Cory Hajde, co-owner of Vessel Hospitality, had only eaten at Rood Food once or twice when he got a long email from its owner, who he’d never met, in February. Brian Ruthsatz, the 60-year-old who founded the fine dining-adjacent Lakewood eatery in 2018, was ready to retire. He’d explored other buyers but thought they were more interested in the property than the restaurant. He wanted to find an owner who could maintain the standard that had earned Rood accolades and a loyal following.
Initially, Hajde was reluctant to take on another new project. After all, since co-founding music promotion company BravoArtist in 2011, he opened the acclaimed Tremont cocktail bar Cloak and Dagger in 2020 and, in 2021, purchased the 100-year-old entertainment complex Mahall’s in Lakewood, in which he subsequently launched Pins & Needles cocktail bar and an 800-person music venue called The Roxy. He is also involved with the vegan deli Black Market Meats in Lakewood and the music venue Ace of Cups in Columbus. This year, he announced another new cocktail bar, the member’s only Writer’s Room, is coming to the space above Cloak and Dagger.
(Photo Caption: Cory Hajde owns Vessel Hospitality group.)
But the more he studied the restaurant’s books and process and understood the food’s rabid fan base, which pulls from Cleveland, Lakewood and Rocky River, the more he realized that the opportunity was too good to pass up.
“I was completely won over. The business is in such a healthy, thriving place and has a lot of room to grow,” says Hajde. “They have taken it slow and tackled things in the right ways. They’ve set a higher standard for themselves. I’m really impressed with the food they’re putting out.”
Hajde officially takes control of the Madison Avenue eatery on Aug. 1. He plans to change little, especially at first. Sure, Hajde has thoughts of tweaking the presentation of the menu, adding brunch and refreshing the brand, but those moves are on the back burner to housekeeping and updating systems for now. Chef Josh Erickson, who joined the team about a year ago, is staying on, and the restaurant is continuing its exploration of seasonal American fare.
And don’t worry, those seasonal pies aren’t going anywhere.
“I'm excited because I think Cloak and Dagger is very much like Rood — very unique and different — and what he’s doing with Mahall’s,” Ruthsatz says. “I’m sure they’ll do their own things to it, but it’s fun when you can find someone that likes the concept.”
(Photo Caption: Brian Ruthsatz is stepping down this week after founding Rood Food in 2018.)
Rood Food has been a lesson in resilience. While signature pies (salt and honey, most notably) have stayed central to the concept since its opening, the restaurant originally offered elevated sliders. Diners would build their own mini sandwiches from shared bowls of Malaysian chicken or Korean barbecue pulled pork and non-protein toppings. The menu was pretty well received, but it wasn’t pandemic-proof. Ruthsatz survived 2020 by offering brunch as he planned his next move.
He found that next move in Rachelle Murphy. The then-23-year-old Michigan native had already run her own restaurant, appeared on multiple food TV shows and competed in cooking competitions on the national stage when Ruthsatz approached her about the executive chef position. When Rood reopened in March 2021, Murphy’s revamped offerings — a chaos menu of pastas, seafood, Southern comfort and whatever else she could create with local, seasonal ingredients — quickly built a following.
“We’ve always tried to do things that aren’t being done at any other Cleveland restaurants,” says Ruthsatz. “We’re having a record week this week. It’s really great to leave Rood on a high.”
Though Murphy left for Aladdin’s Eatery’s Seasoned Brands in 2023, Erickson, who previously worked at Blue Pointe Grille, has honored the roots of what Murphy developed while putting his spin on the dishes.
(Photo Caption: Chef Josh Erickson took the helm of Rood Food's kitchen last year.)
“Chef Josh and the rest of the management team run a really impressive operation. It's rare to find. It's just such a gem,” Hajde says. “Everyone that works there seems like they really want to be there.”
As his family of entertainment venues quickly becomes an empire, Hajde is glad to have that foundation in his newest endeavor — a foundation for which he credits Ruthsatz.
“[Rood] is very vibrant,” he says. “Brian, he cares so much, man. This was his thing. It was his full-time focus. I feel confident because the team he built is so interesting and exciting and passionate about what they’re doing.”
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