BROOK PARK, Ohio — A Brook Park favorite for hot food, groceries, and specialty meats is temporarily closed after a fire last week left devastating damages.
Fasih Syed still struggles walking into what once was his thriving business.
“It hurts me every time I step in here,” said Fasih Syed, the owner CleaveLand Grocers & Grill.
Fasih opened Cleaveland Grocers & Grill back in 2021 when he noticed the lack of Zabiha halal meats in stores in the area.
“A Muslim man slaughters each individual animal by hand with the prayer recited upon it individually. So that is kind of hard to find,” said Fasih.
Yet their claim to fame with more than 32,000 followers on Instagram, isn't the grocery store or the butcher in their 5,500-square-foot property. It's their comfort food, which includes smash burgers, philly cheese steaks and more.
“I love food, I love burgers and I love wings, so I kind of wanted to do something in that sense,” said Fasih. .
But now all of that is gone after it was destroyed in a fire that happened last Thursday night. It was around 10 p.m. when a friend called Fasih and told him smoke was coming out of his building.
“I just rushed down here and I saw a whole bunch of firefighters trying to get the fire out,” said Fasih.
Once the flames were out, Fasih waited for the smoke to clear to step inside. He said from the outside, the damages didn’t look too bad, until he went in.
“Nothing inside is salvageable. None of the products that we have inside is salvageable. None of the equipment that we have inside [is] salvageable, the roof, nothing is,” said Fasih.
In that moment of disbelief and heartbreak, for Fasih, reality set in.
“The first thing we thought about was what's going to happen to all the guys that work with us? What's going to happen to our family members?” said Fasih.
In addition to the hardship for his family and the employees, Fasih said it’s the customers he's worried about.
“We just love serving the community. Cleveland's been so good to us ever since we opened,” Fasih continued. “The support I’ve received not just from the Muslim community, but from everyone else as well.”
As Fasih waits for the go from insurance to pick up the pieces, he promises everyone they'll be back in business.
“The process of rebuilding may take a while, maybe nine months to a year even. Just, in the meantime, just don't forget about us. Keep us in your prayers,” said Fasih.
Though the final fire report has not been released, fire investigators say no foul play is suspected in this fire. For now, the owner is looking for any kitchen, food trunk or location they can work out of until they can get their store back up and running.
