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Tag: Van Aken District

  • Haute Donuts at Van Aken District Adds Texas-Style BBQ to the Mix – Cleveland Scene

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    Zach and Alyssa Ladner are making some moves inside the Market Hall at Van Aken District.

    In addition to Paloma, the full-service Latin-themed eatery the couple opened in 2022, they operate a pair of stands within the food hall: Gio’s Pasteria and Haute Donuts. As Gio’s was nearing the end of its lease term, the chef-owners decided to make some changes.

    “We’ve done several barbecue pop-ups and it’s been really successful,” Zach says.

    After winding things down last week at Gio’s, the Ladners shifted Haute Donuts to that larger stand. As of today, Haute Donuts becomes Haute Donuts and BBQ, which gives shoppers more variety morning, noon and night.

    Earlier this year, Ladner opened Smokehouse 91, a fast-casual BBQ joint in Mayfield. Barbecue has long been a passion of the chef, who grew up in Texas before graduating from the Culinary Institute of America. But he won’t be duplicating that concept here in Shaker Heights, he explains.

    “It is not the same as the barbecue that we do at Smokehouse 91,” says Ladner. “Stylistically it’s the same – it’s still Texas-style barbecue – but at Haute we really focus on whole-animal utilization.”

    Ladner says that he added a new butcher station in the Paloma kitchen, where they bring in and breakdown full sides of Ohio-raised beef and pork. Those items are smoked onsite and make their way into menu items like sliced beef, chopped beef, sliced pork, chopped pork and sausages.

    The twist here is that the beef and pork used in those menu items will change daily.

    “There are a lot of cuts of meat that you can smoke low and slow that are really great that aren’t brisket,” adds Zach.

    In addition to those myriad cuts, Haute BBQ offers pork belly burnt ends, housemade beef-and-pork sausages, whole smoked wings and bacon ribs, one-pound spare ribs with belly meat. The plan is to offer heavy hitters like beef brisket and giant beef short ribs on weekends. Everything from the buns to the barbecue sauces are made at Paloma.

    The chefs also prepare traditional but “jazzed up” sides such as mac and cheese tossed and broiled to order, candied yams, vegetarian baked beans, pork belly-spiked collard greens and coleslaw starring Cleveland Kitchen sauerkraut.

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    Douglas Trattner

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  • Now Open: Five Iron Golf, Strike Club Bowling at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. – Cleveland Scene

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    Five Iron Golf, a leader in the indoor golf arena, has opened its second Northeast Ohio location. The first opened downtown in 2023. The second has just opened its doors in Shaker Heights, specifically the former home of 1899 Golf and Social Club at the Van Aken District.

    Billed as a “first-of-its-kind family entertainment center,” the Shaker Heights venue (20040 Van Aken Blvd.) combines the Five Iron Golf concept with Strike Club Bowling, described as a modern, family-friendly twist on duckpin bowling.

    This new location features nine Trackman-powered golf simulators with multi-angle cameras that let players access more than 300 top courses around the globe. In addition to the golf sims, the two-level complex includes a full-service restaurant and bar, lounges, six lanes of duckpin bowling and multisport simulator games like soccer, baseball, and hockey.

    “Opening in Shaker Heights means a lot to us,” Jared Solomon, Co-Founder & CEO of Five Iron Golf, said in a release. “Our downtown Cleveland location has already shown us how much this community embraces what we’re building, and Shaker Heights gives us a chance to take it even further. We’ve designed this to be a place for everything — from working on your golf game to bowling with friends, celebrating with family, hosting corporate happy hours, or just finding new ways to play together. It’s a space to perform, to party, and to connect, and we can’t wait to welcome people of all ages through the doors.”

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    Douglas Trattner

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  • Beet Jar Now Open at Van Aken District

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    Douglas Trattner

    Beet Jar is now open at Van Aken District

    Last year, after a successful decade in the Hingetown neighborhood of Ohio City, Beet Jar owners Joseph Joseph and Molly Pamela McKay relocated the business to a larger space in Ohio City, specifically the Quarter (2600 Detroit Ave.) at the intersection of W. 25th and Detroit.

    Next up was an east-side satellite location within the Market Hall at Van Aken District in Shaker Heights, which recently opened. The stand offers the same great vegan pastries, sandwiches, wraps, smoothies and bowls. A display cooler stocks grab-and-go cold-pressed juices from Beet Jar HQ.

    This is the place to grab the famous Bravacado ($14), which packs ripe avocado, coconut bacon, red onion, greens and creamy cashew mayo into a wrap or sandwich. Beet Jar’s breakfast wrap ($14) is a tidy bundle of Just Egg, avocado, coconut bacon, greens, cashew mayo and hot sauce.

    Wash it all down with a Mr. Presley smoothie ($12), a creamy blend of strawberry, banana, peanut butter, maca, cacao, date and coconut mylk. It’s capped with a sprinkle of granola. Smoothie bowls, built on a base of acai berries or fresh fruit, are topped with granola, peanut butter, coconut goji, cashew drizzle and other options.

    Beet Jar Van Aken is open Thursdays through Mondays.

    click to enlarge Bravocado wrap at Bet Jar Van Aken - Douglas Trattner

    Douglas Trattner

    Bravocado wrap at Bet Jar Van Aken

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  • Paloma at Van Aken District to Briefly Close to Usher in an ‘Evolution of the Concept’

    Paloma at Van Aken District to Briefly Close to Usher in an ‘Evolution of the Concept’

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    Douglas Trattner

    Paloma to briefly close to usher in some changes to space and menu.

    Zach and Alyssa Ladner – along with partner Carl Quagliata – opened Paloma two years ago at Van Aken District in Shaker Heights. Now, after earning a reputation as a casual but chef-driven taco restaurant, the team is preparing to make a shift. On September 14th, the restaurant will close its doors for 10 days to usher in changes both to space and menu. The goal is to elevate the entire experience, says Zach.

    “We’re looking at this as more of an evolution of the concept,” the chef explains. “We’re taking what we have and we’re building on it. We want to grow beyond just being thought of as a place to go to get really good tacos.”

    Much of the motivation for the changes, adds Ladner, stems from the roster of talent that he feels is being underutilized. The goal is to give people like chef de cuisine Kytana Bradley – a 13-year veteran – more room to showcase her range.

    “We have a really great staff with a lot of talent – and I want to let these people shine,” Ladner says. “I want to allow them more freedom to express themselves.”

    Already, guests have been experiencing as nightly specials some of the new dishes, which retain their Latin roots while aiming for higher culinary ground. The tacos will remain, albeit sequestered to the bar menu, replaced in the dining room by new small plates and entrees, many of which are vegetarian.

    Some of the new items include trumpet mushrooms with salsa macha and toasted pumpkin seeds, smoked cauliflower “burnt ends” with fig-chipotle BBQ sauce, Alaskan black cod in banana leaves with annatto and orange, smoked lamb shank with salsa verde, and shrimp Diablo with chorizo, chilies and lime. There will also be a handful of steaks from sister business The Village Butcher.

    To facilitate these changes, a partition separating the bar and dining room will be installed. The dining room will be upgraded with new furniture and a private dining room. A new wine and cocktail list will also debut upon reopening.

    Guests who visit after the reopening will discover a new “guacamole bar,” a station dedicated to crafting “the best guac in Cleveland.” The made-to-order guacamole will be served with salsa rojo and housemade chips. Add-ons like blue cheese and jalapeno bacon, charred zucchini, Maine lobster and smoked brisket will be available.

    “I like doing things that help make an experience more memorable for a guest – but memorable in a way that is meaningful and not fake or gimmicky,” says Ladner.

    Paloma will reopen Sept. 24th.

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  • First Look: Boom’s Pizza, Opening Next Week at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts.

    First Look: Boom’s Pizza, Opening Next Week at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts.

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    Douglas Trattner

    Boom’s Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon.

    Ben Bebenroth, Jonathan Bennett, and the rest of the Boom’s Pizza team are putting the finishing touches on the new Shaker Heights restaurant. Located in the former home of Michael’s Genuine, the colorful, casual and attractive space shares plenty of DNA with the Lakewood original, which opened a year and a half ago. Following a weekend of private events, the restaurant will open to the public sometime next week.

    The second location for any restaurant group comes with a large dose of wisdom, experience and awareness. Having 18 months of service under their belts to go on, Bennett and Bebenroth are much better equipped to anticipate the next few weeks and months in Shaker. The expectation, they say, is to see numbers more than double those out west.

    For starters, the dining room at Van Aken District is twice as large as the one in Lakewood, accommodating 86 guests versus 40. A spacious patio on the edge of the central park offers carry-out customers an alfresco option. Shaker Heights will also be open seven nights per week as opposed to six – and will be adding weekend lunch hours, while staying open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

    “You walk around here on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and it’s mobbed,” says Bennett.

    Combined, the two shops will be flying through approximately 3,500 pies per week, Bennett estimates. In advance of the opening, management centralized dough production at Spice HQ in Detroit Shoreway. The dough will be delivered fresh to both shops throughout the week.

    “We just want to make excellent pizza,” says Bennett. “We knew that consistency of dough would be our biggest hurdle – and we found that we were right. But we also found that our dough is a little more durable than we thought it was.”

    As for the food, flow and process, diners can expect the same efficient fast-casual operation. Dine-in guests order, pay, grab their beverages and any salads or appetizers, if they ordered them, and find a seat. When the pies are ready, they’ll receive a text message.

    The menus are identical east and west save for the beverages. Shaker has four draft beers, four draft cocktails, wines by the glass and a small selection of self-serve bottled beverages. Van Aken District is a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area – or DORA – meaning that customers can take their beer, wine or cocktails with them when they walk out the door.

    One departure out east: Boom’s in Shaker will sell slices during lunch service Fridays through Sundays.

    Bebenroth and Bennett could not be more pleased with their new environment.

    “The ownership and management group here do a phenomenal job keeping this district lively and local and clean and niche,” says Bennett. “They have something they want to curate and they have a vision and they’re doing a great job of executing that vision.”

    click to enlarge Boom's Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon. - Douglas Trattner

    Douglas Trattner

    Boom’s Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon.

    click to enlarge Boom's Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon. - Douglas Trattner

    Douglas Trattner

    Boom’s Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon.

    click to enlarge Boom's Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon. - Douglas Trattner

    Douglas Trattner

    Boom’s Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon.

    click to enlarge Boom's Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon. - Douglas Trattner

    Douglas Trattner

    Boom’s Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon.

    click to enlarge Boom's Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon. - Douglas Trattner

    Douglas Trattner

    Boom’s Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon.

    click to enlarge Boom's Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon. - Douglas Trattner

    Douglas Trattner

    Boom’s Pizza at Van Aken District in Shaker Hts. opening soon.

    click to enlarge Boom's Pizza owners: Jonathan Bennett (left) and Ben Bebenroth - Douglas Trattner

    Douglas Trattner

    Boom’s Pizza owners: Jonathan Bennett (left) and Ben Bebenroth

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