Giant Eagle Recalls Bagged Lettuce, Salads

Products may have been contaminated with listeria.

Giant Eagle is pulling Farmers Market bagged salad and lettuce with a "best by" date of May 12-22 from its shelves. The products may have been contaminated by listeria monocytogenes, which can cause serious -- and sometimes fatal -- illness in children and older people. River Ranch Fresh Foods of California voluntarily recalled the products after learning of the possible contamination.  No illnesses have been reported. Click here for a complete list of the recalled Farmers Market products. Giant Eagle is calling customers who may have purchased the products between May 1 and May 18 and asking them to dispose of the lettuce or return it to the store for a refund. Nearby Avon Lake has a Giant Eagle store on Walker Road. For more information…

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Mitchell's Ice Cream Shop Opens in Avon

New location is in front of the Avon Commons on Detroit Road.

Mitchell's Homemade Ice Cream has officially opened on Detroit Road in Avon and by Friday, lines were forming with patrons ready to try the well-known ice cream. Brothers Pete and Mike Mitchell opened their seventh location in a large, brand-new building in front of the Avon Commons near Third Federal Bank and KinderCare on May 10. Plans for the Avon location, which employs 25, began in June 2011. “We are very excited to be opening a shop in Avon,” Mitchell said last fall. “We feel it is a thriving community. Over the years we have had many requests from customers who drive to our Westlake shop or Rocky River shop, that they would love to have a Mitchell's closer to their home.” Mitchell and his brother opened their first Mitchell's Ice …

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Where's the Best 'Staycation' Destination in Avon?

Take our completely unscientific poll and let us know what you think.

For many of us, taking a vacation doesn't necessarily mean taking a big fancy trip. For some of us, it means just staying put and relaxing. On Monday, we asked where you'd go if you stuck around on your "staycation." Here are some ideas: Catch a Lake Erie Crushers game at All Pro Freight Stadium; get in some whacks at West Pines Golf Range; or take in some of the natural beauty at Miller Nature Preserve, especially the conservatory. Have a nice lunch at the cafe. So, what do you think? Take our poll and let us know. We'll select a winner at 5 p.m. Friday, May 11 and announce it in a story on Saturday, May 12. Voting results posted in real time shall not be deemed official until Patch has reviewed and confirmed all of the votes.

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Car Dealers Hope for Better Sales

Sales soared in 2011, but have been more modest so far this year.

For Northeast Ohio car dealers, 2012 so far hasn’t brought a repeat of the big sales of 2011, when consumers returned to the market after a terrible 2010. But they’re optimistic things will pick up as the year goes along. As a 21-county region, Northeast Ohio car dealers sold 47,855 cars through March — about 1.8 percent more than the same period last year, according to the Greater Cleveland Auto Dealers Association. That’s a more modest gain than in other U.S. markets, where sales jumped by 20 percent over the same period, according to a National Auto Dealers Association report. But area sales managers don't focus on such comparisons. Their confidence in a slowly improving economy and a loosening loan market hasn't wavered. If the GCADA's…

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Jean Dubail

3:49 pm on Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Hi, Jeanne The vast majority of items we publish are specific to the individual Patches. From time to time, however, we do stories that cross boundaries. An example would be coverage of visits to the area by presidential candidates; if a candidate visits one Patch, we're pretty sure what he has to say there would be of interest in other Patches as well. The same thinking led us to look at a …   more ›

Fresh Planet Opens in Avon's City Centre

Eatery is sister location to Liquid Planet.

It’s “a better way to eat.” After slightly altering its name, Fresh Planet is open and ready to serve. Similar to its sister “Liquid Planet” sites in Crocker Park, Cleveland and Cleveland Heights, the Avon location in City Centre, which officially opened April 27, will focus on fresh foods and healthy drinks. Mick Cochran, the chain’s founder, said all locations will change names to Fresh Planet by year’s end. The focus on taking fresh eating mainstream will remain the same. “We’ll be staying true to goal of being healthy,” Cochran said. “Eat right, feel right has been our catchphrase for a few years. Now it’s ‘a better way to eat.’” The concept is taking off. Liquid Planet on W. 110 and Clifton is celebrating 10 years in business, a Ft. …

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Business is Piece of Cake for Becky Rink

About the Cake to be at Fabulous Food Show this weekend

Walk into Becky Rink's Avon home, and you smell the most delightful aroma. Butter, vanilla, warmth. Cake. Rink runs her 11-year-old business, About the Cake, from her home. She turns cake, icing, molding chocolate, fondant and other goodies into everything from mermaids to chameleons. In addition to traditional cakes and cupcakes, About the Cake also sells cookies and favors, and vegan and gluten-free cakes and cupcakes. She started the business when she earned praise for the tasty and attractive cakes she made for birthday parties for her children. From there, she has appeared on the Food Network, WE TV, and TLC. This weekend, she will have a booth at the Fabulous Food Show at the I-X Center. About the Cake will sell cupcakes, cake …

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Post Office Sees Its Share of Activity on Tax Day

Last-minute local filers sweat it out but get to the window just under the deadline

With all the on-line tax preparation programs that allow you to file your taxes from the comforts of your own home, you’d figure there would be precious few people rushing to the Avon Post Office at the last minute to file their taxes just before Tuesday’s deadline. Some things never change, apparently. On Tuesday, the Avon Post Office closed at its usual 5:30 p.m. time and didn’t have extended hours to accommodate supremely late arrivers. As you might imagine, the office’s modest-sized parking lot got its share of attention at sundown. So what kept them so long, despite having an extra day or two to file taxes this year? Ah, well, you know … um, procrastination. Debi Morales, who once lived in Avon but resides in LaGrange, has a refund …

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Time's up! Your Tax Return is Due Today

In the future, there's a better way to handle your return before the panic of Tax Day hits

What? You’re still not done with your taxes? Time’s up! Today is the deadline for filing your taxes, and if you are still reading this and haven’t put your tax obligations behind you yet, you only have a few hours – not days – to get it done before incurring some potentially unfriendly late-fee penalties from the IRS. While there’s nothing procrastinators can do to avoid the late rush to the post office or the nervous tension that comes from hoping your mouse click registered your return before midnight tonight, there’s no reason you can’t learn from this tax season and avoid all the last-minute hassles in preparation for next year. The JL Smith Tax Advisory Group, who won the recent Readers’ Choice poll for Avon’s top tax preparer, has a …

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Susan Ruiz Patton

12:43 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Soooo, did you file your taxes already? Did you get a refund or did you have to pay?   more ›

Go West: Two Bucks Opening in Milwaukee

This is the first franchise for Two Bucks, which started in Avon.