Rockefeller’s opens in historic banking hall
Long time Heights resident Michael Adams is opening Rockefeller’s, an upscale lounge and fine dining establishment, in the former banking hall of the historic Heights Rockefeller Building on Feb. 1. The space had most recently been operated as a party center by building owner Jim Barle.
Adams, an attorney, is new to the restaurant business. “I was downsized from a law firm during the recession,” he said. “My wife Mazie and I love to entertain and I was fascinated with how restaurants work growing up in New Jersey.”
“The other places I looked at were cookie-cutter storefronts that I would have to build from scratch. When I saw this space, it fit my vision exactly and Jim is flexible and business-friendly.”
Landlord Jim Barle takes great care in selecting businesses for the mixed-use building, located at 3099 Mayfield Road. It was built in 1930 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. as the gateway to his Forest Hill residential development, located on the site of his family’s former summer retreat. The building currently house shops, offices and apartments. “I’d rather have the space sit empty for a time in order to make sure that the tenants are the right fit,” Barle said.
While Barle has always carefully maintained the building, Adams modernized and added new life to the elegant hall. He updated the electrical and HVAC systems; augmented the kitchen by installing a new prep area and walk-in cooler to the bank vault area, which is now connected to the kitchen for better work flow; and freshened up the décor by giving the floor a good scrubbing and adding a fresh coat of paint, new window treatments and furnishings.
The lounge area, which occupies the space closest to the kitchen and bar, features high-top tables, comfortable couches and small ottomans that can be moved around easily. Built-in banquettes run the length of space in each of the three corners not occupied by the bar, adding flexibility to accommodate larger parties. Adams says he will continue to offer the space for special parties.
The largest change to the space is something most patrons won’t even notice. To bring the building up to code, Adams was required to install a sprinkler system. He did so in the most unobtrusive way possible. He attached the pipes to the hand-painted beamed ceiling and then painted them brown so that they would blend in. “They are attached in such a way,” he says, “that if someone were to find another way to protect the structure in the future, they could be easily removed with little damage to the historic character of the ceiling.”
Executive chef Jill Vedaa, who has 19 years in the business and has worked in such notable restaurants as the Flying Fig, Lola, Saucy Bistro and the Wine Bar in Rocky River, has prepared an elegant and focused menu for both the lounge and fine dining sides of the restaurant. Entrees are priced between $15 and $22.
The menu will change seasonally as she takes advantage of fresh foods from local farmers.
Adams says he plants to compost non meat food scraps, which will be collected by a local vendor.
The lounge side of Rockefeller’s opens Feb. 1, giving the new venture two weeks to refine its processes prior to the opening of the fine dining side of the restaurant on Feb. 14, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Rockefeller’s will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Happy hour will be from 4 to 6 p.m. daily.
For more information or to make a reservation, call 216-321-0477.
Deanna Bremer Fisher is executive director of FutureHeights and publisher of the .Heights Observer