation between protesters and the National Guard on May 3, 1970. In recent years Brady's has been a haven for artists, radicals and a variety of diverse subcultures. Benefit concerts for progressive causes are commonplace, as are poetry readings and open mic sessions. Flyers on Brady's bulletin
board advertise everything from meetings and protests to concerts and art openings.

We are losing much more than a coffee shop. We are losing an important community institution that has developed and evolved over most of the 20th century. Brady's is a space for expression and emotion, arts and activism, family and friends. It's one of our last precious refuges from the dehumanized, meaningless bureaucracy of our commercialized society. The only positive thing that has come out of this affair is the outpouring of public support for the "Save Brady's Campaign" and the coming together of Kent's citizens. The threat of losing our community space has taught us just how important community is.

Let Brady's remain in our hearts and minds as a tragic reminder of what's really important in life.

(Hint: It's not a super-double-tall-mocha-latte-espresso-no-foam-two-sugars.)

E-mail: mpesa@kent.edu

Mike Pesa is a junior history major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater.

Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater

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Replacement of Brady's sparks debate

Rachelle Weber
Daily Kent Stater (Kent State University, Kent, Ohio)
Thursday, August 29, 2002

An apartment building? A gas station? Or a video store? These are among the many rumored replacements for Brady's Cafe once it closes its doors on Saturday.

David Bruening, member of GDR partnership that owns the property, said none of these are true.

"I never said I wanted to put in a video store," he said. "It's an incredible untruth. We love this building -- we always have. We think what we're doing is best for this property."

Bruening said the new business will be similar to Brady's.

"We absolutely (will be)," he said. "It's not a Starbuck-type place. The new operator wants to continue things such as the poetry readings.

"We're trying to add something here -- not take it away -- but no one ever asked us."

Zoning battles over a historic landmark

Kent City Planning Commission may re-zone the area from commercial residential to neighborhood commercial, preventing certain business from occupying the building, Bruening said.

William Schultz, Kent City Council at large, saidthe re-zoning issue must first go through a public hearing, followed by a committee meeting. The issue then goes to the nine members of City Council who decide the outcome.

"How long it will take will vary depending on what happens," he said.

Bruening said re-zoning would be inappropiate for the property.

"I think it's a farce," he said. "This corner is the most heavily-trafficked area besides the freeway interchange in Portage County, and it's residential."

Charley Bowman, community development director, said that consideration for re-zoning took place before the Brady's controversy.

"We're looking at re-zoning everything from Willow to Depeyster, changing it from commercial residential to neighborhood commercial," he said. "It is the opinion of (Kent's) Law Director, Jim Silver, that this is not spot zoning at all."

Spot zoning is where a city takes a certain area and re-zones it, leaving the surrounding land as it is.

"What we're looking at is a whole block plus an addition of re-zoning," Bowman said. "East Main and South Lincoln have the highest accident rate."

Bowman said city council will hold a public hearing Wednesday for citizens to discuss questions and concerns surrounding the issue. The meeting will be held in city council chambers, 325 S. Depeyster, at 7 p.m.

Bruening said many Kent residents and council members have been supportive of his decision to replace Brady's.

"We like the city, and we love the building," he said. "We're not trying to anger anyone, we're trying to bring investments to Kent."

Bruening added that he never threatened to sue the city over the re-zoning issue.

What's the Truth?

Grubb and Ellis, the Illinois-based company, does not own the Brady's building and property, Bruening said.

"They (Grubb and Ellis) have nothing to do with this. They have no involvement with this property," he said. "I was a broker, an independent contractor, and am moving to another firm. Grubb and Ellis is only a leasing company, they own nothing."

Degrading and vulgar phone messages were left at Grubb and Ellis' Cleveland office, he said, although they have no part in Brady's closing.

"Using profanity on this kind of thing and calling the switchboard is unfair," he said. "They have no part in it whatsoever."

Bruening said no one has called him regarding the re-zoning.

"I am the only one who owns the property, not Grubb and Ellis. Nobody has called Grubb and Ellis because it would have gone directly to me. I want to know who they talked to. Wars are caused by misinformation."

A common ground

Through all the misunderstanding, all sides agree the efforts of the Save Brady's Coalition have been valiant and professional.

"I applaud their efforts," Bruening said. "They want to preserve the building, and that's what we're doing. I said no to corporate coffee places because I wanted to keep the intergrity of this building."

Bruening met with the coalition Tuesday in Cleveland.

"I told them that a coffee shop was going in with everything they were used to, and they were happier," he said. "I appreciate their passion and belief."

Bowman said he was encouraged from the coalition's cause and is working with Bonnie Graham-Esparza, who owns Brady's with her husband, to help find a place to relocate.

"We would want to find a way for Brady's, which has become a community icon, to reopen," he said.

Good-bye to Brady's

Although Brady's closes Saturday, Graham-Esparza said she has a week full of  entertainment and auction.

"Wednesday is open-mic night," she said. "We start at 8 p.m. and usually close at 11 p.m., but tonight I'm booked until 1:30 in the morning. I'm letting everyone have a chance at the microphone."

Friday beginning at 6 p.m., everything in Brady's will be up for auction to everyone.

"It may possibly be a silent auction," she said. "It's called the 'Wang Dang Doodle at the Brady Cafe.'"

She said Hal Walker, who hosted open-mic nights when it first opened, will host it.

For the final evening, alternative-rock musicians Mint take the Brady stage at 8 and will play until 11 p.m.

"They (Mint) got a lot of radio play," Graham-Esparza said. "Venus Tipsy will be opening for them."

A new Brady's?

Graham-Esparza said she may take Brady's to the Kent Stage on Main Street. Maybe.

"We do not have details or hours of availability yet," she said, "but we are planning to move some of our operations to the Kent Stage. We look forward to maybe continuing open-mic night, working in the lobby, not the stage area."

E-mail: raweber@kent.edu

Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater
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Brady's owners find new locale

Ronee K. Rose
Daily Kent Stater
Friday, August 30, 2002

They may be out, but they're not down.

Andy Esparza, owner of Brady's Cafe, said yesterday that he and his wife Bonny will move the coffee house from the corner of Lincoln and East Main to the Kent Stage Sept. 6.

The Kent Stage, a non-profit organization, is a downtown venue that hosts folk acts.

"With the help of many different city departments we were able to strike a deal that will enable Bonny and I to not only offer concessions at the Kent Stage, but for me to showcase local artists and their works," Esparza said.

Esparza said this new venture will also allow him to display his switch plate art.

"I am a 'splartist'," Esparza said. "I recycle slate off of old barns and make lighting switch plates. I'm the only one that does this."

Esparza said he traveled to Buffalo, N.Y. recently and sold $1,500 of his art.

Esparza is active in The Artist Network of Kent. He plans to make the Kent Stage the first unofficial gallery for the members of TANK. The focus will be on two- and three-dimensional artwork.

"I hope to showcase some sculptors, woodworkers and maybe even some neon artists," Esparza said. "The place [Stage] needs a lot of TLC to get it to gallery status, but I plan on making some really nice changes."

Esparza hopes to display the art in a manner that will appeal to everyone, not just artists. He said he has his work cut out for him.

"This is all coming out of my pocket," Esparza said. "With the help of others, I will make this work."

The new name for the establishment is still up in the air, but Esparza said he plans to either have a contest for best name or just a brainstorming session to decide.

"We won't have a grand opening on Sept. 6, but we will have modified concessions," Esparza said.

The new concessions will offer popcorn, Brady's beverages and many of the baked goods Brady's is famous for.

"Bonny is excited because her life will be easier because of much less cooking," Esparza said. "We will not be a restaurant, but a place for people to get a snack or a drink."

Tom Welsh, a Brady's customer, is excited about the transition. "Andy and Bonny have really handled this whole thing well," Welsh said. "I think combining Kent Stage with Brady's will be great not only for them, but for the community on a whole."

Welsh said it is a shame that the Brady's area is one of the last remaining corners that hasn't changed over the years.

"It just seems like big business will always win, but Andy and Bonny have come out of this just fine," Welsh said.

Esparza said between the official closing of Brady's and the opening of his new venture, he and Bonny have to go through all the furniture and fixtures at the old location.

"Moving is our first priority, Esparza said, "and then we will tackle the new venture."

E-mail: rbraykov@kent.edu

Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater

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Changes may be in store for coffee house

Clara Grabo
Daily Kent Stater (Kent State University, Kent, Ohio)
April 23, 2002

Brady's Cafe is getting new landlords, and the Kent landmark may soon be
undergoing some changes.

Grubb & Ellis, a business advisory firm with an office in Cleveland, is
negotiating a deal to sell the land that contains Brady's, the former
Norka Futon building and the surrounding buildings.

"The property is being bought by a partnership," said David Bruening of
Grubb & Ellis, "and the owners will have Brady's to deal with."
Bruening said the partners are concentrating on the vacant spaces of the
property for now.

"The intent here is to put the building back to its original form as a
viable retail spot," he said. "We're not tearing it down. It's going to be
the way it is now, but hopefully we'll be able to improve it
substantially."

The future property owners have not made any decisions regarding the lease
for Brady's Cafe. Bonny Graham Esparza, the owner of Brady's Cafe, made an
announcement about the future landlords at the poetry reading on April 12.

"It's not over yet," she told a room full of poets and patrons, addressing
the rumors that Brady's may be closing.
Instead of closing down, Graham Esparza wants to make some improvements.
She hopes the new landlords will contribute to this effort by offering
more stability for Brady's.

"We've been in limbo, not knowing what our future would be for the last
five years," she said. "It would be good to get to work toward making our
dreams come true and not wondering."

She sees this as an opportunity to enhance the business at Brady's, but
she is concerned about being able to afford a higher rent.

"It's an interesting question, the question of new owners," Graham Esparza
said. "It's a question of whether we can cover a yet-unknown rent hike,
and with that, whether or not we can maintain a sense of family."

Preserving the casual family atmosphere is important to Graham Esparza and
her staff.

"I've familiarized myself with the place so well that . . . it's almost
like my Cheers," said Aaron Garrison, an employee who believes the Brady's
staff has a personal care for its customers. "I come in and see a lot of
people who I know really well. And I want to know what's going on in their
lives."

Most of the customers enjoy the culture and inviting environment of
Brady's.

"I think it's the people who build an atmosphere to a place like this,"
said Kent State graduate Nick Traenkner, who regularly visits Brady's.
"Bonny and Andy (her husband) are always very open to bring different
types of things here. There is a distinct culture of this place that I
don't think is anywhere else in Kent."

Maj Ragain, a poet and creative writing teacher at Kent State, started the
poetry readings at Brady's in 1983. He said that the sense of community
has been the key to the success of the readings.

"There has to be a welcoming presence," he began, "and that's been Bonny."

Graham Esparza wants to continue welcoming her customers into the family
environment of Brady's Cafe. She does not want to focus on the money or
rent. In fact, she has enjoyed not striving to be the most competitive
coffee house in Kent.

"There are so many things we've been meaning to do," she said. "But years
have gone by, and we're still selling our coffee for a dollar."

E-mail: cgrabo@kent.edu

Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater
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DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - for immediate release
FROM: SAVE BRADY'S COALITION, KENT, OHIO
CONTACT: savebradys@yahoo.com / (330) 620-4697

RALLY IN SUPPORT OF BRADY'S AT GRUBB & ELLIS CLEVELAND HEADQUARTERS,
Tuesday, August 27, 2002

The Save Brady's Coalition will bring some of the spirit of Kent, Ohio's Brady's Cafe to downtown Cleveland tomorrow.  The Grubb & Ellis Corporation, new landlord of the Brady's property since June, is still having difficulty understanding the importance of Brady's to the Kent community, insisting on replacing the historic coffee shop/performance space with a "franchised chain restaurant."

The company has refused to meet with community members or current ownership to plan for the business' future, and its only communication in past weeks, relayed to the cafe owners' lawyer, was a curt "we want them out by September 1" (the date the current owners' lease expires). Local residents and city government have not been notified of the
name or nature of the proposed new business, or whether it will strive to preserve the spirit and character of the current Brady's, which is nationally known as a center for poetry and folk music.

This noncommunicative and unresponsive attitude regarding the future of one of our community's most cherished meeting places is unacceptable. In response, the Save Brady's Coalition will hold an informational rally at the Grubb & Ellis Corporation's headquarters in downtown Cleveland tomorrow, Tuesday, August 27, 2002.

Those wishing to attend the rally should meet at the Brady's parking lot at 11 a.m. SHARP to carpool with Coalition members and other supporters to Cleveland.

The demonstration will begin at 12:30 p.m., on the sidewalk in front of 1350 Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland. The rally will be positive and upbeat--not a protest against Grubb & Ellis, but instead a rally *for* Brady's and what it means to our community.  Our presence will be a reminder to Grubb & Ellis that their ill-considered decision may have been effective elsewhere, but not in Kent, Ohio.

All local and Cleveland news and TV outlets have been notified of the event.  Coalition members will seek a meeting with David Bruening, Grubb & Ellis representative, in order to discuss the situation at Brady's and hopefully compromise. If all goes as planned, we will return to Kent by 4:00.

Come show your support--rally in Cleveland!!!  Please call us if you would like to come and we will make room for you:  (330) 620-4697

More background information about the Save Brady's Coalition can be found at our website, including daily updates, letters, and press:

http://bradys_coalition.tripod.com/

Thank you for all your letters, calls, and emails.  Keep them coming, and tell all your friends we need their support as well.  We can do this!

ALSO:  Listen for a piece about the Save Brady's Coalition on WKSU News (90.3 FM) in the near future, either Tuesday or soon after.  If you miss it we will try to post a link to the RealAudio file on the website.

The Save Brady's Coalition
savebradys@yahoo.com
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Battle for Brady's

Residents fight to save favorite cafe

By Rachelle Weber
Daily Kent Stater (Kent State University, Kent, Ohio)
Monday, August 26, 2002

Save the Brady.

Amid the ideas, emotion and memories, this was the underlying theme of a rally held at Brady's Cafe Wednesday night and a demostration held Saturday.

According to an article in the Aug. 14 Daily Kent Stater, Dave Bruening, with Grubb & Ellis, the property owners of the land on the corner of Main and South Lincoln streets, did not renew the lease with Brady's for economic reasons, and the cafe will close doors Saturday.

Rallying for a common cause Patrons, poets and students organized a meeting at Brady's to discuss why the establishment they cherish so much is closing--and what they could do to prevent it.

David Badagnani, doctoral student and part-time music faculty member, said non-locals don't realize what Brady's means to Kent residents.  "Many people (in Kent) think that Brady's represents Kent," he said .  While Bonnie Graham-Esparza and her husband have been the owners of Brady's since 1986, the history of the coffee shop doesn't begin there.

"According to an article by David Dix (a Record Courier reporter), this building has been here since 1920," Graham-Esparza said. "This building was the original Robin Hood."

She said in 1930 the current home of the Robin Hood was built, and the building became known as Captain Brady's.

Those who gathered at the rally said they could try registering the building with the State Historic Preservation Society of Ohio, which would protect the site federally, with certain regulations to keep the integrity of the building.

Bill Birkner, a member of the Kent Historical Society,  graduated from Kent State in 1950 and recalls the days he spent at Brady's.

"I want to see history stay," Birkner said. "If we can get alumni and those in Kent to write letters to save the Brady on historical measures, we can preserve it as a historical building."

Birkner urged those at the rally to use a more quiet method of protest.

"Write letters, don't put on demonstrations," he said.

Birkner is using his own advice. In his hopes of preserving the Brady historically, he said he has written a letter and will send copies to President Carol Cartwright, the Kent State Alumni Association magazine and Kent Mayor John Fender.

Mickie Cain, junior Spanish major, said some are creating signs for demonstrations including "KEEP KENT INDIVIDUALITY" and "LANDLORDS UNFAIR."

"Brady's serves a need that nothing else meets," she said.

Honk if you love Brady's

Cain, along with Badagnani and Kent resident Alaina Feltenberger, set up a rally demonstration outside on Brady's Saturday afternoon.

The rally, held from noon until 6 p.m., included signs, honking and music to save Brady's.

"We had a bluegrass band, and we would alter the lyrics to fit the Brady situation," Badagnani said. "We had signs that said 'HONK IF YOU LOVE BRADY'S.' About 50 percent of the people honked, including cars, semi-trucks and even a police officer."

He said a reporter from The Plain Dealer was at Brady's, and Channels 5 and 23 were interested in covering the cafe closing.

"Kent is showing an outpouring of support," Badagnani said. "The city is getting energized, and the energy is charging up for Brady's."

He added that although many see the signs as protest of Grubb and Ellis, the backers of Brady's see it more as a rally to save the coffee shop.

"We're not against Grubb and Ellis," he said. "We're for Brady's. We still want to work with them."

According to a recent article in the Record-Courier, Grubb and Ellis originally planned to add to the back of the building and keep Brady's, but a potential zoning change would make that impossible. Bruening also said the closing of Brady's is not personal.

"They're nice people," he said in the Record-Courier article. "It has nothing to do with her personally. But it's hard to run a mom-and-pop operation in expensive real estate."

Fighting to keep the Brady's state of mind

Feltenberger said she has been a patron of Brady's for six years, and she is unwilling to let it close without a fair fight.

"It's been a second home to me," she said. "We'd been hearing rumors since April, but it was the end of July when we found out for sure. It sent everyone into a panic."

Feltenberger said she has sent letters to Grubb and Ellis' Cleveland office as well as their national office in Northbrook, Ill., although she has had no personal contact with Bruening.

"We're getting organized," she said. "We passed out at least 400 fliers. We plan to protest all week.We don't know what else we can do except keep trying."

A questionaire about the building's historical qualifications are being reviewed Thursday by the National Register of Historic Places, Feltenberger said.

"We want all of Kent talking about this," she said. "We don't want it to be an issue that dies. Brady's is not just a coffee house--it has soul.  People don't realize what this place means to so many generations of people.

"You have to be the change that you want to see in the world."

Price Gibson, photo essayist and Brady's supporter, put together photographs to send to Washington, D.C. for the historical preservation of the building.

"It's a rough draft of the photo essay that accompanies the questionaire," he said. "It's showing the human interest side --something of the spirit and of the heart."

Gibson said he also compiled photos of the people and surroundings at Brady's in order to preserve the history and emotion.

"I'm hooked by the good vibrations that are here," he said. "You've got a cultural tapestry, and they weave together. You don't have customers or clientel here, you have family."

Business or personal, some members say they are adamant about preserving Brady's.

"Brady's is more than a place, it's a state of mind--an incubator for the arts," said Merle Mollenkopf, poet and patron of Brady's. "They may take Brady's, but they'll never take its state of mind. We need to let the world know that something precious is being stolen."

While the letters and ideas emerge, Graham-Esparza prepares for the closing of Brady's, but says she's looking for a possible relocation.

"We're looking for other locations, but nothing is definite at this point," she said. "We would want to be near the university."

As for now, Graham-Esparza is gathering letters, pictures and memories of Brady's, in what she called "a collection of memories."

She said Brady's was so unique because it appealed to all types of people.

"We didn't target the business community, we targeted more the back-pack and sneaker-wearing crowd," she said.

Like the Brady motto, "Where a cup of coffee is only the beginning."

E-mail: raweber@kent.edu

Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater

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Record-Courier (Ravenna-Kent, Ohio) Saturday, August 24, 2002

Times, they are a changin': Kent seeing landmarks undergoing transformation

By: Diane Smith Record-Courier staff writer

Attention returning Kent State University students: A lot has happened while you were away for the summer, and some familiar landmarks may soon be changed.

See the grassy area behind the Kent Dam? Check it out. It may be around longer than you think.

And the coffee shop at East Main and Lincoln? Visit it while you can, because it is expected to be gone by next week.

With the decision to replace the pool of water behind the Kent dam with a grassy park area, and the decision to replace Brady's Cafe with another tenant, some residents are lamenting the loss of the city's landmarks.

I find them both to be very dear to students, said Lee Hall, a Kent resident and KSU alumna who says she feels a responsibility to keep Kent a familiar place for returning students and alumni. I just think something will be missing. We expect people to come back here for homecoming, sporting events, musical events. Nothing is going to look familiar.

Kent City Council, in an attempt to address water quality woes in the Cuyahoga River, recently voted to modify the existing dam pool and replace it with a historic interpretive park behind the dam, which is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the city's industrial district. The option also includes a waterfall, coming from a pool only about eight feet wide.

The decision had displeased both historians and environmentalists, who had pushed for another option that would include a shorter off-line pool extending just past the Main Street Bridge. The area next to the trail at Riveredge Park would have been converted to flood plain which could be used for recreational purposes, still giving visitors a chance to access the river from the west side.

Meanwhile, Brady's Cafe in Kent is preparing for its final days after being evicted by Grubb and Ellis, which owns the building. Unless a coalition trying to save the cafe is successful, the eatery will open for the last time next Saturday. The new owners say they plan to keep the building standing and fill it with new tenants.

For Councilman Rick Hawksley, the news about Brady's, coming right on the heels of the decision on the dam, was a wake-up call.

The historic preservation people have been asleep at the wheel, he said. We need to put historic preservation higher on our list of priorities.

But Councilman Wayne Wilson said council has no power to prevent businesses from closing, but said change can sometimes be a good thing in the long run.

I don't know what council could do to keep things from changing, he said. If we don't have change, I'd be concerned for the city.

He said he received many calls when Ace's Restaurant closed its doors, but he told residents that since the city didn't own the property, council was powerless to stop it. Now, he said, the same residents are calling to say they like Gloria's Koffee and Kakes, which opened in the same North Water Street location that once housed Ace's.

They weren't quite ready for the change, but once it got here, they decided it wasn't so bad, he said.

Hall said she has long been concerned about preserving old landmarks, and recalls being disappointed to see the old John Brown Tannery destroyed in 1976. She said she was fortunate enough to get a piece of the tannery as a momento [sic], making it the mantle in her Kent home.

But, she said she's not opposed to all change, noting that the new sidewalks in front of campus and the proposal to turn the old Silk Mill into upscale apartments are among the positive changes in the city.

There are lots of things Kent has done that I can go along with, she said. These I don't.

She said Brady's has always been like an old friend and the decision on the dam infuriates her.

Kent has one of two dams like that in the whole United States, she said. How can we just destroy such a beautiful site?

Wilson said the city was obligated to make changes to the dam pool to satisfy the clean water act, and he believes the option approved by council is the best way to preserve both history and the river.

He said the option council selected allows for access to the river from the west side all the time, doesn't include an unattractive wall separating the dam pool from the river, and includes the possibility of relocating the canal lock and rebuilding it in a new location.

He said not many residents have called him to disagree with the decision and those who did accepted his reasons for voting the way he did.

I just thought it was the best in the long run for the citizens in Kent, he said. I don't feel like it's taking away as much as the people in Kent think it will. I think once it's built, it's going to be acceptable to people.

Hawksley, however, said many residents have expressed disappointment with the decision to him.

I still don't think we followed in good faith the (historic review) process and I think we opened ourselves up to a lot of liability, said Hawksley, who voted against council's preferred option.

He said he believes the city needs to do more to prioritize historic preservation by becoming a certified local government. The designation is awarded by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office to communities that put in place an historic preservation board and enact standards aimed at preserving history in their communities, and are better able to leverage historic preservation dollars.

I'm hoping people will become more actively involved in that, he said. I'm not saying we need to buy every historic piece of property in the city, but I think we need to do  verything we can ... The Robin Hood and Brady's are icons in our community and we need to do everything in our power to preserve them.

E-mail:dsmith@recordpub.net
Phone: (330) 673-3491

_______________________

 

 

PRESS RELEASE
--------------------------
FROM:  THE SAVE BRADY'S COALITION (contact information
below)
DATE:  THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KENT, OHIO COMMUNITY RALLIES AROUND LOCAL LANDMARK

Kent residents are battling to save the historic Brady's Cafe from imminent eviction.
Northbrook, Illinois-based real estate developer Grubb & Ellis Co., which purchased the property in June, has chosen not to renew the coffee house/restaurant's lease, giving the business until September 1 to move out.  The eviction, which gave the owners only 30
days' notice, was served without explanation and has left many community members reeling from the shock of the impending loss.

Brady's (which some older alumni may remember as "Captain Brady's," named for a legendary local frontiersman from the mid-1700s) is a longtime Kent fixture and gathering place for the area's artistic and student communities.  It has hosted countless concerts, poetry readings, and benefit concerts over the past decades, and, due to its close proximity to the Kent State University campus, has long been associated with student life.  The Brady's building, unique in Kent for its Tudor-style architecture and located on the corner of East Main and Lincoln Streets, is believed to have been erected around 1910.  The current owner-operator of Brady's Cafe, Bonnie Graham-Esparza, has been in charge since 1986.

Kent city officials state that although they sympathize with the cafe's predicament, they can do nothing to prevent the eviction, which they consider a landlord-tenant issue.  Although City Council members have proposed rezoning the area to prevent a gas station or other similar business being built there (an earlier Grubb & Ellis proposal involved razing the entire block and replacing it with a Sheetz gas station), the rezoning would not prevent the developer from replacing the current Brady's with a "similar business," as Grubb & Ellis employee Dave Bruening was quoted as saying in the local newspaper earlier this week.

From their examination of Grubb & Ellis's past business practices in other towns across the country, some community members believe this "similar business" will be a chain store such as Starbucks or Arabica, robbing Kent of an important element of its individuality.  As longtime Kent resident Tom Lashuay put it, "Brady's is really what Kent is all about."

Brady's supporters have formed an organization -- the Save Brady's Coalition -- to combat the eviction, teaming up with another longer-standing community group, the Kent Citizens for Responsible Development. One of their strategies is asking the United States Register of Historic Places to certify the Brady's building as a national historic landmark.  Eight other Kent buildings already have this distinction, and from an examination of the Register's guidelines, Coalition members say the Brady's building fulfills all requirements.

The group is also actively contacting Kent State alumni, many of whom have fond memories of Brady's Cafe.  Some, like William Birkner (class of 1950), a member of the Kent Historical Society who once helped save the old Kent railroad station from  destruction, have expressed shock and dismay at the current situation.

"This is not just about Brady's," said Coalition member Fred Pierre at a recent meeting.  "This is an issue of whether a large corporation should be allowed to, on short notice and without any community involvement, shut down a vital community meeting place.  This out-of-state company seems not to understand the importance of a place like this to a
small community like ours.  They have a lot to learn about Kent, Ohio, and our ability to come together as a community."

The Save Brady's Coalition plans an informational rally for Saturday, August 24, 2002, from noon until 4 p.m. (complete with musical entertainment and refreshments) to be held on the sidewalk in front of Brady's Cafe (436 E. Main St. in Kent).  Future events are planned daily, until August 31, or until Grubb & Ellis reconsiders its decision.

 

Call Grubb & Ellis Co. at (216) 861-3040
or send email to bob.nosal@Grubb-Ellis.com.
The company's website is located at http://www.grubb-ellis.com/.
Send letters to:  Grubb and Ellis, 1350 Euclid Avenue, Suite 300,
Cleveland, OH 44115-1815   /   fax:  (216) 453-3093

 

 

The Save Brady's Coalition can be reached at
(330) 620-4697 or savebradys@yahoo.com.