User:Lhcollins/sandbox2

Rick's Cafe was a popular restaurant and music venue in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. It's name was inspired by the film Casablanca and the decor was art deco, black-and-white-movie style. The Cafe occupied 2,000 square feet of a historic brick building in Chagrin Falls Village. The restaurant was especially crowded for weekend music nights. It has been called a landmark, "infamous", and one of the most famous bars in the Cleveland area.

History
Rick's was established in 1977. It became a popular spot. The saying in Chagrin Falls has been, "Everybody Comes to Rick's." It is described as a laid back Americana tavern that was both comfortable and trendy, and was one of the few establishments that also offered live music. One of the owners, Alec Singer, essentially served as the "front man" for the restaurant, greeting and seating patrons, and wearing the restaurant’s clack, casual attire.

Rick's Cafe has an inside seating capacity of 80. A new patio designed by Mr. Impullitti was added in 2006, with space for nine additional tables seating up to 40 diners.

Rick's Cafe was a regular participant in the Performing Arts Series "Music Crawl," a town wide event organized by the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Fraternal Order of Eagles #2436 to highlight talented local musicians and musical groups.

In 2017 Rick’s Café owner Alec Singer announced that he was selling the 40-year-old restaurant to Shawn Monday and his partner Michael Schwartz. Monday also runs Flip Side, One Red Door, and Three Palms. Singer still owns the building in which the business is housed. He will now serve as their landlord and consultant as needed. At the time Monday and Schwartz told Singer that they planned to continue the legacy of the popular spot. They said that they did not plan to change the name, concept, staff or nature of the restaurant. Monday later told others that he might keep the Rick's Cafe concept going for a while, but changes were a possibility in the future. This news followed the announcement that another popular restaurant, Gamekeeper's Taverne, was also closing after 40 years.

Schwartz and Singer had planned to keep Rick’s Cafe open until the end of the summer, but on July 24th they decided to close Rick’s early. They planned to open their new restaurant at the location within a few months.