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A unique collaboration of three non-profit organizations – Playhouse Square, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute and Cleveland Capuchin Ministries – The Friars’ Table is a welcoming space where neighbors, visitors and employees are gathered by the promise of simple yet delicious food and drink, to form a community where all are welcome, all are honored and all are respected in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, who invites each of us to be instruments of peace and gracious stewards of God’s gift of creation.
Our Story
Born in 2018 as a dream of Bro. Phil Bernier, OFM Cap, in a Capuchin Franciscan friary in Santa Ynez, California, and graced by the gift of a generous friend, the reality of The Friars’ Table began to take shape with a meeting between Bro. Phil and Brandon Chrostowski of EDWINS in October of 2020. Encouraged by Brandon to “think big” and by the mission of his Leadership Institute, the unusual partnership of a Catholic religious community and an esteemed local restaurateur began.
After many fits and starts, the partnership grew with the welcoming embrace of Craig Hassall, the president and chief executive officer of Playhouse Square, a nationally renowned theater district and local real estate powerhouse, and with the active support of his administrative team. The resulting synergy of these three entities – the Capuchin Franciscan friars, EDWINS and Playhouse Square – finally brought The Friars’ Table to birth in a way that could never have even been dreamt of less than a year ago.
It is our prayer that God will bless this modern-day refectory in the midst of our busy city as a place of fellowship and welcome, where men and women can find a safe place to begin again and rediscover their own dignity and worth as beloved children of our Creator. and where we will be nourished with the bounty of creation and nurtured in hope and peace.