Update: Zdenko Zovkic’s Jade to Open Thursday, April 7 in the Flats East Bank

Jade will open soon in the Flats East Bank. Credit: Douglas Trattner

Update: Back in January, we got a sneak peek of Jade, the splashy three-level Asian-fusion eatery opening in the Flats. Today we learned that the restaurant will officially open to the public on Thursday, April 7.

Here’s the original “First Look” story published 01-06-2022:

Ever since landing in Cleveland decades ago, it has been Zdenko Zovkic’s dream to have a restaurant on the waterfront. That finally will happen this spring when he opens Jade, a multi-level Asian-fusion concept in the Flats East Bank neighborhood.

This ambitious project has been nearly four years in the making, with Zovkic signing on even as his Warehouse District mainstay XO Prime Steaks was cruising through its second decade. But after shuttering XO a year and a half ago, Zovkic was able to devote all of his energy into getting this project done during a very difficult time.

“My two biggest wishes were always that I wanted to be downtown in the Warehouse District and I wanted to be on the water,” Zovkic says. “So both dreams fulfilled.”

Jade will open soon in the Flats East Bank. Credit: Zdenko Zovkic

Jade will be one of the first businesses to open in a pair of side-by-side duplexes on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. When it does open, it will offer guests three different experiences on three different levels. Each floor will accommodate approximately 100 guests and feature its own bar, menu, vibe and views. Both the first and second levels will have walls that open to the river.

“The first floor is more about the sushi, lounge and bar,” he explains. “A different menu, a little hipper, a little younger, a little more high energy. The second is designed to be more upscale.”

The main floor will be a no-reservation dining room with a lengthy sushi bar, separate cocktail bar and plenty of seating. On the menu will be sushi, steamed buns, noodles and other “street food” style items. The second floor, reached either by an elevator or grand staircase, has its own small bar and lounge plus a dining room. There, diners will enjoy sashimi, whole fish, steak and Asian-inspired items.