June 8, 201114 yr I also found these liquor license applications pending.......... http://www.com.ohio.gov/liqr/rpts/newproc.txt TOMO HIBACHI RESTAURANT & LOUNGE LLC 1293 W 9TH ST CLEVELAND OH 44113 898008700003 D2 03/03/2011 D3 03/03/2011 D3A 03/03/2011 D6 03/03/2011 TOMO HIBACHI RESTAURANT & LOUNGE LLC BAR 3 THIRD FLOOR 1293 W 9TH ST CLEVELAND OH 44113 898008700004 D2 03/03/2011 D3 03/03/2011 D3A 03/03/2011 D6 03/03/2011 TOMO HIBACHI RESTAURANT & LOUNGE LLC BAR 4 BASEMENT 1293 W 9TH ST CLEVELAND OH 44113 898008700005 D2 03/03/2011 D3 03/03/2011 D3A 03/03/2011 D6 03/03/2011 TOMO HIBACHI RESTAURANT & LOUNGE LLC BAR 5 SECOND FLOOR 1293 W 9TH ST CLEVELAND OH 44113 90739950510 D6 09/23/2002 DRY PENDING "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 8, 201114 yr Wasn't that place the old club called The Grid? They had the pirate radio station which operated in the late 90s. I liked some of the music so I went there with friends one night, but we fled when naked men started dancing on the bar twirling their willies. Pretty scary stuff.... :-o This conversation just took a disturbing turn.
June 8, 201114 yr Sorry! :-) "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 8, 201114 yr Author No, that was formerly Flex, a bathhouse. The Grid was located next door, where the Map Room is. clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
July 11, 201113 yr A shot of progress at Tomo and of the new Sixth City Diner in the former Waterstreet grill...Sixth City is only updating the space to go for a younger crowd http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjames0408/5924204421/#in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjames0408/5924201859/#in/photostream
July 11, 201113 yr Also, Bar Louie is currently training staff for opening this month and work is continuing on the old Mercury Lounge, which will re-open later this summer under a new name.
July 11, 201113 yr A recap from Crains: Don't stick a fork in the Warehouse District just yet Its restaurants lie amid $2 billion in development. But will safety issues and competitors derail their place in Cleveland's culinary landscape? By KATHY AMES CARR 4:30 am, July 11, 2011 Has the Warehouse District restaurant scene lost its mojo? Some say what was once the sizzling restaurant hub of downtown Cleveland is fizzling. Others reject that view, contending instead that the district's restaurant mix is undergoing a transition and is poised to gain steam when the city's $2 billion in development projects materialize. “The casino, medical mart and convention center and Flats East Bank form a triangle, and the Warehouse District is right in the middle of it,” said Thomas Yablonsky, executive director of the Historic Warehouse District Development Corp. http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110711/SUB1/307119982
July 11, 201113 yr Once again, lazy journalism. What they failed to mention was one of the main sources of friction in the Warehouse District was the nightclub Lust whose lease expires August 31st. In it's place will be Acies, another new concept as far as restaurants go. Of course, mentioning that portion in the article would have ruined the whole theme to the article.They also failed to mention another new conceptual restaurant(at least for downtown) in the form of Tomo. From my standpoint, Metro Bar and Grill was no great loss. I live a block away but had not been there in three years because of better food options. So to recap: 1. Crop left for a space that is over four times the size of the space in the Warehouse district and in it's place is a new ethnic restaurant that was sorely needed. I was hoping for an upscale Thai or Indian restaurant. My biggest bitch about the Warehouse District(or Downtown in general) were the lack of good ethnic restaurants. Both a loss and a gain. 2. Lust, the source of many of the problems in the district is replaced by Aces. A huge plus. 3. Waterstreet was replaced with W. 9th Diner or a name close to that. Probably a wash. 4. A run down closed bathhouse is replaced by a four story hibatchi and sushi restaurant. A huge plus. 5. An average restaurant based on price point replaced by Bar Louie. A wash. 6. A Prime Rib steakhouse in a former pool hall. A huge plus. Yeah, the place is dying. Put a fork in it.
July 11, 201113 yr ^Yeah, I agree they juiced the negatives a bit to support their framing, but even so I couldn't help but be optimistic reading the article. Just so much business energy in the area. What is this Acies concept?
July 11, 201113 yr Strap, I believe this is the place based on what I've been told: http://acesgrille.com/ I apologize, I had Acies in my original post. That has been corrected.
July 11, 201113 yr I'm not so sure the Prime Rib Steakhouse is a "huge plus" over the House of Cues, but that may just be personal taste. I think we have plenty of steak houses downtown. What we don't have anymore is a bar with multiple, nice pool tables. I live right by the House of Cues and would go there once a week in the winter to drink, play pool, and eat their surprisingly good food. The cook there was actually really good. I'm also not sure I agree with you about Metro. I think they were a little bit overpriced, but not that much and the quality of the food was always really good when I was there. But I actually think it will be nice to have a national chain in the WHD. If nothing else it will lure in some tourist that otherwise may not visit the area. But otherwise it's nice to see some change in the neighborhood. Most of it seems positive.
July 11, 201113 yr I agree, Hoot. House of Cues was great and Bar Louie is disappointing, but everything else is either a positive or a wash. I think Crop/Taza is a wash for downtown (although Crop was great, downtown could use an ethnic eatery like Taza) and a huge plus for Ohio City, so overall a nice change as well.
July 11, 201113 yr Losing Metropolitan was a slap to the face. I never went to Metro so I can't judge it outside of some negative reviews floating around these forums here and there. But Bar Louie....that has got to be a downgrade, I mean it's barely a step up from Applebees. Not that there's anything really wrong with it per se - some people like name brand restaurants/pubs/bars - it's just not unique to downtown Cleveland by any means, the food and drinks are not remarkable, and it...just doesn't do anything for me. Maybe if they can refocus on it being a martini bar rather than pub-style restaurant, I'd be a little happier.
July 11, 201113 yr I will agree that the Prime Rib Steakhouse is not a huge plus based on Hootenany's post. However, I don't see it as a negative and it's really too early to tell what type of place it's going to be. I totally disagree about Metro, especially if you had never eaten there. The food was average in taste and not a lot of imagination. Plus, it was one of the higher priced restaurants in the area and it is(was) very loud in there because of the bar. We nicknamed it the Cougar Club. The biggest plus to the place is it had great views for people watching being on the corner and it had a nice patio. Oh, and I had my first date with my wife there back in 2002 I would rate Metro as the worst high end restaurant in the city. I stopped going there a couple of years ago after being consistently disappointed. All of my friends avoided the place. Based on that, anything there that has a draw will be a huge upgrade that Metro. I'm also going to give Bar Louie the benefit of the doubt that they will step up a bit on the decor/food since they will be downtown.
July 11, 201113 yr Bar Louie does have a killer fish po'boy. I disagree that it is barely a step up from Applebees. Although it is a chain, it does not have that same overbranded feel that Applebee's, Outback, Chili's, etc. have and the bar crowd is much, much younger.
July 11, 201113 yr I will agree that the Prime Rib Steakhouse is not a huge plus based on Hootenany's post. However, I don't see it as a negative and it's really too early to tell what type of place it's going to be. I totally disagree about Metro, especially if you had never eaten there. The food was average in taste and not a lot of imagination. Plus, it was one of the higher priced restaurants in the area and it is(was) very loud in there because of the bar. We nicknamed it the Cougar Club. The biggest plus to the place is it had great views for people watching being on the corner and it had a nice patio. Oh, and I had my first date with my wife there back in 2002 I would rate Metro as the worst high end restaurant in the city. I stopped going there a couple of years ago after being consistently disappointed. All of my friends avoided the place. Based on that, anything there that has a draw will be a huge upgrade that Metro. I'm also going to give Bar Louie the benefit of the doubt that they will step up a bit on the decor/food since they will be downtown. Did you go after they re-branded as Metro a couple years ago? I never went when it was Metropolitan, but I was a pretty big fan of Metro. The atmosphere was nice and the food was always up to par for me. The scallops were great I thought. And the chicken was always great too. The steak was just OK. The outdoor bar was also a HUGE draw for me. That was a really unique experience in the WHD. Hopefully Bar Louie keeps the outdoor bar.
July 11, 201113 yr I did go once when it converted to Metro. It was shortly after it was re-opened. I took a couple of friends who were in from Chicago (native west siders) and they wanted to try it out. I did have the Scallops and they were very good. However, the other three meals were not and on top of that, it took almost an hour for the food to come out. I felt really bad for our server who kept apologizing. I remember one meal was a steak and it was way overcooked. I really can't remember what the other two dishes were. We never went back after that. IMO the place was never that good. I would rather have gone to Crop, Johnnys, Mallorca, Brasa, The Chophouse, The Wine Bar, XO, Osteria or walk a little further to Hyde Park or Johnny Q's. I did love the patio and we would occasionally stop for drinks...only.
July 13, 201113 yr I always loved metro. Never ate there so can't talk about the food but it was by far the coolest bar to hang out at on a fri or sat night in the warehouse district. Everything else on 6th was loud and annoying. Metro had good music at a decent not too loud level, it was an exciting place to go with a date or meet new girls. Im gonna miss it. As for bar Louie, I talked to some of the workers and they are going to focus more on the resturante than the bar. A nice cool lounge is something that the area is really missing. Supposly a new lounge is opening in the basement of zdara on w9th, but I dont think it will be affiliated with the bar/resturante above it. So im hoping for a win there. Downtown is really missing a true cocktail lounge.
July 14, 201113 yr Downtown is really missing a true cocktail lounge. Couldn't agree more. Although I'd like to see one downtown, the demand for cocktail lounges in WD or downtown, but all of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, isn't there. :/ Besides the Velvet Tango Room (in Ohio City), what other ones are there ? Dragonfly, Speakeasy [the basement bar of bar cento, only open on weekends], and one downtown, Kevin's Martini Bar (inside Pickwick and Frolic/Hilarities, same owners I would assume) but I don't think it's open on a regular basis (I was there once a few months ago for a private event). Have there been recent attempts to create one ? (Executive Lounge on Bolivar at 12 or 13th), (The View on Prospect) ? /end semi-derail
July 14, 201113 yr Have there been recent attempts to create one ? (Executive Lounge on Bolivar at 12 or 13th), (The View on Prospect) ? Vivo closed a few years ago. I'm not sure if it was because the lounge wasn't doing well or that they couldn't wait out the Euclid Corridor construction, though.
July 18, 201113 yr As far as I know it will be not that different than Mercury. Actually there is a full page ad for it on the back page of this week's Scene magazine...shows their logo, etc. Definitely a lounge/dance place.
July 18, 201113 yr As far as I know it will be not that different than Mercury. Actually there is a full page ad for it on the back page of this week's Scene magazine...shows their logo, etc. Definitely a lounge/dance place. Yes, thats the idea I got as well, that the owner just wanted something fresh but with basically the same concept... I hope so... Not that Im that big of a lounger/bar hopper anymore, but I always thought the Mercury was the sh** back in the day...
July 20, 201113 yr From Cleveland.com: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/07/port_authority_plans_to_buy_th.html#incart_hbx "The Port hopes to buy a three-story brick building at 1100 West Ninth St., at the edge of the Warehouse District. The property sits immediately south of the Port's waterfront property and just east of the Flats East Bank development site."
July 20, 201113 yr "The Port would pay $3.1 million for the building, which is owned by Front-9th Street Properties LLC and valued at $1.9 million by the Cuyahoga County Auditor's office." Is this building/downtown real estate really so hot in demand they'll pay almost twice as much as it's valuation? Starting to think of the Ameritrust catastrophe on a lower scale here.
July 20, 201113 yr "The Port would pay $3.1 million for the building, which is owned by Front-9th Street Properties LLC and valued at $1.9 million by the Cuyahoga County Auditor's office." Is this building/downtown real estate really so hot in demand they'll pay almost twice as much as it's valuation? Starting to think of the Ameritrust catastrophe on a lower scale here. It depends on how much faith you have in valuations by the Cuyahoga County Auditor's office
July 20, 201113 yr Supposedly the valuations are outdated. And the building is fully occupied and is adjacent to the flats east bank construction.
July 20, 201113 yr From Cleveland.com: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/07/port_authority_plans_to_buy_th.html#incart_hbx "The Port hopes to buy a three-story brick building at 1100 West Ninth St., at the edge of the Warehouse District. The property sits immediately south of the Port's waterfront property and just east of the Flats East Bank development site." "The Port has a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire the property, a 23,551-square-foot building that is fully leased to several tenants. In addition to three floors of offices, the building includes a basement recently leased to a microbrewery, distillery and restaurant." What microbrewery?
July 20, 201113 yr From Cleveland.com: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/07/port_authority_plans_to_buy_th.html#incart_hbx "The Port hopes to buy a three-story brick building at 1100 West Ninth St., at the edge of the Warehouse District. The property sits immediately south of the Port's waterfront property and just east of the Flats East Bank development site." "The Port has a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire the property, a 23,551-square-foot building that is fully leased to several tenants. In addition to three floors of offices, the building includes a basement recently leased to a microbrewery, distillery and restaurant." What microbrewery? It could actually be the physical micro brewery for the new brewery on 25th. the actual operations can take up a large amount of space. I think it would be very unlikely that they would be able to do the full restaurant and brewery in the same spot on 25th. For example Great Lakes actually does all their brewing across the street. Granted GLBC is a much larger operation, but there is still a good amount of space that is just needed to store the beer (as it ages). That is likely what this property is for.
July 20, 201113 yr Also see the PD article posted in the Port Authority thread at: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1795.msg569543.html#msg569543 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
July 20, 201113 yr The Warehouse District has great potential with all those surface parking lots. It just needs developers and money. And with the billions in downtown development currently underway, it's just a matter of time.
July 20, 201113 yr But I actually think it will be nice to have a national chain in the WHD. If nothing else it will lure in some tourist that otherwise may not visit the area. If you look at popular commercial areas in cities, you'll find chains. Chain restaurants came to the Flats at its peak. So I agree it's a good thing, as long as it's not ALL chains.
July 23, 201113 yr I have an idea... How about a Super Suburban Style...Sprawl-Mart there...they already have the vast sea of emptiness with the surface parking lot... Surely this will lure droves and make Cleveland totally unique! (It is sad to say that some may actually like this idea!)
August 2, 201113 yr Found this perusing google images -- any idea what it is? Welcome. Probably a remnant of something someone made or of Starks dead project.
August 2, 201113 yr It looks like a very crude and cheap massing of Stark's proposal for the WHD, after it was scaled down.
August 2, 201113 yr Welcome to the board, ErieMonster! Can you supply the original link for that image? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 7, 201113 yr As usual the warehouse district street fair was a lot of fun. Between yesterdays family day at Browns stadium and todays st. fair my son got to meet the whole array of Cleveland sports mascots, except for the one he loves the most, Moondog. I would like to see them expand it onto W. 9th as well, make it two entire blocks, that would be something. And although it's fairly packed, there doesn't seem to be the draw I'd think a downtown event in the middle of summer should draw. I even saw a Crocker Park escapee, polo shirt tucked into khaki shorts.
August 8, 201113 yr As an outsider reading about all of NEO news online...it seemed like a busy weekend in NEO...you had PGA Golf, Pro Football HOF activities, Twins Days, Browns Family Day and this Warehouse District Festival...and I am sure I am missing some other stuff, too! I wonder if the hotels wouldn't be inclined to have some of those big ticket items (mentioned previously) happen on different weekends. I'm sure a lot of people that would travel 4-6 hours to go to the HOF or the PGA might get turned off if hotel space is booked, and decide not to make the trip at all. Just a thought.
August 8, 201113 yr ^The PGA event and the Pro Football HOF weekend are locked into national schedules, so have very limited local flexibility.
August 11, 201113 yr Links are [unfortunately in this case] our friend: http://phoenixcoffee.com/westninthcafe
August 11, 201113 yr Thats unfortunate. I would have guessed that the East 9th one would have been the one to go. I guess they get a larger daytime crowd though. I would like to see Phoenix Coffee open another location downtown that could have similar hours to the West 9th one, but closer to Euclid Avenue.
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