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“This last week I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. I’ve been so excited,” says David Hridel, sounding a bit like an expecting father. “I just signed the lease an hour ago and finally have the key.”

Hridel is talking about the historic Bridgeview Café, the squat green-roofed building on Lorain, just a couple blocks east of the West Side Market. The funky building has been squarely in the sights of many an entrepreneur, but until now, it’s been an elusive prey.

“It’s literally one of my favorite buildings,” says Hridel, for years a fixture in the Cleveland bar and dining scene. “I’ve been trying to track down the owner for years.”

Hridel, most recently GM with the restaurant group behind ABC, XYZ and Viaduct Lounge, says that he is shooting for a June 2 opening of the Bridgeview Tavern and Co. When renovations are complete, the 2,600-square-feet building with attached garage should seat approximately 90 in the bar and dining room.

“It’s bigger than it looks from the outside,” he notes.

Changes to the building will be kept to a minimum, easy to do when the space comes with a 32-foot tigerwood bar. Hridel’s wife, a historic preservationist, uncovered some interesting facts on the property, which dates back well before the Prohibition. The last time the building actually served customers likely was in the early 1990s.

While a chef has yet to be named, the concept is being billed as a “gastro-tavern,” with made-from-scratch small plates. Imbibers will see 25 taps and an eclectic spirits program. Plans are to open for dinner only and later add weekend brunch. Down the road, a back patio and possibly rooftop bar will be added as well.

Erica Coffee, another former ABC, XYZ staffer, will join Bridgeview as GM.

This article appears in Mar 21-27, 2012.

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.

12 replies on “Historic Bridgeview Cafe to Re-Open After Decades of Darkness”

  2. Oh I love the Bridgeview building. I think it is an amazing time warp, I always imagined what it was like in its hey day Friday nights Fish Fry and dancing

  6. WOW! I never even knew this place was empty–can’t wait to see it open again.

  8. So Anna Lee says ‘Can’t wait, I have always loved this building’ and she receives 3 likes (one mine) and three dis-likes. I understand when I get 3 dislikes because I say a lot of offensive stuff…but when a comment like Anna had sends back negative reinforcement to Anna, it will not help to make this site more lively and less negative..Funny is fine, but there are a few commentors who are just being angry. Kind of like kids leaving ‘fuck you’ as their graffitti trademark…along with millions of other idiots. We know we have as many idiots in Cleveland as the rest of the country, but why do we promote them so? Now the pd’s news comments are even more negative even though you can’t swear on those…the anger and hatred of man for man still comes through loud and angry and stupid…yahoo is the worst…the nation is going insane and the drum-beaters are stiring the shit. Spring is here and it feels a little like 1969. Even the names the far right calls the liberal minded peace-freaks is the same stuff as the 60s and the civil rights movement people were called…’dirty hippies, drug addicts, libtards, rapists and trouble makers. and the racial slurs are as high as they were in the deep south when Lester Madox and George Wallace were running things. We liberal minds are also, again called, commies, pinkos, fucking socialists, n-word lovers and dirty white trash…and these are the names they feel comfortable calling us right on the social media…and they have a shit load of others who agree with the hatred and anger and they all kind of have social media mob violence and mob verbal behavior…The streets have not yet become too bad because most who spit hate on the social media do not say thses things in public. Maybe if they are around like-idiotic-minds who make a steady diet of hate talk, hate communications, fuck all but us good guys types.

  9. I talked to one of the owners of the building around thanksgiving time. He said it used to be a gas station a long time ago.

  11. It’s now Dec 1st, 2013.. Bridgeview still not open.. I was looking forward to this.. What happened ??

  12. I AM 80 YEARS OLD MY FATHER AND I WOULD GO IN THERE EVERY DAY.
    HE WOULD DRINK P.O.C. AND I DRANK 7 UP WE WOULD PLAY SHUFFLE BOARD
    TILL MY ARM WOULD ACHE IN THE 60s

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