This month marks the ninth anniversary of the demise of Steve’s Lunch, the (in)famous hot dog diner on the western edge of Ohio City. That local landmark burst into flames on St. Patrick’s Day 2015, with the building being razed the following day.
Now, in a fate that seems unfair, owner Ed Salzgerber has announced that he will be closing Steve's Diner, which opened in 2010. The restaurant was an offshoot of Steve's Lunch, the restaurant he purchased from founder Steve Spanakis in 2002.
The hot dog diner closes on March 4 because its owner could not secure a lease extension, he explains.
"It is with a heavy heart we make the announcement that we never hoped to make," offers management. "This is not a choice we want to make, but we are unable to renew our lease for the space we are currently in. We want to thank all of our wonderful guests and employees for supporting us over these many years."
With the impending closure, Cleveland will also lose one of the precious few remaining 24-hour restaurants around town.
When Cleveland Magazine spoke to Salzgeber in February, he shared that he hoped to stick things out, while admitting that things like skyrocketing food costs and staffing shortages have slammed Steve’s Diner and Steve’s Doghouse with brutal force. (“There’s only so much you can charge for breakfast,” he says.) That said, he was doubting the 24-hour commitment — and has sowed a sort of skepticism in him, one directed at the entire dining industry.
“I truly think it’s a dying breed,” he told us. “I just don’t see any restaurant making it, between the rising prices and labor costs. I don’t know what’s going to happen. The ones that are here now are a shadow of what we were before COVID. Pretty soon there will be none. It has always been our model to be the last restaurant standing.”
Fans of the original chili recipe that dates back to 1953 can still enjoy it at Steve's Doghouse (3850 Pearl Road, 216-398-1446).
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