CLEVELAND — The Former Hard Rock Café space, which has been vacant for the last eight years at Tower City Center in Cleveland, is getting a new lease on life as The Astro Restaurant is set to open later this month.
"I think we have something unique, something that's gonna be a destination place," said Managing Partner Andre Scott.
The Astro is the brainchild of the same people who brought you the popular Haunted House Restaurant in Cleveland Heights. Its plan is to offer guests an out-of-this-world experience.
"He's like, 'This is easy. We are going with sci-fi space-type theme,'" said Scott of his conversation with partner, Ryan Gullatt, about the new concept. "I said, 'You know, we believed in him with the Haunted House, so why wouldn't we believe in him here?'"
Scott said Bedrock, Tower City's managing company, reached out to their team asking them for a concept that would duplicate the Haunted House Restaurant's success as they continue their effort to revive Tower City.
"I think it's a lot of pressure on our team to deliver for Tower City," Scott said. "I think we're going to help with also what Bedrock is doing or other things to help bring Tower City back to life."
To propel guests in the universe of iconic sci-fi movies, the restaurant has undergone a complete transformation. From the walls, which include murals from local artists, to the menus, each element is a nod to the classics from Star Wars and Star Trek. They're crafting an experience, one that they hope attracts invested fans.
"The ideal customer is the person that's gonna come in that cosplay and come in looking like Darth Vader or come in looking like Storm or something like that," said Scott. "That's, that's the ideal customer. I think we're gonna welcome everybody. We will welcome everybody, but that ideal customer, we encourage cosplay!"
With an occupancy of nearly 200, the two-story restaurant also includes a 30-person bar and private dining area. The menu is described as "modern seafood American" and includes themed dishes such as the Spaceley's Seafood Pie, Cypher's Steak, the Mon-Star and many other dishes.
They say the Astro is a one-of-a-kind, unique experience suitable for all occasions.
"We're gonna give you that entertainment. We're gonna give you that great service and we're gonna give you memories, and that's what it's all about," said Scott.
The Astro Restaurant will have its grand opening on Tuesday, April 23, at 4 p.m.
The Astro Restaurant is located at 216 W. Huron Rd. The operating hours are Tuesday through Friday, 4-9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for brunch and 5-9 p.m. For more information, visit their website or you can check them out on social media.