Paper covers the windows at the building on the corner of Detroit and Elbur Avenues in Lakewood, concealing the construction work inside. There, a new ownership team is busy preparing and updating the space inside to become a modern dive bar.
Soon — in about four weeks, owners hope — this will be One Star Bar.
Expect a large bar and restaurant space, including a large rentable party room. Expect all the classic dive bar activities: darts, sport games on the TVs, bar food and basic drinks. Expect the restaurant’s stage to remain, only half the size — reduced to give room for a billiards table. Expect an inclusive price range.
And expect some improvements. A clean, freshly painted interior; new lighting; a food menu by acclaimed Ohio City restaurant Heart of Gold; and well-executed drinks, featuring a solid variety of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.
RELATED: Cleveland's 10 Best New Restaurants of 2021: Heart of Gold
“We're definitely trying to do a dive bar, but do it well. Like, bring back the old-school mentality of dad beers and cans, and do old fashions the actual right way, and things like that,” says co-owner John Calo. “We know this neighborhood around here needs a good center to come to and just have a good, cheap beer, and then have great food. The way the economy is going and all that, there's definitely a market for that middle ground.”
Calo, Patrick McGinty, Jimmy Bacha, Francesco Caringi and Brian Taubman make up the group behind the new concept — and each of the founders brings a different element of expertise to it.
RELATED: Taubman Law Building Unveils Massive “Better Call Saul” Mural
But it all originated as a dream shared between these five Lakewood friends.
“We were all together, and we were like, ‘This is a solid team, so we should just do it,’” says Caringi. “We’ve got management experience, we’ve got ownership experience, we've got legal experience, we've got real estate experience, we've got creative and marketing experience. You've got all the pieces, the opportunities there. It's executable. It's within reach without going into some crazy amount of debt. It just made sense. It's a risk worth taking, you know?”
That risk will transform the bar space after a string of other businesses have taken over the building at 13601 Detroit Ave., which was built in 1912, according to county property records.
Before the new team quickly jumped on the space this past summer, the bar was most recently open as Lakewood Social House for just a couple of months last year. Prior to that, it was Mad Mac’s, a macaroni and cheese restaurant; before that, it was a string of bars and pubs going back decades, including O’Toole’s Tavern and Cooperstown Cocktail Co., Casey’s, Mad Anthony’s, Hook and Ladder and Switchboard. And before all of that, McGinty says, it was Chuck’s Delicatessen — a corner shop that sold candy and popcorn.
Much of the changeover has taken place in recent years, leading some locals to call the space … well, cursed.
The current owners refute that sentiment, and only need to gesture at the large corner bar room to prove it.
“This is a great space. The moment I walked in here, I fell in love with it and knew it could be something,” Calo says. “It hasn’t lived up to its full potential in a long time, and we were confident that we can at least try our best to do that.”
That team sentiment carries over into the bar’s new motto. You can see it, typed out on a sheet of printer paper taped to the windows: “One Star Bar: We’re doing our best.”
It's the type of response the team might have if, say, a customer were to leave an actual one-star review of their business.
“It’s basically saying, ‘Hey, we’re not trying to be a one-star bar, but we’re also not going to play games to these reviews that everyone lives and dies by,’” Bacha says.
“Obviously you want good reviews, but you also don’t want to be like, ‘Oh, we got a three-star, a two-star review, I’ve got to yell at my whole staff yet,’” Caringi says. “We’re going to do our best."
Find more details about One Star Bar at its Instagram page.
RELATED: Cleveland's 50 Best Bars, Clubs and Cocktail Lounges
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.
