Our Story
Three Decades on
Buckeye Rd
LongHouse is not a startup. It is the result of thirty years of stubborn, devoted, hands-on investment in a single block on Cleveland's Eastside — by one family, for the whole community.
Robert and Marie Bray purchase the property on Buckeye Rd. The building is in derelict condition — boarded windows, neglected structure, abandoned by the neighborhood around it. The Brays see something different: a home for the community they love.
Robert and Marie take on major renovations themselves — operating heavy equipment, breaking ground, and rebuilding the structure from the inside out. What began as a derelict shell becomes a functioning, welcoming space through their direct labor and vision.
The Buckeye Area Development Corporation recognizes Robert and Marie Bray with the Commercial Revitalization Award — acknowledging their commitment to the Buckeye community and the dramatic transformation of the property.
By 2005, the Long House Deli had become a neighborhood institution — a family-owned business that local children could look up to and see themselves in. That year, the "All Girl Camera Crew" from the International Preparatory School visited to document a successful local business for their youth media program. Robert welcomed them warmly, sat for a full interview, and promised every girl a free corned beef sandwich.
After Robert Sr.'s homecoming, his son Robert Bray III continues the work with the same spirit of goodwill toward the community. He begins piloting new arts and culture programming in the space — bringing the building into a new chapter without losing its roots.
Under Robert III's leadership, LongHouse has hosted Afrofuturism art shows, cooking demonstrations featuring local chefs, album listening parties, yoga and wellness sessions, open studio art making, and a growing slate of community events. In collaboration with It's Ok to Think on a Weekday and Veterans' Voices, LHAC has piloted "Hot Takes and Warm Plates" — a Saturday night gathering combining food, conversation, and community.
LongHouse Arts and Culture is now a fully functioning 501(c)(3) nonprofit, run entirely by volunteer staff. The building that the Brays rescued from dereliction three decades ago is now a gallery, a kitchen, a classroom, a stage, and a gathering place — all on the same corner of Buckeye Rd it has always occupied.
