Brandon Chrostowski describes his new venture – a partnership with Cleveland Capuchin Ministries – as being more than just a restaurant. It’s intended as a beacon of hope for the city of Cleveland.
Set to open in the Playhouse Square District this winter, The Friars’ Table will be a restaurant with a mission, one rooted in the values of “simplicity, dignity and community.”
“The goal of the restaurant is to give the city not only a great restaurant, but hope,” Chrostowski explains. “We want to create a beautiful space where people can come together over good food, and leave feeling inspired and uplifted.”
The EDWINS Restaurant & Leadership Institute founder will partner with Fr. Philip Bernier to further the core mission of Chrostowski’s 10-year-old non-profit by teaching employees skills for a meaningful and successful future.
“Our hope for The Friars’ Table is to become a gathering space where people from the neighborhood and those visiting the theater can form a community in an inviting room where men and women employed by the Table, whether they were formerly incarcerated, are seeking a new home In this country or are among the working poor, can learn the skills necessary to find opportunities for a new start in life,” says Fr. Bernier. “These dreams all intersect around a table of simple, wholesome food to nourish both the body and the soul.”
Located in the former Cowell & Hubbard space (1305 Euclid Ave.), the Friars’ Table will feature “a seasonal menu inspired by monastic cuisine.” Guests can look forward to soups, salads and starters such as pea soup, cabbage and potato salad, caramelized turnips, mushroom tarts and an eggplant and artichoke croquette. Entrees will include cod with tomato chutney, pork roulade, and salmon St. Celestine, prepared with leeks, mushrooms and sorrel.
The setting is described as fitting with the Capuchin values of simplicity and community.
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