Since departing Miami and taking his talents to Cleveland, Lebron Mendel Segal has been on a tear, first opening Cleveland’s first upscale kosher BBQ joint a year ago, then quickly expanding to provide premium kosher food at the Cleveland Guardians ballpark: Progressive Field midway through the 2023 MLB season. You may also know Chef Mendel from Mendel’s KC BBQ in Miami (he is no longer involved), from his days as RabbiQ in kosher BBQ competitions, or the creator of Mendel’s Kansas City BBQ Rub, still available on Amazon.
But now, Mendel has his sights set on opening an upscale dairy restaurant in Cleveland later this summer, Fiamma by Mendel. (Fiamma means “flame” in Italian)
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According to DansDeals, the restaurant will open at Woodmere’s Eton Collection, at 28699 Chagrin Blvd, Woodmere, OH, 3 miles down the road from Mendel’s BBQ, by the end of this summer or early fall. The 2,800 sqft Italian-fusion dairy restaurant will boast a clean, rustic, and trendy ambiance.
The restaurant will feature a unique Marra Forni wood-burning pizza oven from Italy. The restaurant’s model will be a rotating oven that has one opening on the kitchen side, where the pies will be tossed, topped and loaded, and a second opening on the dining room side, where the pies will be removed, finished, and plated, according to Clevescene.com.
The restaurant’s drink selection will feature curated tequila, whiskey, bourbon and other alcoholic beverages.
Fiamma by Mendel will feature wood-fired pizzas, fresh seafood, handmade pastas, and salads. Mendel seeks to bring an upscale culinary experience to the kosher dining scene in the greater Cleveland area.
Chef Mendel is quoted telling clevescene.com: “This should be the nicest kosher place between New York and Chicago.”
The restaurant will be certified kosher under Cleveland Kosher, cholov yisroel & pas yisroel.
