Cincinnati staple, "Penn Station" has recently moved into University Circle in Cleveland! They may have been there a while and I just didn't notice it but I'm EXTREMELY happy to find this out, as I'm an east-sider and recent transplant who lives nearby, in Cleveland Heights. I was just talking to my girlfriend about Penn Station as she and I were entering survey results for her project with Shaker Heights Development Corp. regarding what businesses residents want to see in Shaker Town Center area. One person responded to said survey, expressing that they want to see a Penn Station in Shaker Town Center. When I read that, I told her that I can't believe I had forgotten about Penn Station and that I wish there was one around here; they actually have REALLY good subs! Later today, my girlfriend coincidentally just happened to spot a Penn Station in University Circle on her way to CSU and called me immediately to tell me, lol! That was so weird. We were literally just talking about it! I wonder if folks in Cleveland like it?

 

In other news, Swensons, the infamous Akron-only chain, personally acclaimed by ColDayMan himself (and also Lebron James,) is also moving into Metro Cleveland.

 

Update: After much speculation, Swensons Drive-In is coming to University Heights, and could be open within the year.

 

In April, Scene broke the news that Swensons had plans to open an eighth location, this one in the Cleveland area. Now, with the approval of the University Heights City Council earlier this week, LeBron James' favorite burger joint is officially coming to the east side.

 

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2017/04/06/swensons-is-expanding-to-cleveland-this-year

 

I can't wait to check these places out. I'm anxious to see if Penn Station up here, lives up to what I knew in my days in Cincy and I'm also curious to see what the hype is about, with Swensons. I can't say that I'd be willing to drive to Akron just to check out a burger joint but if it's coming to University Heights, I'd check it out in a heart beat as it's practically a hop, skip and a jump along Cedar Rd!

 

For the love of God, lets just put the city and regional bickering behind us in this thread and simply discuss our love for truly great Ohio chains and staples. I want to hear about the very successful Aladdin's (based in Lakewood) expanding in Cincinnati and beyond, or hear positive reviews from Columbusites on the Melt restaurants that have expanded into the Short North and Easton. Same with the inverse, hearing Clevelanders speak positively about places like Penn Station, Donatos, or whatever local and regional business that manage to land franchise partners or muster up the capital to expand small businesses with great products near us - no matter what city or region in Ohio we all live in - and also beyond.

 

 

Yeah, IDK about that specific location, but Penn Station has been in the Cleveland market for quite some time. I didn't even know it was a Cincinnati thing until I moved from Cleveland to Cincinnati in 2011. Although to be fair, I didn't know Mr. Hero was only a Cleveland thing until that same move (but Mr. Hero isn't exactly the greatest regional chain in the world, despite their current slogan of "Ohio's favorite sandwich" or some other weird claim).

Another thing that I was thinking about, is how the west side of Cleveland has an amazing Vegetarian and Vegan scene, with places like Town Hall, Banter and Cleveland Vegan. My girlfriend and I always look forward to stopping there before going to the beach at Edgewater. I think those restaurants would fare really well particularly in Columbus but also even in Cincinnati. I've always been quite the carnivore and I was only made aware of Cleveland's Vegan and Vegetarian scene through my vegetarian girlfriend but I have to admit, it's some of the best food I've ever had. Also, whoever takes over the kitchen at Poisonberry on Larchmere near Shaker Square for weekend brunches, is extremely notable. I've been repeatedly going there for brunch to get carryout for vegan Omelets and Sushi because the food is so good. I hope they have their own place or are able to expand. The world needs more of their food.

^^ Depending on where you live in C.H., there's also a Penn Station on Warrensville Center in the (dreaded) Wal-Mart plaza.  I haven't live in Cincy in 15 years so I can't really compare, but I still love the Penn Station up here.

Yeah, IDK about that specific location, but Penn Station has been in the Cleveland market for quite some time. I didn't even know it was a Cincinnati thing until I moved from Cleveland to Cincinnati in 2011. Although to be fair, I didn't know Mr. Hero was only a Cleveland thing until that same move (but Mr. Hero isn't exactly the greatest regional chain in the world, despite their current slogan of "Ohio's favorite sandwich" or some other weird claim).

 

What do you think is wrong with it? Personally, I figured that it's a good location because the area has a lot of (at least temporary) Ohio transplants, due to Case. A decent amount of those transplants would obviously come from Cincinnati or Columbus. It seems like it's as good a location as any, to be honest.

^I meant to say "I don't know if that location is new".

^^ Depending on where you live in C.H., there's also a Penn Station on Warrensville Center in the (dreaded) Wal-Mart plaza.  I haven't live in Cincy in 15 years so I can't really compare, but I still love the Penn Station up here.

 

REALLY?! I've been to that Walmart. I don't remember a Penn Station being there. I know there's a Steak and Shake. It really seems like I would have noticed a Penn Station. I remember a lot of the big box retail space being vacant over there, which is pretty tragic. Overall, the area seems pretty vibrant. That shopping center on Cedar has a lot of nice stuff, like Pet Smart, Starbucks, Chipotle, Piada (which sucks but people seem to love it,) Five Guys, etc. It baffles me that that strip where Walmart is located, is struggling. Or at least seems to.

 

That's crazy. I had no idea a Penn Station was over there. I don't know how I missed it. They've been there a while?

^^ Depending on where you live in C.H., there's also a Penn Station on Warrensville Center in the (dreaded) Wal-Mart plaza.  I haven't live in Cincy in 15 years so I can't really compare, but I still love the Penn Station up here.

 

REALLY?! I've been to that Walmart. I don't remember a Penn Station being there. I know there's a Steak and Shake. It really seems like I would have noticed a Penn Station. I remember a lot of the big box retail space being vacant over there, which is pretty tragic. Overall, the area seems pretty vibrant. That shopping center on Cedar has a lot of nice stuff, like Pet Smart, Starbucks, Chipotle, Piada (which sucks but people seem to love it,) Five Guys, etc. It baffles me that that strip where Walmart is located, is struggling. Or at least seems to.

 

That's  crazy. I had no idea a Penn Station was over there. I don't know how I missed it. They've been there a while?

 

One of the first tenants in there.  If you are facing Wal-Mart, it's in a small building on the right, with a Foot Locker I believe.

 

That plaza basically poached from other nearby retail.  The area can only support so much and I imagine Cedar Center has lower rents (and better visibility).  Speaking of Pet Smart - there's a Pet People's across the street - I like them better as I think they are a local franchise (as opposed to corporately owned) and they have rewards programs and self-washing pet baths for only $10!  And they do the clean up!

 

Penn Station actually used to be at the old Cedar Center north building, probably 8 years ago they moved out when the plaza was being redeveloped and everyone was kicked out.

Yeah, I think the problem is that it's a little too much off the beaten path, even though they have Wal-Mart as an anchor.

 

I also heard that the development where Macys and Target is located, is going backrupt. Sad, because I really like that Target. Despite being in a 'suburb' (University Heights,) it's an urban-style target with multiple stories and a parking garage. However, I noticed that signage indicating what all stores are located within the development, refer to businesses that are no longer there. I don't know what happened; it seems like those businesses would do well there. My best guess is that visibility from Cedar Rd. is a huge issue. You wouldn't know very easily that those prominent retail stores within that development are there, unless you're wondering around the parking garage within it and noticing the signs. Retail activity is centered inward, not outward.

 

The neighborhoods nearby also seem somewhat poor, judging from the small post ww2 housing stock I noticed, nearby. They'd have to rely on higher income Shaker, CH and Beachwood residents to keep them afloat but I think if those residents are going to venture further out from nearby places like  Shaker Town Center, they're probably just going to bypass it and go ahead to Legacy.

If it is a good concept i don't particularly care where the franchise starts out of. Many new franchises have started up fast pizza concept and honestly I'd rather have a Dayton style pizza than those mediocre thin high heat pizzas. 

  I'm totally satisfied with Cosmic Daves and Jersey Mikes for subs. 

  I don't care for fast casual restaurants that seem to test market around Columbus before metastasizing to other parts of Ohio.  I think Winking Lizard crushes those anyway.

  I tried the bakersfield taco place. I'm lukewarm about it. Seems overpriced for what it is. $4 mini tacos that were very hit and miss.  I'd much rather go to taco tantos and barrio.

  Anything truly interesting will more than likely come from the coasts. Probably only franchise i'm looking forward to coming into Ohio is Shake shack since i know they raised a ton of money to expand.  I don't expect it to beat swensons. But we'll see.

  We have an incredibly diverse amount of high quality restaurants throughout Northeast Ohio.  I can't even get to 2% of restaurants a year in Cuyahoga county, why would i worry about a franchise from elsewhere in Ohio to come here?

^^ Depending on where you live in C.H., there's also a Penn Station on Warrensville Center in the (dreaded) Wal-Mart plaza.  I haven't live in Cincy in 15 years so I can't really compare, but I still love the Penn Station up here.

 

REALLY?! I've been to that Walmart. I don't remember a Penn Station being there. I know there's a Steak and Shake. It really seems like I would have noticed a Penn Station. I remember a lot of the big box retail space being vacant over there, which is pretty tragic. Overall, the area seems pretty vibrant. That shopping center on Cedar has a lot of nice stuff, like Pet Smart, Starbucks, Chipotle, Piada (which sucks but people seem to love it,) Five Guys, etc. It baffles me that that strip where Walmart is located, is struggling. Or at least seems to.

 

That's crazy. I had no idea a Penn Station was over there. I don't know how I missed it. They've been there a while?

 

It's a fairly new development, and there isn't any vacancy from any tenants leaving. Most of it besides Wal-Mart and the strip with Penn Station have been built within the last year or so. The building with Moe's was just completed about 2 months ago, and all of the spaces have tenants who will be moving in. And there are two more out parcel buildings which are either under construction (Season's Kosher Market) or going to be soon (along WCR by the Penn Station building).

Penn Station is just different from Dave's. They're both good.

 

Cleveland has a lot of 'local chain' restaurants that for the life of me, I can't understand why they aren't expanding to other Ohio cities. Barrio is a prime example. Columbusites would eat that sh!t up (literally or figuratively.) Barrio is one of my favorite lower price-point restaurants. It seems like most Cleveland restauranteurs are just apathetic about expanding to other cities. I can tell you for a FACT that if Barrio entered the Short North, it would be a massive hit, to the detriment of other establishments. I personally don't think Melt is that great but it proved to be a massive hit down there. If I hit the lottery and were looking for ways to invest my money, reaching out to the owner and investing in Barrio's expansion into Columbus and Cincy would definitely be one of my primary concerns (beside redeveloping struggling Cleveland neighborhoods.) I love their Coca-Cola marinated steak and practically all of their queso dips. I couldn't believe it when I found out they moved to Cedar-Fairmount. I've been in there so many times, all hours of the day and they're constantly slammed with business.

 

^^ Depending on where you live in C.H., there's also a Penn Station on Warrensville Center in the (dreaded) Wal-Mart plaza.  I haven't live in Cincy in 15 years so I can't really compare, but I still love the Penn Station up here.

 

REALLY?! I've been to that Walmart. I don't remember a Penn Station being there. I know there's a Steak and Shake. It really seems like I would have noticed a Penn Station. I remember a lot of the big box retail space being vacant over there, which is pretty tragic. Overall, the area seems pretty vibrant. That shopping center on Cedar has a lot of nice stuff, like Pet Smart, Starbucks, Chipotle, Piada (which sucks but people seem to love it,) Five Guys, etc. It baffles me that that strip where Walmart is located, is struggling. Or at least seems to.

 

That's crazy. I had no idea a Penn Station was over there. I don't know how I missed it. They've been there a while?

 

It's a fairly new development, and there isn't any vacancy from any tenants leaving. Most of it besides Wal-Mart and the strip with Penn Station have been built within the last year or so. The building with Moe's was just completed about 2 months ago, and all of the spaces have tenants who will be moving in. And there are two more out parcel buildings which are either under construction (Season's Kosher Market) or going to be soon (along WCR by the Penn Station building).

 

Got it. Good to know. I'm still new to the area; I haven't been around long enough to observe what's been going on over the long term. I shop over there pretty regularly. First and foremost, I support Cedar-Lee as that's the neighborhood I live in but that area definitely comes in second, in terms of where I spend cash - usually for the more practical, basic necessities. It's more suburban than I'd like but those shopping centers near Cedar and Warrensville Ctr. offer a great selection of retail. I hope it stays that way and only gets better.

Going back to your last food-related thread (I can't remember if I brought this up there), I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that Cleveland just isn't a big "branding" city. Cincinnati and Columbus are far more likely to approach an idea from the get-go as a marketing opportunity. This isn't a knock on Thunderdome or any of the other fine restaurateurs in Cincinnati, but at least to my untrained eye, those guys have approached each new concept from the get-go as a chance to create an expandable brand. I wasn't surprised at all with the proliferation of Bakersfields in other nearby cities - they did an exceptional job creating a slick and marketable product. Cleveland comes up with great concepts, but the marketing know-how (or maybe the marketing willpower) simply isn't as prevalent of a cultural force up there. Columbus and Cincinnati both have large retail companies headquartered there, so there are a lot of folks always thinking about these things. It's ingrained in the cultures, in a way. Clevelanders seem much more content to try some outlandish new things, and there's an attitude of "hey let's see if this sticks" or "we can do whatever the heck we want because there's no establishment to give a damn or push back on us". But because of that, the local hotspots often end up being just that - local. When "chains" end up getting started, they almost seem if by accident, just because the original ones were so popular. That doesn't seem to necessarily be the case with places like Bakersfield or Hot Chicken Takeover, who seemed just a bit too slick from the start for me to believe that the owners weren't thinking about the possibility of more franchises.

Do you think that marketing is an issue that should seriously be addressed? Financing is obviously another big concern for smaller businesses worthy of expansion. Or do you think it's good that people can only get those those low-key gem offerings if they actually go to Cleveland (forcing to bring folks in?) Personally, it seems to me that the various staples we all have talked about should exert their influence, expand out and capitalize on having such a great product (and often times, the notable places in Cleveland have particularly good service as well!) I guess I can see both sides. I just think those staples would be better off exerting their influence on other cities... and I think they'd be met with praise and a pile of cash.

 

One thing I've learned about the culture of metro Clevelanders is that they aren't showy/flashy at all, even when they have the cash-flow to do so. Perhaps that translates to the marketing issue you're talking about. Clevelanders are particularly more humble than Columbus, Cincy, etc. counterparts. It's extremely admirable but like I said, maybe it comes at the expense of not capitalizing on the expansion of great products and services, which they should?

 

I'm much more familiar from prior jobs, with the restaurant industry than other forms of retail or companies that provide valuable services.  I'm all ears and in fact curious, regarding how other Ohio businesses come into play, regarding this discussion.

I would expect Barrio to be the most likely to expand out of Cleveland of any place. It's still fairly new and very popular.  I would expect them to follow a Melt growth pattern. They do have great marketing and branding.  I have no doubt they will grow at their own pace whatever that turns out to be. 

I would expect Barrio to be the most likely to expand out of Cleveland of any place. It's still fairly new and very popular.  I would expect them to follow a Melt growth pattern. They do have great marketing and branding.  I have no doubt they will grow at their own pace whatever that turns out to be.

 

Barrio has already expanded, they are known as Condado in Columbus.

Barrio is Condado?!

 

Wow. Yeah, I can tell by the murals when I looked it up on Google, that it's the same place or similar. That's insane.

 

Why can't they just be Barrio for brand recognition? There's tons of Clevelanders roaming around Columbus that would instantly recognize it. I wonder if the menu and concept are the same. I saw it there on N. High before I moved up here but I've never went there while down there. Honestly, I don't think that Condado sh!t is working in Columbus, They need to stick to Barrio's raw concept. If I remember correctly, Condado just looks like a really shady night club.

I have been eating penn station in the cleveland area for well over a decade, maybe two decades. I believe I could recall going to one in rocky river in the late 90's, early 2000's. It's good stuff. High calorie but solid.

 

To your point about clevelanders not being flashy. Yes and no. Depends on the people, just like any city. You go to a Cavs game, you will see every suburban wife trying to act like they are a celebrity at a Lakers game, dressed tonthe 9's, feeling great about themselves.  Then there are places like Lakewood and shaker, where you could come across actual millionaires and not know it. I don't think that's any different than cincy or Columbus. Although Columbus people use Ohio State as a means to show clout ( thousands of dollars to tailgates, tickets, that whole dog and pony show). Yawn.

 

I like the direction of this thread.  I think melts hey Day is behind them. I still go there because it's a great place to take the kid.  Barrio could expan but I hope they dont

Barrio is Condado?!

 

Wow. Yeah, I can tell by the murals when I looked it up on Google, that it's the same place or similar. That's insane.

 

Why can't they just be Barrio for brand recognition? There's tons of Clevelanders roaming around Columbus that would instantly recognize it. I wonder if the menu and concept are the same. I saw it there on N. High before I moved up here but I've never went there while down there. Honestly, I don't think that Condado sh!t is working in Columbus, They need to stick to Barrio's raw concept. If I remember correctly, Condado just looks like a really shady night club.

 

I know for a fact that they are owned by the same people.  The menu's and concept are the exact same. Condado very much so is working in Columbus seeing as how they have 3 locations that are all always packed.  The "original" Condado is located in a place that was oddly enough one of the diviest dive bars in Columbus so you are right there  :-).  However it is a pretty nice little atmosphere and they have a great patio.

I have been eating penn station in the cleveland area for well over a decade, maybe two decades. I believe I could recall going to one in rocky river in the late 90's, early 2000's. It's good stuff. High calorie but solid.

 

To your point about clevelanders not being flashy. Yes and no. Depends on the people, just like any city. You go to a Cavs game, you will see every suburban wife trying to act like they are a celebrity at a Lakers game, dressed tonthe 9's, feeling great about themselves.  Then there are places like Lakewood and shaker, where you could come across actual millionaires and not know it. I don't think that's any different than cincy or Columbus. Although Columbus people use Ohio State as a means to show clout ( thousands of dollars to tailgates, tickets, that whole dog and pony show). Yawn.

 

 

I 1,000% agree with you about the suburban wives/girls at Cavs games;  I have never got that and is kind of why I left Cleveland never to return.

 

Columbus outside of spending money on Ohio State is a much more forward and modern way of how a cities are today; it's a lot younger than the two C's and almost nobody is actually from there.  People of all walks of life casually mingle together much more and it's like how you describe Lakewood/Shaker, sitting next to a millionaire without even knowing it. It is a very trendy yet casual place, very hard to describe unless you live there or have visited often.  You rarely see a 30 year old wearing a flat-bill and I like that.

 

I will say too that those in Central Ohio are not afraid to flash their "money" at the same time; I'm a HUGE car fan and Columbus is a mecca for exotic cars.  Whereas in Cleveland or Cincinnati you have to go to certain parts of town to catch a rare glimpse of one, in Columbus they are almost commonplace at all times of the year.

I think melts hey Day is behind them. I still go there because it's a great place to take the kid.

 

I feel like they decided on an odd road for expansion- they built this urban/hipster vibe, with the tatted up servers and funky album cover menus, then tried to export it to the most staid suburbs they could find. It does well in the short run that way, as everyone wants to try "that place what's on the tee-vee" in their local strip mall, but it blows the whole hipster vibe to hell.  But it's a great place to take the kids now, I guess.

^I guess it's a matter of opinion, but I've lived in Columbus for 12 years and I don't find it all that different than the other 2C's. Yes, it's a little younger, but in terms of being more modern or foward, I just don't see the difference. Maybe it's just me.

Barrio is Condado?!

 

Wow. Yeah, I can tell by the murals when I looked it up on Google, that it's the same place or similar. That's insane.

 

Why can't they just be Barrio for brand recognition? There's tons of Clevelanders roaming around Columbus that would instantly recognize it. I wonder if the menu and concept are the same. I saw it there on N. High before I moved up here but I've never went there while down there. Honestly, I don't think that Condado sh!t is working in Columbus, They need to stick to Barrio's raw concept. If I remember correctly, Condado just looks like a really shady night club.

 

I know for a fact that they are owned by the same people.  The menu's and concept are the exact same. Condado very much so is working in Columbus seeing as how they have 3 locations that are all always packed.  The "original" Condado is located in a place that was oddly enough one of the diviest dive bars in Columbus so you are right there  :-).  However it is a pretty nice little atmosphere and they have a great patio.

 

Barrio's co-founder sold his share in Barrio - then founded the similar Condado in Columbus as a potential national testing ground. They don't appear to be/have been sister concepts from the same company:

 

http://www.thelantern.com/2014/11/condado-tacos-giving-columbus-a-test-2/

 

Barrio is Condado?!

 

Wow. Yeah, I can tell by the murals when I looked it up on Google, that it's the same place or similar. That's insane.

 

Why can't they just be Barrio for brand recognition? There's tons of Clevelanders roaming around Columbus that would instantly recognize it. I wonder if the menu and concept are the same. I saw it there on N. High before I moved up here but I've never went there while down there. Honestly, I don't think that Condado sh!t is working in Columbus, They need to stick to Barrio's raw concept. If I remember correctly, Condado just looks like a really shady night club.

 

I know for a fact that they are owned by the same people.  The menu's and concept are the exact same. Condado very much so is working in Columbus seeing as how they have 3 locations that are all always packed.  The "original" Condado is located in a place that was oddly enough one of the diviest dive bars in Columbus so you are right there  :-).  However it is a pretty nice little atmosphere and they have a great patio.

 

Barrio's co-founder sold his share in Barrio - then founded the similar Condado in Columbus as a potential national testing ground. They don't appear to be/have been sister concepts from the same company:

 

http://www.thelantern.com/2014/11/condado-tacos-giving-columbus-a-test-2/

 

My apologies, to clarify at the time they inquired with my former employer he was still affiliated with Barrio.  Did not realize he cut ties with them in the meantime.  As far as the menu and concept is concerned they are the exact same thing with small variances; I've been to both several times.

I was just talking to my girlfriend about Penn Station as she and I were entering survey results for her project with Shaker Heights Development Corp. regarding what businesses residents want to see in Shaker Town Center area. One person responded to said survey, expressing that they want to see a Penn Station in Shaker Town Center.

Penn Station would probably do well there. I'm curious if you know about any other results of the survey and how much impact they might have on decision making.

 

Isn't there a Penn Station at Cedar Center or somewhere in Univ Heights?

^^ Depending on where you live in C.H., there's also a Penn Station on Warrensville Center in the (dreaded) Wal-Mart plaza.  I haven't live in Cincy in 15 years so I can't really compare, but I still love the Penn Station up here.

 

As stated above they are in the Wallmart plaza on Warrensville.  There are currently at least 7 in the Cleveland area.  Anybody I have ever talked to seems to only go there for their cheesesteak.   

 

David.  Another Cleveland sandwich place is Dave's Cosmic Subs.  They have expanded to places like Atlanta and such.  They have locations on the east side at Coventry, Chagrin Falls, University Hts (John Carroll) etc.  Ok, but they have gotten more skimpy on meats as they have grown.   

 

Tommy's on Coventry has plenty of veggy options.   

 

I know for a fact that they are owned by the same people.  The menu's and concept are the exact same. Condado very much so is working in Columbus seeing as how they have 3 locations that are all always packed.  The "original" Condado is located in a place that was oddly enough one of the diviest dive bars in Columbus so you are right there  :-).  However it is a pretty nice little atmosphere and they have a great patio.

 

Barrio's co-founder sold his share in Barrio - then founded the similar Condado in Columbus as a potential national testing ground. They don't appear to be/have been sister concepts from the same company:

 

http://www.thelantern.com/2014/11/condado-tacos-giving-columbus-a-test-2/

 

Okay I came here to say exactly this... Barrio and Condado are not affiliated or owned by the same people.

So yeah, Condado is owned/founded by one of the old Barrio cofounders after what I've been told was a difference in opinions on expansion and direction of the concept. I think Condado has effectively killed any chance of Barrio surviving in the Columbus market, actually they may hurt any major Barrio expansions outside of the Cleveland metro. Currently Condado is killing in CBUS, but its also expanding regionally. They have 3 Columbus locations, just opened in downtown Pittsburgh, and have downtown locations announced in Cincinnati, Nashville, and Indianapolis.

 

Barrio is delicious, but so is Condado... they are the same concept and food with virtually no difference to the average consumer. Condado just seems more aggressive with it's goals.

 

I know for a fact that they are owned by the same people.  The menu's and concept are the exact same. Condado very much so is working in Columbus seeing as how they have 3 locations that are all always packed.  The "original" Condado is located in a place that was oddly enough one of the diviest dive bars in Columbus so you are right there  :-).  However it is a pretty nice little atmosphere and they have a great patio.

 

Barrio's co-founder sold his share in Barrio - then founded the similar Condado in Columbus as a potential national testing ground. They don't appear to be/have been sister concepts from the same company:

 

http://www.thelantern.com/2014/11/condado-tacos-giving-columbus-a-test-2/

 

Okay I came here to say exactly this... Barrio and Condado are not affiliated or owned by the same people.

So yeah, Condado is owned/founded by one of the old Barrio cofounders after what I've been told was a difference in opinions on expansion and direction of the concept. I think Condado has effectively killed any chance of Barrio surviving in the Columbus market, actually they may hurt any major Barrio expansions outside of the Cleveland metro. Currently Condado is killing in CBUS, but its also expanding regionally. They have 3 Columbus locations, just opened in downtown Pittsburgh, and have downtown locations announced in Cincinnati, Nashville, and Indianapolis.

 

Barrio is delicious, but so is Condado... they are the same concept and food with virtually no difference to the average consumer. Condado just seems more aggressive with it's goals.

 

Barrio is opening a new microbrewery and pizza spot in Lakewood. So maybe the owners are looking to expand via a more diversified approach?

Currito is a Cincinnati-based chain started by the Lanni brothers before they started their various OTR restaurants (Eagle, Bakersfiled, etc., several of which are now chains themselves).  There is apparently one at Cleveland's airport:

https://currito.com/locations

Yeah, it sucks because that's the only one in NEO and it's not easy to get to, since it's inside the airport.

^I think their strategy at the beginning was only to open in airport terminals.  They have also opened on a few college campuses.  It looks like Cincinnati is the only city with two or three of them out in the neighborhoods. 

 

I was in the same grade as Joe Lanni at our high school.  I didn't know him well but apparently his parents owned numerous fast food franchises and that's how he and his brother got started in the restaurant business around age 25. 

Currito is a Cincinnati-based chain started by the Lanni brothers before they started their various OTR restaurants (Eagle, Bakersfiled, etc., several of which are now chains themselves).  There is apparently one at Cleveland's airport:

https://currito.com/locations

 

Back when Currito was Boloco, there was one at Beachwood Place. It opened with the food court expansion. When Boloco split up the company (the corporate locations stayed as Boloco while the franchises became Currito) , it became a Currito but didn't last much longer. The airport location also opened as Boloco.

Swensons is already in metro Cleveland in Seven Hills

Geraci's is currently (finally) scoping out a second location after being in business for over 61 years. They were offered a spot in Pepper Pike at Lander Circle but personally I think it would be a horrible idea to open up a second location so close to the first one. It would simply take business away from the original location. It's obviously more competitive but I'd rather see Geraci's move into the west side with a menu and promotions catering more to younger folks. They do have a really good product; I think it would do really well on the west side as long as it was done right. There's a lot of culinary competition on the west side but not so much in terms of Italian food. I think they would be successfull, expanding west. What do you guys think?

I still can't believe Condado is essentially Barrio. Had I known that, I would have had more fun times in Columbus. I love Barrio! I remember that before, the spot in the Short North was called Circus Circus and the place was just too weird. Apparently, according to my girlfriend, we went to Condado and I didn't like it so we never went back. This was before I moved to Cleveland for her (where she is from) and going to Barrio regularly. I do sort of remember the interior, being similar to Barrio. I don't remember the food, though. This would have been several years ago. I regret not giving it a second chance, after finding this out.