Sweet Lorain

Slightly overpriced, but possibly the best selection of items of all eras in Cleveland. Pam (forgive me if it’s Pat) has a fab haircut and was appropriately attentive and even encouraging. Whatever the man’s name is who handles the retail transactions is a snarky so and so, but whatevs. This place is definitely worth a trip!

Amazing selection, well organized.
I had an afternoon to kill in Cleveland, and thought I would go antique-​store-​hopping. Once I found Sweet Lorain, I didn’t have to hop any more. I was told that the merchandise here is for sale on behalf of many owners. Usually, I find places like that are a hodge-​podge, and a warren of over-​crowded little «shop-​ettes» in no apparent order.
SL has things organized by the kind of thing you might want to buy. Furniture, lamps, men’s coats, vintage ash trays — the works. The vintage women’s clothing is organized by decade! I wasn’t shopping for that, but the intention of the organization is commendable.
I found the prices to be on par with other reputable places. I bought a few things — nothing qualified as «a steal», but this is an ongoing business with overhead and a tremendous amount of merchandise. It isn’t an estate sale where everything gets sold by 5 PM or it goes into the dumpster.
The owner knows a lot about much of the merchandise and manufacturers, which makes it fun to browse and shop.

One of the best vintage shops in Cleveland! The owner is so sweet and pleasant to talk to! The clothing aisles can be overwhelming, but I have found amazing, one of a kind pieces here. You just have to dig for a while till you strike gold. The quality of clothing is totally justified by the price.

The prices are high making the atmosphere «stuffy.». It’s not like it’s Antiques Roadshow stuff. So, there was that disappointment.

Very cool shop and an overwhelming selection of vintage goodies. Very friendly shop owner. The prices are on the high side, but this place has eliminated the hunting on the customer’s part. If it’s vintage and cool, they more than likely have it.

I have been collecting old furniture and housewares for over 20 years. Sweet Lorraine was a breath of fresh air when I relocated here from Detroit. To be correct, this is not an antique shop. Rather a vintage clothing, furniture, housewares and collectables shop. Greaser’s paradise for sure. They have amassed a huge fortune in great merchandise from the thirties through the eighties. The one owner will spy on you asking you if she can help you find anything. Truth be told, you don’t go in there looking for anything. That thing will find you instead. I could spend a hundred dollars every Saturday in this place and I would still not have enough. Lots of cool lamps, vases, ashtrays, furniture and vintage everything. Located on the very edge of Detroit Shoreway /​Gordon Square– its easy to find with plenty of parking. A must stop while visiting Cleveland. Take a ride to Happy Dog when you’re done!

I was a bit confused after going to Sweet Lorain. I should have listened to Cara! So many rave reviews made this shop sound not only sweet, but absolutely delectable… unfortunately it was simply not so.
When I go to an antique shop I’m not simply looking for things that are old or used, I’m looking for something that is quality — furniture that is crafted by passionate carpenters or décor that symbolizes that beauty of times past. I’m not looking for old crap and dusty trinkets or dingy, out-​of-​style clothes. I would go to a thrift shop for those things. Perhaps my expectations of Sweet Lorain were simply not fair. Maybe this is exactly what it wants to be. If that’s the case, I stand corrected.
So, if you want to know what you WILL find at Sweet Lorain, here’s what I saw: lots and lots of old clothing (admittedly some odd stuff that might be useful for costume parties or Halloween), lots and lots of vintage porn, old records, old low-​quality kitchen wares, random trinkets, low-​quality 70s and 80s prints, and a wall of colored glass vases. I’ll admit that the colored vases were quite nice but the prices on those items were more along the lines of what you’d find in a high-​end furniture shop than in a dirty antiques/​thrift store.
I was disappointed with my visit here because I had read so many incredible reviews. I have a feeling that many of those reviews reflect the nostalgia of what this place used to be rather than the current reality.

A friend recommended that I had to check out Sweet Lorain. I was not disappointed. It was much larger than I expected and had a lot of mid-​century clothing, furniture, bar ware and other items. Compared to many vintage stores I have been to it was very well organized. I thought the pricing was very fair. If you are going to be in Cleveland, this is definitely the first vintage store to check out.

I was told I had to visit Sweet Lorain during my recent visit to Cleveland — it did not disappoint! There really aren’t any vintage shops in the Detroit area with so much good stuff to rifle through (that I know of, at least). Lots of themed sections, from owls, mushrooms, florals, holidays, colors, comic book characters, etc., & also organized by item type & room. The staff was very friendly, too, which was awesome. The only downside is definitely the prices — I’m personally not a collector, so I don’t see the value in a $ 24 set of salt & pepper shakers, though some people might. I ended up leaving with a $ 10 record & a $ 3 wooden brooch, but if I had more money or my eye set on something, I would’ve purchased more.

There are a lot of negative reviews about Sweet Lorain which makes me sad.
I have been traveling to Sweet Lorain (former Suite Lorain) for the past 3 – 4 years and it’s always been a wonderful experience.
Now with Red owning the place it’s become even that much more special of an vintage shopping adventure. Every time we visit Red always says, «Welcome Home!» and is so warm and helpful and full of jokes!
There is a new Tiki section that I am enjoying along with the more organized and better lit clothing departments! I love Sweet Lorain, Cleveland doesn’t know how lucky they are to have this gem in their city!

What can I say, I’m a loyal customer who visited this amazing store back when the owners were women & now with the new owner, Redwin Lewis. I must say, regardless of whose owned this store, I have always found it interesting and enjoy the unique inventory. Price wise, I don’t see much of a difference between Sweet Lorains, Flower Child or
.
But I recently visited on 01÷12÷13 and feel that the staff & the owner himself went above & beyond! I was searching for a wedding dress but didn’t expect to find anything on my first visit. Not only did I find a beautiful gown but Redwin searched his store until he found some beautiful vintage jewelry that he felt would be a good match, he even found 3 tiaras and made numerous suggestions to improve my big day. Redwin & his young employee behind the counter said that 100’s of girls have tried on my dress but know one could fit into it, so they both waited until I exited the fitting room… I ended up dancing with Redwin, he wanted me to see just how big the dress truly is as he twirled me around. His co-​worker helped me search through their glove selection and they even found the perfect pair of matching earrings for me.
They both loved my wedding theme (Eco-​friendly/​vintage) and had pictures taken with me while in the dress. And for just $ 200.00 I got a unexpected Eco-​friendly conversation piece –can guarantee there’s no other bride out there with a dress like mine :)
The only real issue I could see anyone having is that they are still going through the stores products & trying to organize them & that some things are a little over priced. But I’ve read the other reviews on here & don’t think enough people have done their homework, the prices they offer are pretty average. And let’s face it, it’s vintage– so stop whining about finding tears & holes in the clothing! Keep in mind things are priced based on uniqueness, demand, and quality; things were hand made back then — not the cookie cutting crap that’s spit out in stores now. You should try looking at each imperfection as a part of a wonderful story & grab inspiration from that piece not b**ch & moan.

Sweet Lorain has lost something since the new owner took over. Though, he is doing a great job of finally getting things organized. Things are now organized by era and type of dress. All the plus size dresses are marked, which is great. If you are a plus size gal looking for vintage pieces, you’re going to find more here than anywhere else in Cleveland. Their prices are definitely on the high side for the quality of garment you are typically going to find. A lot of garments are stained or ripped, so make sure you examine each piece carefully. Most of the records in the record section are unplayable due to scratches. The housewares & knick knack sections are really the reason to come here. Well organized and somewhat decently priced. If you are interested in dress making, there is a great selection of vintage fabrics and patterns. And the menswear section is impressive. Despite the not-​so-​secret shoppers making browsing a bit awkward, I do like to come here and browse, and occasionally I do find a treasure.

Be careful if you are looking to purchase any clothing from here. There’s a lot of stains and tears on the items – you really need to examine every inch. Very little of the clothing is «near mint» or «mint». I saw a polyester dress with a huge tear and a stain with a huge price tag.
The owner, whom I spoke with once, seems paranoid. There were also some not-​so-​secret shoppers that kept following us around, arranging merchandise in a random way. This happened in the shoe section and also the hat section.
There is a lot of good kitchenware here, but again, not mint or anything (think scratches, chips and rust). Also quite overpriced.
I did purchase a few items, but on the whole, I do better on
and at the thrift stores.
Really, the clothing I saw was in just horrid state. You can do much better at flowerchild. You will also, unless you wear a ladies’ size 5N shoe, be quite unlikely to find shoes at Sweet Lorain; which is sad because that’s where some of their best items were. Some of the good things are just that-​too good to be true! Don’t even get me started on their furniture and lamps… one sofa was broken and still priced into the stratosphere.

This vintage store is super fun, although I have to agree with some of the recent reviews — it’s not what it used to be. Things used to be organized better — I don’t really know how to describe it, but it seemed like more care was given to the place. I still love to stop in to check things out every time I visit Cleveland. The prices are decent for the quality.

I’m pretty torn about Sweet Lorain these days. It’s definitely not the same since it changed hands, but there’s still a lot of great vintage things to be found, provided you have the time and patience to paw through it all. Not having a dust allergy would probably help, too. You can find old glassware, records, magazines from bygone eras, furniture, and, of course, vintage clothes. The clothing prices are eye-​poppingly high in some cases ($ 60 for a polyester nightmare of a dress from the 70s? Really?). That said, it’s still a fun way to kill an hour on a Saturday afternoon. You never know when you’re going to find that button from the Eisenhower campaign you’ve been dying for.

Out of sheer curiosity the boyfriend and I just had to stop by Sweet Lorain when we were hopping around the antique shops on Lorain.
Yikes.
And this is coming from two people who scour the most random, dirty, weirdo thrift stores for treasures – this place is borderline unshoppable.
First of all, it looks like at one point in time someone tried to care about this place. Now it appears its inventory has been neglected for a long, long time. Dusty, thrown upon each other… It was too difficult to look through. Certain parts were still semi organized into «shops», but it looks like that concept has been long thrown to the wind and now things are just everywhere. You can’t even walk up to stuff to look at it closely. I haven’t even been to a thrift store this unorganized.
Second, the price tags I did see where way too large. I get it. Your inventory is retro and fun. But just because you call yourself a vintage store does not mean you can forget that your merchandise is still used. Meaning: not new. It’s unique, but not worth what you’re pricing it. The worst part was that the guy at the counter (who knows who he was) was deciding the cost of things right in front of customers and pointing out the most silly reasons to up the prices.
I guess from all the stories I heard about this place in the past being amazing made me pretty shocked to see it in its current state. I certainly hope this place eventually falls into the hands of someone who will actually care about it again. This different ownerships just isn’t working out.
Sigh… the memories of the previous «Suite Lorain» must live on only in our memories. Sweet Lorain just isn’t living up to that standard.

I absolutely love this store. I was blown away by the variety, style, design, and attention to detail for just about every item I stumbled upon. And the store is so organized! I found some true gems, and they were priced very reasonably considering the condition and quality. Must see for yourself!

Very disappointing all around. Had some questions about a few pieces in the shop, and I was met by an angry store owner. All I was doing was asking questions, yet he treated me like I was insulting his mother. I was interested in a lamp, that was out of my price range– and his reply went something like this «Well, I dont want you buying it anyway. People who ask questions, present problems. «I was dumbfounded. And when I came on here, and found the 1 other review of this place, I was not surprised. When you treat customers/​potential customers so nasty– how do you expect to earn any business, or stay in business for that matter?
I am a business owner myself, and treat people how I would want to be treated. Apparently this store owner does not share the same philosophy. High prices, nasty owner, will not be coming back and DEFINITELY wont recommend this place to anyone.

This place changed owership between my last two visits and it was really felt hard… the new owner seems to be driven by angst instead of wonder and the prices went through the roof.
They took something magical and pooped on it.
I will never go back.
P. S. — This note is from late summer, 2010 — the old name was «Suite Lorain» and my 4-​star review remains on that listing to honor the establishment it once was.