By Grant Segall The Plain Dealer
Tadas Gelazis: "It's important to have diversity, just to be able to have a counterpoint for your life somewhere. I went to a Croatian wedding and was struck by how it was the exact same thing as a Lithuanian wedding. I just couldn't understand the words."
Heard the one about the Lithuanian oenophile who walked into a bar?
Meet Tadas Gelazis. The shaggy 37-year-old is sort of Old World nouvelle. He sings bass in Exultate, a Lithuanian choir at St. Casimir, and co-owns the trendy Grovewood Tavern and Wine Bar.
How do you say your name?
TAH-dus guh-LAZH-us. Gelazis rhymes with garages.
Tell us about your inner Lithuanian.
My parents immigrated pretty young. They met in Cleveland at a wedding. I knew Lithuanian before English. I remember looking for my mom at a department store and tugging at a saleswoman's sleeve and blathering in Lithuanian.
I was a member of the Lithuanian Scouts and a great many organizations as a kid. There was always this "Lithuania is the best place in the world." I finally go over, and they actually weren't lying. It's quite lovely.
Tell us about your inner oenophile.
I graduated from Euclid High. I worked at a Speedway. I was just getting into wine. The Evolutionary Wine Bar opened on 185th. I thought it was amazing and cool that there was a wine bar on 185th. There were like 20 bars on a short strip there. They were all shot-and-beer joints.
After it closed, a bunch of us started trying to keep something good going in the area. So we bought an old family tavern in 1999. You'd be able to try glasses of wine without having to buy bottles. You could learn wine yourself instead of our telling you what to drink.
Were people skeptical about chic fare in Grovewood, a little pocket of Collinwood?
There's a bit of a cynic in all of us. My friend was like, "A wine bar in the 'hood? Really?" But there are so many cool places in Cleveland sort of spread out, run or owned by people doing their thing, always working, unsung. Cleveland's an easy place to do something unconventional and have it become accepted. We make it our own.
Do you enjoy the crowd?
It's amazing the way people act. I had two people sit down at someone else's table and try to order. The other people were so horrified that they never let on they didn't know them.
I like the variety of people who come in here. One table was talking about gas prices, and they couldn't use their private jets anymore.
It's important to have diversity, just to be able to have a counterpoint for your life somewhere. I went to a Croatian wedding and was struck by how it was the exact same thing as a Lithuanian wedding. I just couldn't understand the words.
Do you serve any local wine?
There's some quality stuff out there. It's pooh-poohed because it's Ohio. We have Grand River pinot grigio and a semillon by Ed Trebets' Muddy Paw label. He sends $1 per bottle to Rescue Village, the Geauga County Humane Society shelter.
We work with Fresh Fork Market, Trevor Clatterbuck. We get a lot of greens and produce wonderfully fresh, better than anything I've eaten in my life. It's all within a 50-mile radius.
Where else do you eat besides the Grovewood?
The Flying Fig in Ohio City, generally brunch, because I'm usually working nights. The omelet of the day is always something. The drink I always have is the grapefruit. It's like a greyhound with ruby red Absolut.
I like weird places like Stevenson's on Lake Shore. It's dark and creaky, like you're about to enter a Scooby-Doo mystery, but you have the best burger of your life.
The Close Quarters in Avon Lake. It's this tiny little bar. It's aptly named. Their wings are pretty good.
There's one of the best ice cream stands: Sandy's on Lake Shore.
Where do you go to escape?
A. White City Beach is really nice and not crowded at all. I love the North Chagrin Reservation: Buttermilk Falls and Squire's Castle, of course. There are places where you feel you're in the middle of nowhere.
Tell us some childhood memories of Cleveland.
Going to Indians games as a kid for some ungodly small amount of money. Get in and have a whole section to yourself.
At Christmas, going to see all the displays downtown in the windows at Higbee's and the whole Christmas Story thing. I remember the old wooden escalators at Higbee's. They were really cool.
We went to Nela Park every year. I went back this year with my girlfriend. I don't know if I'm that much bigger or it's gotten smaller.
Favorite Cleveland landmarks?
I like the Gehry building. But I alsolike a lot of the old buildings downtown that haven't been updated. I like old brick with crenellations or little details.
Our building is from the '20s. Upstairs, there's crown moldings and leaded-glass cabinetry. The big thing is, nobody painted over the wood. When we first opened it, I used to live upstairs. Now it's a party room.
On East 172nd. I own a double. I have a renter downstairs.
I really liked "Welcome to Collinwood," because it was sort of fun and light. I was still working a day job in the old Cleveland Twist Drill building on 49th and Lake Shore, and there's a little courtyard where they shot the prison scene.
I just saw "American Splendor" again, and it's still good. That sort of dark humorcaptures Cleveland pretty well.
Our place has been called "Deer Hunter" chic.
I'm not sure, but I'm willing to take it. It's a good movie.
Afternoon Naps. Cloud Nothings. This Moment in Black History. I like the energy. There's a big punk edge to most local music. It's loud and raw and in your face.
Yeah.
I had a good customer since we opened. I knew he was an anesthesiologist. I had an outpatient surgery. There I am, sitting in a paper dress on the table, and my friend from the Grovewood walks in and says, "You finally walked into my place of business. I have to warn you: My drugs are better than yours."
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