LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Matt Fish is back in the kitchen. And after a tumultuous year, that’s a relief.
“I can see my guests again. I can touch the food again. I can control the menu. And control the costs,” said Fish, the owner of Melt Bar and Grilled.
On Monday, he reopened his flagship Lakewood eatery with a revamped menu and new décor. It was a moment for celebration and reflection. The company is down to just one restaurant, from 10 at its peak.
The business is still going through bankruptcy, a move designed to shed debt and give Fish a chance to rebuild.
After years of dreaming big, he’s narrowing his focus.
“I don’t see us expanding ever again,” he said of the Melt brand, at least.
In many ways, the restaurant industry has bounced back from the pandemic. There are more food and beverage businesses opening than shutting across Ohio. And restaurant spending across the United States is at an all-time high, despite a summer slowdown.
But owners and operators are still navigating a tough landscape. They’re competing with food halls, food trucks, take-out and delivery. They’re trying to do lots of things at once, with little room for error, said John Barker, president and CEO of the Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance.
“We do see restaurants closing, and it’s hard to watch,” he said. “Many of them are getting caught up in what I call the new operating environment. … We’ve now settled into a new pattern with the way consumers use restaurants and grocery stores, quite honestly.”
And dining trends have shifted since 2006 when Fish started serving up overstuffed grilled-cheese sandwiches and craft beer in a pint-sized dining room with a punk aesthetic.
His new lineup in Lakewood nods to those changes.
Melt kept some of its signature sandwiches, including the Parmageddon, piled with locally made pierogi, cabbage and cheese. But the menu also includes grilled artichokes. Reimagined salads. A homemade veggie burger. And more traditional entrees, from a fried chicken dinner to a vegetable plate.
“We’re doing fried calamari,” Fish said. “Who ever thought that Melt Bar and Grilled would do fried calamari? But we are. Because that box that I created for myself is gone.”
'Everything had to be bigger and better'
Melt opened in Lakewood almost 18 years ago and quickly gained a cult following.
Fish, a musician, initially approached the restaurant as his secondary job.
“I never got into the business in the first place to have multiple stores. I don’t like chains. I don’t like volume cooking,” he said.
His passion project won accolades from The Food Network and The Travel Channel. Die-hard fans got grilled cheese tattoos to show their loyalty – and get discounts. And Fish rode that wave of enthusiasm, expanding to Cleveland Heights in 2010.
Then, he opened eight more restaurants. Melt also signed agreements with outside food stands that use the brand and recipes. Two of those satellite locations, at Progressive Field and Case Western Reserve University, are still open.
At its peak, the company had more than 350 employees. And Fish was considering a broader regional – or, possibly, national – expansion.
“I always had to one-up myself,” he said. “I always had to do something bigger and better and grander. Every store we opened up for 14 years, 15 years, had to be bigger than the one before. Had to be better than the one before. Had to be louder. The ceilings had to be higher. You know, everything had to be bigger and better.”
That aggressive growth – and the company’s move to a central prep kitchen – made it harder to be hands-on and keep the food quality consistent. And customers noticed.
Then, the pandemic upended the restaurant industry. Melt started losing money and never recovered. The cost of nearly everything soared. Staffing was a struggle.
The company shut down a few locations in 2020, 2022 and 2023. That trickle of closures turned into a flood this year. In June, Melt filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Fish said he initially thought about keeping three restaurants open. But he decided to go back to a single address, to the place where everything started. He hopes to lure old customers back and attract new regulars, people who will come more than once a year.
“I still don’t know if it’s going to work,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen today, tomorrow or the next day. But I didn’t want to give up on it.”
'Roll with the punches'
Melt isn’t alone in trimming its footprint. Other restaurants and retailers are making similar moves, pruning less profitable locations and reinvesting in their strongest sites.
“Rents for retail spaces continue to grow and grow and grow,” said Brandon Isner, the head of retail research for Newmark, a major real estate brokerage and advisory firm. “And that’s because prime retail space is at an all-time low in availability.”
Overall, the restaurant industry is healthy, he said. But in such a dynamic landscape, businesses need to evolve to stand out – and survive.
“Think about the coffee industry, how so many coffee shops now offer food, as well,” Isner said. “And how so many of the fast-food burger chains offer salads and more healthy options, trying to capture everyone possible. You have to be able to adapt. … Preferences change, and so you have to be able to roll with the punches.”
Isner lives in Cleveland and has been to at least three Melt locations over the years.
“Melt is absolutely unique,” he said. “The food that I would get there, I’ve never gotten anywhere else. And obviously they had a good scene inside.”
On Monday, that scene in Lakewood looked refreshed – but still familiar. There’s still the blue, pressed-tin ceiling. The neon signs. Lots of posters. Eclectic holiday decorations.
Two employees from the Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance grabbed one of the first tables. Their boss, Barker, was in Columbus. But he was cheering Fish on from afar.
“He has a tremendous amount of fans that love his product, love his brand,” Barker said. “And we’re rooting. And we’re gonna do everything we can to help.”
'Sink the ship and rebuild'
Melt is still working its way through bankruptcy court. Fish described that process as painful but worthwhile – like getting the tattoos that sleeve his arms.
“If someone tells you a tattoo doesn’t hurt, they’re lying to you,” he said. “They hurt. They hurt for a temporary amount of time, but they still hurt. Bankruptcy is the same way. It hurts. It sucks. It’s a lot of work. … But it is what it is.”
He doesn’t know when that process will end. But he believes it was the right move.
“We pulled every lever possible to keep Melt Bar and Grilled open,” he said, sitting in his refurbished Lakewood dining room. “The last lever possible was to literally sink the ship and rebuild the ship. And we are sitting in the new ship today.”
