RED the Steakhouse is set to open its doors on the East Side on Thursday, Aug. 13, taking over the former Heritage Steak & Whiskey space at 28869 Chagrin Blvd. in Woodmere. The new location joins RED's existing outpost at 417 Prospect Ave. in downtown Cleveland, giving the brand two Cleveland-area addresses once again after a stretch with just one.
The move brings RED back to the stretch of Chagrin Boulevard where the concept got its start. Owner Gregg Levy told Cleveland Magazine that RED had been hunting for a spot along Chagrin Boulevard between I-271 and Chagrin Falls ever since the pandemic, with the goal of returning to the East Side submarket where the brand first launched in Beachwood back in 2004. As Cleveland.com reports, RED closed its Pinecrest location in Orange Village at the end of its lease on Feb. 28, ending a run of nearly seven years at that Orange Village development after opening there on Nov. 29, 2019, following the closure of the original Beachwood restaurant.
A Steakhouse Address With a Long Résumé
The Woodmere building has hosted high-end steak dining for the better part of two decades. Before Heritage Steak & Whiskey, the address spent 15 years as home to Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, which closed in 2019, according to Cleveland Scene's earlier reporting on the property. Doug Petkovic, a partner in Michael Symon Restaurants, opened Heritage Steak & Whiskey there in November 2023 and made major capital improvements to the building before selling the business to RED Restaurant Group in March, per the same account.
That sale cleared the way for RED to move in without a full gut renovation. The design team instead focused on cosmetic changes, swapping the interior's blue tones for browns and reds, hanging artwork on loan from Contessa Gallery by photographers Harry Benson and Lawrence Schiller, replacing community tables with banquettes and high-tops, and refreshing the patio furniture, the Cleveland Magazine report notes.
Broilers Replace Wood-Fired Grills
In the kitchen, RED pulled out the wood-fired grills Heritage had used and installed the high-heat broilers that define its cooking style across locations, according to the same Cleveland Magazine report. RED's menu leans on Certified Angus Beef Prime aged a minimum of 28 days, seared hot and finished with a garlic-infused aglio brushing, per Food Network's earlier profile of the brand. The original RED concept traces back to restaurateur Brad Friedlander's 2004 Beachwood launch, before corporate restructuring left principal investor Gregg Levy and partners in charge of the Cleveland operations, according to Mashed.
The Woodmere menu will include bone-in steaks, filet, porterhouse, New York strip, Wagyu and other specialty cuts, plus pastas, pork chops, lamb and seafood dishes, along with shareable a la carte sides, according to Cleveland.com. Regular dinner service will run Monday through Saturday. At Eton Chagrin Boulevard specifically, hours are set as 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with the restaurant closed Sundays, according to Eton Chagrin Boulevard's own listing. Reservations can be made via OpenTable or by phone at 216-279-7700.
Eton's Nightlife Reboot Continues
RED's arrival adds another marquee name to Eton Chagrin Boulevard's ongoing dining and nightlife makeover. The development already welcomed a jazz lounge in February, when Nightjar, a New Orleans-style cocktail and jazz bar, opened next door at 28867 Chagrin Blvd. Steakhouse fans have long taken note of RED's Cleveland footprint; Hoodline's own past coverage ranked the brand's downtown location among the city's top steakhouses and a go-to pick for special-occasion dinners. With the Woodmere doors opening Thursday, RED is betting that the Chagrin corridor still has an appetite for the kind of high-end steak dining it built its name on more than two decades ago.
