On Monday, June 11, the Chagrin River Diner (4099 Erie St., 440-527-8452) will officially join the downtown Willoughby dining scene. Partners Kirk Swanson and James Turcotte, both veterans of the hospitality industry, will operate a breakfast and lunch restaurant with a broad, approachable menu.
Swanson, a graduate of Paul Smith’s College, where he majored in Restaurant Management, has held pretty much every position in the industry, from Kitchen Manager to General Manager to Executive Chef, most recently for Burntwood Tavern.
When Chagrin River Diner opens, it will operate from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. In the morning, guests can build their own breakfast platter from a roster of two dozen a la carte items like eggs, pancakes, biscuits and muffins, and meats ranging from bacon and sausage to roast pork and even prime rib. Or, consider dishes like Eggs Benedict, with poached eggs, pork tenderloin and Hollandaise, breakfast tacos stuffed with eggs, carnitas and cheese, or the Lunker, a pair of housemade biscuits buried beneath eggs, bacon, sausage and sausage gravy.
Lunch ushers in a menu of soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers. Appetizers like wine-steamed mussels and spinach dip served with vegetables give way to kale and Caesar salads, seafood bisque, avocado-topped burgers and hand-cut fries, turkey clubs and beer-battered fish sandwiches.
Most menu items fall between $6 and $10.
The diner took over the space briefly occupied by Taco Local.
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