“I left Albania at 14, lived three years in Italy, and then we had some friends here in Cleveland so I ended up here. It was supposed to be a short visitation, but from the moment I came here, I honestly didn’t want to leave.” 

Lola Jacaj has lived and eaten around the world, but she says Cleveland can cook with the best. It’s home to James Beard award-winning establishments and a variety of cuisines. Soon, Cleveland will introduce a new concept, Juliet, Lola’s fourth restaurant in her hospitality group Jola Eat Global Atrium.  

Her other locations include Casa la Luna on the Superior Viaduct and Acqua di Dea and Oliva in the Warehouse District. Juliet will bookend the latter spots. 

“We do often get compliments from out-of-towners,” Lola says while waiting for the dinner rush at Acqua. “Everybody that comes to Cleveland is shocked by Cleveland, in a way, because they’re like “oh, much more than I expected.”’ 

Lola credits Food Network star Chef Michael Symon, James-Beard nominee Chef Dante Boccuzzi, nationally acclaimed Chef Zach Bruell and other restaurateurs for starting Cleveland’s culinary buzz about a decade ago, as she studied the trade herself at classic Cleveland establishments like La Dolce Vita, M’Osteria and Morton’s.  

“We have a restaurant scene now, which is great. It’s being maintained now by Amba and Cordelia,” she says. Both chefs at these restaurants have James Beard nominations to their name. 

Lola’s new restaurant Juliet will add to a bustling downtown as a French-inspired restaurant. She says the ambiance is Monet-inspired, pulling inspiration from the nearby Cleveland Museum of Art. 

“Some of my best memories and best foods and best stories are created right here in this city. The sports and the concerts and the art, the Metroparks, the lake, the restaurant scenery…I mean, what else could a girl want?”  

This is part of an occasional series about people who have made The Land their home. Know a transplant who’d like to share their story? Let us know.