31 Reasons to Take the Ferry to Kelleys Island: CLE Daily

Plus, the Cavaliers are set to open training camp and other news and notes from around Cleveland and Northeast Ohio

by Ron Ledgard | Sep. 29, 2026 | 5:00 AM

Photographed by Annie Nickoloff

🔑 Fidelity Hotel Is Still Ohio's Only Michelin Key Winner: The Ohio City boutique hotel retained its One Michelin Key in this week's update to the guide's global list, recognized for design, service and overall guest experience by anonymous inspectors. Fidelity remains the sole Ohio property to earn the distinction.

🔬 Cleveland Clinic's Biggest-Ever Research Investment Just Opened Its Doors: Two new research buildings — a $400 million, 300,000-square-foot complex at East 100th and Cedar — house nearly 30 labs and will add 50 to 100 scientists to the health system's roster. It's a preview of what's next: Cleveland Clinic's $1.1 billion Neurological Institute is set to open in 2027.

ICYMI: Remember Cleveland Play House and Cleveland State's "transformational" alliance from earlier this month? The partnership is already shaping this season — CSU's Theatre and Dance Department opens Rent this fall, and CPH readies Private Lives, Annie and Working: A Musical for its own 2026-27 lineup.

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Today's Trivia

This Cleveland Heights apartment complex, designed in the Spanish-Moorish style, was originally built in 1923 as a hotel.

Travel & Outdoors: Here are 31 reasons to take the ferry to Kelleys Island.

By Annie Nickoloff

Lake Erie's second-largest island packs a lot into 4.4 square miles, and our guide rounds up 31 of the best reasons to go, from glacial grooves among the largest in the world to a former limestone quarry that's now a swimming hole.

Getting There: The Kelleys Island Ferry runs out of Marblehead most of the year ($13 per adult, plus extra for bikes, golf carts or cars); the seasonal Jet Express connects Sandusky, Kelleys Island, Put-in-Bay and Cedar Point from late May through early September.

What's There: Beyond the beaches and Glacial Grooves Geologic Preserve, the island has its own wine scene at Kelleys Island Wine Co. and Monarch Winery, plus Inscription Rock's ancient petroglyphs and the abandoned quarry stone crusher inside Kelleys Island State Park.

Worth Noting: The island's history runs deeper than the tourist strip — Indigenous roots, a once-thriving quarrying industry and a revived winemaking tradition all get their due in the full guide.

Read the full story.

Talk of the Town

Nine Cleveland schools closed earlier this year could become housing and social service hubs. The district has picked developers for proposals at the shuttered buildings, part of an effort to find new uses for the properties rather than leaving them vacant.

Cleveland's police oversight commission wants Flock license plate cameras shut off if a new policy isn't in place by Jan. 1. The Community Police Commission's order comes amid ongoing debate over surveillance rules for the license-plate reading technology.

A historically significant house near Shaker Square is being torn down after sitting vacant for years. The Cleveland Landmarks Commission approved the demolition of the 1925 Ludlow Road home — once owned by urban planner Joseph Weinberg — after its absentee owner couldn't be located and the structure deteriorated past saving.

Browns defensive tackle Mason Graham is on pace to break the all-time sack record for his position. Graham has a sack in each of the team's first three games, a feat no Browns defender has managed since Myles Garrett in 2019, putting him on track to pass Aaron Donald's mark. The Browns (2-1) play host to the Steelers (2-1) on Thursday night.

A Cuyahoga County disability services levy just kicked off its campaign, asking voters for a tax hike this November. Issue 10, backed by the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, would cost homeowners $79 a year per $100,000 of value and raise $99.6 million for a board that serves 15,000 residents with disabilities.

Photographed by Erin Stinard

Sports: Cavaliers conduct media day, and new food options are coming to Rocket Arena.

By Christina Rufo

The Cavaliers players and coaches faced reporters at Rocket Arena on Monday for media day, the traditional kickoff to a new NBA year. This time, training camp looks a little different: the Cavaliers head overseas to Fuengirola, Spain, from Sept. 30 through Oct. 5, before returning home to prepare for preseason.

Play Begins: Exhibition play tips off Oct. 8 against Boston, and the regular season opens Oct. 22 in Philadelphia against the 76ers and LeBron James.

Chef Vinnie: Cordelia chef Vinnie Cimino will bring Delia’s to the Street Level concourse near Portal 26, joining a slate of new dishes and the arena’s newest premium space, Gilly’s Clubhouse.

Cordelia Goes Courtside: Delia’s will bring gluten-free chicken and jojo’s to Rocket Arena, finished with “magic dust” and four new sauces including black garlic mayo, hot sauce mayo, Fancy Sauce and Cleveland ketchup.

More New Bites: Other additions include Karen Small’s Mediterranean Flatbread at P Street Market Cafe, Tiwanna Scott-Williams’ Pearl’s Hibachi Bowl, Chef Vegan Vicki’s Courtside Loaded Cornbread, Rocco Whalen’s Coconut Shrimp Bao Buns and Matt Mytro’s Truffle Onion Rings. Aramark will also offer Kickin’ Birria Eggrolls for a limited time at FanFuel near Portal 61.

A New Club in Loudville: Named in honor of late Cavaliers chairman Dan Gilbert’s son Nick “Gilly” Gilbert, Gilly’s Clubhouse will debut as Rocket Arena’s eighth premium space and one of the NBA’s first all-inclusive upper-level clubs. The 2,400-square-foot space will feature a menu from new arena partner Sandridge Crafted Foods and will be open for all Cavs games and select Monsters games.

Up Next: The updates arrive as the Monsters prepare for their Oct. 2 home opener and the Cavs open the home season Oct. 24 against the Brooklyn Nets.

Yesterday's Trivia Answer

This Cleveland attorney, the first African-American to serve in the Ohio Senate, is referred to as the Father of Labor Day. John P. Green

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's question.

From the Editor

Cleveland sports fans, buckle up.

The Cavs tipped off their season Monday at media day, an unusual start that sends the team to Spain for training camp before they tip off Oct. 22 in Philadelphia. The Guardians, meanwhile, are AL Central champions for the third consecutive year and are resting as the No. 2 seed before their playoffs begin Saturday. And Thursday night, the Browns host the Steelers at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland's only primetime game of the season.

Three teams, three different seasons, all worth watching.

— Ron Ledgard, Managing Editor

Let us know what is on your mind at conversation@clevelandmagazine.com.

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Ron Ledgard

Ron Ledgard is Cleveland Magazine's managing editor and a Pittsburgh native who has made his peace with Cleveland (except on Sundays). He's a University of Pittsburgh graduate, a veteran of The Athletic and the Akron Beacon Journal, and was there for every chapter of LeBron's Cleveland story. After two decades of chasing deadlines and box scores, he's happily landed in magazines. He's a sucker for a long story done right, the kind you save for a Sunday morning (before kickoff, of course). When he isn't editing, he's out on a trail, trying a new restaurant or hunting for the next great thing to do. Sports is his subject of choice, and coffee is his fuel. Most Starbucks baristas in the area greet him like the Cheers crowd greeted Norm.