Ohio City Pasta was founded in 1990 by Gary Thomas, who began as a one-man operation making fresh pasta in the Cleveland area. Today, the production facility is located on Crayton Avenue, while its retail stand operates at the West Side Market.

As both a wholesale and retail business, Ohio City Pasta focuses not only on selling its products but also on creating a welcoming, community-centered environment. All pasta is fresh, handmade and made with locally sourced ingredients.

Before starting the business, Gary Thomas worked as an executive chef in Cleveland during the 1980s. Thomas said, “I was spending a lot of time making fresh pasta, and it was taking a lot of time and resources. I thought, wouldn’t it be nice if there was somebody I could call to do this for me?” That is exactly what he did.

Thomas started his own business making pasta for wholesale distribution to restaurants, grocery stores and farmers markets. Once the business boomed, it expanded into retail sales.

Ruby Thomas, now owner of Ohio City Pasta, took over the business from her father. Ruby Thomas said, “I started working full time at the stand about six years ago, and then officially bought the business from my dad in September of last year.”

While the company began as a wholesale operation, it now serves a broad regional market. “We span from New England to the South … we’re in Cincinnati, West Virginia, Maryland, New York, the greater Midwest,” Ruby Thomas said.

Now, her main job is managing their location at the West Side Market in Cleveland, while her business partner, Zac Rheinberger, handles wholesale operations and pasta production.

Ruby Thomas graduated from Lakewood High School in 2014 and has been part of the Lakewood community since second grade. She said she learned a lot about her skills as a business owner during her years at LHS. “I was in the interactive media program for my junior and senior years, and I’ve ended up using that a ton in everything I do, from using social media to creating graphics,” she said.

As she runs the business, she has also become responsible for most of Ohio City Pasta’s marketing. When she manages the social media, she makes sure that people feel connected to the person behind the company, not just what she posts online. Ruby Thomas said, “I think it’s important to show that there are real people behind this brand.”

Today, Ohio City Pasta offers fresh pasta, gnocchi, ravioli, handmade sauces and other pasta products to customers in Lakewood and the surrounding area. The products are sold daily at the West Side Market, except Tuesdays and Thursdays, and can also be found in both chain and local grocery stores.

Most of these pastas are also sold wholesale to businesses and restaurants for use on their menus. “We make a lot of custom products for specific restaurants,” Gary Thomas said.

Since the business was sold to his daughter, a few changes have taken place. Recently, they launched the Ohio City Pasta Club, a membership program that community members can join to receive special offers. “It’s like a monthly pasta club — you get a club-exclusive sauce and a recipe card,” Ruby Thomas said.

This sense of community comes naturally from owning a business in Cleveland and growing up in Lakewood. Birdie Jozsa, Gary Thomas’s stepdaughter, grew up alongside the company. From her experience, she has learned that running a self-started business “takes a lot of work and commitment, but if you do it right, it’s going to have a good outcome,” Jozsa said.

Looking to the future of the company, Ruby Thomas hopes to put her own twist on things while maintaining the foundation of her father’s business. Some of the changes include making and selling her own sauces, which she has been doing since taking over, as well as expanding their reach. “This year, we’re looking to launch nationwide shipping — something that’s been in the works for a long time,” Ruby Thomas said.

Ohio City Pasta is a local business run by Lakewood graduates and passed down through generations, with the hope of staying in the family for many years to come. Jozsa said, “Customers speak really highly of it. They say that once they’ve tried it, they haven’t gone back to regular dried pasta.” The company has created a special product in the competitive pasta industry, offering fresh, handmade pasta to the Lakewood community.