I have a few goals for this project. Firstly, I'm very interested in regional foods so what's a better show of appreciation than to create our own. With that in mind, we may want to associate our dish closely with Cleveland and even attempt to draw influence from the region (but we can always just take care of this with some fabricated post-hoc justification). In order to stand out as a regional phenomenon, the dish must be unique in one or more of the following aspects: ingredients, form factor, appearance, flavor, or texture.
The dish should fit a underserved niche. It should be cheap and easy to produce in large batches. It should have sufficient nutritional value to serve as a staple food, for example protein: something like 20g per 400kcal (rare for a baked good) would be desirable. Special consideration is given to vegan recipes. The ideal dish is shelf stable for a reasonable amount of time.
My first pitch for a baked good is a round roll/bun with TVP and sundried tomatoes mixed throughout and rolled in cornmeal.