Meet James Schey | Owner & Lead Organizer of Cars & Coffee Cleveland

We had the good fortune of connecting with James Schey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, what do you attribute your success to?
The community-building aspect of Cars & Coffee Cleveland cannot be overstated and is what I believe to be a key success factor for my organization. The event provides a platform for people to form friendships, share knowledge, and even establish business relationships. The regular meetups create a sense of continuity and belonging among attendees, strengthening the bonds within the automotive community. Additionally, the presence of social media channels dedicated to Cars & Coffee Cleveland events helps to promote gatherings, share experiences, and keep the community engaged. This combination of in-person interaction and online connectivity has solidified Cars & Coffee Cleveland as beloved and enduring annual automotive events in the greater Cleveland area. Another reason for the success of Cars & Coffee Cleveland is its ability to adapt and grow while maintaining its core values. As the event gained popularity over the last 15+ years, it inspired numerous local business partnerships that brought the event from a single location to many locations around the greater Cleveland area along with different variations and formats of the event. Each location brings its own flavor to the event, whether that be a traditional Cars & Coffee gathering, evening cruise-in, or even a fun backroad drive. Despite these multiple locations and event variations, the essence of Cars & Coffee remains the same: a welcoming environment where car enthusiasts can connect, network, and celebrate their love for automobiles. This adaptability has allowed the event to thrive in diverse settings, attracting a broad audience, and carrying the organization into the future.

What should our readers know about your business?
Cars & Coffee Cleveland is a unique business because it blends automotive enthusiasm with a social, community-driven atmosphere. These events provide a platform for car enthusiasts to connect, share their passion, and build relationships. It’s a great way to meet like-minded individuals and even establish business connections. Attendees can see a wide variety of vehicles, from classic cars to modern supercars. This variety keeps the events fresh and exciting, as you never know what you’ll see next. Unlike formal car shows or concours events, Cars & Coffee Cleveland events are laid-back and informal. This makes them more accessible and enjoyable for a broader audience and fan base. Today, Cars & Coffee Cleveland is one of the largest automotive event organizations and communities in the greater Cleveland area. I am personally proud that Cars & Coffee Cleveland is one of the longest running automotive events in Cleveland and will continue on for years to come. It was not easy to get to this point. It took many years, a lot of my own money and time, learning on the fly, the power of social media, and the passionate car community all coming together to form and evolve into what we have now. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook helped promote these gatherings, allowing the passionate car enthusiasts of Cleveland to connect and share their experiences with a larger audience, which really made the organization take off in the last 7 years. I’m an engineer and not someone who is social media savvy (at least at the time). So, to learn how to put an organization like this together and promote it, create content to share, work with businesses, law enforcement, and cities to make these events happen while still tending to my primary career was definitely the biggest challenge for me, and perfecting that balancing act. It’s not a lesson you ever learn through education. I can say that with certainty. However, I’m extremely proud of what I worked to create for automotive enthusiasts in Cleveland. Cars & Coffee Cleveland events are more than just meetups; they are celebrations of automotive culture and community spirit.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Organizing events for Cars & Coffee Cleveland has allowed me to partner and work with so many great places here in the greater Cleveland area. Some fantastic entertainment venues we work with are Boss Pro-Karting, The Golf Dome, The Parma Armory, and Rollhouse Entertainment. Boss Pro-Karting is Cleveland’s premier family-owned karting facility and has always been a favorite location amongst the car community. It is a fantastic place where the whole family can feel the need for speed and race in a safe and fun environment. They even offer axe throwing and now state-of-the-art Virtual Reality gaming. The Golf Dome is another small local business that has hosted many of our events and is a favorite amongst our families in the car community for its fun miniature golf course and batting cages. It also attracts some of the seasoned golfer’s post-car events with its massive indoor driving range. Rollhouse Entertainment is one of our newest multi-location venues. With bowling, arcade, escape rooms, billiards, and restaurant with bar on tap, they have made for another great set of locations that make our events more than just a car show for our many attendees. Of course, when it comes to all thing’s cars, many of our car owners are also all things guns. The Parma Armory and Shooting Center has not only been a great place to showcase the horsepower, but also the fire power with their full indoor shooting range. Now, I can’t overlook some of the fine restaurants we’ve had the privilege of working with either. Quaker Steak & Lube Valley View has not just played host to Cars & Coffee Cleveland events, but also other automotive and bike events for many years now. There is definitely no better time than a summer evening to sit out on their patio for some live music, drinks, and good food. One of our newest restaurant partners, Harry Buffalo North Olmsted, has also put on some of our evening events, and another great location for some good eats. If you’re looking for something a bit more unique, head over to the roof top terrace for a good burger at The Aviator. We hosted one of our season finale car shows at The Aviator, and words cannot describe how perfect it was with all the cars lined up in the lot at sunset, DJ giving us a beat, rooftop terrace buzzing with dining, all while watching the planes come and go from Cleveland Hopkins Airport. There are more great gems to mention, but that would turn this into a book.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
All my efforts to make Cars & Coffee Cleveland the success it is today would not be possible without the great support of the car community here in Cleveland, Ohio. These people make these events the absolute best they can be and serve as the driver for me to continue improving, adapting, and growing Cars & Coffee Cleveland.

Website: https://carsandcoffeecleveland.net

Instagram: https://instagram.com/carsandcoffeecle

Facebook: https://facebook.com/carsandcoffeecleveland

Other: https://tiktok.com/@carsandcoffeecleveland

Image Credits
Cars & Coffee Cleveland Media Team