Twenty-one years ago, chef Rocco Whalen opened Fahrenheit, his flagship restaurant, on Tremont's Professor Avenue. His constantly evolving, meat-focused hot spot proved visionary and helped put Cleveland's culinary scene on the map.
Now, starting July 14, he launches the restaurant's second act with a move to Downtown — and he's doing in style with an expansive, posh new restaurant that features Public Square’s only rooftop and room for 700 diners.
“We’ve created a space that’s elegant, chic and, we think, will stand the time,” says Whalen. “We’ll also be making a tremendous amount of memories. After the first two decades in Tremont, there will still be room for many more.”
After a year-long renovation by Cleveland Construction, Whalen's new Downtown spot is an open concept with elegant dining spaces and two patios, including a rooftop with gorgeous views of the city. Inside, an oversized chef’s table and elegant dining spaces transport visitors to an elevated dining experience.
While leaving Tremont may be bittersweet, the liveliness of Downtown always attracted Whalen. That's why he purposely chose a location in the nucleus of the action.
“There was a magnetic draw to that corner,” Whalen says. “I want that synergy. As much as I loved it in Tremont, I want it to be in Cleveland, Downtown, because I think that’s the best. I’m downtown because I want to be, and I haven’t had a chance to do that until now.”
Located on the northwest corner of Public Square near the in-progress Sherwin-Williams headquarters, his new kitchen is notable as the former home of longtime landmark John Q Steakhouse, but it has sat in vacancy for the past decade. Now, the intersection is brimming with hope thanks to Whalen and the local paint corporation's new skyscrapers. In fact, he affectionally calls the corridor the new “Sherwin Heights.”
“The space is more toward where Cleveland is headed,” he says.
Alexis Dankovich Whalen, CEO of Rocco Whalen Restaurants and the chef's wife, worked alongside the Cleveland-based Vocon design firm to create the awe-inspiring ambiance. The restaurant's opulent, sleek and modern vibe — fit for Las Vegas with nods to New York and Hollywood flair — features various textures and motifs that center around temperature, including flames and bubbles from boiling water. The astonishing floral-themed area, the Rose Room, honors Whalen’s mother, Rose Marie.
Growing up in a home where his mother spent hours listening to a police scanner to monitor his firefighter paramedic brother, the idea of “Fahrenheit” had always been on Whalen’s radar. As he grew his trade, he realized so much around him had to do with heat and temperature and felt attracted to the word that he ultimately named his restaurant after.
“Everything that we do in the kitchen is based on some form of degrees,” Whalen says.
Diners may also notice details from local vendors and pieces of Cleveland history, like Cambria quartz, unique fire art from Skeleton Stewdios and the refurbished original 1958 bar from the building during previous owner Vernon Stouffer’s reign.
“I’m a historic guy when it comes to Cleveland,” says Whalen, who hails from Mentor. “I’m a Clevelander through and through.”
The reimagined Fahrenheit also comes with a new American menu.
Taking inspiration from the original restaurant as well as Whalen's outpost in Charlotte, North Carolina, which opened a decade ago, the food lineup doesn't fit neatly in a box. “Approximately 25% of the menu you will see on Friday as we do the grand open will be the O.G. Fahrenheit classics like the short ribs, the crispy fried potato nachos, the chicken spring rolls and the lobster pizza,” Whalen says. The other 75 percent will be chops, seafood, oysters and other delights.
Focusing on meats, seafare and other upscale culinary gems, the menu is eclectic and special. “We love Asian, we love ethnic, we love Mediterranean,” says Whalen. “We’re not a steakhouse but we have great steaks.” Fahrenheit also crafts inventive Asian-inspired plates like the crowd-pleasing Kobe beef short ribs with teriyaki lo mein noodles, bok choy, roasted mushrooms, ginger and soy-apple glaze. Pizza and salads round out the menu.
After years of tutelage under Wolfgang Puck and other chef pioneers at restaurants in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Cleveland, and beyond, including a stint at Cleveland's Blue Point Grille in 2001, Whalen debuted the original celebrated Tremont Fahrenheit in 2002 at the mere age of 24.
Whalen seeks to inspire and grow his new team members, 27 of whom came with him from the original Cleveland locale.
As far as his future, and Cleveland's for that matter: “The sky’s the limit when it comes to Cleveland, the stories you can tell and the history that you can pull from it,” says Whalen.
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