Meet Dave Kaufman; a small business owner, Campus District board member, and avid pickle-ball player.
Dave, alongside his brother and business partner, Jay, has been running a commercial printing business in the Campus District for roughly 30 years now. Brothers Printing, which was previously owned by Dave and Jay’s father, has been printing anything from signs to business cards in the Cleveland area since 1917.
Dave and Jay took over Brothers Printing in the 1970s, which was around the same time that the business moved their storefront to 2000 Euclid Avenue, right in the heart of the Campus District. Brothers prints a bit of everything-- as Dave likes to say, “We’ll print anything that’s legal!” The brothers pride themselves on their exceptional customer service, which is a lesson that was passed down to them from their father.
Since taking over the business in the 70’s, Dave has seen the printing business undergo drastic changes, mainly due to technology within the last decade. Brothers used to print with a letter press, but, nowadays, they almost always print digitally. Dave described this transition as the toughest challenge of owning a printing business, however, despite these changes, Brothers has managed to maintain its relevance in the printing world.
While running a business takes up a majority of his time, Dave stresses the importance of being involved in the community. He knows the Campus District well, and one of the ways he is able to share this knowledge to others is through his role of Vice President of the Campus District board. Dave says he is proud to be a member of the board and enjoys being able to do his civic part. He and Jay are always brainstorming ways in which they can bring more student foot traffic out onto Euclid Avenue and turn the corridor into a more vibrant college area. In the future, Dave would love to see a study done on ways to get more students out to the businesses and restaurants on Euclid and what new retail spaces could be brought to the area.
When he isn’t working or helping out in the community, you can probably find Dave playing pickle-ball with his friends in his hometown of Mayfield Heights. Although he refers to it as an “old man sport,” Dave enjoys being able to get out and stay in shape.
To learn more about Brothers Printing, check out their website:
Article by: Connor O’Brien
