Kathy's Kolacke & Pastry Shop Caters to the Stars

welcomed movie stars and film crews to Cleveland with traditional hometown treats. Store owner Kathy Schriner brought hundreds of kolackes and cookies to the last day of fliming for The Avengers Sept. 5, giving Hollywood a real taste of Cleveland.

"We went crazy," Schriner said. "It took us about four days to get everything ready."

Schriner and her fellow bakers even created 300 custom butter cookies in the shape of an A with silver frosting and black sugar just for the film crew.

Schriner brought the cookies along with kolackes of every flavor— apricot, raspberry, blueberry, cherry, apple, nut, strawberry and cream cheese— to the filming at West 3rd Street and Lakeside Avenue.

"We got to see some of the filming behind the courthouse," Schriner said. Although she didn't see any stars, she did get to see the big movie production. "It looked like there were just thousands of people."

Schriner was met on set by John Pisani, publicist for the movie, who set up the catering. Pisani had no idea what a kolacke was before Schriner explained it to him, but was excited once she told him that it's a "truly ethnic Cleveland pastry."

"What I thought what was kinda cool was the publicist came up and greeted us on a bicycle," Schriner said. "You'd think a Hollywood guy like him would be in a suit and tie."

Schriner is hoping the crew came away with a true sense of Cleveland, and a better understanding of kolackes.

"I hope we did Cleveland proud with that one," she said. "I hope they remember us."

There are five more films scheduled for shooting in Ohio, according to the Great Cleveland Film Commission, two of which will be right here in Cleveland.

Schriner said she's considering reaching out to other film crews as they arrive.

"We need to restock," she joked, "but we'd love to be the bakery to the Hollywood stars."