We don't have beat writers, but over my 10 years with the magazine, I’ve spent more time talking to chefs and restaurateurs than anyone else.
I've found that there are a lot of similarities between a kitchen and a newsroom. The endeavors mix artistry, commerce and workmanship. You can be passionate and creative — as long as the people buy it.
Next, your success hinges on your staff. When a valued team member leaves and another comes in, the chemistry changes — for better or worse. The scope of the menu or the coverage shifts to match the person’s sensibilities, and often, ambitiousness must be scaled back as they learn the ropes.
“When you can step away from the kitchen a little bit, you get to explore new ideas,” says Douglas Katz, chef-owner of Zhug and Amba. “Then you lose someone who’s key to your team, and you have to go back into the kitchen and retrench.”
Even when you’re doing well and the team is humming, as we are and most of the restaurants in this issue are, there is a constant threat of extinction hovering over you like a black cloud.
Related: Cleveland's 25 Best Restaurants
We’ve all heard the stats — 60% of restaurants close in their first year, 70% in their second year and 80% after five. If you look back through the archives of this annual issue, even five or 10 years, you’ll find a graveyard of great restaurants gone ghost — Distill Table, the Plum and the great Lola Bistro, just to name a few.
Just last year, the media industry lost 21,400 jobs, the most since the recession of 2008 and 2009, and more than 500 journalists were laid off in January 2024 alone. Since 1990, the industry has lost 365,000 jobs, and some of the industry’s heaviest hitters — vice.com, BuzzFeed, Los Angeles Times — join thousands of local papers in closing or becoming husks of their former selves.
“The older you get, it gets harder,” says Slyman’s Freddie Slyman. “It’s challenging in so many ways. You’re trying to maintain a profit and walk that fine line where you’re not charging too much. We’re blessed to be a Cleveland institution, but the hands of time kick our butts a little bit more every day.”
That pressure, paired with the nature of the work, brings an intensity. Journalism is on the opposite end of the spectrum of physicality — just ask my cardiologist. Still, you need to be able to react and work quickly. Under stress, you need to be great, near perfect, every time. If not, you’ll hear about it from the loyal readers or diners who consume your product. If you get a fact wrong, show inconsistency in a dish, miss a comma or offer a bad first bite, you won’t hook ’em and you won’t keep ’em around.
The plus side of what we do — other than the joys of creativity, of interacting with people and the sense of accomplishment after a particularly tough day — is that when you miss you get to try again tomorrow, at least as long as Clevelanders keep eating well and reading often.
“This industry isn’t getting any easier,” says Alea’s Athan Zarnas. “But we just keep grinding away.”
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