Eugene Kitchen, Home of the Tinman Burger, Heading to BottleHouse Brewery in Cleveland Hts.

One of the best things to come out of the Ohio City Galley is the Tinman Burger, a drippy double smash burger with American cheese, special sauce, and sweet and spicy pickles on a brioche bun. The burger was so good, in fact, that it helped ignite a smash burger goldrush throughout The Land.

After leaving the Galley, chef Michael Schoen took his talents to Lakewood, where he opened Eugene Kitchen at BottleHouse Brewery (13368 Madison Ave., 216-401-9473). Originally, he says, the plan was to open a second shop at the Cleveland Heights BottleHouse as well, but the pandemic threw a monkey wrench in those plans.

Now, three years later, Schoen will follow through with those plans to open a second location on the east side. Eugene Kitchen will open at the Cleveland Heights BottleHouse on November 30. Saroj & Carlos will be departing after nearly a year.

Schoen says that in hindsight, he’s glad to have had the past three years to prepare for expansion.

“We could have opened in both places, we could have had a brick-and-mortar, but we really wanted to make sure that what we were doing was consistent,” he explains. “Now we’re ready. We have an awesome staff that has been with me for a couple years, so the consistency is there – making sure that it’s the same.”

Schoen says that in addition to the “cult-like following” there is for the Tinman burger, Eugene has built a solid reputation in Lakewood for its entire operation. The menu, which will be largely the same as in Lakewood, will offer a vegan burger, fried chicken sandwich, Buffalo chicken sandwich, crispy tenders, hand-cut fries and a few other sides.

Eugene at BottleHouse will be open for dinner seven days a week and lunch on the weekends.

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