811 Kitchen Bar Lounge, the globally influenced, modern-American kitchen and bar that was opened by RED Restaurant Group last year, closed yesterday. The move is temporary, says a spokesperson, with plans for a “comprehensive rebrand” and subsequent reopening tentatively scheduled for fall 2017.

“At every RED location, we regularly evaluate how to best serve our guests, ranging from menu offerings to restaurant atmosphere and overall design,” Jonathan Gross, RED Restaurant Group president and CFO, explains. “A variety of factors, including our ownership of the building, will allow us to introduce a new concept specifically tailored to the Cleveland market and RED Restaurant Group vision.”

This move follows on the heels of the departure of Jonathan Bennett, executive chef and operating partner. Bennett left the organization to launch his own restaurant consulting company.

RED Restaurant Group, which includes Moxie in Beachwood, recently opened a new Red, the Steakhouse in Indianapolis and has plans to open new spots in Pittsburgh and the Pinecrest development.

“We sincerely thank all of our guests who were patrons of 811,” said Gross. “We look forward to welcoming them back, and invite all to experience our additional RED locations in the meantime.”

This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2017.

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.

2 replies on “RED Restaurant Group Shutters 811 Kitchen Bar to Rebrand”

  1. This is a tragedy. Great place, great staff, great food, amazing atmosphere and just marketed poorly. Too bad they didn’t give it a chance. Don’t even think it made it a year So bummed.

  2. This is peculiar to me, I always felt as though their branding was good. I guess they could have done more to advertise, but not sure why that would warrant them to close down and start from the beginning. My guess is that they won’t ever reopen.

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