It’s been a tough year for the restaurant industry. Winter is usually a little slower in Cleveland. And then the weather turns and restaurants and bars tend to do their best business, when patios are open, festivals are happening around town and everyone’s out. Well, when there’s a global pandemic just when the weather’s warming up, it tends to put a damper on restaurant’s finances. But to open a new restaurant, it takes years of building and planning and while some may have delayed, these restaurants have braved the current landscape and gone ahead with their projects anyway. Some may have had the unfortunate luck of opening just before the pandemic. Some have opened with social distancing guidelines. And others plan on opening in the coming weeks and months. No matter the circumstances, they all could use our business and we’d recommend trying each and every one of these new restaurants around town.
Mojo World Eats
2196 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights
After 40 years, Lopez in Cleveland Heights turned into Mojo World Eats. Like the original, Mojo has a lengthy menu loaded with globally diverse and appealing options. The current working catalogue approaches 40 different items, most of which take inspiration from Pacific Rim, Mediterranean and Latin American cuisines.
Photo via Scene ArchivesBar Oni
2173 Professor Ave., Cleveland
Chef Matt Spinner recently announced that come July 25, he will close Ushabu, his wonderful shabu-shabu, sushi and Japanese tasting-course concept in Tremont, adding that the close-quartered dining arrangement no longer made sense. In its place will be Bar Oni, a hip casual Japanese sports pub that will introduce izakaya style drinking and dining to the City of Cleveland. The menu will be built around yakitori, literally “skewered, grilled chicken,” which will be cooked atop imported yakitori grills.
Photo courtesy Scene ArchivesBurgerim
17100 Royalton Rd., Strongsville
Ledgewood Plaza in Strongsville is getting a branch of the Israel-based gourmet hamburger chain, Burgerim (“many burgers” in Hebrew). The restaurant offers burgers made from traditional Angus, dry-aged and Spanish beef, as well as Hawaiian salmon, falafel and lamb. Burgeim also offers a build-your-own-burger option, where customers can choose between two types of buns, 10 proteins, four cheeses, eight sauces and 11 toppings.
Photo via Google MapsSwenson’s
4660 Ridge Rd., Brooklyn
This beloved drive-in restaurant is opening up its fifth Northeast Ohio location in Brooklyn sometime this year. In the meantime, you can get your fast-food fix at the Akron-based cheeseburger company’s Avon, North Olmsted, Seven Hills and University Heights locations.
Photo via @kryden_on/Instagram17 River Street
17 River St., Chagrin Falls
One day before Governor DeWine ordered restaurants to close, Jekyll’s Kitchen in Chagrin Falls did just that of its own accord. The 11-year-old restaurant, which had been operated by the Hyde Park Restaurant Group, was changing hands, changing concepts and set to undergo significant physical renovations that would reshape the entire space.
17 River Street opened recently to rave reviews. The concept is be similar to Doody’s Cedar Creek Grille, with a comparable price point, but not a straightforward copy. The fine-casual restaurant has a classic American grill menu with sandwiches, burgers, pasta, steaks and fish.
Photo courtesy Scene ArchivesCent’s Pizzeria
5010 Lorain Ave., Cleveland
Formerly home to PM Security, a sturdy brick building on the eastern edge of Detroit Shoreway will undergo significant renovations by the landlord before being handed over to Vincent Morelli, who has been working for the past year to open his own pizza shop. When he’s done with it, hopefully soon, he’ll open Cent’s Pizzeria.
Photo via Scene ArchivesGoma
2079 East Fourth St., Cleveland
In the wake of one celebrity chef’s departure from East Fourth Street, another is staking a claim on a different high-profile location on that same street. Chef Dante Boccuzzi will open Goma in the former home of Zack Bruell’s Chinato at the prominent corner of Prospect and East Fourth. It will be the prolific chef’s first downtown restaurant. When it opens in June or July, Goma will be a high-energy Japanese Fusion restaurant with a sushi bar and full kitchen.
Photo via Scene ArchivesCitizen Pie Roman Cafe
2057 East Fourth St., Cleveland
Back in February, we revealed chef Vytauras Sasnauskas’ plans to open Citizen Pie Roman Café in the former home of Erie Island Coffee on E. Fourth Street. Following a brief pause, the restaurant opened this summer and its one of the hottest new concepts in town.
Photo courtesy Scene ArchivesHampton Social
Flats East Bank
The Chicago-based Hampton Social is among four new restaurants and nightclubs set to be installed along a chunk of land bordering the waterfront in the Flats East Bank. Specializing in seafood, the modern and sleek restaurant will also include a speakeasy-type bar and music lounge called the Bassment underneath the dining area. While there is currently no set-date for opening, Flats East Bank developer Scott Wolstein expects to request financing for the project from the city council sometime this year.
Photo by Emmanuel WallaceCasablanca Urban Cantina
Birdtown, Cleveland
The family behind the beloved Barroco Arepa Bar recently expanded their local offerings by opening up Hola Tacos in Birdtown. Soon, they’ll branch out again, this time with a Latin American-inspired concept close to Hola which will feature wood-fired foods from Argentina, Peru, Chile and beyond.
Photo via Scene ArchivesCleveland Tea Revival
3216 Silsby Rd., Cleveland Heights
Mike George and Amber Pompeii opened Cleveland Tea Revival in the Hingetown area of Ohio City in 2014. Since then, the couple started a family and relocated to Cleveland Heights. As fate would have it, the opportunity to open a second, larger specialty tea shop soon followed. Cleveland Tea Revival currently is setting up shop inside the old firehouse near the intersection of Lee and Silsby roads at the former Lee-Silsby Compounding Pharmacy space and will be opening shortly.
Photo via Scene ArchivesJade
Flats East Bank
Also among the new restaurants and nightclubs set to be installed on the Flats East Bank waterfront is Jade, an Asian-fusion restaurant from the owner of XO Prime Steaks downtown. Again, no opening date is set in stone, so keep an eye on this one.
Photo via Google MapsJuneberry
3900 Lorain Ave., Cleveland
There is a silver lining to the recent closure of Jack Flaps, a popular breakfast diner in Ohio City. Chef Karen Small has announced that she will take the space over and open a diner of her own. The cafe will serve breakfast-all-day and lunch items until the early afternoon. Small, who opened the venerated Flying Fig (2523 Market Ave.,) in the same neighborhood 20 years ago, was motivated to grab the space because of what she believes is a gap in the marketplace.
Photo courtesy Scene ArchivesSaucy Brew Works
Pinecrest, Orange Village
In a move designed to increase its presence on the east side of town, Saucy Brew Works will open a brewpub at Pinecrest, according to partner-brewer Eric Anderson. This new spot is modest compared to other existing and planned projects. At 2,000 square feet, the pub will accommodate about 75 guests. The goal is to open in early spring.
Photo via Scene Archives Credit: Scene ArchivesSixth City Sailor Club
668 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
The Euclid Avenue space that was formerly Hodge’s and before that Zinc Bistro was recently claimed by the team behind East Fourth’s Society Lounge. Sixth City Sailor’s Club, a downtown neighborhood cocktail bar, opened this August. The concept takes advantage of the wonderful courtyard patio that for years has served as a gathering space for downtown residents and workers.
Photo courtesy Scene ArchivesLeavened Bakery
Scranton Road and Auburn Avenue
For the past seven years Ian Herrington has been working at On the Rise bakery in Cleveland Heights, where he has risen to the position of head baker and production manager. Come summer of 2020, he will roll all of that experience into a bake shop of his own. Leavened, as the bakery will be called, will take up residence on the ground floor of The Tappan, a four-story, 95-unit mixed-use property currently being built at Scranton Road and Auburn Avenue. The project is the latest from the team at Sustainable Communities Associates.
Photo via Scene ArchivesBatuqui
17 East Orange St., Chagrin Falls
Carla Batista and Gustavo Nogueira, a Brazilian couple, opened Batuqui (12706 Larchmere Blvd.,) to almost immediate success in 2015. And why not as there was a lot to love, from the cachaça-laced Caipirinhas and intriguing Brazilian food to the charming setting in a turn-of-the-century Colonial near Shaker Square.
Now, the couple is doubling down. This spring they will open a second location in Chagrin Falls, in yet another turn-of-the-century building, this one a stately brick Victorian a short stroll from Main Street.
Photo via Scene ArchivesVita Urbana
1200 West 76th St., Cleveland
Another closing in the Battery Park neighborhood was the bistro Vita Urbana which closed in 2017. In the morning, Vita Urbana functioned as the neighborhood’s coffee shop, offering up fresh-brewed coffee beverages, grab-and-go pastries, and made-to-order hot foods like sausage, egg and cheese empanadas. Breakfast was followed by an all-day menu of chef-driven small and medium plates. The space is now home to Good Company.
Photo via Scene ArchivesHome Bistro
12022 Mayfield Rd., Cleveland
The restaurant is a revival, of sorts, of a Chicago spot of the same name that Chef Victor Morenz and his wife Emily Gilbert owned for five years but worked at for nearly 10. They closed the restaurant to return to Cleveland, Morenz’ hometown. Since January, they have been working to ready the restaurant’s new home, the former Gusto and Porcelli’s space on Mayfield Road. The food is New American, with seasonal, ingredient-driven fare with roots in American, Italian and even Dutch cooking. The restaurant made its grand opening in late August.
Photo courtesy Scene ArchivesBoaz Café
20630 John Carroll Blvd., University Heights
Aladdin’s Eatery unveiled its health-focused, fast-casual spinoff Boaz Café two years ago in Ohio City (2549 Lorain Ave.,) with eyes on future expansion. The first phase of those expansion plans occured this spring when the company opened its new East Side location. Boaz moved into the former Sweet Melissa space in University Heights, near the campus of John Carroll University.
Scene Archives PhotoHalf Moon Bakery
3460 West 25th St., Cleveland
After more than three years of pop-ups and catering, Half Moon Bakery finally unveiled its brick-and-mortar bakery in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, located across the street from MetroHealth. The carry-out empanada shop features the signature half-moon-shaped pastries, stuffed with flavor-packed combinations such as shredded chicken with garlic tomato sauce, tofu with seasoned veggies, and pepperoni, mozzarella and tomato sauce, along with sandwiches, fresh bread, pastries and cakes.
Photo by Emanuel WallaceThe Rice Shop
13892 Cedar Rd., University Heights
Chef Anthony Zappola recently opened the Rice Shop in the former home of Lox, Stock and Brisket in University Heights. The Asian-fusion concept began life in Las Vegas, where the chef lived and worked, and was revived at the Ohio City Galley. The creative, well-executed eatery found an enthusiastic following during that food hall’s short existence.
Photo by Emanuel WallaceAngie’s Soul Food Cafe
7815 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland
It’s been nearly two years since we first learned of plans to renovate the former Hot Sauce Williams building on Carnegie into a splashy new Angie’s Soul Café. Angie’s offers soul food classics like crispy fried chicken, freshly fried fish, daily specials like meatloaf, Salisbury steak and liver and onions, and those irresistible sides like black-eyed peas, collards greens and macaroni and cheese.
Photo via Scene ArchivesHacienda Tapatia
1572 West 117th St., Cleveland
For the past two and a half years, Tapatias Taqueria (12501 Lorain Ave.,) has been attracting Mexican food fans with its broad menu of flavorful options. In addition to tacos, tortas, sopes, tostadas and burritos, the full-service restaurant offers a dozen or so big plates built around items like grilled steak, whole fried fish and grilled shrimp. With one success under their belt, the operators have decided to expand. Earlier this month, they opened Hacienda Tapatia, which they describe as a “modern Mexican cantina.”
Photo by Emanuel WallaceAll Saints Public House
1261 West 76th St., Cleveland
Just because a space doesn’t work for one or two groups doesn’t mean another can’t come in and turn it around. Next up for the prominent Detroit Shoreway building that recently was home to Battery Park Pub, Graffiti and Reddstone is All Saints Public House. Partners Chris Brauser and Stephen Stopko, along with chef Cody Heppler, put together a menu of approachable but well-built items that include wedge and Cobb salads, short rib sliders, grilled cheese sandwiches, double cheeseburgers, beer-battered fish and chips, Reubens and a grilled sirloin steak. Those dishes are supplemented by nightly specials. A late-night menu is available from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. and there’s also a brand new redesigned patio.
Photo via Scene ArchivesGarden City
3401 Tuttle Rd., Shaker Heights
Garden City, a cocktail-focused rooftop bar with food, opened at Van Aken District on June 11th. The venue sits atop the former Sawyer’s restaurant space and shares a kitchen. Garden City will be a year-round business, but it will really shine in warmer months because of the layout, which dedicates more square footage to outdoor spaces than interior.
Photo via Scene ArchivesSalted Dough
9174 Broadview Rd., Broadview Heights
Everything’s bigger at Salted Dough and though the delicious pizzas billed as 18-inchers, the massive pies slicing through the air at this Broadview Heights restaurant appear to be cheese-topped flying saucers out to colonize the solar system. In the 80-seat dining room in suburbia, guests giddily lap up those slices alongside decidedly non-red-sauce-Italian fare built around pasta, fish, chicken and beef.
Photo by Emanuel WallaceProof Bar-BQ
2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland
Over the past three years, the former Komorowski Funeral Home building on Professor Avenue has transitioned from a place of bereavement to a warren of joyful activity with Visible Voice bookstore on the top floor and Crust pizza on the main floor. Now, in the bottom floor of the same building, Proof Bar-BQ and Cocktails is bringing Southern and Texas-style barbecue to Tremont.
Photo by Doug Trattner
