Lobster Pot lauded on its reopening

BOUQUETS >> To the Lobster Pot restaurant, formerly based in South Euclid, which recently reopened in a new location in Willoughby Hills.

The new Lobster Pot, located at 2749 SOM Center Road, opened Aug. 7.

The original Lobster Pot, which opened in 1972, was owned and operated for 30 years by the father of current owner Christian Haffey.

When the restaurant was launched, Haffey worked in the kitchen doing dishes starting at age 10.

His four brothers, along with his mother and grandmother, also worked there.

After a long hiatus, Haffey decided to reopen the business, because of his passion for being in the kitchen.

“I’ve been looking for a place for the past five years and found this location and thought it would be perfect,” he said. “A lot of people that were in South Euclid have moved out to this area.”

Customers can expect many of the same dishes, such as the Shrimp Norfolk, the mussels bucket, frog legs, Bouillabaisse, haddock, fresh salmon and oysters, all featuring the same recipes previously used. Customers familiar with the former restaurant also can expect the same clam chowder and lobster bisque.

The new restaurant features some of the same decor as the original, including the dory suspended from the ceiling above the dining room. It also offers a patio for outdoor dining.

Welcome back, Lobster Pot.

BOUQUETS » To Linda Wise, who is retiring as CEO of the Fine Arts Association in Willoughby.

“I’ve been thinking about retirement for a while now,” said the Concord Township resident who will serve until January. “I would like to spend more time visiting family, who are all over the country. I have two grandchildren in New York City and I’ve always wanted to travel more and do things I like to do.”

Wise has served as the organization’s CEO for the past 10 years. Prior to that position, she was the organization’s director of education for two years.

“We are extremely proud of Linda’s accomplishments during her term,” Board President Jeff Brauer said. “Fine Arts has thrived under her leadership, enabling us to enhance even more lives in Northeast Ohio. She will be missed.”

Wise noted that she wanted to remain with Fine Arts until the building expansion (a 33 percent addition) and renovation project, which broke ground in last October and will host a grand opening Aug. 26, was complete. It seems divinely fitting that the last major endeavor undertaken during Wise’s tenure has been a construction project, one of many she’s seen.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working at Fine Arts Association these last 12 years, it’s been a great place to work,” Wise said.

“The organization has made incredible progress and is now poised for a successful future. I appreciate my excellent staff, talented faculty and wonderful board for all of the support they have given to me.”

We offer Wise our best wishes for a happy retirement.

BRICKBATS » To Richard Edwards of Columbus, after he admitted to providing a heroin mix that resulted in a woman’s fatal overdose.

Federal prosecutors say Edwards, 28, pleaded guilty Aug. 10 in federal court to distributing heroin and fentanyl that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another. He faces a 20-year prison sentence.

Edwards was accused of distributing heroin and fentanyl that led to a nonfatal overdose of a man in August 2016 and the Columbus woman’s fatal overdose in December 2016.

He was investigated by a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office task force that pursues individuals responsible for drug overdoses and gets treatment help for victims who survive an overdose.

It disturbs us to read about people such as Edwards and the role they play in exacerbating Ohio’s opioid epidemic.

BRICKBATS » To Uloma Curry Walker, after she was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a plot that led to the death her husband, a Cleveland firefighter.

Curry-Walker was sentenced Aug. 8. A jury last month found the 45-year-old woman guilty of aggravated murder and other charges in William Walker’s 2013 shooting death at his Cleveland home.

Prosecutors said Curry Walker was nearing financial ruin and asked her teenage daughter and the daughter’s boyfriend to find someone to kill her husband for insurance money. Prosecutors said the boyfriend contacted a cousin, who found someone to kill Walker. The defense argued the woman’s daughter cooked up the plan.

Curry-Walker’s attorneys say they plan to appeal. In the meantime, Curry-Walker doesn’t have much to look forward to besides a lifetime behind bars.