Cleveland’s Latitude 41N Offers Comfort, Food and Comfort Food

Kathy Brown opened Latitude 41N in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood in 2007. (Outlook photo by Vision Video Productions)

By Luke Darby

“I’ve always had an affinity for maps,” Kathy Brown says, gesturing to the prints and street plans on the walls, tables and booths at her restaurant, Latitude 41 N. She attributes it to her memories of sailing in the Chesapeake Bay, and to her brief stint with a pilot’s license.

The restaurant in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood of Cleveland is celebrating its seventh anniversary, which gives Brown a lot of satisfaction. In that time, she has seen other restaurants open to great acclaim and close soon after. Latitude 41 N has survived since 2007 by becoming an open and welcoming space for everyone in Cleveland, from the transgender group at the LGBT Community Center to the Case Western Reserve University students to local artists.

Latitude 41 N is the New Jersey native’s second restaurant, after opening Snickers in the same neighborhood in 1994, which she calls one of the first places in Cleveland that brought together a “blended, eclectic, gay-straight crowd.” She remembers walking into Snickers one night and seeing a table full of drag queens, all of whom she knew, next to a local news anchor and thinking, “You know what, this is really working.”

Neither Snickers nor Latitude 41 N seems to have ruffled any feather; Brown says the community has been supportive and receptive. In fact most complaints have more to do with the counter service than the other clientele, but her policy remains, “If you don’t like it, we’re sorry to lose you but you’re free to go.”

She sold Snickers in 1998, and between that and Latitude 41 N she spent six years teaching culinary arts at Cuyahoga Valley Career Center.

She taught high school juniors and seniors the absolute basics of cooking – baking, grilling, boiling, frying and such.

More than just getting students to properly convert tablespoons into cups, though, Brown was interested in getting her students to be well-rounded and productive people. “Treat other people well, don’t go to jail,” she says, things like that. She still keeps in touch with some of her students, a few of whom went on to culinary school or became pastry chefs.

What Brown learned from her time as a teacher is that she needed to be her own boss. She started looking for locations in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood to open a new restaurant and thought the space at 5712 Detroit Ave was perfect. The split space allowed the restaurant to have a diner and a cozy, café-esque space that would work as a bar lounge should Latitude 41 N ever get a full liquor license.

Unlike Snickers, this location is on a main road, which means more walk-in customers.

One of the things that most excited Brown about a new restaurant was the chance to offer an affordable breakfast. Her first place offered lunch and dinner, but Latitude 41 N is known for its breakfast and brunch, which gets slammed on the weekends.

The Pizza for Benedict is a big pull (eggs benedict made with pizza dough instead of English muffins), along with the Mongo Grubbo Cakes (pancakes made with chocolate and peanut candy bars, an homage to Snickers).

The Menage a Trois, advertised on the restaurant’s coffee mugs, is actually a foursome: eggs, bacon, sausage and hash browns.

The restaurant is officially Brown’s, but Latitude 41 N is still a family affair. Her partner Moira handles the accounting and graphic design as needed.

“If you’re looking for a five-star dining experience, you’re not going to come here,” Brown says. Instead she wants people to come and feel like they’re part of a family. That’s part of the logic behind the restaurant’s counter service, rather than retaining a flock of waiters parroting, “Hi, my name is…,” which Brown finds shallow.

Instead the counter is supposed to encourage chatting, and the small staff and regulars certainly know each other.

“We’ve got a cook who’s been here six years and a dish washer who’s been here two weeks,” Brown says, adding that most of the staff has been working for four or five years.

Over the past few years, the crowd at Latitude 41 N has gotten bigger and younger, mirroring the shift in Detroit-Shoreway itself. Brown is excited about the progress in the area, dreaming of Cleveland being able to develop its lakefront like Chicago has.

By the same token, Latitude 41 N offers free Wi-Fi and encourages people to camp out while reading or working, which is always a solid way to keep students coming back.

“I love seeing people sitting in here at 3 in the afternoon. They may only get a cup of coffee but they’re going to come back here.”

Small Pond shines a spotlight every month on LGBT-owned businesses across Ohio. Send your suggestions for future articles to erin@outlookmedia.com.