Award-Winning Chef Opening Shaker Heights Restaurant

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH — The James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schwartz will open a new restaurant in The Van Aken District this week. Michael's Genuine Food and Drink will welcome its first customers on Friday.

The Van Aken District location will be the first Midwest outpost for Schwartz' namesake restaurant. The original Michael's Genuine opened in Miami in 2007.

The Cleveland location will feature simply-prepared food made from fresh, seasonal ingredients. The environment will be welcoming and unpretentious, according to the company.

“Cleveland feels really good, and we’re so excited to finally open and get to know our new community,” said Schwartz, “For us, genuine is a thoughtful approach to hospitality – I’m a chef, but it’s as much about making fresh, simple, pure food that tastes great from quality sources as it is about a tireless attention to detail of every aspect of the dining experience for guests. As we build a new team in a new location, making sure our culture thrives is really important to us. We’ve worked hard to get here and are looking forward to continuing to grow in our new home.”

The restaurant's menu will feature a range of dishes, ranging from small to extra-large. There will be a raw bar featuring Oysters with classic mignonette, King Crab with green sambal, Snapper Ceviche, and Seafood Tower available in tiered sizes. The Cleveland location will feature comfort foods like a Liverwurst Toast snack, made with red onion, iceberg lettuce, and yellow mustard.

There will also be a complete collection of cocktails, beers and wines. Head Sommelier Amanda Fraga said to expect both the familiar and the interesting on the menu.

"We naturally lean toward food-friendly wines, especially old world styles and classic interpretations," Fraga explained. "When I first went to Cleveland, I was excited to see such an eclectic style of wine programs at the restaurants I visited. I'm really excited by Cleveland's adventurous taste and desire to try something new. "

The restaurant will have an open floor plan. Guests will walk in and see a butcher block-topped bar and the main dining room behind that. Expect warm woods, polished concrete, marble counters and red accents throughout the building. In one corner, the restaurant will have a Marra Forni wood burning hearth and raw bar display.

Michael's Genuine Food & Drink Cleveland is at 3427 Tuttle Road, Shaker Heights. The restaurant will be open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, Michael's will be open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Lunch and brunch hours will be added during the advent of summer.

Reservations are available via OpenTable or by calling the restaurant at 216-230-8022.