CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Rachel Kingsbury studied music in college, taught English in Asia and landed in the food business as a restaurant manager.

Now, at age 28, she's on the verge of opening her first business - a small grocery store in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. Her store, unassumingly named The Grocery, will showcase local and organic products.

Kingsbury is part of a dedicated group of young dreamers, entrepreneurs and real estate investors reshaping city neighborhoods one storefront at a time.

They're not amassing hundreds of millions of dollars, hiring thousands of people or buying up chunks of downtown. But they're reviving small buildings, cultivating start-up retailers and tackling bite-sized projects that bigger, better-known developers wouldn't touch.

"This is like the future of Cleveland and the future of cities in general," said Tracey Nichols, who leads the city's economic development department. "It's all about these young entrepreneurs who are coming in, and they don't take 'no' for an answer. ... They want to change the world. Change everything. Change City Hall."

Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman, who represents much of downtown and slices of the near-West Side, rattles off a long list of names when asked about passionate young people who are doggedly pursuing urban-development dreams.

There are the Oberlin College graduates who turned a dilapidated creamery building in Tremont into an apartment complex, with a gym and offices downstairs. There's the Ohio City cadre that pushed to bring bicycle-sharing to Cleveland, in a pilot project that could grow from 10 bikes to more than 50 in the spring. And there's a new breed of artisan, convinced that there's still a place for hand-hewn goods and local provenance in a city once known for its manufacturing clout.

"I think, for so long, it was difficult for young people to get a seat at the table," Nichols said. "Now, they're creating their own table."

Kingsbury and her boyfriend, entrepreneur Justin Carson, live above a home-brewing supply shop on Lorain Avenue. Her store, a 600-square-foot market, is tentatively set to open Jan. 6 at 3815 Lorain Ave.

To pay for the project - a start-up venture that traditional lenders wouldn't touch - she tapped into a city program that helps small businesses cover storefront renovations and equipment. "If it wasn't for the city of Cleveland, I wouldn't be able to do this," Kingsbury said.

Here are excerpts from a recent conversation with her:

Q: Walk us through your store. What will shoppers see there?

A: When you walk in, you'll see produce, and there's also going to be an area where we'll have ready-made salads and sandwiches. To the left will be a dairy cooler with milk, butter and cream, and specialty items like tofu and seitan and Kombuchas and cold-pressed juices. I also will be featuring some up-and-coming products, coming out of the Culinary Launch and Kitchen (a shared commercial kitchen on Euclid Avenue), and things that you might see at a farmer's market.

As far as meats go, it's going to be like a co-op, on a pre-order basis for fresh or frozen. As I learn what people want, that will grow to fit whatever the need is.

I'm going to be working two urban gardens. Those places will be used as market gardens to get products to the store and also as learning gardens, so people can come in and do a workshop, so they can replicate what we do in their own backyards.

Q: So why a grocery store? Is there really a food gap in that neighborhood?

A: Even though in Ohio City there is Dave's food market and there is the West Side Market, the growing need is for easy access to organic and to local. That's what people want. So that's why. And I love food. I like to cook. I like to share meals with people. I think it really brings everyone together, if you just get a chance to relax and enjoy a meal.

Q: This is your first business, and it's a risky one. Do you ever step back and think what the heck am I doing?

A: Sometimes, I just have to breathe in and breathe out and breathe in and breathe out continuously. And just keep working.

Q: What advice do you have for other young people looking to start businesses or make investments in the city?

A: Use your community development organizations like Ohio City Inc. or Detroit Shoreway [Community Development Organization]. Use those people. They are there for a reason. They know everything you don't know, and they will walk you through it. They will take you downtown and show you exactly who you need to know. ... And if 9 million people say "no' to you, somebody is going to say "yes."

Q: How can Cleveland keep young people like you engaged and living and working in the city?

A: Continue on the path of promoting connectivity throughout different neighborhoods via bikes and busing. That smile-and-you-ride-free bus (the Greater Regional Transit Authority's downtown Cleveland trolley lines) is really good. Keep having events, outdoor music, and the kind of activity that gets people together having fun in the city.