If you’re concerned that Third Fridays at 78th Street Studios isn’t for you, Susie Frazier would politely ask you to reconsider.
It’s on this day each month that more than 50 venues inside the century-old warehouse on Cleveland’s West Side open to the public to present a variety of offerings intended to stimulate the senses.
“It’s a multi-sensory experience,” says Frazier, who runs Susie Frazier Showroom and is the subject of this month’s Uniquely feature. “We want you to be able to enjoy your beer, wine and food and to not have to leave the building to eat. It’s dog friendly, so people can come here with their pets or their kids. You don’t have to want for anything when you’re here.”
The event started in the early 2000s and has grown to attract more than 2,000 people each month. It’s become an event that includes promotions and dining specials for the restaurants, bars and boutiques of Gordon Square.
“The exhibits rotate and the offerings, for people like us who behave a little bit more like a store, we have a tendency to treat it like a big night because we want everybody to have a fantastic experience,” Frazier says. “I used to be in a back corner and I grew to the point where I moved up and did a big build-out.”
In addition to a restaurant, Frazier lined up food trucks to be outside the building. And when the visual art portion of the evening ends at 9 p.m., the music gets turned up.
“Everybody heads up to the third floor to Survival Kit Gallery. They have a huge gorgeous space with a baby grand piano and Brian Straw runs a production company with music,” Frazier says. “They have had everything from the Cleveland Orchestra doing their residency here to throwback 50’s bands, jazz groups, every kind of ensemble you could imagine: Indie pop, rock, whatever.
“We’re getting to the point that now there is such critical mass here that almost every night, there is something going on.”
As 78th Street Studios continues to make its mark, so does Frazier. She is represented by Los Angeles-based Prominent Brand + Talent and has steadily grown her licensing division and the brand ambassador side of her business.
In short, there’s a lot going on at the former home of Baker Electric Motor Vehicle Co. and later, American Greetings Creative Studios.
“This is a shining example of mixed re-use and how you become an attraction, an anchor for an entire neighborhood,” she says. ●
Mark Scott is Senior Associate Editor for Smart Business Cleveland
