| A full-service restaurant and wine bar located inside
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Bistro Joseph-Beth features a set menu of
items prepared from cookbook recipes.
Cleveland, OH
– Café Joseph Beth, a full-service restaurant and wine bar located
inside Joseph-Beth Booksellers, presents its guests with a novel idea.
The unique dining destination features an eclectic menu items from
cookbooks that sit on the store’s nearby shelves.
About 90 percent of the items on the café’s set menu are derived
from cookbook recipes, and each month the restaurant features an array
of items from a featured cookbook available for sale in the bookstore.
In August, that cookbook is “Betty Crocker's Cookbook: Everything You
Need to Know to Cook Today, 10th Edition.”
The definitive new edition of a beloved classic cookbook, this
revision keeps the attributes that have made it a favorite for
generations - namely reliability, great-tasting recipes and an ease of
understanding. Improvements in the latest edition include an updated
design, and a revised selection of recipes and information to interest
a new generation of home cooks. The result is a mix of recipe classics
along with recipes that emphasize health, speed, ease and popular
cooking methods.
A sampling of these recipes will be brought to life at Café
Joseph-Beth in August. The featured cookbook menu selections include
Swiss Steak (p. 290) served with sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes
($8.95); Corn Bread and Bacon-Stuffed Pork Chop baked and served
with sautéed fresh vegetables ($10.95); Tossed Chef's Salad with ham,
turkey, green onions, celery, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, and ranch
dressing ($7.95); and Shrimp and Scallops with Wine and Vegetables with
garlic, onion, carrots, zucchini, squash, and a side of green rice
($14.95).
In an industry dominated by major players like Barnes &
Noble and Border’s, Joseph-Beth Booksellers is a unique success story.
Founded in 1986 by Neil Van Uum and his wife, Mary Beth started
Joseph-Beth with a location in a Lexington, Ky. mall. Joseph-Beth,
which is derived from the co-founders’ middle names, started with an
expansive 6,000-square-foot space at a time when many independents were
only one-third that size. Now, the locations range from 20,000-48,000
square feet. The strategy of building large stores has given
Joseph-Beth the flexibility of featuring full-service restaurants. The
cafe division composes about 10 percent of the company’s $50 million
annual revenues and employs approximately 40 percent of the
organization’s 500 team members.
“The book store is an extraordinary resource for our restaurant.
It gives us access to talented and innovative chefs and their
creations,” said Roger Ranalli, who is director of operations for
Joseph-Beth’s restaurant division. “We can take excellent recipes from
the best chefs in the world and feature them for a period of time. This
keeps our menu fresh and evolving.”
Some items from the featured cookbook of the month even become fixtures on the menu.
“If
a recipe is embraced by our guests, chances are it will become a part
of the set menu,” Ranalli explained. “The determining factor is how
well it sells.”
Whether guests choose to order selections from the featured
cookbook, or from the set menu, they are treated to an experience
unlike most dining destinations.
“Two of life’s simplest pleasures are relaxing with a good
book and enjoying flavorful cuisine with a glass of fine wine,” Ranalli
explained. “You can experience both at our restaurant.
“People look forward to coming back each month to
experience the selections from the featured cookbook first-hand,” he
added. “It’s something they can’t do anywhere else.”
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