CLEVELAND — Monday marks the start of Cleveland Restaurant Week, when customers can try out different spots for just $36/person for a three course meal.
This Cleveland Independents initiative comes at a turning point for restaurants, with pandemic problems hopefully in their rear view mirror as more people head out for dining.
Participating restaurants include:
- Astoria Cafe & Market
- Batuqui on the Falls
- Batuqui The Flavor of Brasil
- Bell & Flower
- Blue Canyon Kitchen Tavern
- Bruno's Ristorante
- Cut 151 Supper Club
- Don's Lighthouse
- Don's Pomeroy House
- Edwin's Restaurant
- Fahrenheit
- Felice Urban Cafe
- Great Scott Tavern
- Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse-Beachwood
- Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse-Westlake
- L'Albatros Brasserie
- Lago East Bank
- Luxe Kitchen and Lounge
- Mallorca Restaurant
- Melt Bar and Grilled - Akron
- Melt Bar and Grilled - Independence
- Melt Bar and Grilled - Lakewood
- Melt Bar and Grilled - Mentor
- One Eleven Bistro
- Paladar Latin Kitchen
- Parallax Restaurant and Lounge
- Pier W
- Primo African Quisine
- Rood Food & Pie
- Taste
- The Woods
- Thyme2
- Twisted Taino Frappe Bar & Grill
To view each restaurant's specific menu for Cleveland Restaurant Week and learn more, click here.
Raj Singh owns Taste in Cleveland Heights, and said he’s excited for this upcoming spotlight, after nearly two years of dealing with the pandemic.
Singh said he considers himself lucky because with the help of an SBA loan, he never had to reduce his hours, lay off his staff, or close completely like some restaurants.
“I had confidence because I knew this wasn’t going to last forever but I was lucky to support my staff and myself,” he said.
John Barker serves as President and CEO of the Ohio Restaurant Association, and said that despite the promising signs over the past several weeks, he’s still hoping for more federal support to help protect restaurants as their recovery is far from over.
“They’re still sitting on all this debt and all these bills,” Barker said. “If you walk into a restaurant on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday, you say ‘wow they're busy and everything is good.’ It’s just not true. If you go back on Monday or Tuesday, a lot of them are closed.”
Data from the National Restaurant Association earlier this year shows 74% of restaurants say they are less profitable now than before the pandemic due to fewer customers, soaring inflation on food, supplies and wages, and a shortage of employees.
With Cleveland Restaurant Week slated to kick off, hopes are that it provides a boost to help offset some of those ongoing issues.
Cleveland Restaurant Week runs from March 14 through March 25.
