On Friday, July 28, owners Peter Brown and Bonn Rassavong will open Doinks Burger Joint at 15519 Waterloo Road in North Collinwood. The new brick-and-mortar restaurant comes after longtime friends Brown and Rassavong started selling smash burgers out of Rassavong’s home garage in Euclid during the Covid-19 pandemic. The support the duo received from the community led them from the garage to pop-ups at The Cleveland Brewery on Waterloo Road and The Wine Spot on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights.
“We were both unsure what was going to happen with the pandemic and wanted to come up with a way to make money if we were going to be out of work,” Brown said. “Bonn told me he makes a really good smash burger that he wanted to sell out of his garage and he thought it had some legs. So, we decided to run with it.”
When it opens later this month, Doinks will offer burgers, sides, beer, and seltzer. Rassavong, who previously worked as a chef at Citizen Pie on Waterloo and Lola on East 4th in downtown Cleveland, will create four different smash burgers with his special sauce and sides that include fries, onion rings, macaroni salad, wedge salad, and kimchi. One specialty burger will be a double patty with cheese, grilled onions, shredded lettuce, and Rassavong’s “Doink sauce.” Additional specials will be based on what’s popular with the community, the owners said.
Brown, who owns Six Shooter Coffee, which has locations on Waterloo Road and Pearl Road in Old Brooklyn, will use his passion for craft beverages to create beers as well as seltzers with syrups. “Seltzer is a fun thing for me to do just because of my fascination with beverages,” he said. “It’s just an extension of my background with coffee and making beverages. So, selling seltzer is a natural extension of something I’m already interested in.”
Brown said that one reason for opening Doinks is that more restaurants are needed along Waterloo to serve the growing community there. “There is a lot to do in Collinwood with the art galleries, live music, and coffee, but there is nothing to do in between these things, which you can blow through in an hour,” he said. “But if you have a place to stop and get a drink or something to eat, you will keep people on the street longer and will build a lot more to do in the area.”
During a recent tour of the new restaurant days before opening, the owners, who oversaw the project themselves, were putting the finishing touches on their renovation. The old hardwood floors have now been refinished, a bar with counter seating has been added, diner-style booths line the walls, and an open kitchen is situated in the rear. A colorful mural by Cleveland artist Grace Galvin adorns the wall, and beside it will be a “Wall of Doinkers” who supported the restaurant’s Kickstarter campaign.
All in all, the space has the feel of a fun-loving, modern diner that serves good food but doesn’t take itself too seriously. Brown said the Kickstarter campaign raised $12,000 to support the interior buildout and they’re excited about sharing their new venue with visitors to Waterloo.
Renovation and challenges
Doinks will be located in a building that was renovated by local developer Mike McBride and his wife. After Brown and Rassavong contacted the McBrides regarding leasing the building, they met and put together a plan for the restaurant. The space previously housed an art gallery.
“The challenge with a restaurant and vacant space is figuring out how to budget and finance the tenant improvements needed to operate a restaurant,” McBride said. “Councilman Michael Polensek arranged some city support to help with the storefront.”
The initial plan was to open in May, but after a car ran through the middle of the building, more construction was needed.
McBride knows Brown and Rassavong from living and working on Waterloo and playing hockey at the Euclid Hockey Rink. “Those guys are younger business people, the coffee shop is great, and Bonn has worked at other well-regarded food establishments such as Citizen Pie where he was a presence years ago,” McBride said.
Community support
Other neighborhood regulars also support Doinks opening in the Waterloo Arts District. Louis Ross, owner of Article/Art in Cleveland studios and gallery on Waterloo said he has known Brown for years and is looking forward to the new restaurant. “We’re very happy they are opening because we only have a few food options here and we really need some eating establishments,” Ross said. “We have a few new places opening with the jazz club and art galleries, so we’re hoping this is our year finally.”
Deshauni Jackson, owner of AmourLimae Beauty Bar, has operated her business on Waterloo Road since December 2021 and agrees that Doinks will be a welcome addition to the limited food options in the area. “I know my clients will be excited because we always discuss how we have to go near 185th or 200th Street because there’s really nothing over here,” Jackson said.
Neighborhood resident Jalea Ward also expressed excitement that Doinks will be opening. “It will be good for me and my kids because we live around the corner,” she said. “A burger place will be so nice because some of the restaurants open late and close early and we have to go outside the neighborhood a lot of the time when we want a burger.”
Brown and Rassavong have been friends for years and Rassavong’s wife is the general manager at Six Shooter. Although selling burgers from the garage and at pop-ups was going very well, neither of them thought about opening a restaurant and were just having a good time. But that changed with encouragement from the community and as the two thought about the lack of dine in places to eat in the neighborhood.
Investing in a revitalized Waterloo
Brown grew up in Columbus but has lived in the neighborhood for the last eight years. He opened Six Shooter after seeing the community would support it. (The name Six Shooter comes from coffee served by President Lyndon B. Johnson, that was said to be strong enough to float a revolver.)
For Doinks, Brown and Rassavong chose the name because they thought it had a good ring to it. The restaurant will have a 90’s theme which includes modern Pizza Hut-inspired cutlery, dishes, and decor, and an authentic vintage Taco Bell garbage can. “We chose this theme just going off what we like and that makes the excitement more obvious as it reaches more people,” Brown said.
After years of seeing businesses come and go on the street, this may be the year for a revitalized Waterloo Arts District similar to Ohio City, Tremont, and other nearby neighborhoods, they said.
“We came back to Collinwood because we love the community which is like a brotherhood and sisterhood,” Brown said. “The entire neighborhood has supported us from day one, and the community has always been rallying behind and supporting us, so it’s nice.”
Doinks Burger Joint, located at 15519 Waterloo Road, is set to open Friday, July 28 and will offer dine-in and carry-out options Tuesday through Saturday from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. Doinks will have 26 seats for patrons to enjoy the restaurant and bar. There will also be a beer garden on the grounds, where Doinks plans to hold summer concerts.
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