A celebration of 9 survivors from Cleveland’s ever-crowded restaurant scene

If it’s true that you’ve got to be a little nuts to get into the restaurant business, then the following list surely represents the craziest crew Cleveland has to offer. In their decades of service, these restaurateurs have succeeded in an industry that rewards hard work, unwavering passion, and resilience in the face of great change. We asked them to reflect on their careers and on some of their most memorable moments. Here’s what they cooked up.

Zack Bruell

Current restaurants: Chinato, L’Albatros, Table 45, Parallax

Previous restaurants: Z Contemporary Cuisine (1985)

First job in the biz: Dishwasher at University of Colorado cafeteria (at age 20)

Shifting trends: The labor market in Cleveland has improved drastically. When I opened Z, we had to hire people with zero fine-dining experience and train them to do what we wanted. It was naive of me to think that they’d stay with me. I ended up being the training ground for the rest of the city. It’s much easier to find talent now.

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Chehalem Tasting, Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 6:30 pm

Six Courses and Wine Pairings.

Call now for Reservations. 216-298-9080

CLEVELAND, Ohio — In Zack Bruell’s world, the restaurant is a stage.
The dining room is a theatrical set. Lighting, sound, colors all create the mood. Cooks are lead characters, working from a script called the menu. Servers play featured roles. The customers are the stars.

Bruell? He’s the maestro, both playwright and director.

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“Dreaming of Florence, Italy? Step into Chinato on East Fourth Street in Cleveland where one panoramic wall provides the passport. A cityscape mural — sprawling, vintage view with river, bridges and domed churches — glows with so much yummy, golden-hour light you might want to hold onto something to steady your imagination.

Fortunately, the food also transports.

Chinato is not a replication of food in Italy. Or what we might think is food in Italy. As we know from L’Albatros, chef-owner Zack Bruell’s updated French bistro in University Circle, ethnicity is meant to be deeply dug, polished and properly framed for today’s customer. But that sounds dry. His approach to flavor also can be bada-bing, bada-boom.”

Read the full story on Cleveland.com.

“Here, Bruell takes on Italian, refining and redefining the classics in contemporary fashion. And — surprise, surprise — he nails it. I’ve sampled four of the dozen or so pastas, and I’d order every one of them again. Each is an artful balance of flavors, textures and aromas, no small feat for a chef new to the cuisine. Thick rags of fresh pasta ($8/15) are coated in a creamy cauliflower sauce; buttery lumps of gnocchi ($8/15) are dotted with bits of toasted garlic; weightless ravioli ($10/18) swell from a savory meat and vegetable filling.”

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Cleveland – Zack Bruell, award-winning chef and restaurateur, announces the opening of Chinato, an old-meets-new Italian culinary concept on Cleveland’s East Fourth Street.  Chinato, named after a flavorful Italian after-dinner wine enriched with herbs, spices and Cinchona bark, is Bruell’s fourth restaurant within the city of Cleveland.

Bruell designed Chinato’s menu to highlight the simplicity of all Italian cuisine, not limiting himself to one region or technique.  “Authentic Italian food is simple and flavorful – regardless of whether you’re in Tuscany, Sicily or Campania,” said Bruell.  “I wanted to stay true to that.”  Chinato’s menu features Bruell’s take on simplistic Italian dishes, like Bistecca ala Florentina, accented with Lemon; Sweetbread Fritto Misto with Fried Caper Berries, Carrot and Zucchini Julienne; and Raviolis with Pork, Veal, Zucchini and Shiitake Mushrooms with Melted Butter and Parmesan.  Antipasti offerings are just as appealing, with options like Buratta with Grilled Toast and Cold Tomato Basil Sauce and Involtini of Eggplant Stuffed with Ricotta and Shrimp.

Like Bruell’s other restaurants, Chinato is heavy on atmosphere.  Architect Ron Reed worked with Bruell to design a space that combines urban vibrancy with old-world charm.  “Walking into Chinato will feel like you are walking into a sepia tone Italian photograph from the 1920’s,” said Bruell.  “To create the ideal restaurant, the energy and environment are just as important as the cuisine.  This has not been overlooked at Chinato.”

The opening of Chinato marks Bruell’s fourth unique culinary concept within Cleveland’s city limits, in addition to Parallax in the city’s Tremont neighborhood, Table 45 at the InterContinental Cleveland and L’Albatros in University Circle.  The restaurateur has developed a streamlined process for the opening of upscale, modern restaurants with high return on investment, allowing him to ensure quality and consistency at any Bruell-branded location.  “I have developed a formula for success that has been tested and proven for decades,” said Bruell.  “That is evident in the planning and attention to detail that goes into every aspect of each of my restaurants.”

About Zack Bruell

More than 25 years ago, Cleveland Magazine credited Zachary Bruell with introducing the area to an emerging west-coast trend of bistro dining and fusion cuisine.

Bruell brought the concept from his work with famed chef Michael McCarty of the landmark eatery, Michael’s Santa Monica – a restaurant recognized for influencing dining attitudes throughout North America with its California nouvelle cuisine.

Bruell imported the new style to Cleveland, where he opened Z Contemporary Cuisine in Shaker Heights in the early 1980s.  After selling Z, Bruell ran the kitchen at Ken Stewart’s in Akron. By 2004, he opened Parallax in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, focusing on fusion seafood and featuring a sushi bar.

By 2006, Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove asked Bruell to take over the main restaurant at the InterContinental Hotel in Cleveland, where he created Table 45 – an award-winning World Cuisine concept, named a 2007 Best New Restaurant by Esquire magazine.

In 2009, Bruell opened L’Albatros on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, returning to the classic French roots of modern American bistro dining.  L’Albatros has been featured in USA Today, and was named one of Cleveland’s Best New Restaurants by the readers of Cleveland Magazine.

Now, Bruell opens Chinato, taking modern cultural cuisine to a completely new level with a simple, yet modern, Italian menu and décor, done only as Bruell can.

Bruell is confident Chinato will be ready to open in a few weeks, though one would never know by peaking through the temporary wooden doors. Through the insisting of others, he’s the latest restaurateur to open on Cleveland’s street du jour (apparently Bruell was presented with an opportunity this graduate of the Wharton School of Business knew he couldn’t refuse). “Life is all about timing,” he explains. “Opportunities don’t come around like this often, so you have to grab it and grow.” He adds that his continued growth is good for his staff because it provides them with tremendous opportunities, and he acknowledges that he has nothing short of an incredible staff.

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Chef Zack Bruell is no stranger in the kitchen. With three of the most popular restaurants opening in Cleveland since 2004, Bruell has no plans of slowing down. This avid golfer and chef likes to walk on the edge. His colorful, yet simple menus contain classic staples as well as exciting blends of flavor and spice. His new restaurant, Chinato, is scheduled to open at the end of October. “I have to work and think about golf. Cooking just comes naturally. I don’t even have to think about it,” he says. In what is bound to become another Cleveland staple, Chinato will give patrons an Italian flair with more of Bruell’s signature thrown in.

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