Chef Douglas Katz’s latest restaurant venture is all about connections through food, community and pottery
by Lydia Kacala
Fans of pottery and Douglas Katz’s eclectic restaurants can experience both at Kiln, Katz’s new restaurant at the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights.
Located in the space formerly occupied by Shake It and Garden City, the restaurant is heavily inspired by pottery and Katz’s beloved former restaurant, fire food & drink, which closed in 2020 after almost 20 years in Cleveland’s Shaker Square neighborhood.
With a European bistro and modern American inspired menu focused on local and seasonal ingredients and communal dining experiences, Kiln opened Oct. 22 at 3396 Tuttle Road.
While themes of pottery, ovens, heat and fire are important to the new restaurant and to Katz, its location also provides connection to the chef and restaurateur’s childhood, he tells Jstyle during an early October walk-through of the restaurant.
“fire, the restaurant at Shaker Square, had huge inspiration on what we were doing – the warmth and the community feel,” says Katz, a resident of Cleveland’s Gordon Square neighborhood and congregant of Suburban Temple-Kol Ami in Beachwood. “And being at Van Aken is so special to me.”
BUILT ON LOCAL CONNECTIONS
Growing up in Shaker Heights, Katz and his family visited Sand’s Delicatessen and would hang out in the surrounding area. As an added boost of nostalgia, his brother, Peter Katz, owned Green Leaf Grocery in the early 1990s, in the area where the Van Aken District is now.
Moreover, Katz says the Ratner family, the longtime owners of the property where the mixed-use Van Aken District is located, have shown him and his restaurants support.
“The Ratners, in general, they’ve been so supportive of me and my restaurants, and I was so excited to be able to do it here with them,” he says.
Another aspect of the restaurant he’s excited to bring to the table is ingredients sourced from local farmers, an additional piece of inspiration from fire. Having worked with local farmers during the operation of fire, a farm-to-table restaurant, he thought it was important to bring that forward at Kiln, he says.
The restaurant is working with Marchant Manor Cheese, a European-inspired cheese company in Cleveland Heights founded by Kandice Marchant; Killbuck Valley Mushrooms, a mushroom farm in Wayne County run by Tom and Wendy Wiandt; and Rittman Orchards & Farm Market, a family-owned apple orchard also in Wayne County. The restaurant will also use other local suppliers for wines, produce and more.
“fire was such a community around the people – the vendors, the customers. We’re trying to sort of recreate that here,” Katz says. “(Kiln is) more of a celebratory dining experience for your entire family, whether it’s the four- or five-year-old, whether it’s the grandparent, whether it’s the young family.”
THE FOOD, ATMOSPHERE
Kiln’s menu, which was developed with chef Cameron Pishnery and finalized just ahead of the restaurant’s opening, includes several vegan and gluten-free options. Similar to Katz’s Zhug and Amba restaurants, Kiln focuses on shareable dishes. Some highlights include a house-made smoky tomato dressing, a French-inspired eggs and mayonnaise dish, a crudite served with Zhug’s hummus, a stuffed cabbage dish, and meat and fish creations like a pan-roasted half-chicken, Arctic char and ribeye steak tips. It also has dessert options such as an apple crisp and a baked Alaska, in addition to a craft cocktail menu and an extensive wine list.
To accompany the menu, the restaurant’s atmosphere also has a local influence with artwork and decor by Cleveland artists, Katz says. In the first-floor dining area, a painting by local artist Andy Curlowe hangs on the wall just behind a sleek curved booth.
Functional pottery, another inspiration for Kiln, offers an “organic” and “earthy” vibe, with Katz’s own creations being used as centerpieces on tables throughout the restaurant. A hobbyist in pottery, Katz made flower bud vases to be filled with fresh flowers and food-safe bowls and plates for use in the restaurant. He works with Billy Ritter, a west side Cleveland ceramicist.
Katz also sourced plates from other local potters for specific dishes to be served on, while simultaneously using some classic plates and cutlery. Interesting, diverse light fixtures and plenty of house plants meld with the pottery theme to create an ambiance that is refined yet warm.
The first floor of the restaurant houses its open kitchen, seating, a bar and its host stand at the front entrance. An elevator takes guests to the second floor, which houses more seating, a second bar and a working fireplace. Kiln will also offer rooftop patio seating overlooking the Van Aken District, with enough space for eight to 12 tables starting in spring 2025, Katz says.
“It’s all planted this year so that when we’re ready in the spring, it’ll just be ready to take off,” he says of the patio space, decorated with potted plants. “… We’re really trying to make it feel like you’re in sort of a French garden.”
THE DETAILS
Kiln is open from 4 to 10 p.m. on weekdays, from 4 to 11 p.m.
on Friday and Saturday, and closed on Sunday. It accepts walk-in guests along with some reservations, made on the Resy platform.
The restaurant is the newest addition to the growing restaurant group developed and founded by Katz and his business partner, Todd Thompson, called Edgewater Hospitality. It also operates Amba, the restaurant inspired by Indian cuisine in Cleveland’s Hingetown neighborhood, and the Mediterranean-inspired Zhug in Cleveland Heights.
Katz also brought staff, including chef de cuisine Griffen Stephens, from Zhug over to Kiln to open and operate the new restaurant, he says. Stephens was hired at Zhug soon after its opening in November 2019, and has been with the restaurant since.
Katz says he knew he would enter the restaurant industry and become a chef since he was 7 years old. He was “always in the kitchen” and was surrounded by the idea of entertaining groups of people from a young age because his mother enjoyed it, he says.
“My mother always had people (over) and was always entertaining, and I catered when I was really young,” Katz says. “I went to culinary school (and) went to the University of Denver for hotel and restaurant management. I always knew I was going to have my own restaurant.”
And continuing the family tradition, his 21-year-old twins, Abe and Amelia, also both work in restaurants while studying at college, he says.
That communal dining and familial experience continues to come full circle at Kiln.
“We just want everyone to be able to celebrate in an experience that has delicious, simple foods that you can share with the table,” he says.