CLEVELAND, Ohio – Proof Bar-BQ is on the move.
The restaurant, which prided itself on barbecue and bourbon, will close its location in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood Friday, Dec. 23, and reopen at Lorain Avenue and W. 41st Street in Ohio City next year, its owners said.
“I would say it’s another opportunity to fine-tune some of the things that were working right,” co-owner Dave Ferrante told cleveland.com. “We’re looking at it as a positive.”
Target opening is spring, Ferrante said, though supply-chain issues might extend that a bit.
The new space previously was occupied by Nick’s Diner at 4116 Lorain Avenue. It will undergo a complete renovation for the interior and expanded patio area.
“It’s fairly well worn out,” said Ferrante, adding it will get a “new face lift.”
The space is 40 percent larger than the Tremont one, which is located in the basement of the building that houses Crust and Visible Voice Books. The added space will allow the owners to pivot for a more flexible menu that will still offer barbeque, but be expanded to include other options.
The owners announced in February 2020 the restaurant was close to opening at 2258 Professor Ave. But that timing could not have been worse. The coronavirus pandemic and its restrictions kicked in weeks later and, as co-owner Michael Griffin said in a news release about the move, Proof never found its footing. This April, in a way to reinvigorate the restaurant, the owners revamped the menu.
After some soul-searching, Ferrante said, the owners decided for a fresh start.
“The food was really good, the service was good. We just couldn’t get it together down there. None of us wanted to give up,” he said.
Related coverage
Proof Bar BQ nears opening in Tremont (photos)
Proof revamps menu, fitting in to its Tremont digs (photos)
I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Twitter: @mbona30.
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