A decade after reviving Gunselman’s Tavern in Fairview Park, Joe McDonough, David Grace and John Caine have opened Gunselman's Steakhouse & Bar in Olmsted Falls. The attractive eatery is located on Main Street, where it dead ends at the Charles A. Harding Memorial Covered Bridge.
This five-year journey began when the owners, friends since childhood, purchased a historic structure long home to the local public library. After considerable work, the bi-level property now features an upscale-casual steakhouse on one floor and an informal pub on the lower level. Each entity has its own entrance and patio.
“We know where our bread and butter is made,” says Grace. “Downstairs is a Gunselman’s pub – casual, shorts, dog-friendly patio. Upstairs is polished-casual, not quite a Marble Room, not quite an Outback.”
The steakhouse has a bar and lounge area with high-top tables and a separate dining room capped with the original tin ceiling from Michael Symon’s Lolita in Tremont. A shaded front-porch patio offers views of the covered bridge. Below, attached to the pub, a sandstone-wrapped patio is located just steps from the Dan Waugh nature trail. The steakhouse accepts reservations, while the pub is first-come, first-served.
The steakhouse menu offers starters like lobster bisque, mussels in white wine sauce, beef carpaccio, and pierogies with smoked sour cream. Salads include a house, wedge, and Caesar. Gunselman’s features a filet, strip and ribeye – all Certified Angus Beef. They include a choice of chophouse sides like asparagus, broccoli and baked potatoes. Also on the menu are a few seafood items – including lobster tails with drawn butter – and non-steak entrees like chicken paprikash and bone-in pork chops.
The pub menu was not available for viewing, but the owners say that it will look very similar to the Tavern menu that runs in Fairview Park. Diners can expect items like loaded fries, reuben rolls, cabbage and noodles, fish and chips, and those award-winning burgers.
Originally, the Olmsted Falls restaurant was going to be a one-off concept with a different name and ownership team. But during the development process, the decision was made to keep – and champion – the Gunselman’s name.
“One of the main reasons we kept the name Gunselman’s is because we’ve built a great brand,” says Grace.
Until the restaurant’s grand opening on July 10th, diners should expect somewhat limited menus, says management.
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