For a city the size of Euclid, with close to 50,000 residents, the community is woefully underserved by great independent restaurants. Other than a handful of small, popular spots like Beach Club Bistro and Paragon Wine Bar, the sprawling municipality just east of Cleveland is a culinary wasteland.

Going a long way toward righting that wrong will be Great Scott Tavern, a multi-million dollar project two years in the making. When it opens in April, the 7,500-square-foot bar and restaurant will accommodate 180 diners indoors, with room for another 150 outside.

If you live in the area, chances are good that you’ve driven by the attractive two-story brick building (21801 Lakeshore Blvd.) and watched as the building was systematically gutted and rebuilt. Originally a post office, the 70-year-old building had been chopped up over the years into multiple rental spaces. The owners have spent the last 24 months – and a few buckets of cash – unifying the space to ready it for this restaurant.

The project is named for its munificent benefactor, Janet Scott, a longtime resident of Euclid who just wanted to do something positive for the community she loves, explains the project’s architect Richard Beck.

“She always joked that she had to leave Euclid for a great meal,” Beck says. “She’s not doing this for profit. It’s more of an economic development project than a money maker.”

In fact, she didn’t even want the restaurant to be named after her.

Scott brought on Nick Kustala as chef-partner. The industry vet owned the popular Lure Bistro in Willoughby for years, before selling it eight years ago to his sushi chef. He has since been involved with Bar Lure, Vault, and Heirloom Country Bistro in Madison. He also currently owns the Estate on Coffee Creek in Austinburg.

“We want to be a restaurant that fits the neighborhood,” Kustala explains. “This is not a destination restaurant. We really want to stay in the $14 to $20 range.”

The menu will be a mix of chef-driven, seasonal comfort foods and higher-priced steaks and chops, cooked over a diner’s choice of two separate hardwood fires.

“We have two wood grills, one that will be burning cherry wood and another burning mesquite,” says Kustala. “They lend completely different flavor profiles.”

So, a diner might go with the fresh catch of the day grilled over fruit wood, say, or a house-ground burger cooked over smoky mesquite.

While still in the planning phase, the menu might feature starters such as mussels frites, brisket-stuffed potato skins, blue crab and Ohio corn crab cakes, latkes topped with house-cured salmon, and boneless stuffed chicken wings with blue cheese sauce. Entrees might include braised short rib stroganoff, chili mac with gouda, chicken pot pie, City Chicken, and veal-poached meatloaf, a meaty terrine that’s wrapped, poached in veal stock, cooled, sliced and reheated in broth.

The menu will be overseen by chef de cuisine Mike Keyerleber, who for the last three and a half years has been at Noodlecat and Greenhouse Tavern.

At 7,500 square feet (the second floor is being used for administrative purposes… for now), the main floor is roomy, to say the least. The dining room, outfitted with numerous booths and illuminated by warm Edison bulb fixtures, will seat about 120. In place of a bar with an open kitchen, Great Scott features a kitchen with bar seating. It is one of, if not the, most open kitchens I’ve come across. Guests seated at the 40-stool wraparound bar and chef’s table will have a first-row seat on all the action, to say the least.

Two patios – an elevated patio for dining, and a street-level patio for lounging – will up the total occupancy to north of 300.

There is plenty of free parking on an adjacent parcel of land, a former gas station that Scott purchased, abated and leveled.

Look for Great Scott Tavern to open this spring.

This article appears in Jan 14-20, 2015.

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.

33 replies on “Euclid to Net Big Gains in Dining Scene Thanks to Ambitious New Project”

  1. We’ve been waiting for this to open, Euclid needs more nice restaurants. Thanks Janet Scott for making this happen. I live across the street from you. Ellen Kollar

  3. A fabulous and welcome addition to Downtown Euclid! Hopefully, this will spur further development in this area.

  4. Sure not enough parking spaces for that many people. Going to be a parking nightmare for the residents for sure. I hope they don’t infringe on the other establishments parking spaces either.

  6. I look forward to this new and welcome restaurant in Euclid Ohio. Our neighborhood needs this shot in the arm.

  7. Look forward to and welcome this new restaurant to Euclid Ohio. I hope it contributes to a re-awakening of this once wonderful city.

  9. Nick Kustala knows how to open and lay out a restaurant all my best wishes in seeing this place rise above all expectations

  10. Thank you, Janet Scott, for your commitment to Euclid. I, too, am your neighbor, (on 209,) but when I was growing up, our pediatrician had his office in that building! It is a lovely building, and we are so anxious for the grand opening!

  11. Have lived here for 17 years and always travelled outside the city to eat. Love Paragon and BeachClub! Excited to try the new place! Thanks for not passing up Euclid…it means so much to the neighbors who love this city!!

  13. Think the parking lot will ever be fixed? It was tore apart months ago, and I still have to walk through a muddy ice pit to get to my residence. Other than that I’m very excited to see this project come to fruition! The building looks great, it would make it even better if you shared space with the neighbors.

  15. thats a lot of space to fill nightly. great looking addition and sounds like a good team they put together to run that.

  18. Allow me to clarify….THEY will have plenty of parking. But last year they sent a letter to all their neighbors saying that the lot where the old Marathon was is theirs, and any other cars parked there would be towed. That’s why they’re leaving it unfinished.

    Wish them all the best, but not off to a very “neighborly” start. Know they have to have a certain number of spaces for code, but could have worked with everyone, instead of dictating to them.

  20. Looking forward to inviting colleagues and friends to Euclid for business lunches and happy hour! Sounds like they are planning to cater EVERYONE in Euclid at an affordable price. Can’t say that about of the few other spots in downtown Euclid.

  21. The idea of creating a neighborhood restaurant locale is one thing if it is created with the success of the surrounding area in mind, synergy for you hipsters, but it can quickly become just puffery and buzz words in print when lack of dialogue with said neighborhood and businesses is your welcome mat.
    Just saying.

  22. What is the irrational discussion about parking? I never had a problem parking in Euclid, anywhere. And unlike Cleveland, it is free.

  23. Too little, too late. Euclid is dying. Hope they aree prepared for the kind of clientele they’re going to get once the novelty wears off……

  24. Why don’t you read the article Poopsie before you criticize. May I quote it again so you may understand what is being done to bring Euclid back to a city with a variety of nice restaurants and entertainment.

    “Other than a handful of small, popular spots like Beach Club Bistro and Paragon Wine Bar, the sprawling municipality just east of Cleveland is a culinary wasteland. Going a long way toward righting that wrong will be Great Scott Tavern.”

    Don’t be so quick to criticize Euclid’s promising future!

  25. This is terrific. Can’t wait for the opening. Thank you Janet Scott. Euclid is a great place to live and enjoy.

  26. ok.. but my only question…… how long will it take to get ruined like everything else in euclid…????

  27. Yes we have been waiting for a nice sit down restaraunt. I would just suggest that you take into consideration the neighborhood and the people who would just like to take their family out for dinner. I hope the menu will have some items that are not so fancy.

  29. Just love the people who are mad because they were parking on some else’s land (trespassing) and now the owner of the land wants them out. So you can park your car on some else’s property, but I bet if this place gets busy you won’t let them park on your property.

    They don’t owe you anything… you were parked illegally on their land..get over it.

  30. glad to hear about the new restaurant. Better than the citystorage building next to Walgreens what a waste So close to the lakefront that is prime location for resturant too. Smiths did a great business there for many years.

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  32. I imagine the marathon lot was available to anyone who wanted to buy it and those who chose not to buy it are now sorry.

  33. So happy to see Euclid having restaurants interested in building and coming here. E. 185th is attracting great eating spots also. I see businesses revitalizing the area and this is exciting. This truly was a beautiful city on the lake and attracting more people to move in. I live here on the lake and love it and hope the city can turn back into a positive city rather than another statistic where everyone runs from.

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