WYOMING, Ohio -- Cooking with Caitlin, the multifaceted culinary business that launched in 2007, will open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in November.
"We decided in October and have been pushing hard to make it happen," said business co-owner Kelly Trush. "We always wanted to do it in Wyoming, and we are excited for what we came up with."
Trush started Cooking with Caitlin as a blog nine years ago to showcase the recipes of her sister, Caitlin Steininger. The younger sibling is a chef who trained at Le Cordon Bleu Chicago, formerly known as the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago.
Kelly Trush and Caitlin Steininger
The two went on to create a cottage industry focused on recipe making, catering, marketing and bringing a creative experience to traditional comfort foods at www.cookingwithcaitlin.com.
The new restaurant, CWC, will be located inside of a former car wash at 1517 Springfield Pike. It will seat about 53 people, with a view of the kitchen, once renovations are complete.
"Certainly, the food will be delicious, but so much of what we deliver is going to be an experience," Trush said. "The whole kitchen is going to be open so everyone can sit at the kitchen counter. It’s going to feel like a cozy kitchen."
She said customers will likely see favorite dishes showcased on the "Cooking with Caitlin" website, along with some experimentation.
In advance of the restaurant's opening, starting Friday the sisters will serve some of those dishes from a food truck parked in the future restaurant's lot.
"With the food truck we are going to play with the menu," Trush said. "We can change it night to night if we like."
There will be a few tables and chairs set up around the truck. The menu will consist mostly of sandwiches, salads and desserts. It will have limited and changing hours that will be updated regularly at www.cwctherestaurant.com. The food truck will then go away once the restaurant opens.
The restaurant will have limited hours, at least for its first year, Trush said. It will serve dinner on Fridays, along with Saturday and Sunday brunches.
"That’s so we can still be with our families during the week," she said.
Trush said there are future plans for the restaurant after it opens, but that she and her sister want to work out any kinks before giving further details. In the meantime, Cooking with Caitlin and its close-knit group of supporters will continue balancing food development and other projects online with the eatery, Trush said.
"Everyone is based in Wyoming and excited to make it happen here," Trush said.
