LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Loyal fans of Melt Bar and Grilled will tell you the Northeast Ohio mainstay has left a permanent mark in the region. For close to a thousand customers, the mark is a literal one.
In 2008, the restaurant chain offered a lifetime 25% discount for anyone with a Melt grilled cheese tattoo.
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“I thought it was the coolest thing that a company offered a discount for getting a tattoo. How can you say no?” laughed Jordan Barrett.
His ink features one of the guardians of transportation from the Hope Memorial Bridge holding a grilled cheese sandwich.
“My coworker drew it and then I went and got it tattooed the next day,” he recalled.
That kind of quirky enthusiasm helped popularize the Northeast Ohio chain as it expanded to more than a dozen locations around Ohio.
“It was larger than life,” said owner Matt Fish. “We created our own little sub-culture within this building.”
On New Year’s Day, Fish announced on social media that he would be permanently closing Melt’s last remaining location.
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“The economy didn’t do us many favors. Our sales just kept decreasing, decreasing, decreasing and there’s really nothing we could do about it. I tried every single thing. Every lever was pulled to save this business and unfortunately it didn’t work,” he told News 5.
On Friday, the original Lakewood location opened its doors for a final run. In what the owner called a “garage sale, memorial and celebration of life,” customers were invited to peruse the restaurant’s carefully curated collection of merchandise, artwork and small wares.
Both longtime customers and curious passersby lined up in a queue that wrapped around the building.
“I watch American Pickers and it kind of inspired me to come out and see what kind of interesting things I could find,” said Will Talarico.
Barrett added, “A tattoo is one thing, but if you have something you can hang on the wall and remember all the good times, that’s what I want.”
Everything from dinner plates and beer glasses to decades-old Cleveland baseball memorabilia and black-and-white photos of Cleveland’s Public Square was available for purchase. Many of the items were a source of nostalgia for customers.
“It was such an iconic thing. Hipster mecca is what I called it,” laughed bartender Chris Johnson.
Barrett added, “It was very Cleveland.”
It was a bittersweet goodbye for the longtime owner.
“I’m going to miss the guests coming in, I’m going to miss the camaraderie we had, the Melt family - just what we’ve done for 18 years,” said Fish. “I just hope Cleveland remembers me fondly.”
Some expect Melt to become a fixture in Cleveland’s public consciousness.
“I’m going to miss it. But I think it will live on in the lore. We’ll keep it alive,” Johnson said.
The garage sale and celebration of life will continue on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. at Melt’s Lakewood location.
Gift cards can be redeemed at the bar during those hours or used for 50% off, up to $25, at Sauced Taproom until April 30.
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