For more than 30 years, Charley’s Crab was the place to go for fine seafood on the east side of Cleveland. The restaurant at the corner of Chagrin and Richmond in Beachwood was abruptly shuttered in 2007 by Landry’s Restaurants, the company that purchased it five years prior.
The building has been sitting vacant for six and a half years.
Within a few month’s time, the long-dormant property will again come to life, this time with Mexican food as its stock-in-trade. Casa Azteca (25766 Chagrin Blvd.), an offshoot of the Tres Potrillos restaurants in Akron and Medina, is shooting for a September opening.
Partner Arturo Martinez, currently a manager at Tres Potrillos, says the property was in poor shape, requiring all new electrical, plumbing and HVAC. Renovations that follow will bring the space up to modern, fashionable standards, he says.
When completed, the restaurant will seat approximately 200 guests in an upstairs dining room plus a lower-level private dining room with bar. The menu will include popular Mexican foods like enchiladas verdes, chicken mole, and arroz con mariscos, but also more modern interpretations of classics.
The presentation, promises Martinez, will set the restaurant apart from run-of-the-mill burrito shops. Authentic Mexican furnishings combined with contemporary tableware should offer a novel take on the genre.
Casa Azteca will be open for lunch and dinner.
This article appears in Jun 19-25, 2013.
Although I would much rather an awesome seafood place going back in there, I wish these guys the best and hope their restaurant succeeds. I’ll stop by to try it out and give them some support!