The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
20 YEARS’ WORTH OF FRESH IDEAS
Owners of 56 Kitchen have passion for quality ingredients and unique atmosphere
Upon arriving at 56 Kitchen in Mayfield Heights, the first thing that catches the eye is the large hanging globe crafted out of industrial nuts and bolts hovering over a center table — a structure termed “The World is Nuts” by coowner Izzy Schachner.
But that’s not where the creativity stops.
56 Kitchen was born from the diverse food industry experiences of Schachner and business partner Jay Leitson, who owned Cafe 56 — known for its 56 different salads — for 20 years in the same location that the Mayfield Heights’ 56 Kitchen resides in now at, 1433 SOM Center Road.
Schachner came from a background of production catering, providing food for actors and film crews on sets of all kinds in Ohio — from training videos for corporations, commercials involving LeBron James or big budget films such as the sports drama “Draft Day.”
“Because of the film commission and the state of Ohio with a (motion picture) tax credit, a lot of filming started happening in 2010 and I positioned myself, I was basically the only professional
“We kind of got really good at producing scratch-made, clean-eating-style foods...” — 56 Kitchen co-owner Izzy Schachner
Online: For more information on the menu, hours and locations, or to place an online order visit HTTPS://56KITCHEN. COM/
production caterer in the state of Ohio,” he said. “And so I got hired to do all of the productions.”
Schachner said as the production catering business took off, he needed some help, and called Leitson to see if he would partner with him in the catering business.
“I just called him up and said, ‘hey, want to be in the movie business?’ And he basically said, ‘why not?’ “Schachner recalled.
Although they have since left the production catering business for the most part, Schachner said their partnership grew and evolved since its initiation in 2012, which led to the opening of their first location of 56 Kitchen in Solon five years ago. The Mayfield Heights location followed in 2019.
“This concept, 56 Kitchen, is the stuff from Jay’s world of the healthier salads and the fresh ingredients,” Schachner said. “And from the film industry, you know, the things that I had to do had no processed ingredients. It was fresh.
“We kind of got really good at producing scratch-made, clean-eating-style foods, and we decided if we’re done with film let’s open a place. And so both worlds came together again and that’s what 56 Kitchen is.”
Schachner said he and Leitson prioritize fresh, well-sourced ingredients and continue to make all of 56 Kitchen’s food from scratch.
“All of our dressings are made in house, all of our sauces are made in house,” he said. “Some of our breads, our bagels are all made in house. We still try to use as little processed food as possible. So it’s really mostly clean eating. “You know, we still have that component, so even if you get a pizza it’s not that bad for you.”
He added that they typically only source their proteins from cage-free or free-range concept farms, and adopted the same philosophy with their produce and try to get vegetables from local sources whenever possible.
“We kind of found our balance and we try to use things that are as close as possible and as good as possible,” Schachner said.
Salads remain one of the top sellers at 56 Kitchen, and although they do not have quite as many variations as Cafe 56 did, Schachner said one salad that carried over does seem to reign supreme — the original “pewter mug salad,” which is chopped iceberg lettuce, topped with tomatoes, ham, turkey and swiss cheese.
It also comes with a madefrom-scratch garlic vinaigrette, which he said seems to be almost an anomaly in its popularity.
“It’s the only salad that, preCOVID, we would have to give the table a bottle of salad dressing rather than give you dressing on the side, because people can’t get enough.”