Two powerhouses of Northeast Ohio’s dining scene are teaming up for a month of food specials that fuse novelty and nostalgia. No need to pinch yourself. You’re not dreaming.
Starting June 1, Cordelia and Swensons Drive-In are both offering menu items inspired by each others’ most popular dishes. The mashup is Swensons’ second collaboration with Ohio food producers this year. Through May 31, the drive-up is offering a chicken sandwich, chicken nuggets and loaded fries from Columbus-based Black Cap Hot Sauce.
“We want to celebrate really unique things about Ohio,” says Charles Craig, senior vice president of culinary at Swensons. “We want to uplift those around us from our neighborhoods.”
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Swensons will serve Cordelia’s pimento cheese dip aside saltine crackers ($4.99), mirroring the fan-favorite shareable that is one of a few staples on Cimino’s ever-rotating menu. The cheese dip will also be featured on a double-patty pimento
burger ($7.99) with raw onions, green Kool-Aid pickles, tartar sauce and a garnish of olive and Kool-Aid pickle on a toothpick — nods to both Swensons’ Galley Boy and Cordelia’s Burger Box, another static menu item. A peach cobbler milkshake ($6.08)
and peach lemonade whip ($4.99) — a mix of peach, lemonade, shake base and Starry soda — complete the lineup.
“My mom is from Alabama,” says Cimino, a twice-nominated and 2024 finalist for the James Beard Awards. “So there's a lot of that Southern influence. Our hospitality, our cooking, gathering around tables and sharing plates is rooted in a lot of that.”
Cordelia, meanwhile, is planning a tasting menu (price to be determined) that transforms Swensons essentials into elevated goodness. The chain’s California grape soda is reimagined as a granita atop oysters with lemon zest, plus a slush float for a refreshing treat. Sweet meets savory for a banana ice cream fused with peanut butter swirl and french fry potato. A Galley Boy tartare pays homage to the famous burger with piquillo pepper, romesco, barbecue sauce and olive mayonnaise.
“It's extravagant flavor being served in a very comfortable, very familiar environment,” says Craig. “My vibe from dining at Cordelia and talking to Chef Vinnie about their aspect is, How do we give our guests a taste of our childhood but in a new and interesting way?”
READ MORE: Cordelia is Cleveland's 2023 Best New Restaurant
It’s the crossover you never knew you needed, but truly, it was written in the stars all along.
“It was like two fangirls clashing,” Craig says. “We want to do cool things with cool people.”
It hits home for Cimino, literally. Though his restaurant is parked in the heart of Downtown Cleveland, the Akron native lives a mere six blocks from the first Swensons restaurant.
“The first place I drove my car was to eat Swensons,” he says. “After prom, we would go to Swensons. For homecoming, we went to Swensons. To be able to partner with such an iconic brand, something that I grew up with — it's not often that you get to do this.”
The passion is apparent. Cimino is making all the pimento cheese for the burgers himself — 300 gallons of it. Craig and his team are giving away merch and temporary tattoos on June 1 to ring in the collaboration. Craig and Cimino are getting permanent versions of the same tattoo. The camaraderie in their partnership goes beyond food.
“This culinary and hospitality industry in this state is so special,” Craig says. “We're really fortunate to have met people like this and be involved with people like this, because it allows not just for us to have a wonderful experience personally, but also for us to do what we like to and help participate in the growth of our community.”
READ MORE: Swensons Curbside Server to CEO: Inside Jeffrey Flowers' Humble Beginnings
To kick things off on June 1, Cimino will join the crew at the original Swensons location at 40 S. Hawkins Ave. in Akron from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. to unveil the burger and dip as one of the restaurant’s curbside servers.
“I'm finally actualizing my dream of being a carhop,” Cimino says. “I’ve got my white belt and best blue shorts picked out. I'm getting ready to get my running shoes on. I've been training.”
For the rest of the month following his visit, a cutout of Cimino will remain plastered on the window at the West Akron restaurant. Cordelia will also don a Swensons logo in their window.
Cimino’s creations are available June 1-30 at all 21 Swensons locations across Ohio. Cordelia’s specialty tasting menu is also available through the end of the month.
To close out the collab on June 30, a Swensons food truck will park in front of Cordelia’s East Fourth Street patio to bring each restaurant’s food together in perfect, full-circle harmony — and give Downtown residents the joy of Akron’s finest burgers and Potato Teezers for lunch.
“It's going to be a madhouse,” Cimino says, “for all the best of reasons.”
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