Tremont is a very old, centrally-located neighborhood full of century-old homes built as immigrant housing in the 1800s and since broken up into smaller apartments. While working for EFS, she noticed that the back of the building where the office was located wasn't being used. With an innovative DIY attitude, she approached the building owner about the space, offering the clean up the space (which was in need of some serious work) in return for a break on rent. She has now lived there for two years in a great location right on Lincoln Park.
 
Dining and Drinking
Prosperity Social Club is Grace's favorite neighborhood bar. "It's totally retro; it looks like everything is stuck in the '70s," she says. They have bar bowling, pool tables, a juke box, and if you're from the neighborhood the bartenders know your name and drink.
 
The Treehouse is another great bar in the area. "When you first walk in they have a huge sculpture structure that looks like a tree and they have Christmas lights on it." The tables also look like huge tree stumps. Treehouse is another neighborhood spot with a cool ambiance and they have great food specials and happy hour deals.
 
As a former Michael Symon employee, Grace has taken plenty of advantage of the generous employee discounts available at all of the Michael Symon restaurants. She jokes that she used to treat B Spot Burgers as her personal kitchen and says Lolita has the best happy hour and reverse happy hour around, with a special menu of a selection of bar snacks so diners can get a taste of the menu without spending a ton of money. "I absolutely love that place to death," she says. "You could get dressed up but there's people from the neighborhood in jeans and flannels because it's a neighborhood place, so [you feel like] 'Why would I get dressed up?'"
 
La Bodega is great for lunch with "the most amazing sandwiches," rotating daily specials, and picnic tables outside. Crust is a pizzeria owned by "the most wonderful people" where everything is made from scratch with high-quality ingredients. It is take-out only and perfect for grabbing a pizza for game days and parties. She recalls a day when she tried to make pizza dough at home for a party and it didn't turn out so well. The owners let her take some of their dough without charging her. "Little things like that endear you to places," she says. "That's the Tremont neighborhood. People look out for each other."
 
For those with a sweet tooth, Churn Ice Cream does gourmet ice cream flavors like honey peanut brittle, rosemary black pepper, and Cocoa Puffs. "They're really fun, and the women who run it are similarly kind people." 
 
Arts + Culture + Events
The Tremont Farmers Market is held Tuesdays from 4-7 p.m. when in season and features items like Amish country free-range meats, fresh local produce, hand-made sausage and cheeses, baked goods, plus there's always food trucks and entertainment. "It's really more of an event than a farmers market," she says. "You can do almost all of your grocery shopping there."
 
The Tremont Art Walk is now in its 20^th year, held on the second Friday of every month. Galleries stay open late and all the restaurants run specials. "It's very well-attended," Grace says. "Tremont is even more alive on those nights."
 
Every summer in July is the Taste of Tremont, what Grace calls her favorite day of the year. All the restaurants set up food stands and beer gardens, plus there's artists and artisans and craftspeople and clothing boutiques. There is no charge for admission; you just pay for what you want and can spend all day eating and drinking outside.
 
Retail Therapy
The Banyan Tree is a clothing boutique with really cool Cleveland-oriented gifts and handmade items from local artisans. "I do all of my shopping there for friends because you know you're going to get something they can't get anywhere else." There is also a hand-picked selection of clothing from independent designers. "There's a certain aesthetic you can really feel when you go in."