Kate's Fish began shucking oysters on Sundays at the West Side Market on October 11. Owner Tom McIntyre had already been selling lobster rolls on Saturdays since spring. That went well enough that he added two more pop-ups at the same stand, and the other one is a Friday tuna melt. Cleveland.com reported that the melt uses house-made tuna salad with fresh ahi and herbs, on bread from Vera's Bakery with sharp American cheese from Irene Dever Dairy.
So a fish counter is now selling a sandwich made with two other vendors' products. That matches where the 114-year-old market is headed. The $70 million renovation, and the financial plan behind it, both count on the market becoming a place to eat, sit, take a class and host an event, in addition to buying a week's groceries. Anyone shopping here this fall is watching that change happen while the building stays open.
The forecast counts on time spent, not just stalls rented
In August, the Cleveland Public Market Corporation gave Cleveland City Council a financial forecast. The CPMC is the nonprofit that has run the city-owned market since April 2024. Cleveland.com's summary says the forecast shows a $783,303 operating loss in 2026, smaller losses each year after that, and a surplus of about $200,000 in 2030.
The market's earlier master plan explains the starting point. City operating subsidies grew from $276,000 in 2019 to $740,000 in 2022 as rental income fell and more stalls sat empty. Vendor rent alone was not covering the building.
The turnaround in the forecast comes mostly from things the market doesn't have yet:
| Revenue line | 2026 | 2028 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Arcade food hall rent | none | $425,602 | about $1 million |
| Programs, events and merchandise | $45,000 | $144,106 | $409,348 |
| Basement commercial kitchen | none | not broken out | $303,680 |
| Vendor rent: Market Hall, Produce Arcade, basement storage | $1.18 million | not broken out | $1.41 million |
The table shows how big the bet is. If the forecast holds, the food hall alone would bring in about $1 million a year by 2030. That's close to what every butcher, baker and produce stand in the building pays combined. The planned food hall would hold 10 to 12 independently run food and beverage businesses with public seating. Cleveland.com noted that the forecast is not a guarantee. It depends on finishing the renovation and attracting enough tenants, customers and event business.
Where the work is right now
Construction started in May 2025. As of September, the market had raised $61 million of the $70 million it needs, according to the Transformation Project. A walk through the building this fall covers every stage, from finished to not yet started.
- KeyBank Produce Arcade: finished. It opened January 9, 2026, with 24 stalls for 11 produce merchants. This is the one part of the project shoppers can already use.
- North Arcade and the alley: temporary workspace. Since May, both have been lined with refrigerated containers. Vendors moved their products and work into them so crews could start on the basement. Cleveland.com reported that demolition was scheduled to begin in June. Later, the North Arcade is planned to become the food hall, and the alley is planned as a permanent courtyard named for the Connor Foundation.
- The basement: underway. The 30,000-square-foot level has long been used for cold and dry storage and for work like butchering. It hasn't had a major renovation in decades. The plans include updated utilities, freight and passenger elevators, rebuilt coolers and the market's first commercial kitchen. The project was expected to finish in summer 2027. The August budget assumptions put completion of the basement kitchen in late 2027. Those dates are targets.
- Market Hall east mezzanine: starting this fall. A $2.9 million commitment from Dee and Jimmy Haslam's Haslam 3 Foundation paid for the next stage. That includes a second balcony with public seating overlooking the Market Hall.
- Second floor: planned for 2027. A men's locker room that has sat unused for decades will become an event space named for the Haslam family. It is expected to open in 2027 and will be able to host school groups, weddings, corporate gatherings and lectures, with views of the Market Hall and downtown. Next to it, a teaching kitchen in the old women's locker room will carry Cleveland Clinic's name, backed by a $1 million pledge for ovens, stovetops, storage and a demonstration counter.
Almost everything on that list adds seats, a kitchen or a room for people to gather. The only piece aimed mainly at the merchants is the basement, which keeps the fresh food business running underneath it all.
The stands are already trying it out
The food hall is years away, but a few vendors are already testing whether people will stay to eat. McIntyre's Friday-Saturday-Sunday lineup turns one fish counter into a weekend lunch stop. He told cleveland.com the tuna melt is "one of my favorite sandwiches," and said, "I'm all about sourcing these ingredients from other vendors at the market." When a stand buys from its neighbors, part of the sale stays with other vendors in the building. That's the same arrangement the commercial kitchen and food hall are supposed to support on a larger scale.
Programming is getting the same kind of early test. Fresh Fundamentals, a series of Friday cooking demos with meal kits, came back on September 18 for a ten-week run, cleveland.com reported. Counting ten Fridays from that start puts the last session around November 20, so several are still ahead. This is the kind of event the teaching kitchen is meant to make regular, and the forecast counts on that programming revenue growing about ninefold by 2030.
The summer also included two short-term pop-ups in the Market Hall: Niecy's Place, run by Denisia "Niecy" Rivera, and Ego's Kitchen, run by Justina "Ego" Adigwe. Both leases ran through September 20, and CPMC said any further short-term leasing would depend on construction needs.
Hours, parking and dates through December
The building is open during construction, but it keeps a set schedule. These are the posted hours for the season:
- Regular hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Tuesday and Thursday.
- Closed: Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, and Christmas Day, Friday, December 25.
- Extra holiday days: Tuesday, December 22; Thursday, December 24; and Thursday, December 31. These are days the market would usually be closed.
The extra days fall right before Christmas Eve dinner and New Year's Eve. For special-order roasts or seafood, December 22 adds a Tuesday opening that week.
According to the market's parking page, the posted rates give 90 minutes free during market hours, then $1.50 an hour plus tax. Evening parking after 6 p.m. is a flat $6, and special events outside market hours are a flat $10. Payment is by QR code, text or kiosk. Ninety minutes fits a shopping trip. It's tighter if you add oysters and a sandwich, and the price of that extra time is spelled out on the meter.
A few Ohio City dates near the market for the rest of the year:
- Ohio City Family Fun Fall Walk, Friday, October 23, starting at 4:30 p.m. Hubs include Novak Park and Carnegie West Library at Fulton and Bridge, and St. Patrick's Church and West Side Alliance at 3602 Bridge Ave. Details are on Ohio City Inc.'s event page.
- Great Lakes Brewing Co.'s Nightmare After First Pour pop-up, October 23 to 25 and October 30 to November 1. The brewery's events calendar also lists The Last Voyage: Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald on November 9, 10 and 11.
- Christmas Ale VIP Experience Tours, November 20 and December 11, 2 to 3:30 p.m., at Beer Symposium, 1951 W. 26th St., according to Great Lakes' event pages for November 20 and December 11.
Event calendars change, so check the organizer's page before you go.
The renovation's 2027 openings are still ahead, but the containers in the alley and the new oyster service at Kate's Fish are both here this fall. If you're weighing what the market's next few years could mean for your corner of Ohio City, or you just want to talk it over, Doug Stillwagon is happy to compare notes. Let's Connect.
