A vacant corner lot at State and Wallings roads in North Royalton is finally getting a tenant after a car wash project fizzled out years ago — this time, a coffee shop with an unusual name rooted in Beatles recording history and a classic sitcom. William Baumann wants to build Redd 51 Coffee, a 2,800-square-foot shop with indoor and outdoor seating and a drive-thru, on the roughly 1-acre parcel just north of his classic car dealership.
The project, filed under the name Sanford Property Group LLC, is one of two proposals Baumann brought before the North Royalton Planning Commission this month, according to Cleveland.com. City submittal records describe the coffee shop's footprint as 2,834 square feet at the northeast corner of State and Wallings, filed under application PC26-22, according to North Royalton's Planning Commission submittal packets. The same records show a separate 4,939-square-foot commercial addition, filed as PC26-21, planned next door at Baumann's existing dealership address, 11035 State Road.
Baumann Auto Stable currently occupies a single building of about 7,000 square feet, and the addition would add a vehicle showroom, storage space, and an outdoor patio, per the Cleveland.com report. Baumann submitted those dealership plans to the city in August 2026, the outlet notes, and the coffee shop and dealership would share a parking lot, with Redd 51 customers able to access the shop directly from the dealership's lot.
Where the Redd 51 Name Comes From
The name Redd 51 isn't a random pairing of letters and numbers. REDD stands for EMI's Recording Engineering Development Department, and the REDD.51 was a sound-mixing console EMI used to record the Beatles and other groups in the 1960s, according to the same Cleveland.com report. Redd 51 Coffee Company Ltd., registered to the 11035 State Road address, filed a federal trademark application for the REDD 51 COFFEE name in May 2026, per Trademarks On Call, covering coffee drinks, bakery items, apparel, and cafe services.
The second reference is to Redd Foxx, who starred in the 1970s sitcom Sanford and Son — a connection Baumann has leaned into heavily at the dealership. Baumann Auto Stable purchased the original 1951 Ford F-series truck made famous on the show in January 2026 and has said the truck will be displayed in North Royalton during special events and by appointment, per Cleveland.com's reporting.
That tie-in played out in a two-day event on July 10 and 11, when Baumann Auto Stable hosted original Sanford and Son cast members Hal Williams and Howard Platt alongside the 1951 truck, using the gathering to showcase Redd 51 Coffee merchandise. Before construction has even begun, Redd 51 has already tested the local market: the brand made a popup appearance at Holistic Halo Salt Spa's community anniversary event in North Royalton on August 1, 2026, according to Holistic Halo Salt Spa.
Zoning Variances Still Needed Before Groundbreaking
The North Royalton Planning Commission granted preliminary approval to both the coffee shop and the dealership addition on September 2, but that isn't the final word. Both projects still need zoning variances, and as of the Cleveland.com report, Baumann had not yet applied to the North Royalton Board of Zoning Appeals for those variances, according to city planner Ian Russell. Baumann did not return emails and a phone call from the outlet regarding the projects.
The zoning board is a five-member appointed body that meets on the fourth Thursday of each month in Council Chambers to weigh variance requests against practical difficulty and unnecessary hardship standards, per the city's Board of Zoning Appeals rules. Redd 51 Coffee has announced a fall 2027 opening target, according to Cleveland.com, giving Baumann more than a year to clear that hurdle and break ground.
A Site With a False Start
The corner lot has been down this road before. Soak City Car Wash received final approval for a proposed location on the same vacant site back in October 2024, but that project was never built, Cleveland.com reported. Baumann bought both the coffee-shop site and the adjacent car dealership from Blueline Commercial Properties LLC for $700,000, according to Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office records cited by the outlet. Blueline, founded in 2013 by two retired police officers, sold the properties to Baumann in 2025.
Baumann's development ambitions in North Royalton haven't all landed. The city rejected a proposed 120-unit assisted-living center at West 130th and Bennett in 2026, a project on which Baumann had partnered with Chicago-based Vermillion Development, per Cleveland.com. That came after the city approved a new McDonald's at the southeast corner of West 130th Street and Bennett Road in 2024.
Infrastructure and Community Ties Along State Road
Separately from the Baumann projects, North Royalton City Council passed Ordinance 26-107 in June, authorizing a preliminary agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation to build sidewalks along the eastern side of State Road between Wallings Road and Lisa Lane, according to city legislative records. The upgrade would improve pedestrian access along the same corridor where Redd 51 Coffee is proposed.
Baumann has also built civic goodwill in North Royalton beyond the development itself. Baumann Auto Stable served as a $2,000 White Sponsor for the city's 2026 Home Days festival, according to North Royalton's mayor's office, after the city took over management of the 140-year-old event in May 2026.
Redd 51 wouldn't be the only drive-thru coffee concept moving through North Royalton's approval pipeline. The Planning Commission reviewed site plans and buffering in January 2026 for another drive-through coffee location at 9179 Royalton Road under application PC26-02, according to city records, suggesting the format is gaining traction across the suburb. North Royalton's median household income stood at $83,670 across 13,417 households in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, well above Cuyahoga County's overall median of $64,468 — a demographic backdrop that may help explain why drive-thru coffee concepts keep finding their way to the city's commercial corridors.
