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Lou-Roc Alert: Sweet City/Terminal Diner, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Category: Lou-Roc Award

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Written by Randy Garbin

Steve Harwin called us last night to pass along some good and bad news.

Good news: Someone's purchased the ill-fated double diner complex in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Bad news: They want to turn the Mountain View into an upscale tavern, wiping out all of its recently restored original features.

Though the new owners have kept Harwin in the loop with their plans, the man who restored the former Terminal Diner back in 2001 has made no headway trying to convince them of the folly of their ways. Harwin also tells Roadside that for now, the former Zephyr Diner, the O'Mahony diner, will stay much the same.

Originally conceived by Cleveland Heights entrepreneur Steve Presser, the over-budget and poorly planned project took years before it finally opened for business. Presser, who always thought big, wanted to have Dottie's Diner (the Zephy) serve as a traditional diner with an updated menu and pair it up with the Sweet City Diner which would serve only desserts.

Going wildly over budget and way past the original deadline for its grand opening, Presser's ambitious idea faltered almost from the start and bankrupted him in the end. In our estimation, the diners suffered from a hopelessly inefficient layout, a confusing presentation for customers (as configured, the restaurant had four entrances), and a site plan that needlessly broke up the traditional streetscape. Set back more than 60 feet, northbound travelers easily passed it by.

It's no secret that we don't like double diner restaurants -- at least where the operator pairs two intact diners. The roadside is littered with nearly a half-dozen such projects. We can't think of a single one that lasted more than two years. Read this carefully if you have plans to give this a try: Open one first. If that succeeds, then expand.

The new owners will at least do one good thing: Their boneheaded intentions have inspired us to bring back the Lou-Roc. Look for more such awards to come.