Twenty years after he opened his first Melt Bar and Grilled in Lakewood, and a year and half since the last location closed, Matt Fish is getting back into the restaurant game. Although the chef had remained open to a return to hospitality, he did not intend for that revival to happen so soon.
“I worked with Dave Ferrante last year on the Visible Voice space – I consulted with him on the café portion, the bar, the coffee – and we hit it off really well,” Fish says of his new landlord, who offered up the former Proof space. “I did some soul searching and decided that I wanted to get back in the game.”
This time around, Fish is being careful to keep his culinary options loose, he says.
“When I opened Melt, I unwittingly put myself inside of a box that I could not get out of: I was the grilled cheese guy,” he explains. “With this place, I don’t want to paint myself into a corner; I want to leave the concept open where I have the ability to do anything I want to.”
What does he want to do?
“I just want to do really kick-ass food.”
When it opens sometime in June, Proof Public House (4116 Lorain Ave.) will feature an all-day menu that will shift seasonally – or even weekly or daily – based on what’s available. At just over 50 seats indoors, the setting gives Fish the freedom to be flexible and creative. The chef and musician describes the bill of fare as elevated bar food, with a creative roster of appetizers, salads, burgers, sandwiches, pastas, entrees and specials. Fish inherited a wood-fueled Southern Pride smoker, which will be used for chicken wings, pork butts, tofu and whatever else he feels like tossing in there.
While turn-key, the space is getting a considerable refresh. Most of the wall space will be covered in concert flyers and band posters from iconic Cleveland clubs and shows. The original Jake Kelly murals from former Melt locations now have a new home in Ohio City.
“I tell people that I’m opening a punk-rock bar with really good food,” says Fish, who played at the infamous Speak in Tongues club down the block. “I’m just trying to create a very cool, fun, interesting, comfortable place for people to come.”
Fish might not be reviving Melt, but he does intend to offer at least one “throwback” sandwich at all times. He also plans to host Melt pop-ups a few times a year, at which time the menu will switch over to a nostalgic Greatest Hits number. Pop-up or not, Fish pledges to honor the Melt tattoo discount for his 1,000 ink-stained fans.
“I’m going to keep it going,” he says. “Those people are still VIPs to me.”
Fish launched Melt in Lakewood in 2006 and grew the company to dizzying heights before Covid and its aftermath brought the empire back down to earth. Throughout that journey, the chef openly pined for the early days when it was just him, his spatula and his kitchen mates.
“This is something I wanted to do for many, many years,” he shares. “Even after opening the first Melt location and expanding, I always looked back. Compared to 13 stores, 350 employees and millions of dollars of headaches, this is a nice breath of fresh air.”
Proof Public House will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week.
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