On Jan. 16, a 40,000-square-foot market opened near the Cleveland Clinic’s main campus. Named after the neighborhood it’s located in, Fairfax Market is a joint project between Meijer, the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic, the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation and Fairmount Properties. Its collaborators hope to provide the nearby community with fresh and convenient food—a welcome addition to the surrounding Case Western Reserve University community.
Students at CWRU have often complained about the lack of accessible and affordable groceries in the vicinity of campus: Plum Market is often expensive and limited in its selection; Dave’s Market, which used to be situated on Cedar Hill, closed in 2022 and Costco Wholesale is a 30-minute drive from campus.
Fairfax Market has been in development for years. The original idea was born in 2018 in response to a community conversation about the residents’ needs, and they officially broke ground in December 2021.
As the goal of this market is to become the Fairfax community’s neighborhood grocery store, the store is diverse in its amenities. One of its most prominent features in various press releases is its partnership with local vendors. With 150 vendors, Fairfax Market offers over 2,000 local products, ranging from spices and homemade frozen soups to beauty care products and paper flowers. The market also contains a highly anticipated international food section. Spanning an entire wall, the 104-foot section features flavors from various regions of the globe, including the Middle East, East Asia, South Asia and Latin America.
The Residence Hall Association (RHA) is planning to help students with transportation to Fairfax Market for those without cars. Alex Nelson, RHA’s vice president of residential experience, comments on his new initiative that will be assigned during RHA’s next general body meeting.
“We’re trying to organize a shuttle right now for the Fairfax Market. We think it’s going to be once a week, probably every Saturday like the Target one, but we’ll put out different times, so you can still go to both,” he said.
Before the arrival and implementation of the shuttles, students can take a Safe Ride within its operating hours or take the local transit lines to nearby stations within walking distance.
Located at 2190 E. 105th St., Fairfax Market is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fairfax Market also has a 90-minute free parking structure and an on-site pickup service available for its customers.
