Rising Star Coffee's residency at the diner car on Lee Road was always meant to be a temporary one.
Since opening five years ago in Cleveland Heights, Rising Star has become a beloved — and vital — feature in the community. The coffee shop currently shares the diner property at 1975 Lee Road with Abundance Culinary. But they had been on the lookout for a larger, permanent home.
Well, this story turns out to be the definition of a win-win situation for Cleveland Heights residents. With news this week that the local coffee chain has landed a permanent home in Cleveland Heights at the corner of South Taylor Road, it also means that Abundance Culinary, the year-old modern Chinese outfit from Chef Liu Fang and Carl Setzer, can expand into the former coffeeshop space.
Not only do fans of Abundance Culinary get to look forward to an expansion at the diner car, with new offerings like all-day service with breakfast, sweet and savory Chinese pastries, and a small-but-mighty coffee program, they receive a standalone Rising
Star coffee shop in a separate location.
The plan for Abundance, after a slight renovation of the area helmed by Kelley Shaffer, who has designed Doug Katz's restaurants, is to open a breakfast/all-day service featuring a slimmed-down roster of coffees alongside sweet and savory Chinese pastries and other breakfast goodies.
"A real simple caffeine service, Chinese baked goods, Asian-style handhelds, something for the morning with a diner aesthetic," Fang says. "It's a lot of the same influence with which we built our menu — things people are already familiar
with, like Moon Cakes or pineapple buns, but we want to incorporate a modern interpretation of it. Stuffed flatbreads, stuffed sandwiches, probably using our house-cured meats. We've been doing R&D to make sure we have a solid product."
Related: Cleveland's 10 Best New Restaurants
Setzer says they want those currently visiting in the morning and early afternoon to still experience it as a cafe, just not in the same way they did with Rising Star.
The pair hope to open sometime this winter, but currently have no hard
timelines.
Meanwhile, Rising Star's new cafe will be located in the corner property on South Taylor Road (2184 S. Taylor Road) that had been sitting vacant since Cycle Sport and Fitness bike shop closed a few years back. The spacious corner property —
just steps from Quintana’s Barbershop and Dream Spa (and Speakeasy Lounge) and Mister Brisket — will make a great addition to the district.
“We selected this space with our customers and community in mind,”
says a Rising Star rep. “There will be plenty of space for our friends who like to hang out and get some work done as well as space for community and connection.”
The goal is to be open for business by the first week
of November.
For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.
Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, publishing 12 times a year with immersive features, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.
