CLEVELAND — The former Winking Lizard space on Huron Road East is turning into Urban Meyer’s Pint House Cleveland location. Saucy Brew Works acquired Urban Meyer's Pint House in 2024, but Meyer still works closely with the team.
“He's from Ashtabula, he's an Ohio native," said Amamda Cantor, Marketing Manager at Saucy Brew Works. "He said let's do another location and we were like let's do Cleveland."
The Winking Lizard in the Gateway District location closed its doors during the pandemic. Since the building sat empty, Cantor believes the potential surrounded by Rocket Mortgage Field Houses and Progressive Field is unstoppable.
“The Gateway District area is so great, so we just want to bring new energy to it,” Cantor said. “There's so much already with the stadiums, so this will just be another spot for people to go to when they are down here.”
Just across the street, another business owner who believes in Cleveland's Gateway District revival is Hanna Kassis.
“A lot of people thought we were kind of nuts, like 'Why are you buying a bar downtown?'" said Kawssis. "It's a ghost town."
He bought Whistle Tap Room in 2022. The self-serve beer wall bar was such a success this October, Kassis expanded into the old AJ Rocco's building, which has been empty since 2019. Whistle Tap Room now has a full kitchen serving food like pizza, paninis, and other appetizers.
“Urban Meyer's Pint House just announced they are moving across Tom's Watch Bar, and that's actually quite good for us because it's going to bring a lot more foot traffic,” Kassis said. “The Medical Mutual building right there is going to fill up. This whole area is a vacuum and we are going to expand our hours to accommodate basically anybody at any point in the day.”
While investing anywhere can be a gamble, business owners in the Gateway District remain optimistic, especially with the Guardians' stellar season and the Cavs' playing well so far.
“This is really going to be a sports hub,” Kassis said.
But most businesses on the block know they're only as strong as their weakest link.
“When you're down here, it's a commitment,” Cantor said. “We know when people are down here it's going to bring business to other businesses too.”
