ROSY, a compact 50-seat wood-fired bistro from Akron-born chef Vinnie Cimino and business partner Andrew Watts, opens Thursday in Ohio City’s Hingetown, taking over the former Alea space on Church Avenue. The tight menu leans into ancestral and Adriatic-European recipes, refreshed with seasonal, hyper-local sourcing. Before officially swinging the doors open, the team ran a series of friends-and-family soft openings this month to stress-test both the kitchen and the dining room.
Soft openings and the space
According to Cleveland Scene, ROSY (2912 Church Ave.) hosted a five-day friends-and-family run that served roughly 650 guests ahead of opening night. The outlet describes a low-lit, 50-seat dining room anchored by a concrete hearth and an open kitchen, all set up for shareable plates to land in the middle of the table. Owners reworked the old Alea footprint to add a broader indoor-outdoor window ledge and warm wood details that help the compact space feel closer and cozier rather than cramped.
What to expect from the menu
Signal Akron reports that the rotating small-plate menu pulls from Adriatic and Central European influences. Dishes spotted during soft opening service included whipped baccalà, Croatian-style hand-rolled pasta and pickled walleye cheeks. The outlet notes that at least 80 percent of ROSY’s ingredients are sourced from farms within roughly 200 miles, and that a “ROSY BOY” wagyu burger with raw sweet onions, anchovy mayo and pepper relish on a seeded bun will show up as a limited Monday special, with about 20 to 25 sandwiches available each night.
The team behind the stove
Cimino, an Akron native who co-owns Cordelia with Watts, applies the same heritage-driven mindset that helped shape both restaurants’ shared-plate style. The James Beard Foundation lists Cimino as a 2026 semifinalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes, recognition the team hopes will help spotlight Cleveland’s changing dining landscape.
Neighborhood fit and how to dine
OpenTable shows ROSY operating primarily as a walk-in spot, with a small pool of reservations released each month and evening hours listed for Thursday through Monday service. The Hingetown address drops the bistro into a busy cluster of Ohio City restaurants and bars, a placement local outlets have described as intentionally designed to complement neighbors like Larder and Jukebox rather than compete with them.
Early reaction
Initial write-ups from local critics have been upbeat. Axios Cleveland praised several plates, calling out the cotechino in particular, and highlighted the welcoming, communal buzz inside the snug dining room. For diners, ROSY is being framed as another example of Cleveland kitchens digging into immigrant and regional traditions while doubling down on wood-fired cooking and local sourcing.
