2 food places Lakewood needs

[Mark Mraz]

Just an opinion:

Sonic is far far far from as specatular as people make it out to be. Their slushies and some of their side items are pretty tasty, other then that, they are not different from anything else.

What I would like to see (and no one else would) is a late night place from 9pm-4am where the drunkest of the drunk can congregate and sober up with some food...

Or....

A really really realllly good BBQ place.....southern BBQ

[J Hrlec]

Just an opinion:

Sonic is far far far from as specatular as people make it out to be. Their slushies and some of their side items are pretty tasty, other then that, they are not different from anything else.

What I would like to see (and no one else would) is a late night place from 9pm-4am where the drunkest of the drunk can congregate and sober up with some food...

Or....

A really really realllly good BBQ place.....southern BBQ

I was thinking BBQ joint as well, somewhere you can drive by and get a smell of the meats being smoked

Also, we used to go to Diana's after 2AM when we were drinking...but that was many years ago. Maybe we could put this type of place next to the Police station so those drunks who decide to drive there themselves have a short trip to the pokey. Plus I'm pretty sure if people are worried about noise from drive-throughs, they probably would not want early morning drunks waking them up either. Just a thought...

[Grace O'Malley]

Speaking of BBQ... I would LOVE if City BBQ opened a location here. They are in Columbus and I think Dayton. I asked one time and they said they were looking at the Cleveland market. Oh please!!!!

[Donald Farris]

Hi,
Ms. V. you hit the nail on the head with that chocolate banana milkshake, we always split one. The key is not to drink it all. Then we ask for 2 to-go cups. We now have a set of "nice" Tommy's plastic cups. They tend to leak after awhile, so then we have to get more.

And yes, we usually visit the connected book store and buy a bunch of books. SO, the 2 together would be great. I wonder if Mr. OB, Lakewood's true Ambassador, has ever laid the Lakewood Charm on Tommy's about crossing the river?

The other ideas are great, We used to have a Bob's Big Boy. Is that the same as Eat-n-Park? That would be a perfect place for Lakewood.

I agree, an all night food place would be super too. They can be constructed in a manner that is sound friendly to the neighborhood, but usually it requires the City to offer direction.

We don't eat meat so I'm neutral on the BBQ place.

But we need signage on I90 to let the person driving through Cleveland know they can turn off into Lakewood and get a great meal.

I do rate Sonic above the others. Fresh ingredients, fixed as you want it correctly, delivered to the curb or drive-thru. I think 2 slushie places could compete those other hrs in the day.

[Corey Rossen]

My vote goes to Rozi's Wine House's soon-to-be Front Porch Cafe. Complete with wine, beer (including 8-line draft system on the way) and food menu, along with indoor/outdoor seating. If the wine/beer menu does not fit you, just grab a bottle from the shelf and enjoy.

Corey

[sharon kinsella]

You're going to have food Corey? Great for us non-drinkers.

[Meg Ostrowski]

Maybe a book store attached to our own version of a Tommy's type restaurant, the way Macs Backs is in Coventry. How about some of that Lakewood Community Development Block Grant money for stuff like this? Someone would have to be proposing it and asking for it. I guess the deadline is soon...

Noon, Monday, July 18, 2011 according to a recent Public Notice.

It looks like there is over 2 million dollars up for grabs.

http://www.onelakewood.com/pdf/DCD-CDBG ... BG_App.pdf

[Stephen Eisel]

We need a Medieval Times

http://www.medievaltimes.com/

Yes! Had a blast last summer at the one in Chicago

[Stephen Eisel]

My vote goes to Rozi's Wine House's soon-to-be Front Porch Cafe. Complete with wine, beer (including 8-line draft system on the way) and food menu, along with indoor/outdoor seating. If the wine/beer menu does not fit you, just grab a bottle from the shelf and enjoy.

Corey

that would be coolio!!

[Megan Krewson]

I'd like to see a decent grocery store most of all. Nature's Bin is great for produce but doesn't have much meat, Giant Eagle is crowded and always seems to be out of the fresh ingredients I'm looking for, Marc's is hit or miss and also crowded, and La Plaza (although technically in Cleveland) is fun but obviously only specializes in Mexican food.

I would love to see a Heinens - they're a local chain and the one in Rocky River is great, but crowded and not in Lakewood. A Whole Foods would be great, but I know the average annual income of the city might not be high enough to attract them. A Trader Joe's would work, but I've read that it's difficult to get them to come in because they are expanding into new stores very slowly. My best hope is that Marc's will expand into more of a full service grocery store. I visited the one in Avon last week and they even have a gourmet cheese section! (Good cheese and the available of fresh produce including shallots is how I judge a grocery store.)

Since I usually have to go outside the city to get good grocery ingredients, I often resort to being lazy and going to the many great restaurants that serve awesome fresh food

As a response to the original question - I would love to see a waffle house and a Chick Fil-A. These are not gourmet by any means, but they are both cheap and good. Waffle house isn't exactly healthy, but they do use real eggs that aren't microwaved and they're open 24 hours for the after-bar crowd. Chick Fil-A is still fast food, but they bread actual chicken in the store for the nuggets and sandwiches. The company has great values which usually shows through the attitudes of the employees, and they might even be able to build an indoor kids area like the one in Rocky River.

[Jerry Ritcey]

Sonic is pretty good, but I heard their franchise fees are insanely high. That is likely why there are not many of them around.

[David Lay]

I would love to see a Heinens - they're a local chain and the one in Rocky River is great, but crowded and not in Lakewood.

I go to the RR Heinen's quite a bit, and rarely have issues with it being crowded. I highly doubt they'd open another one so close, especially since the RR location is being remodeled.

[Mark Mraz]

I tell you that I think would flourish....b/c I was born and raised on this business and made it my ife for 9 years...

My family back in Youngstown owns an Italian deli/bakery/carryout and has been owners for the past 21 years. For 9 years I worked all through high school and college and enjoyed it very much.

The concept was quite simple. Daily we made homemade Italian bread, pepperoni rolls, sausage rolls, mini pizzas(cheese, pepperoni, brier hill styles) also homemade semi-hard sandwich rolls. We made fresh pies and had cookies delivered.

Next to the bakery area was our hot food case. We made our own homemade Italian sausage(cooked and raw), homemade sauce, homemade meatballs and wedding soup. We had hot foods daily from 9-5...some of my favorites included pasta aglio, our homemade meatloaf, our baked chicken, fried and baked fish,etc. It was nice b/c we had food 7 days a week, same menu each week but something different everyday.

The concept was nice b/c everything was weighed and you told the clerk how much you wanted. Some people got 2 pieces of sausage, some got a quart. Some people got 4 meatballs, others a dozen. You could get as much or as little as you desired since it was weighed. We had 2 soups daily as well. There was always a few different types or meats, at least 1 potato, and at least 2 other side dish type vegetables.

Next to the hot food case was a full line deli. Numerous meats and cheeses, nothing ever pre sliced. We had our homemade rope sausage(made daily) as well as our homemade meatball mix.(everything was already in the mix, you just had to roll it and cook). We made homemade anti pasta salads, had about 6 different types of olives, mac and potato salad, homemade ham salad, pepper salads, etc.

We also made sandwiches fresh upon request.(This was def my fav.) You can create anything you can think of....they were all done on either a 1/3 loaf of break or whole loaf. My fav creation was baked ham, Swiss, red roasted peppers, oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper...you get the jist.

We also had a grocery store with pastas,sauces, mixes....just anything you need for a full blown Italian meal. We also had a freezer base with soups, meatballs,etc.

If I had the money to invest I would put one of these in Lakewood in a second. I saw my family run as well as myself an amazing business that brought us a lot of local publicity and alto of the same customers for decades.

Food was extremely reasonably priced(of course this was Youngstown). You can get a pound of cavatelli, a few meatballs, a fresh homemade roll, and a drink for just under $5.00. Hot was always fresh and presentation was a must.

I still go to Youngstown once a month and always stock up on lunch meat, bread, and anything I can fit in my freezer.

I wish something like this was in Lakewood. It was a quick meal but it was a good meal...homemade and always hot.

If anyone is ever in the Youngstown area lemme know...Im sure the Mraz family would enjoy your business.

I honestly think this would be an amazing fit in Lakewood, because although we are predominantly Italian based, we try and cater to the masses and offer different foods such as our homemade chicken paprikash, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, pot roast, etc.....Tell me what you think?

[Stan Austin]

Mark Mraz asked--

Tell me what you think?

I would sell my soul--- rob a bank--- do whatever it took to finance what you just described!

(As the lawyers say, that's just an opening proffer)

Stan

[sharon kinsella]

I would go there in a hot minute. I used to go to the Italian store on 55th (of course I can't remember the name). Just opening the doors and having the aroma hit me was marvelous.

I haven't heard anyone mention T.J. Butchers. I used to only buy my meat and chicken at Heinens so I could get hormone and antibiotic free meats. Vegetarian fed beef, pork and free range chicken. Then I moved to the Westerly and found T.J. Butcher Block right across the street. The meats are amazing. Homemade sides, great sandwiches, reasonable prices. I sometimes call ahead and they package to order. Last week I called for 1 pound of round steak to make red gravy swiss steak. Not only did they give me the then cuts, they scored and pounded it.

You can't find the variety and quality anywhere else in Lakewood.