Jakprints finds new home in Eastlake

Jakprints has found a new home in Eastlake.

The Cleveland business, an independent printing company that was founded in 1999, is moving into the former Walmart site at 34440 Vine St., which has sat empty for over five years.

Eastlake Mayor Dennis Morley said the city started working over a year ago to get Jakprints into that location.

The initial meeting between the mayor and the company was initiated by the Lake County Ohio Port and Economic Development Authority and Lake County Commissioner Jerry Cirino.

“Obviously, there have been a lot of bumps in the road between the old owners of The Vineyards (New York-based Brixmor), who had to agree to things along with Walmart,” Morley said. “And we have been working through it for the last year and they finally came to an agreement on the building.”

The mayor also noted that Jakprints, which is anticipating

moving into the new location in October, will bring about 300 jobs and a $14 million payroll to the city.

The company will be hosting multiple job fairs and open interviews at the new location. The first one is scheduled for Sept. 22.

Jakprints’ cofounders Jacob Edwards and Dameon Guess are originally from Willowick and Eastlake, respectively, and wanted to come back to their roots, and the Walmart building fits their needs, Morley said.

The company — which also has a location in Oceanside, California — has served over 100,000 customers in its 20-year history. The customer base includes businesses such as Fanatics, Juxtapoz, iHeart Radio, Threadless and

JAKPRINTS JOB FAIR

Jakprints is looking for employees to fill both seasonal and full-time positions at its new Eastlake facility. The company will be having a job fair and conducting open interviews from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 22 at the new location, 34440 Vine St., the former Walmart in the Vineyards. Anyone wishing to apply for a position must bring two forms of identification with them. For additional information, visit www.careers@ jakprints or call 216-6226395. more.

Morley said it is also the printer for professional sport leagues, completing a variety of projects from sports jerseys to business cards.

Ownership of The Vineyards changed hands three to four months ago while

negotiations were in the works to bring in Jakprints. The new owners, Atlantabased RCG Ventures, was in agreement though with what was worked out previously with Brixmor.

Morley is hopeful that with the new ownership of the property and Jakprints as an anchor business, the city will be able to fill the other vacant store fronts in that location.

“With Jakprints going in there, we are hoping that will bring more businesses, more companies, restaurants or anything into The Vineyards,” Morley said. “We are looking at Jakprints to be the anchor to fill in the rest of the plaza. In the upcoming weeks and months, we will be having more meetings with the new owners of The Vineyards and Jakprints to get a game plan on what we can do working together to bring more stuff into there.”