CLEVELAND — Six months ago, Anna Harouvis shuttered her 20-year-old café, Good to Go, at the IMG building downtown. Since then, she has been hard at work building that beloved café’s new home. WKYC stopped by the new shop just hours before the big opening day. That took place on Friday, April 1st at the AECOM building (1300 East 9th St.), which is right across the street from the old spot.
“You know, I needed a bigger space,” Harouvis explains. “And meeting the owner, he came over, and it just worked. We’re in the AECOM building. It’s also a part of the Westin hotel.”
At 2,000 square feet, the new Anna in the Raw location is more than twice the size of the original café. It’s just one component of a completely remodeled lobby space that includes other new retail tenants, Harouvis adds.
“[The owner is] putting a lot of money into it,” she says. “They’re trying to get new tenants. But it really is a nice destination.”
Thanks to wrap-around glass, the shop is bright, open and inviting. There is a limited amount of dine-in seating. And while the chef’s last café was called Good to Go, this time around, Harouvis is going with Anna in the Raw, the name of her cold-pressed juice business.
“I’m going with Anna in the Raw, because that’s how everyone knows me.”
Harouvis’ café has long been a safe haven for people who, for health, dietary or moral reasons, consider themselves raw foodies, vegans and/or gluten-free diners. But that doesn’t mean that the café will not appeal to omnivores.
“There will be cooked food, but there are a lot of fun things,” she says. “This is a raw pasta that I made from hearts of palm. Because who wants zucchini, it just keeps tasting like zucchini.”
Harouvis said that some longtime favorites like the vegan BBQ made from jackfruit have made the move, along with other staples like chopped salads, plus new items as well.
“The gluten-free pizza people went nuts for. The falafel was really popular, the desserts. This is new, it’s a crab cake with no crab. Yeah, crab with a K.”
In addition to the full lineup of Anna in the Raw juices, which find their way into the hands of Cleveland’s top sports stars, Harouvis is launching a unique design-your-own-juice option.
“They pick out what they want and I’ll juice it for them,” she says. “Yeah, because people are like, ‘I don’t want this, I don’t want that.’ I think we’re the only one in the city doing that.”
Going a step further, the chef says that she is getting a frozen yogurt machine that will transform those bespoke juices into a creamy – but healthy – treat.
Anna in the Raw café will be open Monday through Saturday.
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