📰 The Melt era isn’t over

Good morning, Cleveland! This is The 216 Scoop: We’re talking pizza—but also lighting, mood, and a little drama 🍕💡🎭

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John Petkovic & Jude Perez

Matt Fish knew that things were changing rapidly -- and not in a good way.

There was COVID-19. Dietary shifts. Economic realities.

For five years, the owner of Melt Bar and Grilled tried to save what was once the most beloved eatery in Cleveland.

One year ago, announced that he couldn’t: Melt was no more.

Since then, Fish has worked as a consultant and is plotting the return of Melt.

“I want to bring it back and I’m testing the waters,” says Fish. “I just don’t know exactly how I want to do it yet.”

The time off has given him perspective on the evolving bar-restaurant landscape.

Declining alcohol consumption has weighed on craft beer and spirits sales. Delivery systems like DoorDash have fueled couch dining. So have fast-casual spots.

“We’ve also had rising utility, food and insurance costs,” he says. “Things are changing rapidly in the industry and big places are a thing of the past.”

At its peak, Melt had 13 locations and 300 employees.

“The bigger it got, the more homogenized the brand became,” he says. “If could have done things again, I would’ve stayed small and specialized.”

Eighty bar-restaurants opened in 2025. But it also saw a spate of closings at the end of the year.

The latest is Punch Bowl Social. The 27,000-square-foot ‘eatertainment’ complex in the Flats joined Rumrunners, Inferno and Margaritaville on the shuttered list.

It promises to return with “an exciting new concept,” but the landscape is changing.

Tomorrow’s special edition 216 Insider will take an in-depth look at the changes, the rise and fall and return of Melt, and what the future of dining looks like with our discussion with Matt Fish.

Hard to believe the nation’s second-largest performing arts center was slated to be a parking lot 50 years ago.

Especially when you look at everything that transpired in Playhouse Square in 2025.

Two national back-to-back tour launches: “The Notebook” and “Hell’s Kitchen.”

More than 981,000 visitors.

39,000 season ticket holders for its Broadway Series.

At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the theater district rings in a new year with the most Tony-nominated play of all time: Stereophonic at Connor Palace. Info.

David Adjmi’s play notched 13 Tonys in 2024 and won five awards.

Featuring music by Will Butler (ex-Arcade Fire), it takes a fly-on-the-wall look at the tensions and relationships of a fictional 1970s rock band as it records its make-or-break album.

And, yes, it’s been compared to the real-life band that went through all of this: Fleetwood Mac, while recording Rumors.

Most Tremont locales play the "neighborhood" card or the "upscale" card.

For 26 years, Lava Lounge did both – which is why it attracted a wide lot: from old-school locals to guzzlers to trendies.

Edison’s Pizza Kitchen follows in its footsteps.

The just-opened pizzeria brings its beloved pies to the old Lava space. But this place is very different than the storefront it operated out of next to Edison’s Pub until 2023.

In fact, it feels like EPK met Lava Lounge for a Tremont reunion – which is just fine.

It rolls out 11 ‘Cleveland-style’ pies – called that for the rolled edge crust, heap of toppings, parmesan-dusted edges and honey drizzle.

Call it pizza nostalgia, back to EPK’s Tremont heyday. The high & low style, drink list, moody lighting and diverse clientele recalls Lava.

Fine pairing. OK, now one cocktail and a slice, please. Info.

EPK is in its soft opening and is open Friday-Saturday. It will add Thursdays and Sundays soon before going seven days.

Metal Mondays: Smedley’s is a hoot of a biker bar any night. At 9 tonight, the Kamms Corners dive bar will also be the place to head bang – which it rolls out its weekly metal series. Info.

Menopause The Musical 2: The follow-up to stage hit Menopause The Musical brings jokes and songs about hot flashes, mood swings and parodied hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s opens a six-day run in Hanna Theater at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Info.

👉 View Listing on Zillow

Myles Garrett broke the single-season sack record, and the Browns won their last two games.

Just two weeks ago, they were slated to get the second pick in the 2026 draft. Now they’re picking 6^th — which takes them out of the running for the top two collage quarterbacks: Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore.

But all is not lost, especially with team that has so many needs. They also need wide receivers and offensive linemen, and can find them with their top pick and the 28^th pick (from Jacksonville).

Despite the 5-12, there’s good news: The Browns are the only team since 1970 to have rookies lead them in pass yards (Shedeur Sanders), rush yards (Quinshon Judkins), receiving yards (Harold Fannin Jr.), and tackles (Carson Schwesinger) in a season.

Myles Garrett is one of the greatest pass rushers to play the game. But even he will be hard-pressed to author a takedown as notorious as the one Joe “Turkey” Jones delivered on Terry Bradshaw. On Oct 10, 1976, the defensive end drove the Pittsburgh Steelers QB into the Cleveland Municipal Stadium turf, head-first. Bradshaw was taken to the hospital. Jones was hit with a 15-year penalty and $3,000 fine for unnecessary roughness.

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35°F 🌡️ 31°F | 🌨️ (Snow Showers) | 25% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 12 mph (≈ 10.4 knots)

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Away vs. Pacers, 7:00 PM January 6 (Tuesday)

Away vs. Timberwolves, 8:00 PM January 8 (Thursday)

Home vs. Timberwolves, 1:00 PM January 10 (Saturday)

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