Northsiders, and really anyone who ever visited
Boswell’s before 2004, remember the Bousin Burger, a thick, juicy staple on the neighborhood restaurant/bar’s menu.
Beginning early September, the burger, along with an array of new vegetarian-friendly items, return to a fully renovated space once again owned and operated by Mike and Jan Beck, with business partners Walt and Debbie Schultz.
“It was just always such a fun and exciting place to run,” says Mike Beck, who also owns a rental property in the neighborhood. “We always had a tremendous business there. We enjoyed the community and the people.”
Beck, who lives north of Ross, Ohio, first bought the space on the corner of Blue Rock and Boswell in 1983. In 2004, even though business was strong, he and his wife needed to take a break to help care for her ailing mother.
But Beck never forgot Northside, and Northside never forgot Beck. When the building was taken over by Northside Bank & Trust, the bank president hired Beck to renovate the restaurant space as well as four apartments upstairs.
Then the building went up for auction, and Beck and his friend Walt Schultz decided to go watch the sale. As they stood and talked, Beck couldn’t stop thinking about the building. He turned to his friend and said, “Northside is up and coming. I think we should do this.”
After they informed their wives that they were once again building owners, they considered different business ideas. Should they open a wine and cheese shop? Maybe a small deli? Or pizza? But none of those ideas stuck.
“The more we thought about reopening Boswell’s,” he says, “the more excited we got.”
While Beck and his team have completely renovated the restaurant’s kitchen and patio, they were able to hire some of the former employees. He plans for music on the patio through the fall, just like the old days.
“I think Northside has expanded,” Beck says. “We’re pretty impressed with the community again.”
Depending on furniture delivery and other potential delays, Beck plans to have Boswell’s (now just Boswell’s, not Boswell’s Alley) open for Northside’s Second Saturday this Sept. 8.
By Elissa Yancey (who was always a big fan of the Boursin Burger)
Follow Elissa on Twitter