Lake Cable Shopping Center sees businesses leave, Tremont Coffee Co. coming
JACKSON TWP. − Several businesses have left the Lake Cable Shopping Center, and at least one ― Tremont Coffee Co. ― will be moving in.
The plaza at 5550 Fulton Drive NW is owned by the private Lake Cable Recreation Association, which began discussing options for the aging building in 2022. The association previously managed the property but now leases it to Lake Cable resident Jeff Doll of JD Real Estate Investments.
According to documents shared with The Canton Repository, the association in late 2023 sent its members mail-in ballots for a vote on the 20-year lease, the terms of which included a $600,000 gift from a member for renovations to the Lake Cable Clubhouse. The shopping center alternatives listed were an estimated $4,000 assessment per household for renovations or a $600 assessment to demolish it for green space.
Doll and the Lake Cable Recreation Association declined to comment about the shopping center and lease.
Multiple departures in the past year from Lake Cable Shopping Center
Uncertainty about the shopping center's future pushed Paper Twigs, a floral boutique, to relocate in January 2023. The business provides floral arrangements, invitations, and other wedding and event services ― often booked as far as a year in advance.
Owner Laura Woofter said she was concerned about having enough notice to take care of planned events amid talk of the building's potential demolition. So she began looking for another location and found one at 5720 Hills and Dales Road NW, which was formerly Easterday's Flower & Gift Shop.
“I just got worried," Woofter said. "You could tell that nobody really knew what was going on, so I felt really uneasy about staying.”
The new space is much larger, she added, with ample room to process flowers. Business at Paper Twigs also was growing beforehand, and Woofter realized an expansion would be needed to continue growing.
“So it’s all been pretty positive, although, I will say, I miss our neighbors at Lake Cable," she said.
In the past few months, Ohio Tea Co. and Dorrie's Booktique also left the Lake Cable Shopping Center.
Kurt Gibbons and his father-in-law, Terry Gabet, who own Ohio Tea, said they were looking for another location with more space after eight years at the plaza. But the discussions about the building "pushed our move into high gear," Gibbons said.
"We wanted to know our future versus kind of leave it up in the air," he said.
They ended up about a half-mile away at 5154 Fulton Drive NW. The former medical billing office has three times the space as the previous store, Gibbons said.
Gabet said the business needed more warehouse space because of an increase in walk-in customers, online sales and wholesale business. The new store opened in mid-February and will eventually host educational sessions, such as how to make chai or brew in the Chinese gong fu style.
The shop also features an expanded selection of local goods ― pottery, honey, chocolate and other tea accessories. Near the checkout counter is a workstation for customers to mix teas and create their own blends.
“We are slowly introducing a make-and-take," Gibbons said, adding that the teas will be limited to a few options on busy days.
Booktique owner: 'The main thing is ... he's saving the plaza.'
Dorrie Cable-Noggle of Dorrie's Booktique watched the other businesses move but didn't intend to leave the Lake Cable Shopping Center. Ultimately, she said, Doll opted "to go in a different direction" with her spot, which now has Tremont Coffee signs in the windows.
Cable-Noggle was offered another location in the plaza, but the rent had increased and moving seemed a better option. She has no hard feelings about Doll's decision.
"The main thing is ... he’s saving the plaza," Cable-Noggle said. "So I wish him well.”
In late February and early March, friends and customers helped her move boxes of mostly used books to 4031 Hills and Dales Rd NW. The new store is in the same plaza as Samantha's Sunny Corner and Gabe's Meat & Deli.
“It has been amazing," Cable-Noggle said.
There's more turnover of parking spaces and a morning breakfast crowd that prompted her to open two hours earlier ― at 9 a.m. ― on Fridays and Saturdays. Cable-Noggle also estimated half of her customers during a recent Saturday sale were new.
Some business owners stay put
Lakefront Beauty Studio will celebrate its 40th anniversary at the shopping center today. Owner Dana Foltz said she's the plaza's longest tenant, followed by Jose's Landing.
"There were a lot of different things there 40 years ago," she said. "Fulton Road was only two lanes.”
Three years ago, Foltz renovated her salon and imported all new equipment from Italy. She thanked her customers for their loyalty over the years and said she hopes to continue working out of the Lake Cable Shopping Center.
"I plan on staying as long as I can," she said.
A more recent addition to the plaza, The Paw Pad, is among the businesses that remain. Owner Tara Myer opened the dog grooming and pet boutique in January 2021 and expanded into a connected vacant storefront about a year and half ago.
Myer said the building has been "a little lonely recently" but she has no plans to leave and eagerly anticipates the coffee shop addition. The property management change hasn't changed much for her, and Doll has made a few repairs.
"He's been in here asking me what I need," she said.
The founders of Tremont Coffee, Mark and Michelle Kemp, said they are excited to open their fourth location at the plaza and are anticipating a July opening.
The owners said renovating an older building presents additional challenges, but they appreciate the history that comes with it.
"Meeting today's building requirements, especially for food service, can be quite demanding," the Kemps said in an email. "Yet, personally, it's incredibly rewarding to be a part of bringing new life into such buildings and witness our dreams turning into reality."
Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.com.On X: @kbyerREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Lake Cable Shopping Center under new management of Jeff Doll
