In Heinen’s downtown grocery store’s final months, Cuyahoga County provided $50,000 to help the company downsize its footprint at the Cleveland Trust’s historic Rotunda on East Ninth Street.
According to spokesman for Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne, Heinen’s would not have to pay back the money as long as it remained open through July 31 of this year. Late last month, Heinen’s announced that its downtown store’s last day of sales would be July 31.
The grant was part of an effort in recent years by Cleveland, the county, downtown supporters and business leaders — totaling at least $400,000 — to support the grocery store at the center of a redeveloped Euclid Avenue.
“There’s no doubt that over the last few years there’s been a very concerted, targeted effort to support them through marketing and through focused attention on the safety side,” Michael Deemer, CEO of Downtown Cleveland Inc., said in a telephone interview Thursday.
Heinen’s did not respond to requests for comment from the city, county and others about the aid.
Adding up the help for Heinen’s downtown store
After about a decade downtown, in 2024 and 2025, Heinen’s sought to cut costs by moving its beer and wine offerings from the Rotunda’s second floor, the grocer said in a news release cited by Cleveland.com at the time.
The county approved $50,000 in November 2024 for Downtown Cleveland Inc. to “increase store recognition in the downtown core, with a particular focus on Heinen’s,” according to a Board of Control agenda.
In December 2025 — about six months before Heinen’s announced it would close its downtown store — the county allocated $50,000 for remodels and new bathrooms.
That money required Heinen’s to stay open until July 2026, otherwise the county could withhold or claw back grants, according to a copy of the contract obtained through a public records request.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, who took office in 2022, said his administration donated more than $250,000 to help Heinen’s. This money was used to finance renovations, supply connections, furniture installation and other work, said a city spokesman.
Cleveland Development Advisors — the corporate finance arm of the Greater Cleveland Partnership — has approved a $50,000 grant to Heinen’s in 2024, according to Yvette Ittu, the financing group’s CEO. CDA spent the money last year.
The CDA’s 2024 grant is tied to a two-year extension of the store’s lease, Ittu said. The money supported physical improvements to the store as Heinen’s was consolidated onto a single floor of the Rotunda.
“The grant achieved its intended purpose of supporting the tenant improvement project and expanding the store’s downtown footprint,” Ittu wrote in an email to Signal Cleveland.
By operating a grocery store downtown, Heinen’s showed that “downtown Cleveland can function as a true neighborhood and not just a business district,” she wrote.
“While we are disappointed by the closure,” she continued, “we remain confident in the long-term development of downtown and hope that this prominent space will attract new uses that contribute to the continued growth, quality of life and economic vitality of downtown.”
Meanwhile, county staff, Downtown Cleveland Inc. and others are working to “identify options to continue to provide fresh and healthy food to downtown residents and workers,” Jennifer Ciaccia, the county’s press secretary, wrote in an email.
An “ambitious promise” to bring a new grocery store to downtown Cleveland
The importance of the East Ninth store went beyond supplying groceries to grocery shoppers and providing lunch to the downtown workforce. The suburban grocer’s move to Euclid Avenue in 2015 helped cement downtown Cleveland’s new image as a neighborhood for young people and empty-nesters.
As the Plain Dealer put it at the time, Heinen’s bet on downtown was an “ambitious show of faith in the rebirth of the grocer’s hometown – even before downtown has enough residents to support a store of this size.”
The store was located in part of the larger Ameritrust complex, the Geis Cos. just remodeled. Geis still acts as landlord of the Heinen Building.
Geis transformed the 29-story bank tower into “The 9,” a hotel and apartment building. The developer built the new county government headquarters next door.
Government subsidies helped make this possible. The entire Ameritrust project received tax credits, city tax breaks, tax increment financing and a low-interest city loan, the Plain Dealer reported at the time.
The population in the city center has grown since 2015. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, people aren’t coming into the office as often — and they’re able to order and pick up groceries without setting foot in a store.
“A lot has changed in the last 12 years,” Deemer said. “With the rise of delivery services, people have more options than ever to meet their grocery needs.”
Deemer, the downtown Cleveland supporter, doesn’t see Heinen’s closing as a sign that downtown can’t support a grocery store. “Just look at Constantino’s in the Warehouse District,” he said. It still exists, having opened 21 years ago.
“We’re seeing more energy and more foot traffic coming downtown,” he said. “We’re seeing that lead to increased spending. And I think that bodes well for the future of East Ninth and Euclid and for the future at this location.”
This story has been corrected to reflect that Heinen’s opened downtown in 2015, not 2014.
https://signalcleveland.org/heinens-downtown-grocery-store-cleveland-cuyahoga-financial-assistance/