- Jonas Oryszak
- The Heart of Gold dining room, soon to open in Ohio City.
–
Update: Everything is set for the Monday June 14 opening for Heart of Gold, says owner Jonah Oryszak. The restaurant will come to life in the former Plum space in Ohio City. We have added the menu that was just published to the end of this article. For starters, the HOG will be lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, but brunch will be added ASAP.
Original message: May 6, 2021
After being closed for most of 2020, Plum in Ohio City was buried earlier this year. Owner Jonah Oryszak later announced that the space would reopen when Heart of gold (4133 Lorain Ave.), a more casual bar and neighborhood food. This should take place on Monday June 14th.
Oryszak says his main goal was to open a new restaurant that looked and functioned differently from Plum, but still produced “clever and thoughtfully composed dishes and drinks.”
“We didn’t want it to look like Plum with just a different color,” he explains. “And we didn’t want to feel like we brought a different concept to the same space. But at the same time, we had a lot of expensive artisan finishes that were made by our friends. ”
The other elements and finishes are the gleaming white tile backdrops, the custom tables and chairs, and the pink bench. No more wild wallpaper, shiny floors, and color neutrality. Added is a mural painted by artist Jason Look, updated hardwood floors that add warmth to the space, and lots of dark, dusty blue accents.
“I think we did a lot of things right the first time, where a lot of things are neutral, so it would still be easy to swap things and change the space without having to change everything completely,” says Oryszak.
The executive chef is Adam Bauer, who has worked at Moxie, Red, Trentina, Greenhouse Tavern, and Sawyer’s.
“We try to differentiate between being quick and laid back, but pushing the flavor and keeping things hyperstational,” he says. “We will keep the basic menu items small so that we can make as many seasonal specialties as possible. ”
The menu will feature an accessible list of salads, green bowls, burgers, sandwiches, and entrees like Hungarian-style braised bacon with Ohio corn scoop bread.
“We want it to be affordable, so that we can have loyal customers once or twice a week, hopefully,” adds the chef. “There is nothing more than $ 16.”
Customers will experience a much more relaxed atmosphere, where they sit, order food and drink from the counter, and even take their own food from the kitchen. The restaurant will be assigned on a first come, first serve basis, will not employ a waiter, and will offer online ordering for easy pickup. The goal, Oryszak explains, is to eliminate as much overhead as possible, keep prices low, raise wages, and encourage loyal customers.
“What I was interested in was hiring fewer people, paying everyone a little more, and preparing it so that we didn’t have to shut down again if another pandemic or strain was happening,” he says. “By eliminating all those costs and reducing all that fat, and continuing to introduce foods that will get people excited, we can make food affordable. We are in an area of the city where we cannot survive with tourist traffic; we have to be the neighborhood where people can eat every day.
Heart of Gold will be open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and will serve brunch and dinner on Saturdays.
“We try to adapt to the new culinary landscape like everyone else,” adds Chef Bauer. “I don’t think what we do is 100% different from what you see across the country. We all try to survive in the current climate.
- Courtesy of Jonah Oryszak
- The Ohio City Heart of Gold menu has been released.
—