“It’s been a struggle from the get-go,” admits Grove Hill chef-owner Tim Bando. “And knowing that this is the time of year it really starts getting shitty again, the writing was on the wall.”

Bando opened Grove Hill four years ago this summer in the former home of Raintree, a Chagrin Falls dining institution that lasted more than 40 years. That surprising closure proved to be a foreshadowing of an ever-evolving restaurant landscape that also saw the shuttering of neighborhood stalwarts like Rick’s Café and Gamekeeper’s Tavern.

In a family-rich community like Chagrin Falls there are slow months, slow summers, and slow weeks following the opening of new restaurants, when it’s compulsory to sample the latest offerings. And there have been many, Bando points out.

“Right now, at four years old, we’re the third-oldest restaurant in Chagrin Falls,” he says in a head-scratching statement.

Throughout the four-year run, Bando has tried everything short of rebuilding the physical structure to right the ship, from adding weekend brunch and lunch, to reducing the ambitiousness and price of the menu offerings. But without investing significant capital to add a patio – or at the least a façade of garage doors that offers a similar experience – the future looked bleak.

“It became pretty clear to me early on that without a patio, we were out of the game,” he says.

A quarter century ago, Bando began his professional cooking career alongside Michael Symon at the Caxton Café – and he’s been around the block more than few times. But Grove Hill is the first restaurant he has owned, and it’s the first restaurant that he’s been compelled to close, which officially occurred following a private event on Saturday.

Bando says that he still is in the process of unraveling the whole operation and hasn’t given much thought to where he’ll go next or what he’ll do when he gets there.

This article appears in Jun 20-26, 2018.

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.

3 replies on “Grove Hill in Chagrin Falls has Closed”

  2. We really liked it there. The food and drink at Happy Hour could not be beat. Chef Bando was right about not having a patio.

    The one error in the article occurred when the Village was called a “family – rich community. That is very true. True ther are quite a few villagers the could regularly eat ou. However most can’t/don’t.

    There is no place for most of us to be “regulars. We’ve lost those to the new and trendy and expensive. Restaurant space costs, particularly rent, are too high for the “local” places we new.

    It’s the tourists(I didn’t say cone lickers ) that will support the cost of dong business.

    As mentioned previously it’s the New and Trendy that the tourists are looking for.

    I’m sorry to see Grove Hill leave. I won’t claim to know or understand the processes Chef Bando has gone through.

    However, the new and trendy mind set and the costs to locals will continue. Makes me sad!

    Roy

  3. Right you are, Roy. Chagrin is filled with chic places and very few family-friendly or reasonably priced ones aside from Yours Truly (which has been closed for reno lately anyway.) Perhaps the Grove Hill space will become home to a place thatll cater to people making less than six figures. The casts from Chagrin Valley Little Theatre end up driving out of town for post-show food these days because theres nothing left to walk to.

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