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Courtesy Blue Point Grille
In 1997, partners George Schindler, Kay Ameen and David Hale grabbed the keys to an elegant 19th-Century Italianate-style building in the heart of the Warehouse District. Despite having two successful restaurants in their budding portfolio — Cabin Club and Salmon Dave’s — the partners did not yet know what kind of restaurant they wanted to open. What they were certain of, however, was that it was the right place and right time to open one.
“It was clear that the Warehouse District was becoming the new restaurant row,” Schindler said of the neighborhood.
After spending some time in the stunning space, a concept began to emerge. To the owners, features such as soaring ceilings, sweeping brick arches, expansive front windows and 18-foot columns crowned with gold capitals conjured nautical themes. With the help of designers, the space would take on the feel of the dining room on a luxury liner. Walls were opened up or removed altogether to connect adjoining properties and create 10,000 square feet of dining space. After more than a year of construction,
Blue Point Grille opened its doors in March of 1998.
Sandwiched between Piccolo Mondo and Johnny’s Downtown, “We looked at it like being located next to Nordstrom and Sak’s Fifth Avenue,” Ameen said of the location.
Twenty five years and two million oysters later, Blue Point Grille still deserves the reputation of being one of Cleveland’s best seafood restaurants.
“If from the very start you create a place known as the best seafood restaurant in town, it is very difficult for others to take that title away from you,” Schindler asserts.
These days, Hospitality Restaurants operates Rosewood Grill, Delmonico's Steakhouse and Kingfish, along with Blue Point, Cabin Club and Salmon Dave’s.
“When you tally up the amount of years we’ve been serving our guests, it is hard to even wrap our heads around it,” Schindler says of the 160 years of combined service spread across nine properties.
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