While Intro in Ohio City was still under construction, developer Harbor Bay Ventures selected Daniel del Prado to create and run the restaurant concepts for the nine-story complex. The award-winning chef is a household name in Minneapolis, where he runs multiple restaurants and concepts within the DDP Restaurant Group. And, as an Argentinian-born restaurateur, he had a bold vision for the flagship space that would become Jaja.
But then Covid hit and del Prado had to focus on his own restaurants and employees in the Twin Cities.
“I felt guilty when I had to back out,” del Prado explains. “Harbor Bay was the perfect partner for me to do something outside of Minneapolis. The first concept, I think, was great; it was based on my background.”
Since those early day, Intro has weathered a barrage of challenges. After del Prado stepped away, Harbor Bay decided to operate its own food and beverage concepts, opening in quick succession Pioneer, Edda Coffee Roasters, Jaja and the rooftop event space Truss. Then, just two years in, a car smashed into the building causing both Jaja and Pioneer to immediately close – and remain that way – for nearly a year and a half. In that time, Harbor Bay brought in a different out-of-state hospitality group that opted to swap Pioneer and its live-fire kitchen equipment for Le Burger. Upstairs at Jaja, a new chef was brought in to reboot that restaurant, reopening with a tweaked concept and all new menu.
Earlier this summer, del Prado returned to the project. Since then he has taken the reins at Jaja, shuttered Le Burger and Edda, and mapped out a future for the four food and beverage spaces at Intro.
“I knew it was going to look bad if we closed again, but you have to do it right,” says del Prado. “There were so many things that happened: the car accident, opening and closing. It’s very hard to open a restaurant. It’s even harder to open a restaurant with those complications. We needed to reset.”
In the coming weeks and months, del Prado will unveil his new menu at Jaja, open a cocktail bar called Olive Room in the adjoining three-season patio space, debut a new wine bar in the former Edda coffee shop, and introduce two new food concepts in the former Pioneer footprint.
After the former hospitality group ripped out all of the wood-fired grill equipment, del Prado is reinstalling a good chunk of it. As an Argentinian chef, a good grill is nonnegotiable. The kitchen is being redesigned to better serve Jaja and the forthcoming main-level concepts.
“They were more focused on Le Burger because that was their concept and that’s what they understand, but Jaja, I think, is the flagship,” del Prado explains. “I don’t want to think about this as Jaja 3.0, I think of this as going back to what we first envisioned. I’m trying to bring it back to Jaja 1.0.”
Del Prado says that Jaja is influenced by his Argentinian and Italian roots. There will be wood-fired steaks, but also lush pastas, fresh seafood and plenty of starters for sharing and passing. Around the same time that the new menu is rolled out, the Olive Room will open. Located in the underutilized second-level patio space, the cocktail lounge boasts unobstructed views to the east, west and straight up when the roof is open.
Del Prado runs about a dozen restaurants in and around Minneapolis, each of which is a well-defined concept. Only one or two of them have multiple locations. He also creates restaurant concepts for other operators as a consultant.
“I’m a chef but I love opening restaurants; that’s the creative part,” he explains. “When I open something, I don’t bring a concept to a place. That’s a mistake, I think. I want to bring what I believe the neighborhood needs.”
That includes taking a holistic approach to the entire Intro property. Jaja fills the need for an experiential special-occasion restaurant. The former Pioneer/Le Burger space will cater to residents, neighbors and hungry commuters looking for a great but casual meal. Two new concepts will be rolled out later this year, helping to break up the airy but sterile space while offering a range of food options. Del Prado has a Neapolitan-style pizza concept in the Twin Cities and he will be installing a gorgeous tile-covered Italian pizza oven in the heart of the main space. Guests will have the option of ordering from two menus while a shared bar will generate energy. A slew of cosmetic changes will warm up the white, minimal dining room.
Likely in October, the former Edda space will reopen as a trendy wine bar, a place to meet a friend for happy hour drinks and snacks. There will be a coffee component, but del Prado is leery to call it an all-day café.
“This is not a coffee shop with wine, sandwiches, salads and soups,” he says. “I like focused concepts. It is going to be a wine bar with small plates.”
Del Prado grew up in Buenos Aires, but after living all over the United States he settled in Minneapolis.
“I always wanted to be in the Midwest. It reminds me of where I come from a little bit,” he explains. “I love Cleveland more than I thought I was going to. The people are very cool. And I love this part of town. It reminds me of North Loop neighborhood in Minneapolis.”
When asked if an outside operator like himself is equally suited to open restaurants in Cleveland than, say, a local chef, del Prado bristles at the question.
“I’m not a chef from Minneapolis coming here. I’m an Argentinian chef coming here,” he states. “I think places can only benefit from people from the outside to melt the pot a little bit. You need that mix of different cultures. I have experience and I think I can do a good job here. And I can bring a different voice.”
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