A chef who spent 17 years feeding the Cleveland Cavaliers, including their 2016 championship run, has traded NBA locker rooms for a storefront in Avon Lake. Terry Bell now owns The Fix, a grab-and-go meal shop that opened at 32730 Walker Road, serving chef-prepared dishes with gluten-free and dairy-free options to a suburb increasingly full of quick-service dining spots.
According to Cleveland.com, whose report on the opening was written by Marc Bona, The Fix makes its soups, sauces, dressings, and marinades from scratch using locally sourced ingredients. The weekly menu has included dishes such as Italian meatball tomato soup, a southwest chop salad, a spring berry salad, honey orange glazed salmon, and an eggroll-in-a-bowl. Beyond the grab-and-go case, the shop also offers catering and personal chef services.
From the Cavs' Practice Facility to Walker Road
Bell's path to Avon Lake began far from professional basketball. Per tgbprofoods.com, he spent more than 20 years in the restaurant industry, starting as a dishwasher in his hometown of Macedonia, Ohio, before earning a culinary arts degree from Sullivan College in Louisville, Kentucky. That training eventually led him to the Cavaliers, where he served as team chef out of the Cleveland Clinic Courts practice facility in Independence during the franchise's historic 2016 NBA Championship season, working alongside team dietitians and nutritionists to design menus for professional athletes.
The daily grind of that job was intense. WKYC has reported that Bell's routine at the Cavaliers' facility involved arriving at 6 a.m. to prepare fresh breakfast spreads and build custom game-day meal stations, including pasta bars, while also packing specialized travel meals like turkey burgers and lobster ravioli for away games during NBA finals runs.
A Second Attempt at Prepared Meals
The Fix is not Bell's first run at the prepared-meals business. He previously launched TGB Prepared Meals in 2017, according to tgbprofoods.com, but paused the service in August 2018 to focus on his 10th season with the Cavaliers and his private catering work. He is now reviving that concept under The Fix's new brand.
Operating out of Unit C-5, The Fix asks customers placing scheduled weekly meal orders to submit selections online by Sunday at 3 p.m., with pickup available Tuesdays and Thursdays between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., per the shop's own site. Walk-in grab-and-go options are also available without preordering, Tuesday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m., according to Cleveland.com's report. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for 1 p.m. on Aug. 14.
Setting Up Shop in The Landings
The Fix has landed in The Landings, a commercial plaza built in 1975 at the intersection of Walker Road and Route 83. The plaza is also home to longtime local establishments including Thai Chili and Mark Pi's China Gate, as well as the flagship showroom for Herman's Furniture & Design, according to Herman's own site.
The surrounding Walker Road corridor is also seeing residential growth that could feed foot traffic to shops like The Fix. The Avon Lake Independent Onlooker reports that the 101-unit Harbor Crest townhome development has been approved nearby, aimed at increasing local housing density and consumer traffic for nearby shopping plazas.
Riding a Bigger Shift Away From Meal Kits
The timing lines up with broader shifts in how people eat. Market research published this year found that over 71% of dual-income households purchase refrigerated ready-to-eat meals at least twice a week, with grab-and-go deli and prepared food options cutting home meal preparation time by nearly 42% for busy workers, according to Deli Foods Market Research.
Industry analysis from Dataintelo this year also found that non-subscription, on-demand ready meals are outperforming subscription meal kits, with average transaction values ranging from $18 to $32 per order as consumers favor flexibility over weekly commitments. The Fix's model, blending walk-in grab-and-go with optional scheduled weekly orders, fits that pattern of consumers wanting prepared food without being locked into a subscription.
The Fix's arrival also fits into a wider pattern of established chefs opening fast-casual concepts in Avon Lake. Hoodline previously reported that Edacious chef Andrew Gorski announced plans in May to open William Fine Sandwich Shop & Cold Creamery on Lear Road, suggesting Avon Lake is becoming a landing spot for chef-driven quick-service spots beyond typical fast food.
