Dine at Gene's

In a post-covid world, dining became a whirlwind of rushing into your reservation. Can’t be late! Any later than 15 minutes and my reservation will be compromised or I’ll be charged a late fee. Finally you sat down and hopefully you knew what you wanted to eat because your seat was reserved for just 1.5 hours and then there would be another party behind you. Even today you may find yourself asking: Where did the ritual of fine dining go? 

When Gene’s opened in 2024, it was a breath of fresh air. The dining area boasts a comfortable elegance and has a familiarity you can’t quite put your finger on. The hospitality is unmatched. Chef Bobby Moore prepares Ohio produce in such a way that makes it unique to this region – elevated, sophisticated, yet approachable. When you book your reservation, the table is yours. Linger, enjoy each bite, engage in conversation. Truthfully, I’ve never had a dinner shorter than 2.5 hours there. At Gene’s I have been able to eat, drink, converse, eat a bit more, and yes, another glass of wine. How refreshing! The design of the space, the values and foundation the restaurant is built on, and the food quality make Gene’s a unique spot to frequent.

The interior is the first element that sets the tone for your evening. Owner Dustin Snow worked with interior designer Liz Dutton to create a space that feels memorable, speaks to its location, and encourages guests to savor the moment.

“I was very focused on how we wanted people to feel in the space. When Dustin initially approached me, the seeds of this concept were formed around the idea of an upper east coast gem. I have spent time in Quebec so I had real world experience in this location and started to imagine what it would be like to be in one of those quaint towns. The building is so small I didn’t think we could get away with trying to make it feel like it was just a restaurant. My goal was to make it feel like a house or the first floor of an inn.”

Dutton knew this space needed to feel special and encourage presence. And it came down to a balance of intimacy and energy. “It is about creating an environment where you forget about your phone and feel like you’re a part of a moment.”  One of the ways they achieved that is through the back-bench seating. “You are reminding people that they are with each other.”  

“Specifically, through the design, it feels homey. You don’t feel rushed and you’re encouraged to stay and linger. We were looking at places as inspiration and a lot of them were restaurants at inns. So something about Gene’s makes you feel like you’re staying there for the night, like there’s this hidden inn attached. And that speaks to my process – I’m all about combinations. I like my home to feel like a restaurant and my restaurant to feel like a home. When you cross pollinate, it bends expectations which I think ultimately creates an awareness and presence. You’re playing against those expectations and that is getting someone’s attention in a gentle way.”

The inviting interior is the perfect setting for the star of the show, Chef Bobby Moore’s new-American menu. The executive chef at Gene’s, Bobby Moore, was born and raised in Montreal, Canada which he describes as a diverse city with a certain joie de vivre. The city is full of night life and fine foods. He describes the restaurant scene there as rich, competitive and very stimulating. “I have been cooking professionally since my early 20s, and in the early 2000s I started at a job in a corporate steakhouse and fell in love with working on a line, the adrenaline, and getting 600 plates out.”

Through Moore’s experience working at Toqué! In Quebec, he grew inspired by the practice of highlighting seasonal, local ingredients. “The menu was focused on highlighting the bounty of things, and it mirrors Ohio. There are so many beautiful native things worthy of celebration here”. 

Moore connected with Gene’s Owner, Dustin Snow in 2021 after Coast reopened post-pandemic to explore wine and front-of-house services. The customers at Coast had been wanting more, a wider variety of food offerings. Moore had been utilizing a linen closet size kitchen space to prepare the bite offerings they had at Coast at the time. The space they had wasn’t sustainable for a larger menu. 

 “When developing the idea of a restaurant, the thing that drew me to Coast, and has continued to be one of our pillars, is hospitality. It’s our mission at Gene’s to create an escape. If we can provide 2-3 hours where you can just come in and have a welcoming space that’s comfortable and almost feels like a familiar, really cool home, we can provide that escape and amazing hospitality. “

Moore’s dishes elevate the Ohio dining experience. When building the Gene’s menu he wanted to use his own taste and style with ingredients and elements that are around us. He changes up the Gene’s menu based on what is in season and works with Yellowbird Foodshed to source fresh, local ingredients.

“I love to celebrate, highlight, and enjoy what we have here. It’s so important and valuable that we recognize and honor each step of the process and encourage a change in narrative about what it means to eat in Ohio and eat local. I’ll talk with Benji at Yellowbird Foodshed and basically ask what they have available. Then it is up to the Gene’s team to find a way to put these flavors together.  We’ve got so many great ingredients, and great producers around us. There are  many smaller family farms that it would be impossible for me to call each farm individually and see what they have, and Yellowbird does this amazing work of amalgamating everything into one single place. So we can get things like shagbark grits that are featured on our menu, and produce sourced at its peak.”

“Our eggplant tonkatsu is inspired by schnitzel which is typically either pork or chicken, but instead we take an eggplant, roast it off to give it a charred smokiness, and bread it with some eastern mediterranean spices. It gets deep fried but is served with pickled onion and herb salad and sumak yogurt. It’s important to keep things light. There’s a finesse required to  and challenge yourself to put these ingredients on a plate and serve them to someone who has established dining experience, but have them leave still thinking that was satisfying and delicious.” says Moore.

The intentionality of every design, and culinary decision has created a restaurant that is offering a much more connected, slow-paced, and intimate dining experience. Owner, Dustin Snow says “We had all of these grand visions that we will eventually carry out, but what we realize is we are still fine tuning the dinner experience. I think that’s what has been a success point for us. We really don’t rush it and we take our time. We are trying to nail the dinner experience. It’s why we look the way we do and why we do things at the pace that we do.”