The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
OFF TO PARADISE
Where wings and toons collide in Euclid
When you walk into Paradise Island in Euclid, the décor is immediately striking.
The life-size Elvis and Michael Myers in the corner are hard to miss amid the maritime theme that ties the dining room together. Meanwhile the outside of Paradise Island located at 830 Babbitt Road has a chef and other cartoon characters in plaster, and the parking lot has an ocean blue fence with sea creatures among an ocean scene.
Inside the kitchen, chicken wings are being fried and then stored away to be fried again for service. French fries undergo the same process, before being tucked away into plastic bins.
Chris McHugh hunches over the fryer, as fellow cook Brent Weakland shoves red onions into a metal grate, breaking them down into a prep pan.
“When I was 15, I started washing dishes here,” McHugh said. “Then cooking, I moved away when I was 20, but then moved back eight years later, and started bartending here. Started a music venue in the basement.
“Really we look at what’s popular on the menu and sell what works and see what sells good,” he added. “It’s a pretty good community here, all the regulars generally. A lot of them are good friends. It’s a place for brother love and community.”
Maryann Buckley, the manager of Paradise Island and McHugh’s mother, has been
working with the family that owns Paradise Island for the past 30 years. During that time one thing has stayed consistent, the wings.
“I’ve been cooking the same
wings for 30 years,” Buckley said. “I mean this dry rub has gone back that far. About 30 years ago the person that was the kitchen manager came up
with it.”
The menu has more to offer than just wings. The specials rotate throughout the week. Wings are on special for 75 cents on Mondays and Thursdays; specials the rest of the week are dependent on popularity and ingredients in the kitchen.
“The most popular burger is the paradise burger,” Buckley said. “It’s a double patty with special sauce, pickles, lettuce. To me it’s like a Big Boy.
“We have slushes they are alcohol slushes — adult slushes,” she added. “I think last month we sold 1,031 of them, big seller. People like them a lot — in the winter and in the summer.”
Hand-breaded onion rings, tacos, beer-battered fish, and pork with paradise sauce make up some of the large menu.
One of the best sellers is their Soulrolls.
“They are like an eggroll,” Buckley said. “But inside of it is chicken, corn, red beans, onions and cheese. They sell very well.”
Paradise Island is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to midnight.