Cozumel Plans Summer Opening in Cleveland Heights

Last week, Scene broke the news that Cozumel had signed a lease for the Mojo property in Cleveland Heights (2196 Lee Rd.). Now we have more information regarding that restaurant’s plans and its estimated grand opening.

With eight locations across Northeast Ohio, Cozumel is one of the largest local Mexican restaurant chains – and arguably the best known. Partners Ramon Aguirre, Jaime Delapaz and Martin Soto opened their first store in Broadview Heights back in 2001. They have gone on to open seven more locations, with the newest one landing in Parma earlier this year.

When the family learned of the property in Cleveland Heights, they didn’t hesitate to make the move.

“We’re primarily on the west side and we’ve always kind of been eyeing something on the east side,” explains Andres Aguirre. “We tried with a few other locations, but the deals always fell through. We visited this building once and were like, yeah, this is perfect.”

Aguirre describes the Mojo property as essentially turnkey, which will allow them to open the doors very quickly – as soon as July. Prior to opening day, they will redo the restrooms and the bar, swap out all the furniture, paint the walls and a few more cosmetic tweaks. Down the road they will undertake some more major renovations, says Aguirre.

“We want to give the restaurant a little bit more of a modern twist, similar to what we did in Parma,” he adds. “That’s kind of the direction that we are headed.”

Cozumel offers approachable, affordable and delicious Mexican and Tex-Mex-style foods. The menus are nearly identical from place to place, with a wide assortment of appetizers, quesadillas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, fajitas and combination platters. Larger plates such as carne asada, crab and shrimp stuffed chimichangas, and camarones al mojo de ajo (garlic shrimp) are also on offer. There's a full bar with beer, wine, margaritas and top-shelf spirits.

With all of their restaurants west and south of the area, management saw an opportunity to expand the brand in an underserved market. There are no full-service Mexican restaurants in the immediate area except for Barrio, which offers a limited menu. Aguirre is confident that the brand’s reputation and consistency will serve them well.

“We’ve been doing this for so long that we have a product that we know people enjoy and that works,” he notes. “The neighborhood is getting younger and younger, there’s great walkability and it’s super-diverse, which we feel will help us be successful.”

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