COhatch shared business space opens with North High Brewing Co. (photos)

On Mar 11, 2022

BEACHWOOD, Ohio – The relationship between COhatch and North High Brewing Co. could be summed in one sentence: If you brew it, they will work.

Or the other way around.

OK, that’s a simplification, but the co-working company’s massive new space in Beachwood, in the former Maggiano’s and H&M, offers multiple ways to work on a temporary, transient basis while having a North High brewery right on the ground floor. It opened Thursday, March 10.

The 24/7 space is the COHatch’s largest, at 33,000 square feet. The company has 30 locations nationwide, open or planned. Several, including a location in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, feature collaborations with North High Brewing Co. Both COHatch and North High Brewing are based in Columbus.

Most of COhatch’s locations are less than half the size of the new space in Beachwood, which is at 26300 Cedar Road in Beachwood Place, just off Interstate 271.

“We’re known for revitalizing and repurposing,” said COhatch CEO Matt Davis, who envisions what his company offers as being representative of the future of malls.

With more brick-and-mortar shops closing as folks buy online, alternative uses for existing malls are shifting. Malls can serve as repurposed real estate and be repurposed for anything from basketball courts, storage or other uses – like smart, shared workspaces.

COhatch aims to be a magnet for all sorts of companies: Non-profits, different sized businesses, events, corporate outings and personal gatherings from birthdays to baby showers. Davis said pre-pandemic business drew from one- to 10-person companies who can bring in workers to deftly maneuver through a COhatch space.

“We want this to be a lifestyle event for people in the community,” said Rion Robinson, the company’s director of culture and opportunities.

One- to five-person offices are available along with scattered meeting rooms and “phone booths” – tiny rooms for private phone calls. Communal spaces also are positioned for collaborative meetings. Some rooms can be booked by the hour. Coffee, tea, water and snacks are included.

Co-working memberships, private offices and non-membership day passes are available. Two-year residencies are the longest terms offered. The retention rate is high, Davis said. Rates start at $99 for 10 hours of daytime space plus free unlimited nighttime hours. For increased hours, part-time areas cost $175. An unlimited plan is $250. Other plans include permanent desk areas, private offices and corporate packages.

“Every room has a level of inspiration behind it,” Robinson said. There’s a Beach Room and a Wood Room, for instance. “Not only are we nestled in a community, we want to bring the community in.”

He added: “We want to create these areas where people connect.”

Davis said 10 locations are planned in Greater Cleveland over the next seven years, specifically in walkable neighborhoods. And North High looks to be in about 20% of COhatch’s spaces, marketing director Matt Barnes said.

Other amenities

• Mail can be sent to the space.

• If you have a membership to one COhatch space, you have access to all. So if you want to cross town or country, you have a place to work.

• Meeting rooms are equipped with glass whiteboard screens and often have tables that can be moved “like a jigsaw puzzle,” Robinson said.

• WiFi is included.

• Recreational activities include a golf simulator, video games – Pac Man tabletop included – and shuffleboard.

• A communal kitchenette with an eight-seat bar is available.

• Upstairs, garage doors open in good weather for deck seating.

“There’s so much going on here; it’s a massive space,” Robinson said.

Said Davis: “The simple logic is we want a shared economy. We want this to be an extension of your house.”

That would be a house with a brewery, of course.

North High Brewing Co.

The brewery includes a sleek bar area with hanging televisions, marbled subway tiles behind the bar and 16 beers on tap. North High will be making about four seltzers in Beachwood and bringing up beer from its main brewery in Columbus, Barnes said.

“It’s really like a great quid-pro-quo relationship,” he said. “This gives them (business users) a place to meet and connect.”

More formal work at COhatch might lead to relationships being fostered in a casual brewpub setting at night over a beer and a bite, he said.

Four-tops, booths and banquettes are available behind the bar area at North High, which is open seven days a week. Weekday happy hour is 3 to 6 p.m. with food specials.

The menu includes four types of tacos, chicken sandwiches, pizza and more. In Beachwood, North High also is brining pickles, which will be used in a variety of dishes. A ghost-kitchen format also is in the works. Ryan Oldham is the executive chef.

I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Twitter: @mbona30.

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