The Food, Beer and Live Music That Elevate the MidTown Collaboration Center

The Cleveland Foundation has a big idea: What if revitalizing MidTown could be the tie that binds University Circle to Downtown?

“The Cleveland Foundation’s vision is that of a barbell city — where there’s an established Downtown, an established University Circle and then there’s where we are,” says Michael Hood, senior manager of MidTown placemaking and community development. “The choice to be here on Euclid Avenue is to really connect the two downtowns, by understanding and building upon the legacy that was here before.”

Just as it did with Playhouse Square in the 1970s, Cleveland Foundation, the world’s first and one of the largest community foundations, started by placing itself at the center. The nonprofit opened a new headquarters on East 66th Street in 2023. Opened last year just across the street, The MidTown Collaboration Center, which features restaurants, event spaces and nonprofits, is the next step.

Here are a few of the tenants attracting diners and visitors to the new space.

Black Frog Brewery

Owner Chris Harris started Black Frog as a home-brewing project, expanding to a brick-and-mortar craft brewery near Toledo in 2016. Harris wasn’t planning a second location until the Cleveland Foundation invited him to help launch the Collaboration Center. “Cleveland kinda chose me,” says Harris. “The Cleveland Foundation wanted someone who looks like the neighborhood to represent the brewery.” The location has grown into a family affair, with Harris’ son managing the brewing and his daughter serving as taproom manager. Flying Frog, an IPA named in honor of his dad who spent 35 years as part of the Toledo International Guard, brings over a Toledo staple, and Midtown Lager is a new love letter to the neighborhood. “I’m looking forward to more of the community discovering us because we’re truly here for them,” Harris says. blackfrogbrewery.com

Pearl’s Kitchen

Chef Tiwanna Scott-Williams, a former nurse, gets excited when customers wearing scrubs visit from nearby hospitals. “It’s a sign that word is getting out that we’re here,” she says. Her Pearl Flower Catering and Pearl’s Kitchen, which has locations in Rocket Arena and on Case Western Reserve University’s campus, deliver elevated Southern comfort food. This new kitchen puts Scott-Williams’ spin on gastropub fare. Dishes such as the blackened salmon BLT ($16) with fried green tomatoes and beer-brined, buttermilk-battered chicken tenders ($10) pair perfectly with Black Frog’s suds. “The Sixty6 has lived up to its name as a collaborative space,” Scott-Williams says. pearlskitchen.com 

The Sixty6 Music Lounge & Studio 

The Collaboration Center isn’t all grub. The Sixty6 event venue offers free concerts and DJ sets several nights a week, as well as other community programming. The Music Lounge hosted about 130 events last year, including line dancing on the first Friday of each month and weekly Sunday concerts. “It’s quite a vibe watching multigenerational families having a fun, safe experience,” says Michael Hood of MidTown. thesixty6.com

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