Cleveland.com Marc Bona spoke to Bill about the latest in Cleveland Beer-Restaurant News - How the Buildings and Food-Griffin Cider House deal came about - Salted Dough Bistro Italian restaurant-Cleveland’s Little Italy - 10th Burns Night coming up at Market Garden Brewery
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How the Buildings and Food-Griffin Cider House deal came about
Here’s a look at how the deal between Buildings and Food and Griffin Cider House & Gin Bar came about.
(posting at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23)
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Two guys walk into a bar.
In this case, the joke is reality, with one guy looking to sell and another willing to buy. And that’s essentially the genesis of how Buildings and Food bought Griffin Cider House & Gin Bar.
Richard Read founded Griffin more than eight years ago on Madison Avenue in Lakewood. At first it started as a venue for his cidermaking but soon evolved into a comfortable neighborhood pub. But it was double duty for Read, who works second shift as a medical laboratory scientist for University Hospitals. With a wife and boys aged 12 and 18 he wanted to spend more time with, the 43-year-old was looking to get out.
Enter Will Hollingsworth.
Hollingsworth has been a presence for several years in the Northeast Ohio bar and restaurant scene, known for the former cocktail-focused Spotted Owl in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood. But his company, Buildings and Food, has slowly evolved into a bite-sized independent culinary and libation empire with a focus in Cleveland.
Last month, Buildings and Food opened La Cave du Vin on Jefferson Avenue in Tremont in the former Spotted Owl. Prosperity Social Club, the longtime, comfortable spot on Starkweather Avenue, is part of the company’s mix, as is Old 86 on Detroit Avenue in the city’s Gordon Square neighborhood. Good Company on W. 76th Street sits in Battery Park, and a second Good Company is planned for the former Spotted Owl Akron outpost.
The common denominator is all are in old, established neighborhoods with diverse food and drink offerings. And that fits Hollingsworth, a self-described “neighborhood guy.”
Hollingsworth, originally from Oregon, wasn’t looking to extend his footprint further, but he said he was intrigued by the idea when Read brought it to him. Still, he had his hands full.
“I hadn’t looked too much farther than what the headlights in front of me had shown me,” he said.
Initially, “it didn’t make sense at the time,” he said, adding it was “tough to imagine having anything else on my plate. Richard Read and I have known each other a long time and have respect for each other.
But the more Read talked about the neighborhood and developments coming with Mahall’s and LBM, Hollingsworth thought, “Maybe this does make sense.”
Mahall’s is about four blocks to the west, and LBM is next door. LBM owners bought Deagan’s Kitchen & Bar on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood. And Mahall’s – the century old bowling alley founded as a dance hall – added an entertainment space.
“There’s so much cool stuff there,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever given myself the opportunity to think about the neighborhood holistically.”
Months later, the two found themselves doing due diligence, Hollingsworth said.
“The building has great bones and has potential for an incredible patio, which I am excited about,” he said.
In a way, the acquisition is a first for Hollingsworth, whose previous deals usually include keeping places the same save for a menu tweak or two. But “this is the first time we acquired something but not planned to keep the original concept.”
Read started the pub when he was still making craft cider, a complex and well-made drink – and not like the sugary mass-produced ciders.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that if the cider production had never have happened, the bar would never have happened,” he said, crediting his staff. “The bar has been a resounding success.”
Read has said Griffin was the region’s first cider house and believed it to be the second in Ohio. But he ceased cider production in late 2016 / early 2017.
“The reality was the company never made the money we needed to make,” he said. “I think we were ahead of the times, but we weren’t able to get the investment we needed to take it to the next level.”
That said, he admits to missing cider making and said he’ll probably start making some at home “once the dust settles.” For now, he’s wrapping his head around the end of his pub.
“There’s definitely going to be a lot of tears when it happens,” he said, “but Will’s going to put a cool thing in there.”
Hollingsworth is a bit nebulous about exactly what’s going in.
“The concept is more of a look and feel in my head,” he said.
Currently, Griffin doesn’t have a kitchen, and Hollingsworth is taking a break from his penchant for cocktails.
Read said he might add more hours at UH, where he does lab diagnostics in microbiology, which includes coronavirus research.
“Unfortunately, I have a tendency to be kind of into infectious diseases,” he said. “That’s where I nerd out.”
His future is “somewhat undecided,” he said, adding he loves cooking at home.
“I like especially to focus on the unknown area of British cooking that people like to normally give me a lot of crap about,” he said. “So I’ve been re-educating people on Facebook slowly about what real British cooking is about.”
A YouTube channel or a podcast might be in his future, and he said he might find himself helping a fellow Brit with his pie cooking. For now, his immediate future is the closure of the pub, whose last day will be Wednesday, Jan. 31.
“I’m definitely very sad to be leaving. It’s a little scary, too. My time’s coming; I do need to retire. And I’m happy about it. I’m excited to see what new adventures the road holds for me. I’ve been saying to people, ‘The book of Griffin is now closed.’ Now let’s see what pages of a new book will be opened.”
Salted Dough Bistro brings a fresh spin on the old-school Italian restaurant to Cleveland’s Little Italy (photos)
By Paris Wolfe
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Salted Dough Bistro opened five days before Christmas in Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood. It’s the second Salted Dough brand restaurant for chef/owner Jeff Fisher. The first location opened four years ago in Broadview Heights.
The 75-seat restaurant has taken over space occupied for four months by Campus Pollyeyes at 12308 Mayfield Road, across from Guarino’s Restaurant. The owner is still waiting for new signage, so look for the grand opening banner.
Like the original Salted Dough, the restaurant offers artisan pizza but the real focus is casual, fine dining. The menu goes deep on artisan pastas and pizzas but there is so much more.
“We wanted to do a scratch kitchen-style Italian restaurant and bring something to the street that no one else does,” says Jeff. “We do all of our butchering in-house, make all of our breads, our desserts, our cocktails from scratch. We make a lot of our flat pastas, tortelloni, tortellini, agnolotti.
“It’s the way food should be made,” he says. “We even make our own ketchup and yum yum sauce for French fries. The only things we have in our freezer are peas and corn. "
“We try to put a big focus on the fresh pastas that we make daily. The flavors speak for themselves.”
“We do a lot with hand-rolled ricotta gnocchi,” he says. The new Little Italy menu currently offers five different gnocchi dishes including lobster, shrimp, sweet pea, mushroom and marinara options. The lobster ravioli go beyond simple expectations; they are lobster corn truffle gnocchi.
Not everything is simple and rustic. The menu gets fancy with pistachio-crusted rack of lamb, a filet with royal trumpet mushrooms, a house-made porchetta and bouillabaisse.
And the kitchen makes a well-crafted pizza.
“We make the dough a little differently,” Jeff says. He starts the day before a very wet dough known as a poolish, which differs from the Italian wet dough starter known as a biga. The result, he says, is a light, crunchy and airy crust.
“It’s like eating a French baguette with long striations and air pockets,” he explains. “It gives a good mouth feel.”
10th Burns Night coming up at Market Garden Brewery
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The annual Burns Night is scheduled at Market Garden Brewery.
The feast, which honors Scottish poet Robert Burns, is billed as a “Scottish extravaganza” of flavors. It’s 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26.
The menu includes traditional haggis, curried haggis, shepherd’s pie, roasted root veggies, mashed potatoes and shortbread. A dram of whiskey rounds out the epicurean birthday party.
Kilts are optional, and expect a few poetry readings.
Burns – who was born Jan. 25, 1759 – was a prolific poet. Among his litany of rhymes is “Man Was Made To Mourn,” which includes these prescient lines:
“Many and sharp the num’rous ills
Inwoven with our frame!
More pointed still we make ourselves,
Regret, remorse, and shame
It was published in 1784, long before the Cleveland Browns lost the 2024 Wild Card playoff game to Houston.
Cost is $47.95 via opentable.com.
The brewery is at 1947 W. 25th St., Cleveland.