Built from the ground up in 2002, Zagara's Marketplace on Lee Road near Cain Park is being purchased by Dave's Market, with a flurry of transitional activity set for the end of October. Tom Jewell/Special to cleveland.com

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- For two local family grocers, it’s the end of one era and the beginning of a new one.

Dave’s Markets announced today (Oct. 7) their acquisition of Zagara’s Marketplace at Lee and East Overlook roads. Dave’s will move in to Zagara’s after the Cedar-Fairmount Dave’s closes Oct. 25.

The Saltzman family -- fifth-generation owners of Dave’s -- plans to take most if not all of their roughly 50 employees at Cedar-Fairmount with them to the new and expanded operation, which will open Oct. 29 as the rebranded Dave’s Market & Eatery. Some employees may be offered jobs at one of Dave’s other 11 stores.

They also plan to keep the 75 to 80 employees currently staffing Zagara’s Marketplace, whose last day under that moniker will be Oct. 21, when the store closes to prepare for the Dave’s move-in.

Dave’s plans a significant transitional investment in some initial improvements that will continue into 2023.

In a press release, John Zagara, owner and operator of the family grocery business that opened in Cleveland in 1936, offered thanks to his customers and employees for their support over the past three decades. Zagara’s moved to its first store in Cleveland Heights in 1988.

“With the help of my talented managers and employees, and the tremendous support of our loyal customers, we’ve been successful,” Zagara said. “But anyone operating a business today knows that the current environment provides unprecedented challenges.”

Noting that there are very few large, single-location independent grocery stores left in the United States, Zagara said that “with limited buying power and the inability to scale up operations in the same way a larger chain can, it’s always been a challenge to be competitive and profitable.”

The fact that they did “tremendously well battling the ‘bigs’ over the years speaks volumes for our independent-minded customers, in a community where the whole demographic is a microcosm of the great American melting pot,” Zagara added.

“By transitioning our store to the Dave’s family, we are assuring local ownership continues for the business we worked so hard to build.”

In a joint press release, Dave’s Market Vice President David Saltzman stated that moving the current operation from Cedar-Fairmount to the Zagara’s location on Lee Road “will allow us to continue providing customers with the best possible service, selection and prices in a large location with amazing potential.”

The first goal will be to minimize employee and customer disruption, as well as expanding the hours from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (an hour later) and keeping the U.S. Bank branch open in the front of the store -- even during the week that the grocery is closed for renovations.

“The Lee Road store was built to be a family-owned operation, and I’m happy to say it will stay that way,” Saltzman added. “The store layout will be similar and customers can look forward to finding items they were accustomed to, plus an expanded variety.”

New offerings will include Grandpa Dave’s famous fried chicken, made-to-order hot sandwiches, freshly squeezed orange juice, a new meat counter and more deli selections.

Dave’s plans also call for highlighting local bakeries and selling their products in the new store.

Saltzman added, “We want to keep as much of the ‘specialty’ footprint as John had -- with great success.”

Growing up working in the family business, third-generation grocer John Zagara recalled when his father, Frank, bought the old Heinen’s on the “Van Aken Boulevard side of Shaker Square,” where they had dumbwaiters to move inventory up from the basement.

From there, Zagara’s grocery moved into the storefront just down Lee at Yorkshire Road, later home to Elgin Furniture, with 12,000 square feet of retail space and another 7,000 square feet for warehouse and office use.

In June 2002, they opened Zagara’s Marketplace -- “built new, from the ground up” -- with an innovative design, on one of the wider blocks and 75 additional feet of frontage.

“The building is horseshoe-shaped, which is far more efficient, because we’re not bringing product out of the basement,” Zagara explained. “The individual work space is along the outer ring, right next to the retail spaces.”

The Marketplace and soon-to-be Dave’s Market & Eatery has a total of 42,500 square feet -- 30,000 square feet of retail space (“what you need for food”) and 12,500 square feet for the rest of the grocery operations and offices.

An air circulation system pulls cold air off the floor and recycles it downstairs into the compressor room. It pulls the hot air off the ceiling, then recycles that to help heat the hot water systems, saving on utilities, Zagara noted.

It is believed there has been a grocery store operating out of the Heights Medical Building in Cleveland Heights' Cedar-Fairmount District since the early part of the 20th century. The most recent proprietors included Russo's, then Giant Eagle, followed by Dave's Market in 2007. (Tom Jewell, special to cleveland.com)

Sal Russo, owner of Heights Medical Building, home to the Cedar-Fairmount Dave’s Market since 2007, could not be reached for comment in time for this story. David Saltzman declined to elaborate on their current square footage at Cedar-Fairmount or the terms of their lease.

But Cleveland Heights city officials offered their take on the situation.

“Zagara’s has been a part of Cleveland Heights for nearly 35 years, so it’s disappointing to see them go,” Mayor Kahlil Seren said.

“Dave’s is a local, family-owned business with its own history of providing healthy, fresh food in Cleveland Heights. They will be investing in our city and improving the Lee Road store, and no one will be fired or laid off.”

Seren added, “If a community institution like Zagara’s is going to be acquired by another company, this is a good way for it to happen.”

City Planning Director Eric Zamft expressed confidence that there will be a successor soon moving into the vacant Dave’s space in the Cedar-Fairmount district.

“Losing the Dave’s on Cedar Road will leave a hole, but with the opening of The Ascent at Top of the Hill, new student housing on Euclid Heights Boulevard and Nighttown reopening soon, the Cedar-Fairmount district is one of Cleveland Heights’ fastest growing neighborhoods,” Zamft said.

“We don’t expect that space to be vacant for long, and are committed to working with the property owner.”

If all goes according to plan, the current Zagara's Marketplace will reopen Oct. 29 as Dave's Market & Eatery. (Tom Jewell, special to cleveland.com)

Zagara said he initially approached the Saltzman family roughly 2 1/2 to 3 years ago about the possibility of making the move and purchasing his store -- with his own idea of a “new era” in mind.

Although Zagara’s and Dave’s pulled off an earlier transfer of ownership involving the old Tops Market on Wilson Mills Road in Richmond Heights in 2010 on the coattails of the Great Recession, (“we only had it for four years and then my bank went bankrupt,” Zagara said) this one was going to be a little different.

“I’ve been doing this for 31 years as an independent, battling some of the largest, most successful major multinational companies, and I’m ready for retirement,” Zagara said.

“I have the opportunity to move our assets to a very like-minded, deep-seated and embedded community partner and allow another family-owned, independent business to take over mine,” he said.

Both are union stores, with all of their workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 880, leading to a transition agreement already in place “to take the people from our operation into the next one,” Zagara added.

In addition, Dave’s remains committed to operating its store at Severance Town Center. Both locations will keep their liquor stores as well.

Preliminary plans for a significant 2023 renovation of the Lee Road store include updates to décor, lighting and flooring, as well as enhancements to individual departments designed to improve the shopping experience, the joint press release stated.

A little Dave’s history

Starting with great-great-grandfather Alex Saltzman peddling fruit on the street along Payne Avenue, the family opened their first grocery store there in 1928.

Now 86, grandfather Burt Saltzman is still working today.

“His mindset of a clean store, fresh food and great customer service is exactly what we’re all about, still today,” David Saltzman said.

Like their other stores, “Food Club” will be their standard conventional label, along with some new offerings, including one called “Field Day,” a natural and organic (non-GMO) private label.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to leave the Zagara legacy and the Lee Road store that I built in the hands of the Saltzman family,” John Zagara said. “It will be an exciting place to shop, and I wish them every success as they make their vision for it a reality.”

As for his vision of retirement, Zagara said, “This pandemic has had me so busy running around, that I’m going to be taking a good amount of time off.”

After that, he would eventually like to teach some business courses, “because we need them, either at the entry-level collegiate level or in high school.”

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