The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Tavern’s reopening draws a crowd
Business now fully operational after months-long renovation project
All things considered, it didn’t take that long for the 85-year-old business, at 6088 Mayfield Road, to receive its face-lift.
The oldest business in Mayfield Heights is born anew.
After months of extensive renovations to the bar, dining room and kitchen, DiCillo Tavern “reopened” this week to a gleeful, elbow-to-elbow crowd, which included longtime patrons and city officials.
“We’re here to recognize the DiCillo family,” said Mayor Anthony DiCicco. “What a great family, what a great establishment. We’re lucky to have such a wonderful neighborhood bar in our community. It’s my pleasure to be here.”
All things considered, it didn’t take that long for the 85-year-old business, at 6088 Mayfield Road, to receive its face-lift.
“We stayed open the entire seven months,” said Annette DiCillo, who owns the business with her father, Pete. “The bar never closed, so we still had our regulars coming in. We closed the kitchen in May last year and worked on renovating the dining room, too. We tackled this project in two phases.”
From September to November crews worked at night on the bar, adjacent to the restaurant, allowing it to remain open during operating hours.
“That’s why it took longer than anticipated,” DiCillo said of the familyfunded project. “The crew had to reload everything when they were finished for the night. We couldn’t afford to close — we didn’t want our customers going anywhere else.
“Everything has been redone, from the ceiling to the floor. We’ve added new items to the menu, and we run specials all week. Every hour is happy hour here.”
The reopening week continues with an invitation for the public to stop by on Jan. 17-19 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Jan 20 between 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dinein specials will be $1 off every $5 spent on food.
The bar/restaurant, which staffs seven fulltime employees, will now be open on Saturday evenings. “A lot of bars didn’t have food every day years ago,” said DiCillo, who’s worked at the tavern for 35 years in about every capacity, and lived upstairs from the bar for a time. “Then all the big places started coming in and we felt it was time.”
Since 1933, four generations of the DiCillo family have operated the tavern, which was formerly a grocery store and a butcher shop.
“After Prohibition was repealed, we were the first liquor license east of Belvoir (Boulevard),” DiCillo said. “My grandfather worked the bar until 1954, when he bought it, just after my father was discharged from the U. S. Air Force. My father then went to work with him. There is so much history here.”
Longtime Mayfield Heights resident and DiCillo Tavern regular Ken Kalous agrees.
“This place was always a melting pot, and it’s changed but also stayed the same over the years,” the 70-year-old retiree said, between sips of Miller Lite. “People from all professions came in here. You had lawyers, doctors, electricians, carpenters, you name it. It just remains a good, neighborhood place, like the mayor said.
“I’m in here every day, and I would always come here instead of the library,” Kalous laughed.
“This was always a second home to a lot of people, and it still is. The DiCillo family is the best. They are Mayfield. Pete is a great guy; he’d give you the shirt off his back. You’re always welcome here. This new look doesn’t change the old feel.”
DiCillo Tavern is open for dining Wednesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturdays for breakfast and lunch 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.