The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
NEW KLEIFELDS OWNER TO KEEP WHAT WORKS
Atmosphere, menu to stay same at iconic eatery
Kristin Brewster is set to make her mark in downtown Willoughby as the new owner of Kleifelds Restaurant.
Brewster, 27, is one of the youngest people to own the restaurant in its almost 90-year history.
Kleifelds, the iconic restaurant at 4048 Erie St., has had seven owners since it first opened its doors in 1928.
Brewster feels that her youth is more of a motivation for her and looks forward to being one of the many younger entrepreneurs running businesses in the downtown area.
“I think it’s the perfect area because right now most of downtown Willoughby is owned by people in their 30s,” Brewster said. “It’s really a great area to come in and get your foot in the door and make your mark.”
Brewster, who had worked in the restaurant business since she was 15, stated that corporate America wasn’t for her and decided to pursue owning and operating the restaurant instead.
“I am in my element here,” she said. “I like to work hard and I like people and I love food.”
Although ownership has changed, customers
“The servers are the heart of this place, and the customers provide almost as much service as we try to give them.” — Kristin Brewster, newest owner of Kleifelds
shouldn’t expect anything else about the restaurant to change.
According to Brewster, business has been good during her first couple weeks of ownership.
“It’s been really busy and has gone great,” she said. “We are really excited and we plan to get busier as summer comes. It’s what we call the slow season right now, but we haven’t really seen that here. We are pretty busy from open to close.”
Brewster will be keeping the same name, menu, servers and hours.
“I know many of the regulars, some of them who have come for decades, this is their home, and I don’t want to come in and start changing things because they love this place
and I value that,” Brewster said.
Brewster does plan on some enhancements to the restaurant, such as adding daily specials and introducing a line of merchandise such as T-shirts, hoodies, hats and stickers with the restaurants logo.
“Overall, we want to keep the same menu and the same feel,” Brewster said.
The restaurant will continue to serve breakfast during all open hours and have a lunch menu starting at 11 a.m. She said that they could possibly look into staying open longer hours in the future.
Brewster said that one of the things she plans on working on improving is consistency of food.
“It has changed some because cooks have come and gone, but we are working on getting it back to the way it was,” she said.
While there is a new
kitchen staff in place, all of the servers from the previous owner have stayed on.
Brewster is grateful for the staff and customers, whom she describes as wonderful.
“The servers are the heart of this place, and the customers provide almost as much service as we try to give them,” she said. “They come in, they know your name and they ask how your day is going. It’s amazing.”
Brewster is looking forward to the opportunities and challenges that ownership of Kleifelds can bring.
‘I like to work hard and I love working for myself,” Brewster said. “I love the opportunity that comes with being able to lead an awesome team of people and being able to maintain an iconic place in the heart of downtown Willoughby.”