The restaurant industry has seen turbulent times since the pandemic, and the Winking Lizard has had its share of those troubles. Despite the turmoil, the beloved restaurant group has persisted and announced last month that they will be opening the newest Winking Lizard in Streetsboro in 2026, their first new location since 2018.
Cleveland Magazine spoke with co-owner John Lane to learn more about the new location and the future of the Winking Lizard.
Cleveland Magazine: What can guests expect at this new location?
John Lane: Well, the location is actually an old church. We’re gonna build a new building next to it. The ceilings in the church aren’t really tall enough to put a Winking Lizard in there, so that area will probably be a party room, and then we’ll build a new Winking Lizard right next to it.
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CM: Will there be any unique features at this new location?
JL: It’s going to have a cool outdoor patio, I can tell you that. We’re still in the design phase, but I know it’s going to have a really cool patio.
CM: This is the first new Winking Lizard location since 2018. How does this mark a new era of growth for the company?
JL: You know, the last seven years, if you look at what’s been going on, it’s been a little crazy for our industry as a whole. It takes three things to open a restaurant. It takes a location. It takes money, and it takes people. We’ve had a lot of people come to us with a lot of different locations, and we like this one the best. We had the cash to do it, but it was the people piece. And we finally have that solved and have the people to expand, which is the most important piece.
CM: The restaurant industry has faced some significant challenges in the last few years. How has Winking Lizard adapted to these changing times?
JL: We lost so many people that got out of the industry when the pandemic hit. And you know, in the restaurant industry we can’t compete with those that want a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job. It’s just not the restaurant business. So, we just have to be the best restaurant company we can be to attract these people that want to stay in the industry.
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CM: Winking Lizard had to close some locations in recent years. What factors led to those decisions?
JL: I think the Downtown location is pretty self explanatory. It’s taken a long time for Downtown to come back. I’m not sure it’s even 100% yet on the amount of people coming back in the workforce. I think it’s finally starting to get better. So, that’s why we closed Downtown. We also closed in Westerville, down in Columbus, and again — that was kind of a byproduct of the pandemic. It just did not come back like we would have liked to have seen, so you have to make those business decisions.
CM: What excites you most about the future of Winking Lizard?
JL: When you have good people working for you and they want opportunity. It’s that opportunity that we’re creating for more people to move up the ranks. A lot of people want to be promoted, and if you’re not growing, then it makes it a lot harder to attract good people. So, this is a good stepping stone, a good start for us to get going again so that we can show people that we’re in the game and we’re going to continue to grow.
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