From left, the Rev. Don Dunson, parochial vicar at St. Angela Merici Parish in Fairview Park; Deacon Dennis Conrad of St. Christopher Parish in Rocky River; his wife, Paula Conrad, Christ Child Society of Cleveland president-elect; Peter Holick, owner of PJ’s Day Spa in Fairview Park; and Mary Herrick, Christ Child Society president, flank Cleveland Bishop Edward Malesic during his recent visit to bless the new resale shop. (Carol Kovach/special to cleveland.com)

FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- There’s a new resale shop in town, and it’s in a familiar location.

For more than two decades, the American Cancer Society (ACS) operated a resale store at 20470 Lorain Road in Fairview Park. Late last year, ACS decided to go in a different direction and shuttered the shop.

The Christ Child Society of Cleveland, which operates a Showcase Resale Shop at 15404 Madison Ave. in Lakewood, learned about the ACS decision and explored the opportunity to open a second shop. The nonprofit organization’s board and membership liked the idea, so they signed a lease in December 2021.

After some renovations, including painting and new flooring, the shop opened April 2.

Kathy Cole, who oversees operations and volunteer training for the Lakewood shop, fills the same role in Fairview Park. Both stores are operated completely by volunteers. All proceeds benefit the organization’s mission: meeting the needs of children in the Greater Cleveland community.

The building is owned by Peter Holick, who also owns and operates PJ’s Day Spa, located next door. At one time, the structure housed two popular local stores: Tate’s Butcher Shop and Baumgardner’s Grocery Store. The Baumgardner family lived in the attached house.

Cole and her husband, Tom, worked to prepare the building for its new use.

“Tom installed some lighting fixtures, helped install shelving and racks, and he built a sorting center for donations,” she said.

Parma resident Kathy Cole displays a vintage photo showing the new resale shop during its earlier use as a butcher shop. (Carol Kovach/special to cleveland.com)

The main room on the first floor of the new shop is filled with carefully organized displays of women’s clothing, accessories, jewelry and more. An adjacent room features art, wall hangings, housewares, china, glassware, miscellaneous items and jewelry.

Upstairs, one room contains children’s clothing, toys and other items. Another has racks of neatly hung men’s clothing and accessories. A third is stocked with household items and a fourth contains gift items and knickknacks.

“Our goal is to make this look like a boutique,” Cole said. “We want to have attractive displays and good pricing to keep the merchandise moving.”

At the Fairview Park location, Mondays are half-price days, with everything on sale the first Monday of the month and clothing half-price the other Mondays.

At the Lakewood store, everything is half-price on Tuesdays.

The shops will have bag sales in March and September, Cole said.

“Then we clear and clean the store and reset merchandise for the next season,” she said.

Donations of new or gently used, clean items in good repair are welcome at both stores during business hours. They cannot accept stuffed animals, pillows, comforters or other items stuffed with batting, or furniture and large items.

Items that cannot be used in the shop are donated to other charities.

“My goal is to ensure that as much merchandise as possible is recycled, reused and renewed,” Cole said.

Hours at the Fairview Park store are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, closed on Wednesday and Sunday.

The Lakewood shop is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday. Both locations are closed on major holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Eve.

Madison Park will host the Taste of Lakewood once again. Thousands are expected to attend the June 12 event. (Carol Kovach/special to cleveland.com)

Taste of Lakewood: Bring your appetite and head over to Madison Park, 13201 Madison Ave. in Lakewood, from 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday (June 12) for the annual Taste of Lakewood. Admission is free for this pay-as-you-go event, where attendees can sample foods from area restaurants.

The event is presented by the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce.

Participating eateries include Aladdin’s Eatery, Angelo’s Pizza of Lakewood, Barrio Lakewood, Cleveland Vegan, Dang Good Foods, Dewey’s Pizza, EL Carnicero, Forage Public House, Humble, Immigrant Son Brewery, India Garden, LBM Bar, Master Pizza, Melt Bar & Grilled, O’Toole’s Pub, The Root Café, Salt+, Sauced Taproom & Kitchen, The Tea Lab, Thai Thai and VooDoo Tuna.

In addition to the food options, many local Lakewood merchants and artisans will set up shop for the day in the Merchant Market. Shoppers will find a variety of artwork, décor, pottery, apparel, accessories, collectibles, novelties, personal care produces and more.

Participating merchants and makers include CouCou Sentiment, Cuyahoga Community College Hospitality Management Program, First Federal Lakewood, Foundry Woodprints, Garbage Guys and Gals, Inspired Chiropractic & Wellness, Kay-Em Apparel, Lakewood City Schools, Lemon Seeds Music and Little Lakewood Pasta Co.

There also will be drawings and live music throughout the day. Beer and wine are available tor purchase.

Once again, Pier W will sponsor the VIP Tent. Tickets for the VIP Tent are $60 and support the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Fund. Tickets include reserved parking, prime seating, a personal waiter, food and drink tokens, a special dessert and one raffle ticket for a chance to win a dinner for eight from Chef Regan Reik at Pier W.

The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce presents scholarships each year to four seniors from Lakewood and St. Edward high schools. This year’s winners will be recognized on stage at 4 p.m.

The schedule for the Taste of Lakewood stage includes live music by Jeff Varga from 1 to 4 p.m., scholarship winners recognized at 4 p.m., VIP raffle drawing for Pier W dinner at 4:15 p.m., live music by the Whiskey Ramblers from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 2022 Dollars for Scholars raffle winners will be announced at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets for this drawing can be purchased in the Dollars for Scholars Tent. The winner receives a planter with gift cards from a variety of Lakewood businesses. Drawing proceeds benefit the LCC Scholarship Fund.

Friendly, leashed dogs are welcome.

For more information, visit tasteoflakewood.com.

PERI meeting: Chapter 91 of Public Employee Retirees Inc. will meet at 11 a.m. Monday (June 13) on the Lower Level of the Fairview Park Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library, 21255 Lorain Road in Fairview Park.

Guest speaker will be Judy MacKeigan, historian/archivist for the Cleveland Metroparks. She joined the park system in 2010 while completing her master’s degree in history at Cleveland State University. Her topic will be “Cleveland Metroparks History: The Early Years.”

She will share how the park blossomed in the 1920s, survived the Great Depression and World War II, and met the challenges of the 1950s.

PERI, established in 1948, has more than 50,000 members throughout the state. Chapter 91 includes members from the northwestern suburbs surrounding Cleveland. They meet every other month to discuss topics of interest and keep updated on proposed legislation.

Public sector retirees are welcome to attend the meetings. Light refreshments are served.

Fresh produce offered: North Olmsted Oxcart Pantry, in collaboration with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, will offer free produce from 2 to 4 p.m. the second Monday of the month at John Knox Church, 25200 Lorain Road in North Olmsted. The next date is Monday (June 13).

Call 440-716-4165 or visit north-olmsted.com/youth-family-services/mobile-produce-pantry to register for the drive-thru service.

In addition, the Maple PTA Mobile Produce Pantry is open from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month at Maple Intermediate School, 24101 Maple Ridge Road in North Olmsted. The next date is June 28.

This drive-thru pantry also is in collaboration with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. It is free and open to all.

For more information, call 440-202-9950 or email bhalleagle@gmail.com.

Information, please: Readers are invited to share information about themselves, their families and friends, organizations, church events, etc. in Fairview Park, Lakewood, North Olmsted and West Park for the A Place in the Sun column, which I write on a freelance basis. Awards, honors, milestone birthdays or anniversaries and other items are welcome. Submit information at least 10 days before the requested publication date to carolkovach@hotmail.com.

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