CLEVELAND — A new restaurant is opening on Cleveland’s Shaker Square just in time for Valentine’s Day weekend.
“For restaurants, this is like the Super Bowl this weekend or Valentine’s Day and I’m just excited to be a part of something that puts their best foot forward,” said Former Cleveland Browns Player and Sazani Oceana Minority Partner Josh Cribbs.
The upscale seafood restaurant is going into the old Edwin’s Too space. The color scheme has changed to blue, chandeliers and custom booths have been added, and restrooms have been updated. Valet will be offered on weekends.
It’s the newest addition to Soul Republic Hospitality Group’s portfolio, which includes Cleveland Breakfast Club, Vegan Club, Angie’s Soul Café, and the longstanding Zanzibar Soul Food Fusion, plus barbecue restaurants in Columbus.
“I felt like it was a void on the east side of Cleveland for upscale seafood, either you’re going to get boiled in a bag or you’re going to get fried seafood, I don’t know any other place that’s seafood forward outside of downtown and the west side,” said Soul Republic’s President Akin Affrica.
He said the name, Sazani Oceana, is inspired by Sazani Beach Lodge, which is on the water in the African country of Zanzibar. This restaurant is the newest addition to the square for Affrica and his operating partners.
“I grew up in this neighborhood, it’s always had a special place in my heart as a kid,” Affrica said.
He touts the diversity of Shaker Square and the nearby Larchmere neighborhood.
“You literally have millionaires on one side and people working, you know, seven days a week on the other side just to get by,” he said.
Joshua Scherger is Sazani Oceana’s executive chef.
“[It’s] seafood forward, of course but then [there’s] options for anybody who’s not just a seafood lover, right? We’ve got some chicken, some beef, some really great vegan options as well and vegetarian,” he said. Bread will be made fresh daily.
Staffing and inflation have been issues for businesses. Several restaurants in northeast Ohio have shuttered due to financial challenges. Scherger acknowledges there are challenges in the restaurant industry.
“Sustainability is tough especially in this business,” he said. Despite that, he’s optimistic. “I think we have a really good chance of being very, very long term and who knows, maybe even multiple locations and things like that down the road,” said Scherger.
The restaurant is hiring and looking for more dedicated employees to add to its roster. Cribbs said he’s still learning, and it feels amazing that Sazani is where he’ll get his start in the restaurant industry.
“My wife and I, we wanted to get into [the restaurant industry] but because of our lack of knowledge it was a fear because restaurant is considered one of the most riskiest businesses, so this is like my training wheels in a sense,” he said. “We don’t have to create a buzz, we don’t have to like create the environment for people to come to an unknown location, this is already a historic location in Shaker Square.”
The team is seeking local artists interested in having their work displayed on the walls.
