EDWINS Oyster Bar has 23 indoor seats and 22 outdoor patio seats.EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute is once again taking Cedar Fairmount’s bar and restaurant scene to the next level.

On Wednesday, July 22, EDWINS Oyster Bar opened in the former Zoss the Swiss Baker and C L Barber and Salon Family Hair Styling spaces.

The Parisian-style restaurant is the newest addition to the EDWINS culinary campus in Cleveland Heights, in addition to the bakery, butcher shop, and dormitories in the Buckeye neighborhood.

At the new oyster bar, guests can enjoy East and West Coast oysters, caviar service, seafood towers, and conservas—canned seafood delicacies from Portugal and Spain. The drink menu includes high-end champagne, wine, beer, martinis, and cocktails that have been hand-selected to pair well with seafood dishes.

Like the other EDWINS entities, education is at the forefront of operations. At the oyster bar, students are trained on oyster shucking and seafood preparation—all while ensuring an upscale dining experience for customers, says EDWINS founder, president and CEO Brandon Chrostowski.

Chrostowski says he was inspired by oyster bars in Paris and decided to bring the delicacy to the Cedar Fairmount district.

“The central part of this was how to make it an intimate, real, chic, sexy setting for seafood,” he says.

Over the span of just eight weeks, the former C L Barber Salon was miraculously transformed into an oyster bar right out of the streets of Paris. “I think we raised the bar,” remarks Chrostowski.

EDWINS Oyster Bar sits right next to EDWINS restaurant in the former NightTown space and is connected to EDWINS’ newly renovated 1,800-square-foot instructional kitchen.

The oyster bar is 900 square feet and has 23 indoor seats and 22 outdoor seats on the patio.

Running with an idea
When Chrostowski has an idea, he runs with it.

Edwins Oyster Bar, 12383 Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights.Recalling a chalkboard on the barbershop wall, Chrostowski says the whole design process began right there, when he picked up a piece of chalk and began sketching his vision for a Parisian-style oyster bar.

Working without an architect or designer, Chrostowski got to work redesigning the space. With the help of his electrician, plumber, and team, Chrostowski turned his vision into reality.

The resulting oyster bar has an irresistible beachy atmosphere, featuring dark blue counters and teal ceilings, with pops of yellow in the chairs. A stunning mosaic countertop and a thatch-roofed awning make the restaurant feel as if it is right on the ocean, rather than busy Cedar Road.

On the patio, the chic color palette remains. Local nursery AJ Petitti donated a curated selection of plants, which edge the patio. “We made this place look very much like a Parisian beach,” says Chrostowski.

Chrostowski’s inspiration for the atmosphere comes directly from Paris and coastal town Arcachon and the Arcachon Bay region, which are often known as the oyster capital of France.

In fact, Chrostowski returned from France with a painting that depicts Arcachon oyster farmers savoring fresh oysters at a reef. The painting now hangs above the EDWINS bar.

Reservations are not taken at EDWINS Oyster Bar. Instead, guests add their names to a chalkboard waitlist—perhaps a tribute to the original barbershop chalkboard. Once seating becomes available, guests are welcomed to their table.

The cuisine
The menu features cold seafood, caviar, tins, and a few warm plates.

EDWINS culinary classThere is a rotating daily selection of fresh oysters coming from both the East and West Coasts, served with traditional accompaniments like mignonette, horseradish, hot sauce, and other chef-selected garnishes.

Chrostowski says he guarantees his oyster suppliers are the best in the country—hand-selected for EDWINS from different sources around the country. “We get it fresh,” he says as he displays an oyster, “I know when this thing was picked out of the sea.”

Chrostowski says EDWINS’ caviar comes from the United States’ top caviar supplier, located in Chicago—allowing the Oyster Bar to offer premium caviar services featuring Golden Kaluga, Bourbon Barrel Smoked Kaluga, and White Sturgeon Reserve caviars. These dishes are served with crème fraiche, chives, egg, and shallots.

Bulot is coming all the way from Maine. Chrostowski says the highly sought-after sea snails have a distinct sweet flavor. “It's really the essence of France, and you don't see them at all here,” he boasts. “So, I think that would be the number one dish here.”

There are plenty of other, traditional seafood options to choose from—such as mussels, clams, shrimp, crab, lobster, and shellfish—and the beverage menu was carefully crafted to pair well with all seafood dishes.

The impact
Since it was founded in 2007, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute has provided formerly incarcerated adults with culinary and hospitality training.

The 900-square-foot oyster bar was designed to have a beachy atmosphere, reminiscent of oyster bars in Paris and the Arcachon Bay area beaches.For nearly 20 years, the nonprofit organization and Chrostowski have practiced a classroom-to-table approach. The facilities on the culinary campus allow students to learn essential skills before being immersed in the physical restaurants.

In addition to employment and learning opportunities, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute provides formerly incarcerated individuals with free housing, legal services, basic medical care, clothes, job coaching, literacy programs, childcare, and more.

The impact of EDWINS has been profound in the Cleveland area and throughout the nation. In fact, the 2017 documentary “Knife Skills” was created to share the story of this institute.

“Knife Skills” follows the launch of EDWINS restaurant, which opened in November of 2013 in Shaker Square. Since then, the culinary campus has had several additions, such as EDWINS Bakery, EDWINS Butcher Shop, EDWINS Cigar Bar, and now EDWINS Oyster Bar.

In June 2025, Chrostowski was given the James Beard Foundation Impact Award for his work and was a semifinalist and finalist as James Beard Outstanding Restaurateur in 2022 and 2023.

When reflecting on the creation of EDWINS Oyster Bar, Chrostowski says he was inspired by expanded education opportunities for students, the convenient storefront location, and the integration of aspects from Parisian oyster bars.

This former barbershop has proved to be the perfect location for this new oyster bar. Past the seating area is a refrigerated classroom, where students can work slowly and precisely on cutting various types of seafood, which may be new to their repertoire. As Chrostowski says, “The chef can do things carefully and intentionally. And they can learn the right way.”

Chrostowski, always humble, argues that the opening of EDWINS Oyster Bar would not have been possible without the help and support of the community.

“I’m just thankful for everyone who helped make it possible,” he says. “With all this energy, momentum, hard work, and creativity, in eight weeks we came from a barbershop to this.”