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Many, many steps and eight months later, Katz Club Diner is back in action. The diner car, which survived the October 7 fire, will reopen as a pop-up restaurant on Thursday, June 18.
(John Petkovic/The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Doug Katz knew something was very wrong when the phone rang at 4:15 a.m. He was flat-out shocked when he arrived at the scene and saw the 12-foot flames that had engulfed his restaurant.
But the renowned Cleveland chef never once thought that Katz Club Diner was dead.
"That night, I remember just staring at the flames hoping the fire department could put them out," says Katz, referring to the Oct. 7, 2014, fire that caused $900,000 in damage to the Cleveland Heights diner. "Once they did, I thought, 'Well, that's the first step.' "
Onlookers inspect the Katz Club Diner after an early morning fire gutted the diner on October 7, 2014.
Many, many steps and eight months later, Katz Club Diner is back in action.
The diner is set to reopen Thursday, June 18.
"We're doing a series of pop-up events," says Katz, who opened the spot in May 2013 and specialized in unique takes on Pop Tarts and Twinkies. "Each event will have a theme, and we'll try to do something different and just have fun."
The June 18 debut will be "Tacqueria Night." Katz envisions doing two or three events a month at first. Attendees must purchase tickets in advance for the pop-up nights, which are available via thekatzclubdiner.com.
"Basically, it's a food party, and each one will be unique," says Katz, who has developed a devoted following, thanks to Fire Food and Drink in Shaker Square. "We might have music sometimes and do more of these, but first we want to see how it goes."
Tickets are limited to 48 people - the number of seats in the circa-1948 dining car that survived the fire. The bar car portion of Katz was claimed by the fire, which was ruled arson and was set by a former employee of the diner.
"The only thing that was left was the frame, and it couldn't be saved," says Katz, referring to the swank, speakeasy-themed half. "The dining car had a lot of smoke damage, but it was in great shape. We mainly had to replace the flooring and clean it out."
Katz will also use the car, which includes an extensive kitchen, for his catering business. The diner has housed a number of eateries since 2002, including the charming retro pad, Clyde's Bistro.
The cars were brought to Cleveland Heights in 1996 from New Jersey by Steve Presser, owner of Big Fun. At the time, Presser had dreamed of re-creating a slice of old Americana, served up with a milkshake.
"That was a real fun time," said Presser, referring post-World War II America, in a 1996 interview with The Plain Dealer.
Despite the many openings and closings and, of course, the fire, Katz is hoping to recapture that time.
"I'm happy at least the one car was saved," he says. "Once we got the fire put out, I kept thinking it's only a matter of steps before we get the place open again and have people coming out here enjoying the place."