This Week in Cleveland Food News: Wine Dive Taking El Carnicero Spot and More

A bite-sized recap of all the news fit to eat

By on Fri, May 10, 2024 at 7:31 am

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click to enlarge A. J. Rocco's opening this week downtown. - Douglas Trattner
Douglas Trattner
A. J. Rocco's opening this week downtown.

- Dan Deagan and Jackie Ramey want to upend what you think of dive bars when they open Wine Dive in the former El Carnicero spot in Lakewood.


- A.J. Rocco's version 2.0 is set to debut in the Gateway District.


- Flight Social will bring, well, flights... of food and drink to the longtime Chocolate Bar spot downtown.


- Stirling is set to become the newest fine dining destination in the Merriman Valley.


- YYTime, the new food hall in AsiaTown, promised fun and variety and delivers on just that.


- Oliva, an Italian-themed steakhouse, will open its doors in the Warehouse District any day now.


- Gather Food + Drink opens in River.


- Finally, with more than a few closings of note in the first half of the year, it's welcome news that 17 new spots will be opening this summer. Here's what's on tap.

Slideshow

17 New Cleveland Area Restaurants to Look Forward to This Summer

Boom’s Pizza, Shaker Heights Last fall, Ben Bebenroth announced that he and his team had signed a lease for the former Michael’s Genuine space at Van Aken District. When it opens this summer, Boom’s Pizza in Shaker will join the original shop in Lakewood, which opened in early 2023. Once again, Bebenroth is working with Richardson Design to rework the space to better align it with their service approach, which blends the efficiency of a fast-casual operation with the comfort of a sit-down eatery. Guests order, pay and grab beverages from coolers filled with beer, wine by the can, split and bottle and soft drinks. For this location, they plan to dial back the self-serve beverage options in favor of a streamlined bar program featuring draft beers and draft cocktails.
Wine Dive, Lakewood El Carnicero served its last meal on Cinco de Mayo, but the space will soon have new life thanks to Dan Deagan and Jackie Ramey. The couple will open Wine Dive in early July, which combines the come-as-you-are appeal of the neighborhood dive with some actually decent wine and cocktails. Guests can expect 20 wines by the glass, twice that in bottles, plus classic cocktails and beer, all dished up alongside dive-bar vibes. The plan is to offer killer happy hours, a full roster of fun nightly promotions, and better-than-expected pub fare – including late-night brunch. A.J. Rocco’s A. Brendan Walton closed A. J. Rocco’s, his convivial Gateway District café, at the tail end of 2019, but within months he was planning to reinvent the spot a few doors down. After a gut renovation of the former Huron Point Tavern (and Alesci's Downtown) space, Rocco’s 2.0 is ready to welcome its first guests. At full bore, the two-level, three-bar eatery can serve 170 guests, but cozy nooks and private areas provide the flexibility to use the space as needed. Walton plans to ease into things with respect to food. Chef Devin Cerjan will offer approachable food that aims to fill the niche between basic fast-casual and pricy fine-dining. Diners can expect wings, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas and mac and cheese, plus nightly specials like pastas, steaks and seafood. Oliva, Downtown Oliva, an Italian-themed steakhouse, is opening this week. The new Warehouse District restaurant is owned by Lola Jacaj, formerly Sema, who also operates Acqua di Dea (formerly Acqua di Luca) and Casa La Luna (formerly Luca Italian Cuisine). A year-long renovation project has transformed the former Osteria space from a close-quartered trattoria to an elegant Tuscan-style ristorante. A blend of materials, textures, colors and artwork combine to create a contemporary and elegant dining room that feels much larger than its predecessor. The previously enclosed kitchen and private dining room in the rear of the space has been reconfigured into a dramatic open kitchen and chef’s counter. Overall, the seating in the restaurant has nearly doubled from 50 to 100, including the 14-seat quartzite-topped bar. Jacaj describes Oliva as a nose-to-tail restaurant that goes well beyond steaks and chops. Batuqui, Cleveland After nine years in their present home, Carla Batista and Gustavo Nogueira are relocating their beloved Brazilian restaurant. But they aren’t traveling far: the new eatery will be located 130 feet west in the former St. Paul’s Evangelical Church. The attractive Craftsman-style building on Larchmere was constructed in 1922 and features stained glass windows, soaring ceilings and rich wood accents. The ambitious project began this past fall and is expected to last until next fall. The owners will continue to operate from the original location throughout summer. (A second location in Chagrin Falls, which opened in 2021, is also running.) Seating will climb to a “comfortable” 110, including a stunning bar. There will be a small front patio and spacious lower level, which will be used for private events and live entertainment. Julia’s 1902, Willoughby Brothers Paul and Michael Neundorfer spent two years converting a former country estate in Willoughby into a posh 10-room inn and full-service restaurant called Julia’s 1902. Built at the turn-of-the-century by Charles Schweinfurth, who designed many of the houses on Cleveland’s famed "Millionaire's Row,” the Neo-Gothic mansion boasts original oak wood flooring, coffered ceilings, pocket doors, leaded-glass windows, stained-glass door panels and richly tiled fireplace surrounds. Chef José Coronado showcases his flair for fusing Latin American, Asian and American flavors into approachable, appealing dishes. The menu features starters like harissa-roasted carrots, tempura-fried cauliflower, and hamachi aguachile. Whole branzino is topped with ginger gremolata, duck confit gets the mole treatment, and a big bowl of pozole is capped with seared halibut. Moxie, Chagrin Falls Just as he recently did with Lopez, Brad Friedlander is dusting off an old brand and bringing it out of retirement. Moxie closed in 2019 after a laudable 22 years. Since opening in the late-1990s, the Beachwood bistro produced many of the region’s top chefs, including Doug Katz, Karen Small, Tim Bando, Eric Williams, Jonathan Bennett, John Kolar and others. Friedlander and partner Michael DuBois purchased Aurelia in Chagrin Falls, which closed after six years. Following a refresh of the property, Moxie will open in June, with Aurelia chef James Balchak staying on. The through lines connecting Moxie past and present, says management, will be the seasonal menus, from-scratch cooking, high-quality ingredients and elevated guest experience.
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Vince Grzegorek

Vince Grzegorek has been with Scene since 2007 and editor-in-chief since 2012. He previously worked at Discount Drug Mart and Texas Roadhouse.
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