"Reuse, recycle, and repurpose." Marlin Kaplan -- one of Northeast Ohio's most artful restaurateurs -- opens his newest restaurant in the revitalized Detroit Shoreway area. Luxe creates a cool marriage of vintage and modern. The glass-fronted open kitchen looks through an exposed brick archway into the 60 seat main dining area, which pairs neatly with the stamped metal ceiling throughout. The actual bar itself is a piece of history: A 1930's Art Deco fixture was purchased from a spot in Collinwood which was facing demolition. You will also find bentwood chairs salvaged from the former New York Spaghetti House, and a gorgeous walnut cabinet reclaimed from a Lodi hardware store. The funky window treatment fits the chef's famous sense of playfulness. "I wanted something that would reflect the neighborhood. I think this is fun, it's artful -- and it's created quite a buzz."

 

 

Chef Marlin Kaplan

A man whose calling led him to leave a career at a New York advertising firm to pursue a "second life" in the kitchen, Kaplin has endured and conquered: From humble beginnings in the New York dining scene to the man you can now see pulling double-duty at two of Cleveland's most honored eateries (One Walnut and LUXE Kitchen & Lounge), Chef Marlin Kaplin abides.
Standing at the helm of an upscale Italian bistro chain's expansion to Cleveland in 1991, it was in this city on the lake that Kaplin's signature eclectic Mediterranean palate and "food as theater" style began to coalesce. In 1993, Marlin opened a namesake restaurant, Marlin, and added 2 other restaurants (Pig Heaven and Lira) to his stable -- showcasing his flair for the dramatic and allogeneous. In 1999, Kaplin launched One Walnut, a sophisticated hotspot. It has been celebrated nationally time and again for its expansive menu and extensive wine list and stood alone as Chef Kaplin's creative outlet for a decade. That is, until LUXE Kitchen & Lounge was given breath in 2008, and it is LUXE which represents the culmination of "all things Marlin:" displaying an eclectic menu reflective of past undertakings and adventurous enough to hint at much more to come, flourishing into Kaplin's professed vision of a hip eatery alongside a European inspired lounge conscious of -- and an asset to -- its surroundings.