There are a whole lotta reasons to love a new year and new eats are somewhere near the top of the list. After a banner streak of debuts around Northeast Ohio in 2024, there’s already a long list of exciting new restaurants on tap for 2025. Here’s what we have our eye on.

Coyoacán, Shaker Square Reynaldo Galindo’s mother, Maria de la Luz Galindo, opened one of the first Mexican restaurants in Cleveland with Luchita’s. For 20 years, the family also operated a Luchita’s restaurant at Shaker Square. Soon, the family will return to the Square with Coyoacán. Set in the former Balaton space, Coyoacán will offer guests two different experiences in the same property: a fast-casual Mexican eatery on one side and a bar and microbrewery on the other. Each will have its own menu, with tacos, burritos, tortas, empanadas and bowls in the first space and regional Mexican foods that change monthly in the second. The goal is to open before the holidays. Credit: Scene archives
Greens Salad Co., Ohio City Come spring, Ohio City will welcome the first location of Greens Salad Co., a locally-owned fast-casual eatery located at Intro in Ohio City. Guests will work their way down the line, selecting ingredients like greens, toppings, proteins and salad dressings. Customers can also opt for one of nearly a dozen signature creations like the Caesar, Cobb, vegan Black Bean Burger Bowl and Tahini. Salad choppers will be on hand to chop and toss the salads, and everything can be ordered as a wrap as well. There will be seasonal salads and soups come wintertime. The goal is to be quick, efficient and affordable. Credit: Scene archives
Café Lola, Chagrin Falls This past winter, Rick Doody took over Bell & Flower in Chagrin Falls and operated it until spring. That’s when he shuttered the joint to make way for an ambitious renovation project that is slated to wrap up later this year. When the 150-year-old property reopens as Café Lola, it will feature classic bistro fare and décor, boasting tin ceilings, wood floors, exposed brick walls and a long bar along one side. Doody also operates JoJo’s Bar and 17 River Grille in the Falls as well as Bar Italia, Cedar Creek Grille and Lindey’s Lake House. Credit: Google Maps
Birdietown, Lakewood Over the past few years, the so-called “eatertainment” trend has brought us venues starring classic arcade games, duckpin bowling, shuffleboard and golf sims. Come late-fall/early winter, Lakewood will lay claim to a contemporary mini-golf emporium called Birdietown. The two-level, 12,000-square-foot venue is taking shape in the Nest facility in Birdtown, also home to Phoenix Coffee and Heyday Collective. In addition to a custom-built indoor 18-hole miniature golf course, the destination will feature two bars and a restaurant serving a menu crafted by chef Jill Vedaa. Credit: Scene archives
Coppia, Eastern Suburbs In early 2025, chefs Hedy and Talia Trovato will unveil the new iteration of their three-year-old restaurant, Coppia. While the owners are electing to keep some details quiet for now – including the precise location – they have shared that the newly built restaurant will have a 50-seat dining room with “modern-organic design.” The room will also boast an 8-seat chef’s table. Like the original, the fine-dining eatery will feature seasonally changing a la carte and tasting menus paired with signature cocktails and sommelier selected wines. Credit: Scene archives
Batuqui, Cleveland After nine years on Larchmere Boulevard, Carla Batista and Gustavo Nogueira are relocating their beloved Brazilian restaurant Batuqui. But they aren’t going far; the restaurant’s new home will be located 130 feet west in the former St. Paul’s Evangelical Church, a stately Craftsman-style building constructed in 1922. The church’s main design features – stained glass windows, soaring ceilings, rich wood accents – will be on full display, alongside heartwarming dishes like feijoada, xim-xim and pasta de mariscos. Credit: Scene archives
Kyuramen, Strongsville Like he did with Lao Sze Chuan in Pinecrest, Sheng Long Yu is importing a celebrated Asian restaurant brand to Cleveland. When Kyuramen opens later this year at SouthPark Mall in Strongsville, it will be Ohio’s first location for this quickly expanding restaurant. Founded in 2014, Kyuramen currently has about 40 locations in the United States, with another 65 already in the planning phase. The restaurants feature a distinctive interior, including honeycomb seating that stacks booths on top of each other. In addition to numerous ramen options, the restaurant will serve shrimp tempura, fried oysters, yakitori, steam buns, takoyaki and omurice, the social-media sensation that is a fluffy omelet sliced tableside to reveal a creamy core. Credit: Scene archives
Sushi Kuwahata and Issho Ni Izakaya, Ohio City Issho Ni has been selling ramen, sushi and other Japanese foods in Willoughby since 2019. Come winter, the owners will open a new restaurant in Ohio City, in the renovated VFW building on Fulton that was briefly home to Cha Pizza. On the main floor diners will find Issho Ni Izakaya, while the second floor will be home to Sushi Kuwahata. Upstairs will be purpose-built around a high-end omakase experience, with just eight spots for the 20-course meals. In contrast, downstairs will be a high-energy bar serving contemporary Japanese small plates, beer and sake. Credit: Scene archives
Arthur Treacher’s, Cleveland Hts. Later this year, the restaurant chain that grew to 820 locations before dropping to one, will soon welcome number three to the fold. Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips owner George Simon, who owns the shops in Cuyahoga Falls and Garfield Heights, will add a new “express” restaurant in Cleveland Heights before the end of the year. Amazingly, the same address was home to an Arthur Treacher’s restaurant from the early 1970s until the early 1990s. Credit: Scene archives
Jolene, Cleveland The former Greenhouse Tavern (and Indie and Gabriel’s Southern Table) space on East 4th Street will soon be home to Jolene, a honkytonk in the heart of the city. Owners Jason Beudert, Terry Francona and Chelsea Williams, who also run Steak and Geraci’s Slice Shop, aim to bring a little bit of Nashville to Cleveland. The space will undergo a complete overhaul – both inside and out – to create a vibrant atmosphere filled with live music, guitar shotskis and fried chicken. The goal is to be ready in time for the Guardians home opener in spring. Credit: Scene archives
Build the Pho, Ohio City and N. Olmsted Eric Jun Weng, who operates Build the Pho at Uptown in University Circle, has begun work on locations number two and three. One is coming to the former Campbell’s Sweets space on W. 25th St. in Ohio City, and the other to the former Rail spot in North Olmsted. Like the original, the new shops will offer diners a build-your-own-bowl pho experience. The restaurant employs an efficient QR code-based ordering system ideally suited to pho given the variety of noodle, broth and topping options offered. Credit: Scene archives
Kintaro Sushi and Hot Pot, Woodmere Last December, Corky & Lenny’s delicatessen closed its Woodmere location after more than 50 years. The large property at Village Square shopping plaza will not sit idle long as it will be home to Kintaro, a popular all-you-can-eat sushi and hot pot restaurant. The original at Ridge Park Square in Brooklyn opened back in 2016. Next up was Fairview Park in 2019. Since then, Kintaro has gone on to add locations in West Park, Willowick and Akron. The secret to the local restaurant group’s success is a menu that offers unlimited sushi and hot pot at qualities that exceed their price tags. Look for Woodmere to open in spring or summer of 2025. Credit: Scene archives
56 Social, Shaker Hts. J. Pistone Market in Shaker Heights closed this summer after nearly 25 years. This winter, the space will become home to 56 Social, a spinoff of the popular brand that includes two 56 Kitchen locations. Owners Jay Leitson and Izzy Schachner will build off the memory of Cafe 56, a restaurant at Eastgate in Mayfield that offered customers a choice of 56 different salads. Look for a menu of built-to-order salads, larger plates and prepared foods. Credit: Scene archives
Tony’s Burger Shop “I’ve had the Rice Shop for 10 years – three locations, two cities,” Anthony Zappola says. “The Rice Shop is very difficult to source. It’s very difficult to staff. It’s very niche. It’s been 10 years and it’s time for a new concept and a new challenge.” That new challenge will be Tony’s Burger Shop, which he’ll open at Van Aken in 2025 in the Rice Shop space. Although the menu hasn’t been formalized, diners can expect a concise roster of smash burgers, fried chicken tenders, grilled cheese sandwiches, fries and onion rings. In addition to the single and double smash burgers, there will be bacon burgers, mushroom and Swiss burgers, patty melts, and monthly burger specials. Diners will enjoy a variety of homemade dipping sauces. Credit: Photo by Doug Trattner
Tom’s Watch Bar The national sports bar chain will next year be opening a Cleveland location in the Electric Building at 700 Prospect. K & D is undertaking a $40-million renovation project of the Electric Building, the main floor of which was home to the United Church of Christ. In fact, Tom’s Watch Bar will be located in the former chapel space. Founded in 2014, Tom’s Watch Bar is billed as “the ultimate sports-watching entertainment experience.” They are known for airing everything from college football games to big prize fights and everything in between. Those games, events and championships are viewed on a massive oversized stadium screen alongside hundreds of other screens to create a 360-degree viewing experience. Credit: Courtesy Photo
Urban Meyer’s Pint House Back in April, Saucy Brew Works purchased Urban Meyer’s Pint House and recently the local brewery is announcing plans to import the Columbus-based brand to downtown Cleveland in the former Winking Lizard spot. Opened in 2019, and located in Bridge Park in Dublin, Urban Meyer’s Pint House has become a game-day destination for those in and around that northwest suburb. Saucy CEO Brent Zimmerman is confident that the Cleveland location will be just as popular. “There are rabid Buckeye fans in Cleveland, Ohio, and surrounding areas,” he says. “Saucy is packed every single Buckeyes game. And we’ll be the most elevated sports-watching experience that exists in Cleveland.” Zimmerman says that the new Pint House will have the same spirit, tone and purpose as the original but added that the Columbus restaurant is seven years old and the layout of the Cleveland location will dictate the overall design. Look for a summer opening. Credit: Courtesy Photo
Good Pizza For the past year or so, Charlie Anderson has been hosting pizza pop-ups under the name Good Pizza at places like Bookhouse Brewing, Tapster and Edda Coffee. Come January, he will begin operating under the same name but in a brick-and-mortar shop of his own in the former Citizen Pie Roman Cafe spot on East 4th.To many home cooks, the name Charlie Anderson invites high praise. His YouTube channel has amassed 170,000 subscribers since its launch in 2019, where it is a well-regarded source of how-to content for people who want to make New York-style pizza at home. Anderson describes his pizza as an “artisan take on the classic New York pizza,” mentioning buzzworthy places like Scarr’s, L’industrie and Mama’s TOO! as paragons of the category. “Our goal is to bring extremely high-quality pizza by the slice to downtown,” he explains. Credit: Courtesy photo
DecadesIn 2023, Dall purchased Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar from the original owners in Nashville, who had let the club decline since its debut eight years prior. The new owner had dreams of making a few improvements and enjoying many fruitful years ahead. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, he pivoted. On or about January 18, Dall will shutter Big Bang to prepare for the property’s next act. That will begin on March 1, when the doors to Decades open for the first time. “It’s going to be an `80s and `90s dance bar,” says Dall. “There used to be a real popular `80s bar in the Flats called the Basement. I’m actually surprised no one’s done an `80s bar.” Between mid-January and March 1, the space will undergo a slew of cosmetic changes to bring it in line with its new theme. Guests can look forward to new flooring, new lighting, new décor and a host of other tweaks, says Dall. Credit: Google Maps
Shinto Japanese Steakhouse, Legacy Village Sheng Long Yu opened Shinto Japanese Steakhouse in Strongsville 20 years ago. Since then, he has gone on to open a dozen more restaurants, including Kenko Sushi, Hell’s Fried Chicken, Lao Sze Chuan, YYTime, a second Shinto location in Westlake, and soon, Ohio’s first Kyuramen location at SouthPark Mall in Strongsville. Not one to take his foot off the gas, Yu has just announced plans to open a new Shinto Japanese Steakhouse on the east side of town. The restaurant will be opening this coming summer at Legacy Village (25001 Cedar Rd.) in Lyndhurst in the former Granite City space. Credit: Courtesy Photo
Tavern Six, Chagrin Falls Dan and Teanna Vitantonio, who operate Tavern Six in Kirtland and Sage Karma Kitchen in Willoughby will open a second location of their popular Tavern Six concept in the former Panini’s spot. “We’re a scratch kitchen, so everything is made in-house – that’s super-important to us,” says Teanna. “Everything is made to order.” Teanna describes the place as “family friendly,” with items that appeal to kids and grownups alike. The large menu is loaded with familiar, approachable fare that includes starters, salads, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas and entrees like steaks, ribs and fish and chips. The signature dessert – the only dessert – are cupcakes baked by Teanna. Since opening the doors in 2015, Tavern Six has never repeated a cupcake flavor, which used to change daily but now changes every couple of days. Credit: Google Maps
The Dugout As part of the future re-imagining of East 4th Street, the current valet station will next year be moved and replaced with a DORA-friendly pocket park alongside a new seasonal bar called The Dugout, from the folks behind Geraci’s Slice Shop, The Yard, Steak in Tremont and the upcoming Jolene’s honky tonk bar. “We want the Dugout to be a gathering place, a meeting place, for all of Downtown Cleveland to enjoy before or after an event, a dinner, a game, a day at work, or just visiting the city,” Jason Beudert, President of Hangry Brands, said. Alongside beverages, expect family-friendly fare and a planned ice cream stand. Look for a mid-2025 debut. Credit: Courtesy Photo
The Witch Doctor If all goes as planned, Matt Luebert and Charles Eby will open a new cocktail bar and lounge in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood this coming spring. Already, work has begun to convert the former Sticks & Stones Social Lounge into the Witch Doctor (3314 Broadview Rd.). Luebert, a member of the US Bartenders’ Guild and current bar manager at Rood Food in Lakewood, describes the novel venture’s vibe as “a witch doctor in the forest,” with stained glass windows, a thicket of live plants and a garden growing out back. “I get a lot of inspiration from herbalism,” Luebert explains. “Herbs and botanicals and stuff that are good for your heart, for your lungs, your immune system…” He hopes to prepare in-house bitters, complex infusions, amari and tincture blends, both for use on-premises and for sale to go. The Witch Doctor will be geared to “all walks of life,” says Luebert, with affordable beer on up to fancier cocktails. As for food, the owners hope to entice an independent operator to lease the adjacent space – both to service the bar but also the community at large. Credit: Google Maps

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.