Marc Bona, features writer, cleveland.com spoke to Bill about Bringing back an old friend: Restaurateur Brad Friedlander to open Lopez in Chagrin Falls - Turkey Trot progressive dining-sipping event is scheduled - A refreshed Nighttown set to open this month (photos)
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Bringing back an old friend: Restaurateur Brad Friedlander to open Lopez in Chagrin Falls
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio – Restaurateur Brad Friedlander is getting back into the game.
He is reviving Lopez, his old Mexican restaurant, this time at 506 E. Washington St. in Chagrin Falls. The address had been home to several restaurants in the recent past and is next to a Burntwood Tavern.
Friedlander told cleveland.com he just took possession of the restaurant Thursday and hopes to open in mid-November. He said he has replaced kitchen equipment and the chefs are starting to cook today – Friday, Oct. 27.
Friedlander had wanted to open a Mexican place after returning to Cleveland in the 1970s from California to work with his father, also in the restaurant business. There were ones here and there, and a couple of little places on the West Side, he said, but that was about it.
Then – in a right-place, right-time situation - noted chef Rick Bayless had come into town to do some cooking classes, and Friedlander seized what he called the “fortuitous” moment.
“We knew back then what he was. He was the Van Gogh of Mexican food,” he said. “The things he did, the things that he taught, the way he behaved set the tenor in my kitchens for the last 50 years - the cleanliness, the quality, the freshness.”
Friedlander had opened what was Lopez y Gonzalez in 1980. Its original location was at 2066 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. It closed in 1998. Even with Friedlander’s experience, Bayless’ name and a focus on upscale Mexican – this was not a place to just grab a few tacos – there was a learning curve among diners.
When the restaurant opened, “People didn’t understand it. They were coming in looking for chimichangas. They were looking for things we weren’t doing. They didn’t understand jalapeno mustard sauce, fish dishes, the chicken. We loved the food and it was phenomenal, but the public didn’t take to it right away.
“The people who understood what we were doing appreciated it; the people who didn’t condemned us.”
Then a glowing review ran in The Plain Dealer, and the restaurant took off.
Now it’s Lopez 2.0.
“It’s going to be like Lopez y Gonzalez, but just the Lopez part,” he joked.
Armed with Bayless’ recipes, the restaurant will accommodate about 50 seats with 25 to 30 on the patio.
“It’s going to be a small restaurant, because I know what it’s like to have a big restaurant these days,” he said.
“One of the fearful things about doing something like this is everyone is going to say, ‘It’s not the same.’ That’s a big thing.”
Friedlander said he contacted many of the original employees to test the food in a beta-like, trial-and-error stage.
“It’s so different from any Mexican restaurant in Cleveland,” he said. “It’s not taco-based. We do Mexican entrees.”
While there will be some enchiladas and tacos al carbon, expect diverse culinary offerings. As good Italian restaurants know to offer more than spaghetti and meatballs, a true Mexican menu will have an array of dishes.
The wide-ranging menu will include salmon, game hen, chicken mezcal, pork chops and assorted fish dishes, he said. Many will be based on the original recipes, which Friedlander has.
He closed Blu, the Restaurant in 2022 because of economic issues and staffing challenges, residual effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Blu - like Red, the Steakhouse and Moxie, two other Friedlander joints – was pretty spacious.
“My kitchen before (at Red and Moxie) was bigger than this whole restaurant,” he said.
“The situation for me is I can’t see operating a large restaurant anymore,” he said. “It’s just too difficult getting qualified help.”
Friedlander said when he owned Moxie and Red, he had 125 to 130 employees. About 45 of those were Culinary Institute of America graduates.
“When I closed those restaurants,” he said, “I didn’t have one.”
He has chefs lined up and has been approached by his original bartenders. And he said he’s going to start with a small, manageable menu that probably will be expanded.
“I’ve got to deliver and make the food as good as it was,” he said.
Turkey Trot progressive dining-sipping event is scheduled
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Grand River Valley wine region’s 15th annual Turkey Trot is set for Nov. 1-22.
The progressive food and wine tasting event includes these Northeast Ohio wineries offering samples paired with Thanksgiving-inspired appetizers:
• Debonné Vineyards, 7840 Doty Road, Madison
• Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, 5585 N. River Road W, Geneva
• Grand River Cellars Winery & Restaurant, 5750 S. Madison Road, Madison
• Laurello Vineyards, 4573 Ohio 307, Geneva
• Cask 307 Winery, 7259 Warner Road, Madison
The pairings will be offered noon to 5 p.m.
The self-driving tour has been expanded so folks can stop during the week when wineries are a bit less crowded, said Cindy Lindberg, president of Grand River Cellars, in a press release.
All the participating wineries – which are within 10 minutes of each other – will feature a different part of the Thanksgiving meal and pair two wines.
Patrons can visit in any order. Each winery will have maps.
Turkey Trot menu
Cask 307: Pilgrim pies (pumpkin whoopie pies).
Debonne Vineyards: Baked turkey and brie sliders with cranberry.
Ferrante Winery & Ristorante: Wild rice with shaved Brussels sprouts, cranberries and bubbly rosé glaze.
Grand River Cellars Winery & Restaurant: Roasted apple and pumpkin soup with bacon and parmesan-crusted croutons.
Laurello Vineyards: Spicy apricot meatballs.
Cost is $9 at each winery and includes wine and hearty appetizer. The wineries will donate a portion to local food banks.
A refreshed Nighttown set to open this month (photos)
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- It’s taken a few years, a lot of TLC, a vision to look to the future and a respect for the past, but Nighttown is back.
The restaurant, which opened in Cleveland Heights in 1965, is set to open on Friday, Nov. 10. The team behind Red, the Steakhouse owns the venerable spot in Cleveland Heights. Brendan Ring, who owned the restaurant for two decades, closed it in 2020, a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.
With a clubby feel and home for jazz music, the restaurant had a good run. When Gregg Levy, managing partner of Red, the Steakhouse, and his team came in, they took on the burden of restoration during the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. Supply chain and other issues cropped up. But he was breathing a bit easier Thursday night at a sneak preview.
“It is the start of a sigh of relief because there is still so much to be done,” he said.
“This is a community asset,” Levy added. “The reason it took so long is we’re pretty cognizant of that, and we had to preserve this community asset, without sounding too cliched.”
Nighttown was opened originally as a one-room storefront eatery, said Toni Lampros, director of hospitality for the company that has about 125 to 175 employees. She’s particularly excited about the renovation and reopening, having lived in the vicinity since 2006, she said.
“As Nighttown evolved, they added things,” she said.
Rooms were constructed. A private area was made available. A patio came to be. But when Levy and Co. bought it, they had their work cut out.
Walls were taken down to the studs. HVAC, sprinkler system, electrical, the kitchen, banquettes – all new. Wainscoting was added in a room to tastefully hide the electrical while matching the décor in the rest of the place. Woodwork and glass was preserved.
Art – and there was plenty of art on the walls - was stored in a temperature-controlled unit during the renovation. A pair of pianos also moved out. Much of the art is back up, though it is not nearly as cluttered.
“We will continue to add artwork just like they did before,” Lampros said.
They repurposed or kept the original of everything they could possibly preserve.
Bar shelves holding liquor were church pews in a previous life. The tin ceiling was replaced. A long hallway in the back was closed off, but restrooms were expanded for ADA compliance. All the nooks and crannies add character, Lampros said.
“We’ve always said all along, we’re stewards of Nighttown,” she said.
Levy relayed a compliment that sums the goal of the renovation: A pal told him, “You made sure you made it Nighttown.”
Executive chef is Rowan Murray, who will oversee a few changes on the menu.
“It still has the same style,” Lampros said. “I think these days we would call it New American, chef-driven, seasonally inspired, but it’s pared down because we’re a scratch kitchen where it makes sense so we’re producing a majority of the items from start to end in house.
“But there are a few carryovers like the burger, the Dublin Lawyer and Trout Almondine. We’re doing a calamari, but it’s different. Some things are a little bit different, but it’s in the same thread of making seasonal changes.”
She said the menu will hold about nine appetizers, four salads with protein add-ons, plus sandwiches and entrees that include steak, seafood and more. A pastry chef is now in place, and weekend brunch is planned, probably after Jan. 1.
Other aspects of what to expect:
• The stage was preserved, and a custom curtain is being made. “We’re trying to get the music right,” Levy said. “The music is going to be a little harder for us, because we have to be very cognizant of capacity. It’s not like the old days when you could put 400 people in here.”
• A needed parking garage is new behind the restaurant, built at the same time of the apartment complex The Ascent. But about 250 spots are allocated for the public, and in a neat touch, plans are in the works for a staircase to go in place of one parking spot as a shortcut for customers.
• The Stephen’s Green patio canopy was touched up, and some televisions were added.
• New Press Club plaques have been created and will be going up. The restaurant is the longtime home of the Cleveland Press Club.
In the end, the renovation was as much about restoration as it was updating.
“I always say the greatest thing about Nighttown is it’s Nighttown,” Levy said.
About Nighttown
Where: 12383 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights
Re-opening: Friday, Nov. 10.
Hours: The restaurant will open at 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday.